EastSheenMatters

Orchid Festival talk – Mortlake Hall

This year’s orchid festival at Kew Gardens has been organised with local resident Xiaoyu Shi and is inspired by China’s remarkable biodiversity and heritage. 

Xiaoyu has kindly agreed to host a talk, tomorrow, 9th March, 10:00-11:00am at Mortlake Hall to share her knowledge of the festival. 

ALL welcome to join us ..

Observations to compare with life in East Sheen and Mortlake.

Notre Dame – of course first for a visit on any list. On 15 April 2019 the Cathedral suffered a fire which destroyed its roof and spire and damaged windows and vaulted ceilings. It reopened on 7 December 2024.

By comparison Hammersmith Bridge has been closed for seven years and there is still no sign of recovery.

One is of course a national icon and world famous. But the other is a major structure linking important parts of the capital city of London.

60,000 steps walked on the streets of Paris. And not so much as one stumble on the pavement. Leave Mortlake Station and immediately a trip?

Paris youth still smoke a lot on the banks of the Seine with few vapes obvious. Far more than seems to be the case in London.

Partying in the streets below my hotel in the Marais at 4am – a great vibe – but it would certainly not go down well in ESM – and perhaps not in many parts of London!

The concert at Christ Church on Friday evening turned out to be a family affair.

Imogen Baker was ‘the voice’ described in the publicity, a stunning soprano.

The trombonist was James Druce, Imogen’s partner and Christ Church Director of Music.

And the pianist was Colin Druce, James’s father.

The programme presented a selection of ‘Unexpected Harmonies’, an eclectic mixture of Previn, Handel, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Gershwin and others.

The finale for the programme ‘Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off’.

The first concert of the All Saints Concert Series will be on Saturday, 7 March at 7:00pm.

The concert will feature YCAT Grand Prize winning pianist, Amiri Harewood performing music by Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich and Bach.

Tickets are £17 and available at All Saints Church on the door on the night. Students and children are free.

Imogen Baker and Friends

Piano, Trombone and Voice

Tickets £15

One thing’s for sure. The police will not intervene. So maybe it is up to social action to reverse the lawlessness.

Times Magazine 27 February 2026

Local resident Richard Barfield has this week published his Brexit FactBase. See https://brexitfactbase.com

The site provides Brexit facts free from political spin with reputable evidence to dispel myths. It is easy to navigate. There is an introduction which gives you an overview of the website, which is a fully sourced guide to Brexit. It brings together comprehensive evidence on every major aspect of Brexit, from the basics of how the EU works to the long‑term economic impacts.

Brexit FactBase has 17 topic areas, each with a concise bullet‑point summary and links to deeper explanations and expert resources.

• What is the EU? – covering EU history, institutions, the four freedoms and the UK’s influence as a member.
• Sovereignty and law – explaining the sharing of powers between the UK and the EU, veto rights, and the context of the Cameron renegotiation.
• Budget and contributions – detailing what the UK paid, what it received back, and the economic benefits of membership.
• Trade – analysing UK‑EU trade, global trade arrangements, and Brexit impacts.
• Economic impact – including sector-specific effects, the impact on SMEs and investment trends.
• Immigration – evidence‑based analysis of migration patterns and policy changes.
• The Trade & Cooperation Agreement (TCA) – outlining the post‑Brexit UK‑EU relationship and its implications, including Labour’s ‘reset’.
• Current opinions of Brexit – recent polls on the reality of leaving and the desire to rejoin.
• In addition, you’ll find sections on wider considerations: education, science, healthcare, defence and security and Euratom. Others cover the Brexit negotiations, transition period negotiations, ‘no deal’ planning.
• Appendices include referendum data, key agreements, and case studies.

If you are looking for more detail, the publications area includes articles, briefing papers and media contributions analysing the evolving UK‑EU relationship.

EastSheenMatters reported on 1 February 2026 that the Council had written to the Department for Education asking for the decision to cancel funding for Livingstone Academy. to be reversed. This was admitted at the Education Committee Meeting on 29 January. A request was made to see the letter. Four weeks later it has been placed on the Council website. It could and should have been made available at least no later than the Committee Meeting. Instead there was obfuscation and denial, and Council officers were placed in an invidious position.

https://www.richmond.gov.uk/news/news_january_2026/axing_livingstone_academy_pressure and see text below.

Sarah Olney, MP reports:

Pretty cautious, then.

It’s back to 1926!

The speed limit on Roehampton Lane drops to 20mph this Saturday, 28 February 2026 under a Transport for London Order signed last week. The change affects the entire A306 red route between Upper Richmond Road and Kingston Road (A3), plus all side roads connecting to it.

Presumably in an effort to catch drivers and raise some revenue TfL published the formal order on Thursday giving 48 hours’ notice before implementation.