Michel the Cheese is back.
Je vous attends (ou attend). Cash only
Every year we have a Remembrance Service in the heart of East Sheen starting at 10.50am in time for the 2-minute silence. This year it is on Sunday 9 November.
Every year the number attending has grown to last year near 1,000. It has been especially good to see large numbers of Scouts, Cubs and Beavers parading. Local groups are also represented.
But we would like as many veterans as possible joining in the parade. It doesn’t matter how little service you might have done in the armed forces, cadets, reserves, national service, you will be very welcome.
If you can come, then please fall in at 1030am in the car park next to the Sheen Lane Health Centre. Beret/cap/medals if you can but no problem if you can’t.
If you want to know more then contact Alastair Grant on 07946 701 057.
The author of EastSheenMatters is Richard White, a retired solicitor who has lived in East Sheen for over forty years. He is a former Judge in the Special Educational Needs and Welfare Benefits Divisions of the Tribunal Service. He is a trustee of the child welfare charity, the Michael Sieff Foundation, and a member of the Advisory Board at the Centre for Inclusive Education. He has written numerous works on child law.
Richard is a member of the committee of the Mortlake with East Sheen Society (MESS), although this blog is entirely independent of MESS. He has given talks on the local history of East Sheen and Mortlake, including at the Barnes Home Guard Club, where he has been a member for thirty years.
The blog seeks to provide an independent, politically unaffiliated, news, opinion and information outlet for East Sheen and Mortlake to ensure that there is informed discussion of decisions which affect residents. The blog also publicises local events of interest. Subscribers will receive an email when a post is published and will have the opportunity to comment on the website.
A better Sunday morning. But which poor s*** are suffering today?
Or perhaps they have noted our complaints and flown higher?
🤔😒😶🌫️🙄🤑
If you lodge a complaint you might be lucky enough to get reports on noise but they are for 2024.
They tell us nothing about why it has been so much worse recently.
Many of you may know of car theft from driveways locally. Most recently two in Richmond Park Road. In that context – and see advice at the end of this post.
The ringleaders of a “highly sophisticated” car theft gang who stole 107 high-value vehicles worth more than £2m over an eight-month period have been jailed at Southampton Crown Court.
The gang stole cars mostly from driveways while their owners were asleep.
The gang used signal boosters to trick keyless ignition vehicles that the key fob was close by so it could be unlocked and ‘signal jammers’ to prevent vehicles from being locked in the first place, with the owner unaware the key fob had not worked.
They would then “return in the middle of the night to drive the unlocked cars away,” a Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said.
They took the cars, 76 of which were stolen from addresses in Hampshire, 28 from Dorset and three from Wiltshire, between February and October 2023, to a “chop shop” to be stripped for parts.
The makes included Land Rover, Range Rover, Jaguar, Mercedes, Audi, Bentley, Lexus, Hyundai, Citroen and Ford as well as motorcycles and Ford vans containing thousands of pounds worth of tools.
The ringleaders were jailed for 56 months and 64 months respectively at Southampton Crown Court on Thursday. They were both convicted of conspiracy to steal motor vehicles, conspiracy to handle stolen goods, and possession of criminal property.
Advice from local Neighbourhood Watch:
General suggestions include:
hard-wired (ethernet) instead of WiFi data transfer models;
local (in camera) storage;
overlapping CCTV coverage (eg a high mounted overview CCTV device that includes the key approaches to supplement a doorbell camera;
security lighting as a deterrent.
All that said though, obviously there is extra cost and hassle if aiming for full ‘belt & braces’ surveillance, so any CCTV at all, or other security, still reduces risk. And as always with this crime type: if you have a vehicle of similar model, consider any additional security precautions as sometimes these criminals target a particular model for a while. Today’s model was a white iX Sport BMW EV.
With thanks to Andy Lindesay
Sheen funeral directors, Poppy’s, is opening its doors to the public for an Open Afternoon at their offices and mortuary in Lambeth Cemetery, Blackshaw Road, Tooting SW17 0BY on Wednesday 15 October, 14.00 – 15.00.
Since Poppy’s was founded by Poppy Mardall in 2012, the organisation has been committed to bringing funerals out from behind closed doors. Poppy’s opened on the Upper Richmond Road in January 2024.
Through this Open Afternoon, visitors are invited to meet the team, learn more about Poppy’s approach to death care, see their beautiful mortuary space (a converted chapel) and ask the team their most pressing questions about death and funerals.
“Death affects each and every one of us – but too often, what happens around a funeral is shrouded in mystery,” says Poppy’s CEO, Clare Montagu. “This often means that when we find ourselves organising one, we have no idea where to start.”
The Open Afternoon starts with an introductory talk from Clare, after which members of the Poppy’s team will answer visitors’ questions – from how a person is brought into Poppy’s care, to why you can be sure the ashes you receive back after someone is cremated belong to your person.
This event is open to the public and free to attend, but registration is required: Poppy’s Funeral Directors’ Open Afternoon Tickets, London | Eventbrite
Questions can be directed to marketing@poppysfunerals.co.uk.
What precisely are the misleading aspects of Heathrow’s self publicity and response to complaints?
If you do complain you may get a response like: “We appreciate that early-morning flights can be disturbing for local residents and Heathrow is continuously finding ways to reduce aircraft noise. For example, we provide a strong financial incentive for airlines to use the quietest planes available, including in the early-morning period, through the use of variable landing charges.”
One response has to be: ‘You would not know it’! The eight planes that arrived between 920am and 930am on Sunday 5th October completely ruined a beautiful sunny morning. They were all the largest type and flying at the lowest possible elevation.
Why would these airlines be bothered? Easyjet might benefit but it is dishonest and disingenuous of Heathrow and their ‘Customer Relations’ to suggest that financial incentives make any difference to the global airlines.
And the searches I have been able to make do not provide information about noise.
What would be really useful is to have someone in the know to provide honest information. Any air traffic controllers out there?
This is the third post on this application – see previously 2nd and 6th October. Unusually high attention is being paid to it, because the advertising required by statute is very limited. You are only likely to know by word of mouth or if you happen to see the notice in the shop window.
It should not be thought that the application is wholly without merit. People sleep at different times! It may be that most late night orders would be via Deliveroo or Just Eat. It is NOT a licence to sell alcohol. The only other comparable outlet is PizzaGoGo at the Richmond end of East Sheen.
BUT the proposed extension of hours until 3am during the week and 4am on Saturday and Sunday does raise concerns. Noise in the quiet of the night might sound worse. Can the owners police waste and parking on a Red Route during those hours? The site is very close to residential accommodation.
We do not know what arguments Caprino’s might put forward.
The relevant site on licensing at http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk states:
A late night refreshment licence is required under the Licensing Act 2003 for businesses supplying hot food or hot drinks to the public between 11 PM and 5 AM, including takeaways, cafés, restaurants, and mobile catering vehicles. To obtain one, you must apply to your local council, displaying and publishing notices, and paying the relevant fee. The purpose of the licence is to promote the licensing objectives of preventing crime and disorder, ensuring public safety, preventing public nuisance, and protecting children from harm.
What is Late Night Refreshment?
What is Not Included (Exemptions)?
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 | Richard AH White on Christmas Lights |
| Richard AH White on Christmas Lights |
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