Forum Topics

Falling Income and Rising Prices Will Widen the Gap in2012

Another Banking Big-Wig walks away with Millions,and the B/Gas announces its massive Profits in Millions in the middle of a Double-dip Depression that justifies the most severe Austere measures for the deprived and the un-employed. I am asked to Celebrate the Olympics and cheer the Torch runners. The SACRED flame will be out of sight soon but the Misery of this mismanaged Nation will stay with us long into the Next year. Pardon me if I don't feel like cheering just yet. The Govt will be taliking all day about it and then decide that nothing can be done,before they return from their long Holiday.

Os A Whittle ● 5208d0 Comments ● 5208d

THEY HAVE FEET OF CLAY WHEN THEY HAVE TO DO THE RIGHT THING

In parliament they speak with Fire in their Belly ,but when the need to act confronts the high and mighty, they stand with feet of Clay. Strikers in the Border Protection Force and the Immigration Service was inevitable when the government promised Olympic pay for the Tube Drivers and the Bus Drivers.The people who govern us almost invited workers discontent.They showed weakness with the Bankers-Tube drivers -Bus Drivers -G4s- and what now?Squeeze the deprived -unemployed and pensioners even more.? Thousands of our Soldiers are now without work and joining them are Police Cut backs. The NHS are facing cuts too.Austerity for the ordinary folk but Millions for the Un-Touchables. We have no alternative but to put on a brave face and weather the Storm. Good Luck dear Country-men,we are in it together.

Os A Whittle ● 5214d9 Comments ● 5209d

Chiropody pedicure - any good places?

Hi, I need a chiropody pedicure before my hols. Anyone any ideas of a good place to go for one? Thanks

Penny Crocker ● 5211d2 Comments ● 5210d

Closure of the Ealing Equality Council

I'm slightly horrified that the closure of this organisation is happening with so little fuss. It's a charity that provides free legal advice to people within the borough and has been doing so for mre than 40 years. The council have taken against it for political reasons, as far as I can tell, and have awarded funding to an organisation that uses civilian (CAB) advice instead and which has absolutely no presence in the borough and knows absolutely nothing about our affairs. I think those of us who don't rely on such services need to be aware of what the council is doing in our name against the rest of us who really do need the EEC to survive. Campaigns with councillors etc have failed largely, I think, because those of us taking the decisions do not need to rely on the service.

Daniella Gluck ● 5215d9 Comments ● 5213d

Citizens Advice to return to Ealing

From Ealing Council's website"Organisations will now be invited to bid to run a Citizen’s Advice type service which will offer broadly the same type of help and advice as Law for All which went into administration last summer. The new service will initially be set up under a one year contract, with the option to extend for a further year if necessary"This really is a great piece of news.However does the Council realise that usually there is a significant difference between what a Law centre does (with qualified solicitors) and what a CAB does which very rarely has qualified solicitors?And providing funding for just one year (or even two) is a nasty little mean minded joke. The Borough has some of the most deprived areas in the whole country. This should be a long term project.

George Knox ● 5398d12 Comments ● 5213d

Where to go

My ten year old grandson is staying with me on Friday & Saturday I am at a loss of where to take him I don't want to go into "tourist" London. Has anyone any suggestions? Thanks

Susan Norris ● 5213d2 Comments ● 5213d

Vixen in back garden old coal shed

How does one remove a fox - it is either a Vixen or a mature cub?  It has set up home among the old coal and won't move regardless of the noise and banging we do.  The problem is that the entrance to the shed is down a very narrow passageway, thus no escape route if we are down there - thus she may feel cornered and attack.  I don't have any objection to her staying there if it wasn't for our dog who does seem to object. I wouldn't like to see a confrontation between the two - my bets would probably be on the fox.  For now, we will have to keep the dog out on a leash, so he doesn't go back there, but that is not a solution for any extended time.  Any suggestions - humane ones only please.

Charles Campbell ● 5219d3 Comments ● 5213d

Free legal advice in Ealing

Ealing council has just awarded a contract to provide free legal advice to London borough of Ealing residents to a company in Kensington and Chelsea. What do they know about demand here in Ealing, considering they are sharing their area with 3 other free providers and their office is only open 3x a week for half day advice sessions.And what about Ealing Equality Council at the Lido centre? They've been doing it, full time, for over 30 years and have recently started well attended outreach clinics all over the borough. And they cover all areas not just debt, benefits and housing.Considering the support Ealing Equality Council has from local people, local councillors, barristers, QCs, senior figures in local politics and a long standing relationship with the University of West London, it's a bit odd.Thousands have received free legal advice and help every year from them, why go elsewhere?

Barbara Karayi ● 5220d14 Comments ● 5213d

Port Eliot Fetival

Fancy camping in Cornwall this weekend? 2 x adult weekend tickets for Port Eliot festival 20 - 22nd July to include camping. Purchased for £115 each (early bird price) , now £150 each but selling the 2 for £190 ono. Would love to be using them buy child has ear ache and so cannot go..... Call 07815 135 289. Fully transferable tickets.

Rosie Blair ● 5214d0 Comments ● 5214d

Human Right to claim benefits!!!

Newspaper article on Thursday 12 July.Human Rights law will be extended to include the right to claim benefits and enjoy a comfortable standard of living courtesy of the taxpayer under plans unveiled last night.A Government panel of experts is considering whether Labour's Human Rights Act - which is already hugely hugely controversial- should be extended to include so-called 'socio-economic rights'. This would allow the jobless to take the Government to court if ministers did not provide a minimum standard of living,Earlier this week, a report by the Josephh Rowntree Foundation suggested a family of four needed an income of almost £37,000 to have a satisfactory lifestyle.The 'Commission on a Bill of Rights' was set up by David Cameron to end the rampant abuse of human rights laws. Originally the PM had pledged to scrap Labour's Act and replace it with a UK Bill of Rights, which would stop the system being abused by criminals and those who refuse to work. But after being forced in to a coalition with the Lib Dems he had to downgrade his pledge, instead, he established the commission to decide the best way forward. Yesterday, despite deliberating for 15 months, the panel said it had not decided whether to recommend any change to the Act.The article goes on and on - but to get to the point - can we really afford to give the jobless a comfortable standard of living when money is tight and benefits are being cut for old and young alike?This Human Rights Law seems to have caused more problems than anything else! Surely something has got to give?

Jean F Fernandez ● 5220d32 Comments ● 5214d

Cleaners highly recommended

Halina and her daughter Alina  have either together or individually been helping me for the last 11 years. They are very efficient, reliable and conscientious and do an excellent job. Halina has recently returned after a spell in Poland and they are looking for more general cleaning work and /or ironing. I would like to recommend them. Alina's mobile is 07809636068 and I am happy to give formal references.Susan Deans

Susan Deans ● 5270d6 Comments ● 5214d

Window Cleaner Info

Hi, have messed up window cleaning dates and was wondering if somebody has the phone number of Emil a Bulgarian Window Cleaner who works around Northfields? Many thanks!

Olga Salazar-Creighton ● 5214d0 Comments ● 5214d

Wagamama and Yo Sushi soon in Ealing

You will find them in the soon to be revamped up high street down Marks & spencers road, the current dull arches will completely be refurbished with better streetscape and lighting

Charles Asante ● 5219d18 Comments ● 5214d

Recommend a builder/brick layer in Northfields

Hi AllCan you suggest a builder/bricklayer for a small wall rebuild in Northfields area?It's too small a job for DG Brickwork and my usual builder.CheersMark

Mr M.Smith ● 5215d0 Comments ● 5215d

DRAYTON MANOR CAR BOOT IS ON SAT 21ST

At the end of Greenford Avenue.  7am-12.30.  All volunteer run and all proceeds to the school for the children.  Teas/loos/Thai food/Ice creams/cakes.  Lots of buyers and sellers. Good atmosphere.

Jools Lewis ● 5215d0 Comments ● 5215d

Urgently needed - gardener/handyman

Can anyone recommend someone who is able to pull dead ivy out of a tall tree, erect trellising on a garden wall, plant some fast-growing climbers and tidy up a hatchet job done by another gardener?

Linda Thorpe ● 5221d1 Comments ● 5215d

Walpole Park unfit for torch

I noticed that the media were out and about in Walpole park taking pictures and talking to various people about the state of Walpole park.Largely from the rain but much of it is in a real state and far from the kind of standard that will showcase to the world in just a weeks time.Vehicle have churned up the pathsides and I watched in disbelief as they filmed Enterprises vehicles driving over the grass and cutting the path corners. The sloppiness displayed was appalling and to do it in front of cameras was even more galling.The place smells of raw sewage and it looks really dishevelled.One parks person interviewed said it has not really recovered from the annual festivals and with the Olympic Torch a unique occasion, the Festivals should have been relocated for this year to a site like Ealing Common to allow the park to have been spruced up regardless of the weather. Wise words. So why did this not get considered given that the park has suffered a bit in recent summers?

Michael Brandt ● 5216d7 Comments ● 5215d

Labour Councilllor Noori breaches Code of Conduct

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=13&ved=0CE8QFjACOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ealing.gov.uk%2Fdownload%2Fdownloads%2Fid%2F4396%2Fealing_councils_standards_committee&ei=VWIGUKmOF43htQaPqJTaBg&usg=AFQjCNH0kx5sAmRuwpppSompakEZm5Q2Aw

George Knox ● 5216d8 Comments ● 5215d

Is it ok to imply the Irish are Thick

I went to a council meeting last night. I won't make that mistake again. If you have ever seen Prime Ministers Questions and didn't like it because of all the shouting and general childish behaviour, then you will hate this. I was expecting to hear a debate on compensating residents because of the poor service we now get from the rubbish collection company, but that never happened. There was a vote at the start of the meeting to change the agenda, then another vote after half eight and for some reason the debate never happened. I have no idea why. Anyways there was a debate where the Labour councillors who spoke praised themselves and the Conservative Councillors who spoke criticised them. Again, not sure what it was all about. I think Labour were saying this is how well we have done so far and the Conservatives said this is how bad you are. At one point in the debate, one of the Conservative Councillors spoke only to be mocked by one of the Labour ones who thought he would shout abuse at him in a mock Irish accent. The implication was that the Conservative Councillor didn't have a clue what he was talking about because he was Irish. Most of the Labour Councillors, not all, thought this was hilarious. I didn't. It may be that the Conservative Councillor is a bit thick, but to link this to his being Irish is not on. In this day and age, stereotying people like this is not on. For that reason, I won't be attending council meetings again.

Mark Stevens ● 5251d52 Comments ● 5216d

Tickets to see Claude Bourbon in Brentford this Friday!

Hi everyone, there's a competition on the front of BrentfordTW8.com to win tickets to this gig on Friday: Lovely to meet some of you at the Ian Mc Nabb gig the other week hopefully see you again on Friday - here are the details cut and pasted from the Brentford site:Claude Bourbon headlines his own show at Brentford's Docking Station on 20th July - this will be a fantastic night of acoustic music with special guests Andrew Prince and Anthea Neads, courtesy of Helen Martin Productions.From the press re Claude: "This finger picking guitarist has performed and studied all over the world; he has crafted an unbelievable fusion of classical and jazz, with ethereal Eastern influences, Spanish and Latin elements with strains of Western folk.…This accomplished artist offers tender, compelling performance through highly developed precision. His sound instantly creates ambience – from haunting Spanish moods to lyrical, romantic jazz, Claude Bourbon provides both a rich evening of music for lovers, and a real treat for music lovers…”, BBC, UK. Read more about him and listen to some of his music  here.Special guests Anthea Neads and Andy Prince will bring us an innovative mix of folk-rock, 60s psychedelia and contemporary influences, featuring striking vocals and lyrical basslines. See their website Anthea Neads and Andy Prince for music clips, album reviews and more!Tickets are £8 in advance and will be £10 on the door.e-mail info@helenmartinproductions for more information or to buy tickets in advance.To win a pair of tickets email info@neighbournet.com the answer to:Who is Claude's favorite British Guitarist?One winner from each of Brentford, Chiswick and Ealing sites will win a pair of tickets. Entrants must be registered with one of the sites.

Helen Martin ● 5217d0 Comments ● 5217d