Blog 543 3rd September 2026

These days I am making a new habit of actually walking (!) around Brentford from time to time rather than usually cycling. This is good and bad, because on old geyser like me makes slow progress. I still cannot enter the paradise known as Brentford Dock, because the public footway is still locked out, hopefully for not much longer thanks to the determination of my Green colleagues and the Brentford Walks initiative.

The good bit is that I keep meeting people: one of the benefits of having my fizzog recognised is that people quite often say hello. Sometimes I know who they are. Sometimes they remind me of a previous interaction. Sometimes we have never met but some thank me for my ramblings (though they say 'you do go on a bit') and this is a nice opportunity to talk to people I don't or barely know.

I also invariably find things I want to follow up, often via my constant companion FixMyStreet. I am not egotistical to believe this message on the Cop Shop is personal but is further evidence we need this building to be demolished or boarded up. By the way I was disappointed to not see the shovels in the ground we were promised to arrive in spring 2025.  It was my scepticism about that happening and my demand  for ‘Action This Day’ to get the council’s shops in the High Street filled that resulted soon after in me being kicked out of the Labour Party. Bitter? Yes, but also relieved!

Paintings (reproductions - don't bother nicking them) from the National Gallery have begun to appear ready for the Creative Mile, like this one outside the Brentford School for Girls

Lovely, though this one, in Timber Wharf Walk near where I live (and by local artist Deborah Reeves) really warms my heart

On Friday I had a free day and for no particular reason I decided to cycle to Wimbledon. A place I don't know really but not too far away. I was not anticipating the hills in the way, one of which defeated me and caused me to get off and push! Some people search for the place where elephants go to die. In my place, I happened upon the place where Morris Minors go to die. The one on the right looks suspiciously like one of the panda cars that welcomed (?) me to London in 1969

Wimbledon was OK I suppose. A lot of posh houses in the suburbs but I decided to let the train take the strain to avoid hills on the way home and ended up in Fulham Broadway (somebody has to). This gave me an opportunity to add to my collection of daft notices.

What makes a (I presume) a normally safe lift unsafe on match days? I think we should be told.

I had not realised there was a beer festival going on at Boston Manor Park but I saw thw post from park manager Vanessa on Facebook and took myself there on Sunday afternoon.

I immediately ran into a bunch of Labourites including the leader and his deputy, various hangers on and Salman Shaheen and some other locals. There was a duo providing music, which I thought excellent. The place was really busy and I am so pleased by the progress in BMP which is so dramatically improved.

On Tuesday I decided to attend a meeting at the Local Government Association via Zoom. I could have gone into Smith Square but I did the lazy thing! I was given a role a year ago when I was an Independent on their Improvement Committee. I did tell them I had gone Green but nobody took any notice and I later discovered that Green and Indy were working together. I have not got very far with this and I discovered that Green has decided to split from the Indies so it seemed I am now sacked. I have been crying a lot, obviously, but will recover eventually. I was to my surprise paid for this role. Not, sadly the going rate of £5M but more like £3K and I did not want it. The proceeds will be winging thier way to my chosen local charities once I have worked out how much it is after tax complications and after the gravy train hits the buffers.

In the afternoon I went to the Library. As I probably reported before, there is a plan to fell a lot of the large trees that border Windmill Road. One of these fell down a few years ago and the experts believe the rest of them are in danger of falling too, because the roots are defective. I am reluctantly going along with this, but I'm keen to get some proper attention to the library garden which, frankly, is a mess and has not been improved by previous changes. First off, we are arguing for semi-mature trees to be planted which will provide some of the shade (and beauty) offered by the existing trees. I am meeting officers shortly about improvements because at the moment, what should be a small gem but today is like the kind of stuff you used to be able to buy from Ratners.

Lurking in the garden, I noticed another issue. The good news is that the white crust that had appeared round the sign recognising Andrew Carnegie had finally been removed and now looks perfect, but the paint on the window frames, restored a few short years ago, is now flaking and soon the frames will begin to rot. I will be looking to get that dealt with.

P

In the evening it was Green drinks in the Watermans Arms. A good turnout including a new Green member I had not met previously. I should call it green drinks because it is not a party political event but always very convivial .

On Wednesday I fulfilled a long time ambition to attend a writers group (online). Quite daunting for me because the other ones are proper writers who have published books - novels and poetry mainly - and way out of my league. A friendly lot and the novelists read out passages which were all engaging. The poets are a bit more challenging for me and I rarely read it myself. They were generous in their feedback for the passage I offered them, which is out of a book I am starting to write, about the stories of the 100 companies which made up the FTSE when it was started in 1984.

That's your lot this week. I have the repeated delight of the Planning Committee including a second go at Gunnersbury Park this evening. I doubt it will be any more fun than the previous version!

Meanwhile, who lives in this hole which has appeared where once there was a nice grassy area next to Timber WHarf Walk? Is it Ratty? Is it Badger? is it Foxy, as some tell me? Is it one of the Trolls who emerge at night to post on local social media?

Time will tell, but meanwhile I recommend Billy Goats Gruff to steer well clear.