Forum Topics

Yes... Pigeon farm is Open To All.

There are undoubtedly many pigeons like Michael & Emma who will prefer Pigeon Farm to this website.This place is a bit rough and tumble.  And nobody here has got anything interesting to say.  Besides which, we're all a bit thick in the brain dept.  Even worse.. Shhh.. not everyone on here actually lives in Chiswick.Whereas everyone on Pigeon Farm is very clever, extremely interesting, and perfectly well mannered.  Pigeon Farm birds are polite and terribly nice to one another.Actually, there is a reason for this.  They all know one another.  They are the nucleus of the Forum Drinks crowd.  Not many.  A clique of about thirty regulars and a few hangers-on.Pigeon Farm represents the successful merger of their real lives in Chiswick - into a 24/7 internet Forum existence.  The coming together - perhaps the weird mass marriage - of a few pitiably dull, worryingly obsessive and often lonely lives..One day soon, cameras will be installed.  Toad will blow a kiss to Ding Dong before switching off his bedroom light.  Big Bertha will ask 100 people to 'excuse' her whilst she nips into her loo to do her private pigeon business.Maybe this is all a natural extension of the fashion for Reality Television.Perhaps this is what some nitwits have turned into..  Neither real people nor unreal people.  But pigeons.. living their life in the hinterland of cyber space...Big Brother meets Britain Has Talent meets I'm a Celebrity meets Toad Farm.Go Michael. And Emma.Hopefully it'll feel just like coming home...

Stuart Kerr ● 3551d25 Comments ● 2h

West mid hosp appts

A while ago I copped for skin cancer the melanoma one that loves getting in your brain and lungs and finishing you off.I was a lucky boy it never and has never got into my body  and everyday I thank my lucky stars.They check my moles on a regular basis.This next appt will be by phone only re covid19. Curious how they are going to scan my body as per usual appt. to check what has or not been occuring....well they arent are they.....Imagine being in the middle of Cancer treatment at the moment must be very worrying to say the least

Mick Collins ● 16h12 Comments ● 2h

Is this true or fake news

Is this article true or fake news, as I cannot find it anywhere else in the newshttps://metro.co.uk/2020/08/02/millions-50s-told-stay-home-uk-hit-second-wave-13071328/

Bernard Allen ● 10d12 Comments ● 2h

Road Closures who's really responsible

On the 8 Aug 2020 I answered a post on Occupation Lane closure on the Brentford Forum.Reply: the LBOH officers are not working for us, the Residents.So are they taking their instruction from a Councillors.I Thought, wrongly, that The LBOH Traffic officers were the people deciding where traffic measures were installed throughout the borough.Councillor Guy Lambert replied with this post.Reply:  They are working for local people via their democratically-elected representatives.I have interpreted Gut Lambert post to mean that the Councillors decide were the measures are going, then instruct the offices to implement their scheme.Other posters on this forum may think differently, but the traffic officers are not picking the roads to install traffic measures.

Bernard Allen ● 9h15 Comments ● 2h

Virtual Prudential RideLondon to go ahead 15 - 16 Aug

Virtual Prudential RideLondon to go ahead to help save UK’s charities 17 Jul 2020, 6 a.mThe first ever virtual edition of Prudential RideLondon – the world’s greatest festival of cycling – will take place on 15 and 16 August (the event weekend) to celebrate cycling and raise funds to help save the UK’s charities.My Prudential RideLondon is an exciting, free event that will enable riders of all ages and abilities to cycle a range of distances, based on the events included in the traditional Prudential RideLondon weekend from wherever they are in the world, have fun and raise crucial funds for their chosen charity.Hugh Brasher, Event Director of Prudential RideLondon, said: “After the disappointment of the cancellation of Prudential RideLondon, we were determined to create something special for our riders, partners and the hundreds of charities that rely on the event for vital income.“My Prudential RideLondon is building on the success of The 2.6 Challenge – created following the postponement of the London Marathon - which became the biggest collective fundraising effort in the world involving nearly 4,000 charities.“Charities desperately need help to continue to provide vital services to every sector of society and fund critical research. In this socially-distanced world, it’s also vitally important to encourage people to get on two wheels rather than use public transport. The My Prudential RideLondon campaign has been created to achieve both these aims.“My Prudential RideLondon is completely free and offers a fundraising challenge for everyone, whether that’s an amateur rider doing 100 miles or a family enjoying a 1km bike ride together. It can be done wherever you are and at any time on 15 or 16 August. Whatever you do, we urge you to raise funds for a charity of your choice – and have fun!”London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner Will Norman said: “The Mayor’s new Streetspace programme is already fast-tracking the transformation of streets across our city to enable many more people to walk and cycle. We have seen a huge increase in cycling over the past three months and we hope that My Prudential RideLondon will further motivate people up and down the country to make cycling part of their every day routine.”How it worksMy Prudential RideLondon includes four challenges for all ages and abilities which participants can do on a route of their choice, wherever they are in the world, on either 15 or 16 August:    • My Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100: 100-mile ride     • My Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 46: 46-mile ride     • My Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 19: 19-mile ride     • My Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle: An event that allows you to set your own challenge (starting from 1km) on the wheels of your choice: bikes, push scooters, skateboards, trikes, balance bikes, rollerskates, wheelchairs or anything that is self-propelled (e-bikes are fine too). Participants need to register in advance and select their challenge at www.myridelondon.co.uk. They can then start fundraising for their chosen charity or charities.The new My Prudential RideLondon app will be available to download in event week. This will give every participant and supporter a unique ride day experience, including:    • A GPS function that enables friends and family to follow a rider’s progress on the virtual Prudential RideLondon route     • Creation of a personalised Prudential RideLondon certificate that shows the rider’s completed route and ride time     • Selfie frames to give riders personalised Prudential RideLondon finisher photographs     • Direct donation button through to each rider’s Virgin Money Giving fundraising page In addition, every rider aged over 18 who registers will have the option of being entered into a fantastic competition that has 25 top-quality prizes available including a brand new Brompton bicycle valued at more than £1,000, a High5 nutrition bundle worth £250 and top-of-the-range cycling equipment including a SRAM groupset and Zipp wheels.Participants are asked to follow current Government guidelines on cycling. For more information, click here.Prudential RideLondon first took place in 2013 as a legacy event from the London 2012 Olympics. In its first seven editions, it has become the world’s greatest festival of cycling, with 100,000 riders of all ages and abilities participating in seven different events on traffic-free roads in London and Surrey. It has inspired hundreds of thousands of people to take up cycling or cycle more often and a total of more than £77 million has been raised for thousands of charities.www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/news-media/latest-news/virtual-prudential-ridelondon-to-go-ahead-to-help-save-uks-charities/www.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/info-hub/routes/

Bernard Allen ● 2d1 Comments ● 3h

B.B.C. Documentary.

I have been informed tonight by one of the actors in Dark Son-The Hunt For A Serial Killer that the 90 minute documentary about Abertillery-born killer Harold Jones and suspected killer of 8 women in the Hammersmith district of London between 1959 and 1965 is again available to watch on I.Player. Copy and paste link.https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0c062xj….

Neil Milkins ● 4d58 Comments ● 4h

Eat Out to Help Out - here's who is participating in Chiswick

This super helpful postcode checker lists which independent cafes and restaurants in Chiswick are participating in this great scheme that gives us 50 per cent off food and soft drinks up to £10 max discount per person each time. Use it as many times as you like on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout August. The government refunds the cafe/restaurant so it's a great chance for us to boost our local economy and especially our independents. Will you try somewhere new or stick to an old favourite? On your way there or back, will you drop into an independent shop you haven't been to before or know well? Our cafe, restaurant and shop owners have gone to great lengths to be COVID-19 secure, providing sanitisers, putting in screens by tills, managing social distancing by limiting numbers inside, reducing tables and spreading them out, and applying for licences for outdoor seating.  Do support them if you can.  Here's the postcode checker and there's a separate link for the chains (such as Fuller's): Find an independent cafe/restaurant near you: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/eat-out-to-help-out/find-a-restaurant/Find chains: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/eat-out-to-help-out/find-a-restaurant/restaurant-chainsMight see you in there (facing the trolls with their verbal rotten tomatoes and bags of flour, thrown even when there were shortages).

Joanna Biddolph ● 9d40 Comments ● 4h

..trying to herd cats IS futile..

Yesterday I was reading with mild sighs the well-intentioned but somewhat (alas) busybody thread about the old lady and her diamond rings.Then earlier today a few posters, quite rightly, try to persuade everyone to leave it alone and let it sink quietly down to the depths where it belongs.Can that be done?Can social media pussies ever be gently herded?Nah!Now, for the third and fourth time this morning, more local cats have come back for their own exclusive 'final' nibble -  sending the thread flying back to the top of the tree four more times..(After all, everyone has a right to an opinion.  It's our human right innit  ;-)Lesson 1c – Life's too short to ever attempt herding forum cats. Pigs will fly before that ever happens..PS:- If pussies really must - nibble on this instead (it's got essence of smoked salmon in it)..

Stuart Kerr ● 1d9 Comments ● 4h

We've built the app to shop local! ourhighroad.com

A couple of months ago we asked your opinion on bringing together our local independent retailers into a single shoppable app. The response was really positive from both locals and the retailers, so we went away and built it for Chiswick - with our first transactions over the weekend!We've now got our first 10 retailers live on the website (ourhighroad.com), with iOS & Android apps coming in a couple of weeks. There's hopefully already something for everyone, from The Italians to Japanese Knife Company, Esska Shoes to Chiswick Chillies. We've got lots more retailers & creators to add, but wanted to get live as soon as possible, so we can learn as people buy local and share their feedback - all while enjoying something delicious from Outsider Tart! Please let us know your thoughts, so we can improve it for the community: please comment here, on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ourhighroadhq/ or e-mail directly: hello@ourhighroad.com We really appreciate the support and look forward to hearing from you soon.Chris & Ami

Chris Cole ● 6h2 Comments ● 6h

Bread Ahead and Hush Hush

We have tried both of these over the past few days and I have to say that they are both fabulous. Really pleased to see new ventures opening on the High Street, sort of gives you hope for the future.

Chris Blackwell ● 3d12 Comments ● 6h

Book required.

My husband needs Elton John's book, 'Me'  for a book club reading. He tried the library to no avail.  Does anyone have a copy that they'd be willing to sell for a reasonable price, say £10? Many thanks.

Kathryn Pearce ● 1d11 Comments ● 6h

Face Masks

Please wear a face mask on buses/ and in shops, also a mask does not mean you can put your face into somebody's else face areaA mask will keep most of us alive

William Leask ● 2d31 Comments ● 7h

Scandal of empty bowls green in Gunnersbury Park

As visitors to this forum know, Gunnersbury Park Bowls Club was kicked out to make way for a golf activity, which, apparently, couldn't be accommodated anywhere else in the park. However, the planning application was turned down and the green has been left abandoned.When I heard that, with lockdown being eased, it was deemed safe to have bowling roll-ups, observing social distance, I asked Gunnersbury Park if they would allow us to use the green for the next couple of months. We wouldn't be in anybody's way or stopping anything since nothing is going on. The reason they gave for saying no is laughable:'we do not have the staff to ensure the green would be safe to use'.There never was any staff doing that before! Is there staff ensuring that the rest of Gunnersbury Park is safe to use? A little goodwill would have allowed us oldies a bit of exercise to get our knees working again. But no, it's best that the green should remain there, empty and unused. This is the 'Community' Interest Company!

Bela Cunha ● 41d21 Comments ● 8h

Begging on the high rd and Richmond

This morning they are out in numbers I see that  a pco asked one man to leave and take ur sister with you That was the high rdRichmond has many as well

Jon morris ● 2d6 Comments ● 8h

Cooling mat for pets

Good evening allI’m about to spontaneously combust! 🥵Has anyone bought a cooling mat for a cat? Is so, have they used it?

Georgina Flint ● 1d16 Comments ● 9h

Hammersmith Bridge

Thank God the deputy leader of Richmond Council, Alexander Ehmann, is putting pressure on housing ministers for failing to do anything about Hammersmith Bridge!  That is what we should be lending support for here, rather than seeing no further than carving up Chiswick into a sad and sorry place that no sane person would want to live in.

Rae Lewis ● 6d24 Comments ● 10h

Gunnersbury Park Bowls Club

Some readers may have read the very sad and alarming news that the bowling green at Gunnersbury Park is to be "repurposed" as a putting green (also known as a crazy golf course).Much has changed since the incorporation of the Community Interest Company (CIC) in 2015. In that year, as part of a leisure strategy for the Park, it was stated that "the location of the bowls club and its green is seen as a positive to the scheme in terms of development of the club, membership and participation. For example use of the sports hall for indoor short matt bowls and general increase in footfall to the site. The councils have met with the bowls club committee and will continue to work together in developing these proposals."There is no question that the CIC faces formidable financial challenges, greatly exacerbated by the Covid crisis and by the fire at the cafe. However other significant problems, including the one year delay in the completion of the Sports Hub, appear to be due to poor project management rather than to bad luck.The CIC is a not-for-profit community interest company set up to manage Gunnersbury Park and Museum. The CIC is managed by a board of 6 people, supported by an executive arm comprising the CEO and other salaried staff. Amongst other things a CIC is statutorily responsible for ensuring that the company is run in a way that satisfies the community interest test. In practice, this means that it may be required to give more weight to the interests of the community than to financial returns although, like any other company, it is required to remain solvent.A matter of very significant public concern is the "democratic deficit" which characterises the CIC's activities. This is manifested in a lack of transparency, accountabilty, and reluctance to engage with the community. For example, the CIC publishes no lists of meeting dates, agendas, minutes, or agreed action points.This latest announcement by the CIC presages the wanton destruction of a precious community facility which was founded in 1931 and which could still be reinstated. It is clear that the CIC is bent on the cynical engineering of a situation whereby they hope that a planning permission for a cafe/restaurant at the bowling club pavilion will be be granted in due course.Descriptions of events over recent years have been characterised by misunderstandings, blatant misinformation and, like any other sports club, some internal dissension. At the end of its life the Bowling Club had 25 members, of which 22 were active. The Club was fully aware of the need to grow its membership, of all ages. To this end, the CIC were approached and a strategy was presented to them. A 2-year plan, allowing for completion of the new Sports Hub building, then 1 year exposure to all the visitors to the Hub, and then 1 year of open days and free training and associated publicity. It was felt that as a result the membership could easily be raised to 60 or more particularly as there were positive signs of a revival in the sport.The CIC rejected the plan out of hand.The club was given notice to quit the site by 9 January 2020. The CIC had reneged on an agreed extension of the Licence to Occupy and thereby forced the departure of the bowls club.All of those involved in the CIC's decision should hang their heads in shame. Brentford Voice wishes to do all in its very limited power to rescue the situation. To that end we would welcome any comments, suggestions, and expressions of support.Please post your replies on this Forum or send an email to info@brentfordvoice.co.uk

Jim Storrar ● 1d11 Comments ● 11h

Devonshire road camera

A Serco mobile car with cameras was positioned in Devonshire road right on the corner after glebe street turning around 5pm.I stopped and watched for 5 mins and i counted 6 cars drive in and down so they will be getting a fine in the post.As its LBH i guess TGT will soon be on the list. Fisher's lane may be a permanent camera I am thinking

Julian Pavey ● 1d27 Comments ● 12h

Fines re driving restrictions

Has anybody been fined yet for driving up or down Turnham Green Ter and the Fishers Lane Underpass?

c james ● 3d56 Comments ● 15h