Cruising in Ravenscourt Park?! Euphemisms ahoy!

So, what are your plans for the summer? A nice cruise? Well, not for the outraged residents of the Brackenbury Resident's Association it won't be, at least so long as it's not in Ravenscourt Park! 

Read this euphemism-tastic update from the local police, responding to concerns of the good people of Brackenbury Village:

Inspector Stan Davies, of the Parks Constabulary, writes in the Residents Association newsletter: 'I was informed at the Crime Summit of the concerns of park users that trespassers were engaged in anti-social behaviour when the park was closed.

'I promised that I would take action and I have done so and this will continue. My officers have been re-visiting the park after closure .... On the 12th March two males were found in the park after locking. These men were not local and their explanation for being there was 'shallow'. The police were called and thorough checks undertaken, we do not believe that these men will be visiting the park again when it is locked.

So..what do you think they were up to?! 

London Labour campaign launched in Hammersmith

What seemed like half the Cabinet descended on Hammersmith this morning in order to launch the local election campaign for the London Labour Party, which is fighting to hold on to the Councils it runs across the city and to take back those it lost last time round, including of course Hammersmith & Fulham itself.

A tall order? Well yes, but as you're sick of reading me say by now this is the frontline of both the General Election nationally as a seat the Tories have to take if they are to win government at westminster and a weathervane for the fight to hold on to or win council seats as well.

So Labour Opposition Leader Steven Cowan was joined by Andy Slaughter, Home Secretary Alan Johnson, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell and Environment Secretary Ed Milliband.

They delivered the Labour manifesto at St. Paul’s Centre in central Hammersmith.

Alan Johnson focused on the Conservatives’ proposed cuts in safer neighbourhood police teams, which he argued have made a huge impact on crime in London.  He said that while crime continues to fall across London and the country, it is rising in Hammersmith due to what he called the incompetence of the current council whose first act, he said, was to cut police support in Hammersmith Broadway, which has the highest crime figures in the borough.You may recall the Home Secretary visited Shepherd's Bush Market recently.

Tessa Jowell spoke about what she said were the Tories plans to destroy affordable housing, not only in Hammersmith but across the country.

Ed Miliband talked about the Labour Manifesto, which he wrote, and the contrast he drew between Labour’s protection of services and incomes and what he said were the Tories’ plans for cuts in tax credits and education.

From the St. Paul’s centre the merry band walked up to Lyric Square and talked to local residents, before heading to Ravenscourt Park to meet some community groups.

Shaun Bailey: A video update (but no comments)

One thing about this campaign that is fascinating for anoraks like me is the way that Labour and the Tories are apeing the Obama campaign's methods and tools in a way that we have never seen before over here. We have of course televised debates for the first time on a national level but at the local level here in the Bush both Andy Slaughter and Shaun Bailey are using blogs, YouTube and online ads in a way I don't think they would have done before.

I've tried to make my own modest contribution by using video where I can, as well as covering meetings and interviews - with Slaughter here, Bailey here and Emerson here. It's all good for bringing what can be quite tedious campaigns to life for local people, so well done to the candidates for using these new methods.

With the Standard reporting yesterday on the way our constituency is a 'front line' in the general election both parties are throwing a lot of resources and big hitters at it.

And here we have the latest innovation - Shaun Bailey is recording weekly campaign diaries for all our benefit. For very little cost (a camcorder and an internet connection) he's able to reach 149 people in 3 days at the time of writing. But what's this? Comments are disabled on the video, so presumably he doesnt want any pesky voters letting him know what they think of what he's had to say!! That most definately wasn't Obama-like, but well done for trying..

Rats on Shepherd's Bush Green

I see rats now every day on Shepherd's Bush Green. Tons of them. I'm usually walking across it at about 0620 ish on the way to the gym and it's now unusual not to see at least 2 or 3. They live in holes at the bottom of the trees or beneath the bushes by the sides of the pathways.

And the funny thing is at about this time last year, almost to the day, I posted about exactly the same thing. Back then I talked about how the rats were getting a regular source of food from the fairs that kept showing up and of course the ubiquitous fried chicken shops that line the Uxbridge Road. In fact there are so many rodent Bushers they are quite easy to capture on camera as you can see.

So what's changed? Not a single thing fellow Bushers, not a single thing. Get set for more rats, and as one of you commented at the time when the Council redevelop the Green after the election this year these delightful little creatures will be uprooted and need to find somewhere else to live. I wouldn't want to live in those high rise flats on the Green or eat at one of those restaurants.

Or might our Council actually do something about it? I'll ask the electioneering parties and share the responses with you. In the mean time - watch out for our furry friends.

QPR inch toward safety

Visiting his old club Crystal Palace can't have been easy for Warnock, especially since QPR should have been coasting toward safety by now. Instead Saturday's match was a must-win for both sides in a fight for survival. A fight that Palace are only in because they were docked points for running out of money and a fight QPR are only in because of the legacy of Briatore, Ecclestone and their ridiculous stewardship of the club until recently.

You never know which QPR are going to turn up these days, the ones that win matches with chances to spare or the truly abysmal side that seems to operate as a handful of ego-centric individuals that can't play as anything like a unit.

It was Crystal Palace's misfortune that the decent QPR arrived off the bus in south London on saturday. Rangers are now 6 points off the relegation zone and seem to have safety within their grasp.

Damion Stewart was taken off and sent on his way to a private hospital with a fractured skull after a sickening collision with a Palace player. It seems he is OK but did sustain a bleed into the brain which is clearly not a good thing, but doctors think its relatively minor.

Read on for more on the excellent QPR blog here

And contrast the end of this season with my report here of the season's opening game - what a season.

Polish community grieve in Shepherd's Bush

The tragic news today of a plane crash which claimed the lives of 94 people, including the Polish President, has resulted in an outpouring of emotion in our area. Shepherd's Bush and Hammersmith has long been a centre of the Polish community in the UK, and one of those who died on their way to marking the Katyn Forest massacre was a local priest at St Andrews Bobola Church in Shepherd's Bush. People are gathering there now in shock and to lay flowers.

I studied history at University and spent nearly two years looking at the story of the Poles in the twentieth century. Theirs is a story not just of incredible hardship and brutality at the hands of Germany and Russia - but of betrayal by Britain. At the end of the second world war Churchill signed a scrap of paper with Jozef Stalin that condemned much of eastern Europe including Poland - tens of thousands of whose sons had fought either in the resistance or as part of the Polish forces in the British Army - to 50 years of oppression. The Katyn Massacre that the delegation on the plane was on the way to mark the 70th anniversary of today, was officially denied by Russia until very recently. Britain knew about that massacre of Polish prisoners of war from intelligence reports at the time but chose not to raise it with Stalin. We didn't even protest.

Later in life one of my first jobs was at the Royal British Legion, an amazing organisation that looks after ex service men and women. That was in 1997 and part of my job involved having access to the case files of people that the Legion was looking after. I remember seeing reports of Polish men that had suffered horrendous war wounds from which they still suffered as pensioners that qualified them at the time for immediate discharge (and therefore survival) - but they kept re-enlisting, and kept fighting on our side.

Polish ground troops fought with British forces in some of the worst encounters of that war, including Monte Cassino, and the Polish air force played a critical yet unsung role in the Battle of Britain. And yet we didn't stand by them when it was all over.

I don't think people here now really understand the debt we owe that proud nation, and the dark side of our behaviour towards them in the past. That they continue to enrich our part of London by being here and contributing to our cultural life and economy in my mind makes their presence a very special part of Shepherd's Bush and something we should value a great deal.

And think of them on yet another cruel loss - ironically suffered on the way to mark the anniversary of even darker times past.

Lib Dems launch manifesto for the Bush

The Liberal Democrats don't have a foothold on our Council, so this election for them is an effort at establishing themselves here.

No doubt with this in mind they launched their manifesto for Hammersmith & Fulham's local elections yesterday, and they pulled no punches in their assessment of either the current Council ("narrow, divisive") or the Labour opposition ("imploding").

Here's their prescription for a better life in our borough:

1) Wholehearted commitment to improving our environment, and working with residents to help cut pollution and stop climate change, such as making our homes more self-sufficient and increasing recycling to over 50% of household waste.

• The Tories’ record is woeful compared with that in Lib Dem-run boroughs. Many Tory supporters still deny the threat of climate change. The Tory administration is even in dispute with the London Mayor over replacing our crumbling sewers so as to stop sewage being discharged by floods.

2) Sustainable development that meets the needs of residents while preserving our environment. We want fewer huge office and shopping developments like Westfield Shopping Centre, greater support for local businesses and markets, and affordable homes for residents and key workers to meet local needs.

• The Tories meanwhile are more interested in pandering to commercial developers than to putting residents first.

3) An approach to crime and anti-social behaviour which focuses on crime prevention, community involvement in policing and sentencing, and tackling re-offending.

• The Tories talk tough on crime and sentencing, but have actually cut police numbers and done nothing to tackle the underlying problem of offending behaviour.

4) A new approach to transport and traffic management which stresses the needs of local residents, visitors and workers to travel safely, conveniently and cheaply. For example, consulting all residents on the introduction of a 20mph speed limit, and making it easier and safer to walk, cycle or use public transport.

• The Tories’ plans for developing the Borough will simply bring in more traffic.

5) Working to improve Council services for the whole community – including care for the elderly and disabled, youth and supporting facilities, childcare and sheltered housing, and support and local accountability instead of bureaucratic targets for our schools and social services.

• The Tories have cut many services altogether or made them so inaccessible or expensive that nobody can use them any more. Meanwhile, only 55% of secondary pupils attend their first choice school
  

6) Genuine public consultation, accountability and scrutiny for all the Council’s activities and funding, so as to ensure sustainable improvements in services and value-for-money.

• The Tories have failed to consult residents on key decisions such as how to use funding from the Government and Transport for London; have resorted to raiding reserves, asset sales and off-balance-sheet financing to fund their latest pre-election bribes; and have exploited the Council’s website and newspaper to pump out Conservative party propaganda.
  
  

7) Stop Council budget cuts that are cutting vital services. Labour raised Council Taxes to unsustainable and unfair levels but the Conservatives have gone to the other extreme and are cutting or charging for services residents want and need

Henrietta Bewley, Chair of Hammersmith & Fulham Liberal Democrats said: “The Liberal Democrats offer residents real choice and accountability. The current Council administration has failed to listen to residents’ needs whether with regard to safeguarding front-line services or on planning issues.

“By voting for the Liberal Democrats on May 6^th, you will be sending a strong message to the Tory controlled Council that the interests of residents should come first.”

David Cameron rejoins Battle of the Bush

Not to be outdone by the Prime Minister's visit to Shepherd's Bush to support Andy Slaughter earlier this week, Tory Leader David Cameron paid his second visit to our neck of the woods today and saw the work of a local Hammersmith youth charity called SPEAR - who work with unemployed young people in our area.
Both Cameron and Bailey heard from graduates of the courses run by SPEAR on their experiences and hopes for the future.

Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate, dressed down and shot some pool with the kids. He said:

“The work of SPEAR is fantastic in giving young people chances to shape their future and providing valuable experience that will lead to employment. We need to learn from SPEAR’s work and do more of it across the country.”

Bailey attack "video"!

..and its return serve, in the ongoing ping-pong of attack ads. After Andy Slaughter's riposte to Bailey's attack ad, the local Tories have turned a recent appearance by Andy Slaughter on the LBC radio station into a mini-movie.

Not Andy's finest interview I think he'd admit, but in such a tightly fought local contest which at least in our area seems to be so dominated by very specific local issues will it make a difference?

Probably not, but those campaign workers are clearly very busy people..