Blog 511 8th January 2026

Still feels slightly fraudulent to write 2026. What happened in 1926? That was sightly before I was born. Well, quite a bit actually and my late mum was only 9 and my late father 17 in 1926 so they would have been struggling. What happened was the General Strike. I doubt the centenary will not be remembered by a repeat performance but these are difficult times.

For some reason Googling 1926 raises the matter of the Tolpuddle Martyrs who seem to have been in the news nearly 100 years earlier and I confess the Tolpuddle Martyrs are reminiscent in my tiny mind of a 'quarrel in a faraway count(r)y (Dorset) between people of whom we know nothing'. I should probably be ashamed of that (I'm not in fact) but looking I find there is a museum in Tolpuddle and this feels like somewhere I might visit when I have an empty day (will take over 2 hours to get there but sometimes a chap needs a bit of change of scenery)

Back to the modern day.

On Sunday I attended the Green Party monthly meeting down in the South Street Cafe in Isleworth. It is a whole world away from Labour party meetings, partly because only a dozen usually turn up out of our burgeoning membership which has more than doubled in the last few months. Quite challenging for the people who've been members for a while because as well as having to deal with me they/we are working out how to welcome newcomers (quite a few were online as well as the dozen in attendance) but it seems the Russians had cut off the internet in Isleworth. Or maybe it was the far more sinister BT.

Green meetings are genuinely comradely and have room for disagreement, a proper debate, a decision and respectful acceptance of decisions. A far cry from the Labour party as it seems to be now, especially within the council, and very refreshing.

I realised whilst transversing Syon Park that my cycle lights had failed. It is very dark normally in the park though there was a stunning moon taking the edge off it. But cycling without lights is probably illegal and certainly alarming so I made tracks to Brentford Bike Works on Monday morning. Immediate and very competent and economical service, and y bike is back shipshape and the lights fixed. They need to update their website though, as they are now in Bradshaw Yard next to Mother Rugger and opposite Morrisons https://www.brentfordbicycleworks.co.uk/

It is a joy to have this little shop of various treasures in the otherwise largely empty south of the High Street. My hairdresser Bea has still not opened - still navigating the bureaucracy - and we still have only 2 of the 12 shops in the council block occupied a year after ALbany Parade was evicted. Still only 3 listed by the estate agent Levy despite there are at least 7 nearly invisible to rent notices in the windows. I still suspect there are 9 without a tenant despite having been told a year ago that all 12 units had tenants committed. I know retail is difficult but I see zero enthusiasm at the council to make this change and this is sucking the life out of our town.

Talking of which, we have the Area Forum coming up on next Tuesday at the Free Church from 6.30 pm. One of two things on the agenda (the other is an update on the smokefree Generation Campaign which will be new to me) is an update on Brentford High Street/Brentford Project. Of course Brentford Project is Ballymore's marketing name for their development so I hope we hear a lot more about the rest of the High Street. Time will tell.

Apropos of the Area Forum, I have written to the council Leader Shantanu asking him to review the appointment of the Chair and Vice Chair of the Brentford and Syon Area Forum. I have no personal issues with the incumbents, but both of them live at the far end of the borough and both have been selected to stand in May in wards local to where they live. They have no stake in the future of Brentford, unlike me and my running mate for the Greens Rashid Wahab who both live in Brentford, me in the Syon and Brentford Lock ward and Rashid in Brentford East. We are both passionate about the town (in case you hadn't noticed!) Shantanu is yet to respond but I can't say I am hopeful. Others also have much more invested emotionally and financially in our town and I think it s plain wrong for councillors who are jumping ship still having their hands on the tiller.

This week I had an update on the future of Junction 2 and Paradise in the City festivals in Boston Manor Park, together with Salman Shaheen, Brentford resident and Cabinet member for Culture and Parks - very relevant portfolio and Salman is one of the cabinet members, like Katherine, who reacts to questions with answers, which is a very welcome exception! I can't yet say what is planned but I have been promised a publishable statement very soon from the council director who is responsible. I think it will be seen as good news for those who live in the vicinity.

No good news for those who the council are being persecuted with no justifcation by the council for (not) flytipping. I finally got a response from the cabinet member Pritam Grewal: “Thank you for your email Cllr Lambert, contents have been noted and are been dealt with”. I’m an old moaner I suppose, but I didn’t think that told me anything at all!

On Tuesday we had a terrible blizzard in Brentford.

Don't be mean, there are definitely snowflakes in that picture I can count nearly 20 of them. Some idiots are calling for more global warming.

I bought some weird stuffing for Christmas but none of us thought much of it. I have attracted an audience on my balcony with it - what I think was a great tit, and definitely a pair (thankfully) of magpies.

I also had a session at Studio Flox, where the excellent Kal continues her upholstery etc trade and attract other practical artistic types. I have a venerable leather jacket that I bought with an 80% discount (!) in a sale at a smart fat man's shop about 20 years ago. It has been feeling its years but I still love it so it will be remodelled by Mary, who does remodelling of old togs (very Green!) and now has a residency in Studio Flox on Tuesdays from 2 to 4.

Apart from that I have been doing my usual casework and getting towards the swing of campaigning for re-election in May, different in Green where we don't have the money and experienced organisers that old parties like Labour and Coservative have. And we don't have people from Thailand sending us £9M like Reform, that 'patriotic' party (and we'd send them away if they came with their cheques!)

It's a scary time in the world and I have trouble keeping up to date with the news. I am not unsympathetic with Starmer and other statespeople in Europe trying to walk a tightrope between hating what Trump is up to and having to appease this bully. I have no idea how this plays out but we will need to get more determined. Of course Ed Davey is always on the ball as a statesman.

I was actually rather heartened by this survey. Despite the atmosphere of gloom promoted by the Reform and the press and TV, when asked people thought they had adecent year - more of them good than bad. Not Elysian Fields but not Hades either. It is a different picture when people think about the country as a whole rather than their own circumstance, There, they have swallowed what they are told by opinion leaders that it is definitely Hell rather than Heaven. I'm a Green and I am by nature optimistic so despite the shortcomings of the government and their failures in communicating, life for most people is OK. We need to retain that and improve the mood which will help spike the self-serving negativity of Reform and increasingly the Conservatives.

Finally, a bit of fun. Wandering back home after leaving my bike in for its service I noticed this ad outside Printmakers Yard aka the former site of Heidelberg.

They have chosen this image of a luxury yacht which is moored at the quarter-built marina to promote their luxury riverside flats. That will bring the billionaires flocking to Brentford