A good review in Richmond Nub News of the current position and some history about the Mausoleum at St. Mary Magdalene’s Church on North Worple Way
The Government launched a consultation for its Fair Funding Review 2025 in June 2025. Its aim is to reform the distribution of funding to local authorities in England, with significant changes to be implemented starting in the 2026-27 financial year.
The Council is challenging the lack of transparency and fairness in the consultation process for these reforms,. It is asking for “the Government to publish its model, and work openly to design a fairer approach to reflect the true cost of services and meet the needs of all communities, in particular those who are the most vulnerable”.
The exact amounts of funding will be published in the Autumn statement but the Council believes that the proposals could see the borough lose up to £45 million per year – over 90% of its current funding. London wide there are concerns about rising service demands and historical underfunding.
The Council stresses the importance of recognising the human impact behind the numbers – elderly residents reliant on social care, children with complex needs, and low-income households. This is about ensuring the funding formula used, and the time period for any transition, is genuinely fair for each community.
The Council has commenced the process for judicial review of the Government’s proposals.
Continue readingFriday 14th November – Motown & 60s Night with The Bluebird Belles. Doors 7pm.
Step back in time to the swinging sixties with The Bluebird Belles, the UK’s premier vintage vocal trio! Join us for an evening of all your favourite hits from an unforgettable era in music history.
From The Supremes to The Ronettes, Dusty Springfield to The Beatles, The Bluebird Belles will take you on a nostalgic journey packed with wonderful harmonies and stunning costumes. With their charming stage presence, this glamorous trio bring the magic of the era to life in true vintage style.
Dust off your dancing shoes, grab your friends, and get ready to twist the night away!
At 76A Richmond Park Road.
Timings: 7-8:30pm (open mic), 8:30-9:30pm (jam), 9:30-10:30pm (open mic)
Location: The Home Guard Club House, 76a Richmond Park Road
Entrance: Members – Free, Guests £3
Thomas Coxhead, organist extraordinaire and Director of Music at Christ Church until September 2024 returns to give an evening organ recital. He will be travelling from his current posting at Newport Cathedral to East Sheen to see some familiar faces and entertain all present!
Basil Alter, Violin, and Julian Chan, Piano, will perform at Christ Church on Friday 21 November 2025 at 7pm, doors 630pm.
Rhydian Tiddy, Ned Pettitt, Jack Myles, who arranged many of the pieces for trombone, and Cameron Bahmaie, made up the Funny Bones at Christ Church on Wednesday, 12 November. A rousing performance.
Next Wednesday 19 November at 12 noon, Timothy Lin plays the Viola da Gamba, an ancestor of the modern cello. It is a bowed, fretted instrument played da gamba, that is ‘on the leg’. It has six or seven strings, as distinct from the cello which has four. It was popular during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Timothy, from Taiwan, has built a career as an early musician. It should be an interesting lunchtime.
The application is for extended hours to serve food until 2am Monday to Thursday and 3am Fridy to Sunday. The application has been opposed by local residents. Their concerns are:
o the residential nature of the immediate area,
o the potential risks of anti-social behaviour and loitering until late evening.
o the likelihood of rowdy gatherings late at night associated with the operation of the
premises.
o late-night delivery motorbikes associated with the premises, which are likely to cause noise and
disturbance to local residents.
The applicant writes:
I am writing as the business owner of Caprinos Pizza, located at 160 Upper Richmond Road West, in
response to the objections raised regarding our application for a Late Night Refreshment Licence.
Our application is solely to serve hot food during late-night hours. We do not sell alcohol, and there
are no plans to introduce alcohol sales in the future.
The purpose of the extended hours is primarily to facilitate delivery orders, as around 30–40% of our total sales occur late at night. Extending our hours is therefore essential for our business to remain viable in the local area.
We fully understand the concerns raised by residents about potential noise or disturbance, and we
are committed to ensuring minimal impact on the community.
To achieve this, we will:
Focus on delivery-only service during late-night hours;
Monitor and manage driver behaviour to prevent noise or disturbance; and
Keep the premises and surrounding area clean and orderly at all times.
I would also like to highlight that shop 166 Upper Richmond Road West, which is located just two
doors away from us, currently operates until 2:00 a.m. on weekdays and 3:00 a.m. on weekends.
Granting our application would therefore be consistent with the existing trading hours in the
immediate vicinity.
Some objections mentioned concerns about alcohol sales and a recent crime incident on the High
Street. To clarify, Caprinos Pizza does not sell alcohol, and the incident referred to occurred before
11 p.m. at another business with a different internal layout.
Our premises design prioritises safety, with a locked front entrance for staff access only and a kitchen area that is not accessible to the public.
We are committed to operating responsibly and working in partnership with the local community.
We are happy to accept reasonable conditions that the Council considers necessary to ensure public
safety and community comfort.
We therefore respectfully ask the Sub-Committee to consider our application favourably, allowing us
to continue serving our customers safely and sustainably during late-night hours.
If you wish to watch the proceedings contact the Council Democratic Services on 020 8891 7949.
EastSheenMatters rarely writes on international matters, but a letter from the President of Poland to the US President, written earlier this year, has recently come to light. It was reported in Newsweek in March, but does not otherwise appear to have had much coverage in the UK. It is interesting while also of major political significance. It deserves wider publicity.
Your Excellency, Mr. President,
We watched your conversation with President Volodymyr Zelensky with fear and distaste. It is insulting that you expect Ukraine to show gratitude for U.S. material aid in its fight against Russia. Gratitude is owed to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who have been shedding their blood for over 11 years to defend the free world’s values and their homeland, attacked by Putin’s Russia.
How can the leader of a country symbolizing the free world fail to recognize this?
The Oval Office atmosphere during this conversation reminded us of interrogations by the Security Services and Communist court debates. Back then, prosecutors and judges, acting on behalf of the communist political police, told us they held all the power while we had none. They demanded we stop our activities, arguing that innocent people suffered because of us. They stripped us of our freedoms for refusing to cooperate or express gratitude for our oppression. We are shocked that President Zelensky was treated similarly.
History shows that when the U.S. distanced itself from democratic values and its European allies, it ultimately endangered itself. President Wilson understood this in 1917 when the U.S. joined World War I. President Roosevelt knew it after Pearl Harbour in 1941, realizing that defending America meant fighting in both the Pacific and Europe alongside nations attacked by the Third Reich.
Without President Reagan and U.S. financial support, the Soviet empire’s collapse would not have been possible. Reagan recognized the suffering of millions in Soviet Russia and its conquered nations, including thousands of political prisoners. His greatness lay in his unwavering stance, calling the USSR an “Empire of Evil” and confronting it decisively. We won, and today, his statue stands in Warsaw, facing the U.S. Embassy.
Mr. President, military and financial aid cannot be equated with the blood shed for Ukraine’s independence and the freedom of Europe and the world. Human life is priceless. Gratitude is due to those who sacrifice their blood and freedom—something self-evident to us, former political prisoners of the communist regime under Soviet Russia.
We urge the U.S. to uphold the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which established a direct obligation to defend Ukraine’s borders in exchange for giving up nuclear weapons. These guarantees are unconditional—nowhere do they suggest such aid is a mere economic transaction.
Signed,
Lech Wałęsa, former political prisoner, President of Poland “
Wednesday 12 November 2025 12 noon at Christchurch Road SW14
Following the excellent oboe recital next up on Wednesday are The Funny Bones Trombone Quartet, an ensemble formed at the Royal Academy of Music, brought together by their mutual love of chamber music and the way it can be expressed so uniquely through the trombone. They aspire to extend this love of their music as far a reach as they can, enjoying not only the traditional trombone repertoire but also writing many arrangements for the group themselves, with the aim to curate a diverse array of pieces which can cater to the strengths of each player in the quartet.
The ensemble are the 2024 winners of the Musicians’ Company Brass Ensemble Prize, leaving them delighted to be Young Artists of the Company.
Collectively, the members of the Funny Bones have performed at numerous prestigious venues, such as the Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, the Auditorio Nacional de España, Ulster Hall, and as a group are proud to have performed at Regent Hall, within the Royal Academy of Music, in the Birmingham Conservatoire Recital Hall, Ferrandou Musique and in many other beautiful venues across London and further afield.
 | Richard AH White on Christmas Lights |
| Richard AH White on Christmas Lights |
 | anna brown on Christmas Lights |
 | David Seddon on Christmas Lights |
 | ab021af8b09bd69 on Christmas Lights |
