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Free film screening @ the Docking Station, Brentford.  This Sat 7.15 p.m

You are invited to a film screening of a groundbreaking new documentary.The Crisis of Civilization@ the Docking Station,108 High Street, BrentfordSaturday 3rd March, 7.15 p.m.Hosted by Transition Brentford.Entry is free (or with a donation).  There are a limited number of chairs available so please bring a cushion to sit on.There will be a Q&A session after the screening with two of the makers of the film: Dean Puckett and Lucca Benney.About the film: The Crisis of Civilization is a remix documentary feature film investigating how global crises like ecological disaster, financial meltdown, dwindling oil reserves, terrorism and food shortages are converging symptoms of a single, failed global system.Hope to see you there! Brentford Transitioners.

Transition Brentford ● 5361d2 Comments ● 5361d

Sad news about Brentford Festival cancellation

One of the highlights of the Brentford community calendar, the Brentford Festival, which takes place on the first Sunday in September, has been cancelled because of a dispute over charges.  The Hounslow Chronicle reports today that John Laing, which is contracted by Hounslow Council to manage its parks, demanded £671 from festival organisers, the Friends of Boston Manor Park, to run the event. However, an inside source confirmed that the charges demanded were actually over £6,000, a figure the voluntary group could not afford to pay. This is a scandalous example of a private company trying to make a profit from a community event. Sadly, deadlines for booking acts, caterers etc. have now been missed, which means that even if the dispute is sorted out, the event is unlikely to take place.  However, the Friends of Boston Manor are calling on local residents to contact their councillors to express their disappointment, in the hope that the Festival can take its rightful place at the heart of the Brentford calendar in 2013!

Peter McGovern ● 5373d71 Comments ● 5362d

Flat Pack Help needed

HiCan u put together Flat pack furniture?Ive a 4 drawer bedroom cabinet i need putting together..Can u help will pay for HelpThanks

Simon Anderson ● 5363d0 Comments ● 5363d

Why would you?

Just perusing the Chronicle whilst still bleary-eyed this morning for some reaason I looked at the Public Notices when I spied something about Mogden Lane. It seems for some obscure reason known only to the people who inhabit planet Traffic there are to be 4 - yes, 4 more speed humps installed in Mogden Lane at the junctions with Beaumont Close, Trevor Close, Briar Close and Manns Close (this one complete with apostrophe?!!) The longest of these humps is to be 9.5 metres. This part of Mogden Lane is often backed up with traffic caused by the daft arragement at the junction with Twickenham Rd. because traffic that wants to turn left on the filter light cannot do so because of the traffic waiting to turn right being down to one lane only. There is an ambulance station nearby also of course Twickenham Stadium, plus this is a bus route too. So why do there need to be traffic calming measures? If Hounslow has money to burn can't they do something about the increasingly poor state of the road surface in Whitton Dene, or even the cycle track which is pretty poor, or even somewhere for the delivery lorries for Tesco to park up as they often cause a problem. Or what we could do with is for the road layout at the junction with Twickenham Road to be looked at to avoid the back ups. Objections to these proposed Traffic Orders can be sent to the Director of Environment Michael Jordan, Ref: TMO/P002/12 by March 16th. The existing speed humps in Whitton Dene must be the biggest waste of money ever, as they do nothing and most people drive around them, but is there anything to enable pedestrians to cross to Tesco? - no, of course not. If anyone can explain to me why this is necessary I'd love to hear as I use Mogden Lane frequently and I just cannot see any rhyme or reason for this ridiculous colossal waste of money.

Vanessa Smith ● 5364d15 Comments ● 5363d

Beige cat run over and killed ealing road near Brentfrd FC

Just a note to say there is a cat that has been killed, looks likely it was hit by a car. It has beige fur, dark brown around the head, dark brown/black tail.Sorry to post this news if it is your cat.The cat is in the road near the first 65 bus stop after the railway bridge, going towards McDonalds.

Silvia Diaz ● 5364d1 Comments ● 5363d

New Blog on Local Area.. any ideas?

Hi All,I am looking to start up a blog about Brentford/Kew and Chiswick past. The idea is that I will be making posts on all eras, but I am particularly interested in the war years and would like contributers to post memories and photos if you have any, so that it is interactive and we could start discussions.Any feedback on the idea? Would you use it, is it even a good idea?! I look forward to your views. Thanks, j

J lawrenson ● 5364d0 Comments ● 5364d

Heathrow Trial - Changes in Operating Procedures

BAA have put up a new document athttp://noise.heathrowairport.com/assets/Internet/Heathrow_noise/Assets/Downloads/Statics/Runway_Operating_Procedures.pdfthat tries to explain what the conditions for triggering the suspension of runway alternation were before the current trial and are now while the trial is in progress.The surprising thing to me, which I hadn't picked up before, is that, under the current trial, the delay or anticipated arrival delay can be made up of time in the stack AND delays occurring at the originating airport. So if JFK doesn't get its act together, then the residents of West London may get the disruption !The other thing that the note does is confirm the strange lax conditions for non-trial TEAM in the period between 0630 and 0700 when only an anticipated 5 minute delay is enough to provoke the use of both runways. During the day , in the trial, it is supposed to be 10 minutes and outside the trial 20 minutes.

Tim Henderson ● 5433d7 Comments ● 5367d

Change to new parking regulations, Lionel Road North

Found a note on my car this afternoon.  Following 'issues' arising from the recent parking ban on the pavement it has now been decided to allow parking half-on, half-off until a full investigation has taken place.  I cannot tell you my relief.  It has been frightening at times trying to get up and down the road since the ban.  Here's hoping that sensible thought and discussion will now be applied.  Having parked half on, half on, alongside Gunnersbury Park I have still been able to leave a space on the pavement wide enough for either two wheelchairs or puschairs to pass eachother.Of course, this still doesn't solve the problems for parents of children at Lionel Primary.  Surely making stretch of roadside directly alongside the school a 30 minute only zone Mon-Friday schooltimes would be a good way forward? Just a thought!

Julia Blades ● 5369d4 Comments ● 5368d

It is official - OAP's in this Country are having way too much fun....

'Pensioners should be stripped of winter fuel allowance and free bus travel because it costs too much, a leading think tank has claimed. The Social Market Foundation (SMF) claims that the £1billion annual cost of OAP bus travel does nothing to improve the economy and should be cut by the government as it tries to slash spending.'Sigh.

Sarah Felstead ● 5370d14 Comments ● 5368d

New Parking Regulations in Lionel Road North

I was about to park my car the other day, half-on and half-off the pavement as I have every day for the past 16 years, when a neighbour told me that this was now an offence and he had just got a parking ticket for doing so. Why on earth do bureacrats feel that they have to change something which has worked perfectly well for 20+ years to replace it with a "new" system which is both dangerous and pointless. Under the old system there was plenty of room for two vehicles to pass comfortably. Under the "new" system there isn't (my wing mirror has already suffered a bang from an unknown vehicle while parked) and the rush hour traffic queue at the traffic lights has now become a full-scale traffic jam down the full length of the road. What do the idiot traffic planners think will happen if an emergency vehicle needs access via Lionel Road North? People will die - that is what will happen! Why can't these morons leave things that work perfectly well alone? If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it!Incidentally, why were the people who live down the cul-de-sacs not notified by letter about the change. My neighbour only found out when he received a ticket. I only found out because he told me. Idiocy compounded by laziness!!!!!

Mick Brent ● 5375d10 Comments ● 5370d

March to save St. John's Community Centre - Saturday, 19th November - 10.30 am

St. John's Community Centre in St. John's Road, Isleworth, home to over 30 community user groups, is under threat of closure. Under the previous council administration of 2006-2010 plans by senior officers to close this valuable facility were halted by ICG councillors who refused to allow it to happen, but now the new administration has agreed "in principle" to close the Centre and sell it for development.Residents and users will be marching from the Centre this Saturday, 19th November at 10.30 am to register our protest. Please come and join us and sign up with Save St. John's Community Centre at http://www.facebook.com/groups/177953808961362/

Phil Andrews ● 5466d26 Comments ● 5370d

Con Letters

These are letter revieved by me and my aunt, both living at different addresses with different surnames. Please beaware and do not do this as i believe it is a con

Diane Newman ● 5375d5 Comments ● 5372d

Shopping, Customer Service GRRRR

One of my daughters bought me some M & S suede moccasin slippers at Christmas along with the receipt should I wish to exchange or return them.  Last week I finally got round to wearing them so threw away the receipt.  Yesterday my toe poked through the top of them where the stitching appeared to have vanished and the suede appeared to have perished.  Today I returned them to M&S and was told it looked like "wear & tear".  I pointed out that it was obvious these were brand new as they were spotless inside and out and a weeks wear was not acceptable for slippers that cost £19.  The assistant went off to speak to a manager (who remained out of sight) and came back saying they would have to go off for examination as it looked as though the damage was deliberate!Needless to say I was extremely put out and have already emailed & written to M&S to express my feelings.  Who knows what the response will be but I know I will be giving the wonderful M&S a wide berth from now on.  Having been probably one of their best customers for too many years to mention I have never ever been accused of deliberately destroying something that may have been faulty.I then stopped to look at watches in H Samuel's window - within seconds a gentleman came out of the shop to ask me if I was alright and could he help me with anything".  Since I was already annoyed I let him have it both barrels.  I asked weather I was allowed to look in the window and told him if I wanted help with anything I would ask for it.  He apologised and said "we have been told to approach customers".  I said I was not a customer I was merely looking inI e window.  I pointed out that in my opinion that was the surest to scare off any potential customer and flounced off where the experience was repeated when I looked in Ernest Jones' window and where I repeated my feelings to the female assistant that came out of the shop to drag me in.I have long been suppressing the urge to tongue lash the many hapless shop assistants that have for some time now been driving me bonkers in shops by approaching me with the immortal words "are you alright".  The last time was in Monsoon and I said "no - please call me an ambulance I can't be well because in every shop I have been in someone has asked if I am alright".  Needless to say the assistant was flumoxed.Last week my two sisters and me stopped to look at the menu in the window of the Greyhound pub in Kew only for the barmaid to appear asking if she could get us anything? I know we are in a recession and times are hard for shops but I wont be responsible for my actions if this gets any worse or.... is it just me?The final straw was when I discovered that my brand of cigarettes has been discontinued after 40 odd years of smoking St Moritz - woe betide anyone that upsets me now.

Bernadette Paul ● 5377d14 Comments ● 5372d

St Lawrence Church

I noticed some hoardings have recently been put around part of St Lawrence Church at the entrance to Brentford Dock - does anybody know if it has been purchased/what's happening here?

Lydia Fowles ● 5373d0 Comments ● 5373d

Auditions Theatre West 4

Open auditions are being held by Theatre West 4, Chiswick's leading amateur drama society for Jimmie Chinn's play 'Straight and Narrow' this Sunday 19th 3pm and next Thursday 23rd 8 pm at The Friendship Club, Age Concern, Oxford Road North, W4.  The play si to be performed in May at the Questors Studio, W5.  Jimmie who passed away last year, a very popular local playwright lived in Hounslow and part of the profits will be donated to The British Lung Foundation, the chairty who looked after Jimmy during his long illness.  Just turn up or see www.theatrewestfour.co.uk for more info.

Frederik Mauwer ● 5373d0 Comments ● 5373d

Rear alleyway

I live in a terraced property in Brentford and at the rear of my property there is an alleyway.  When I moved in a few years ago it was clear and gave access to the garden at the rear of my property.However, over the last year or so, lots of rubbish has been dumped there (I do not know who by) drinks cans, a christmas tree, boxes, broken fences etc. and now it is nearly impossible to get to my back gate.I contacted the council and they said they were not able to help me as was private property - but who does it belong to then? I am reluctant to pay to get it cleared, mainly because I didn't make the mess, but also because it is likely to just happen again!Many of the surrounding properties are rented properties, so the tenants are not really concerned about it being messy or the likelihood of rats.  Does anyone have any advice/suggestions to my problem?  Does anyone else have this problem?  What have they done about this issue?Many Thanks

V Gough ● 5410d11 Comments ● 5373d

Con Letters

These are letters revieed by me and my aunt both living at different addresses with different surnames. Please beaware. I had good lough at the letters. You can see they are com letters

Diane Newman ● 5375d9 Comments ● 5373d

disrupted Sky TV signal

Is anyone else affected by overhead flights interrupting the Sky TV signal?Every time a plane goes overhead, the signal is disrupted.  Recently with increased flights this has become more and more irritating.Does anyone else have this issue? Have they found a solution? Contacted Sky? been compensated etc.(Yes, we have contacted Sky, they say we are very unlucky with our location as flights cross 70% of the signal and nothing they can do, was a known problem before they installed - would have been nice to know beforehand!!)Many Thanks in advanceV

V Gough ● 5373d2 Comments ● 5373d

Sean Penn is a moron

Absolutely furious to read in the paper today that Sean Penn that well known loudmouth thinks that the U.K. are displaying "ridiculous colonialism" over The Falklands. He's sucking up to the Argentine President, he thinks we should engage in "dialogue". I suggest he visits the islands and asks the people who live there what they would like. I seem to remember that 30 years ago the residents made it quite clear they want to be British, and if they change their minds I'm sure we'd clear off, they haven't, so we can't. As someone in the paper wrote last week, these people will never understand the British, we do not give in to bullies but we do know when to bow out.

Vanessa Smith ● 5376d31 Comments ● 5373d

Brentford High Street Re-opened 15/02/12

Walked past earlier.  The road is open again & hopefully traffic hell is over for a while!

Lydia Fowles ● 5374d2 Comments ● 5374d