Discovering Brentford's Only Public Toilets
Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert reports back
Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert
July 24, 2025
Feels like a previous life, but I'll pick up the trail from 4th July.
A day off on 4th July. I can assure you I was not focused on the USA on their national day and even less on anything to do with Donald Trump. I have been interested in classic cars for a long time and in the last blog I mentioned the slightly weird French car I was thinking of buying. So as planned I went down to Send in Surrey to Ewbank's auction. For clarity, whilst my mother had a Ewbank when I was a child, this was a non-electric floor sweeper like this one, except ours was black. This is not as Ewbank's who seem to be an auctioneer and Estate Agents and you have to sweep your own floors.
Ewbank's are also no relation to the Vacuum Cleaner Stadium in Brentford.
I was semi-heartened to see that Ewbank still exists, though it has been through a lot of different owners and still claims to be a British company. Whether their stuff is made here is another matter.
Anyway, I'd never been to an old car auction before, though I had been to a general auction in Bedford many times and a few times to more conventional car auctions at Blackbushe. I turned up in Send, examined a few others, and saw there was an offer of £3000 already on the books. My little mind said my limit was £4000. The lot came round. They were looking for a bid for £3100. I decided I was mad and sat on my hands. No Renault, thank the lord. But it was fun.
On Saturday I was off to Twickenham. Somebody shared with me there was an old cars thing on in St Margarets in a park I never knew existed, and was very large. Eventually found the old cars etc. There was a car made in Twickenham called the New Orleans Voiturette. A slightly obscure reason for the company name but it turned out that a lot of different cars and motor boats were made in the very early days of internal combustion engines in Twickenham including Eel Pie. No I don't think they made Eel Pies. They made care etc on the island.
Here's New Orleans
Also there was a very cool Zenith motorbike.
And I ended up buying a book by the local historian Robin Hunter. Fascinating.
I try to crop these pictures but my computer is sulking and refuses to do it today.
That was fun and next I was down to Watermans Park for one of their mini concerts.
They had lovely voices, but didn't catch a name.
What I think is the last one this summer is this one:
Free concert in our lovely park Saturday 4 to 6pm - don't miss it!
On Sunday I did something quite rare for me and went to a comedy gig at the Royal Festival Hall. I had seen Stewart Lee often on the TV and a friend of mine had caught a recent show, so I bought 2 tickets for his show
He was dressed as the Man-Wulf (as you can just about see). It was hilarious when I could hear what he was saying. See him if you get a chance - he's excellent live.
On Tuesday morning early I was off to Dover to start my little odyssey. The only taster I am going to share here is a picture of the border guard as I made a slightly bizarre entry to Poland from Lithuania.
The guy in the back of the van (of whom you can see a forehead and a knee) was the bad cop. The good cop waved me to stop on this dirt road through the woods. It was very John le Carre. The bad cop then emerged from the back with his Kalashnikov (not that I'm a firearms expert). He looked fiercely at me. Good cop got me to open the boot, but he didn't find anything interesting apart from the broken toaster I haven't got around to taking to the tip. Good cop then waved me on. My heart stopped racing until bad cop crouched by my front wheel. Then he got up. His hand was holding not only the Kalashnikov, but a tiny kitten he had found playing with my tyre.
If you want more of this guff you will find 13 thrilling episodes on my blog.
Back in my town on Sunday evening after 2 weeks away. As I said, I'm not going to recycle my daily blogs of the last fortnight (you can if you're interested) but I will make some personal reflections.
It was good for me to get 'away from it all' for a bit to recharge my batteries, and I visited 6 countries I had never been to before. 4 of them were formerly behind the Iron Curtain. Except for Slovakia, I had not been to any Iron Curtain countries since before the Curtain fell off its runners. Didn't quite know what to expect. Thought they might be visibly poor countries with much to do to modernise. I didn't find that anywhere. The Baltics were all really attractive, with good infrastructure, a charming public realm. I was especially taken with Tallinn and Vilnius. Riga was a bit too 'big city' for my preference. My Polish stay was a bit shabbier but the public realm good, and Meissen - in what was East Germany is a lovely place but a bit neglected, like much of the less prosperous parts of Britain. This is territory for the far right AfD who have not so much to lose. I fear we have some of the same in Britain where people are looking at utter charlatans like Farage and Tice to save them. There is no doubt at all that the lot of poorer people's lives would be made much worse. Fortunately, there are 4 years left before our tastes will be assessed in a General Election and their complete cluelessness and laziness and utter incompetence in trying to run a council will become more clear. Also, of course, we need Labour to wake up, both in Hounslow and the country as a whole. They are currently deafer than I am and slumber on.
On Monday I had arranged a meeting between Hounslow head of IT and an outfit called Loci which seem on the face of it to have some really interesting ideas. Unfortunately, the head of IT cancelled this meeting at very short notice due to an emerging issue (albeit with an apology) and I'm not sure if a new meet has been arranged. I think this is relevant to community outfits as well as the council but Loci, rightly, want this to be a partnership.
I came home feeling a bit under the weather with a recurring mild cough so used the new system my GP uses to organise consultations. I raised an application online during the morning and had a call back early afternoon: the doctor would like to see me in person, could I come in this afternoon to their shiny new centre in Dolman Road Chiswick. I met a doctor and had a quite comprehensive examination and very reassuring advice. I had expected this to be online as I had done once or twice but good to see her and raise a couple of other concerns. I commented how much I like this new approach and asked her if it worked from her end. Very much so, because it saves so much time for them (as well as me!). All GP services should be this way and I am very hopeful this will come soon. By the way, they are advertising for new patients and if you can get to Chiswick (and they take people from here) I heartily recommend them. I stayed with my old team when I moved to Brentford about 12 years ago and I feel lucky!
Of course, as soon as I set out home it started throwing it down so after a 15 minute bike ride I was thoroughly soaked. As I locked my bike up, the rain stopped.
On Tuesday evening it was the Council Meeting. Last time I could hear very little but this time I managed to get on the Loop system with my hearing aids and it was a revelation. Of course, it didn't improve the statements. questions, bandstanding etc but at least I could hear it.
On Wednesday I went to 'my' lodge - Lambert Lodge, the supported living place in Layton Road. I must ask the historians how the council managed to name it after me when nobody here had heard of me, but that is off-track. One of the residents there had been writing to me after being admitted to West Middlesex after, basically, overheating. Why did he overheat? Because the heating in his flat was on on the hottest day this year, with the thermostat (which he can't change) set at 34.5 degrees. He was treated in WM for a condition which was life-threatening, which is very bad to hear. He is OK now (albeit with some longer term issues ) and cheerful, as were the other residents I met at their coffee morning. But really, the council must get their act together.
One of the residents was responsible for LL winning a prize for gardening - well deserved. This must be one of the nicest gardens in Brentford.
In the evening I went to a presentation at the Brentford stadium. A general update for local people and councillors and an impressive presentation from Brentford FC Community Sports Trust. I love the people who work there for their genuine commitment to our town, and they are doing so much, especially for young people.
Brentford are proud of their community activities, which are more or less world leading. We should be too.
Today I went on a council housing inspection at Sidney Gardens and Holly House which straddle the station. Sidney is mainly OK though we spotted a couple of burrows in the grass verges.
We reckoned that might be Ratty and the officer with me will report it.
Holly House is another matter at all. There seems to have been no progress at all since the contractor went bust in April.
The scaffolding is still up, which makes the place dark and insecure (easy to climb, especially as there is even a ladder in place, albeit ineffectively locked). I first became really aware of the problems here when it came into my ward in May 2022. The works started soon after but they have not progressed at all for 4 months+ Many of the flats' doors have polythene sheets on them and a notice that says wet paint (if so it is very weird paint).
I discovered Brentford's only public toilet.
I am not nominating it for the Good Loo Guide but it is not as awful as I thought it might be!
I chatted briefly with a couple of residents and we agreed this is not good enough. I said I am doing what I can to get it fixed but they said (correctly) I need to try harder. I will.
OK a bit of other. I have been heartened by the number of Swans seen on my bit of the Brent this summer. One morning I counted 12 of them. Didn’t have my camera handy but here's a few of them.
Toodlepip
Councillor Guy Lambert
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