The Willesden Herald

Roundwood Park, Saturday

stories@willesdenherald.com — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:39:01 PST

Willesden Green campaigners get organised

stories@willesdenherald.com — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 08:59:04 PST

WEMBLEY MATTERS has a list of topics to be discussed concerning the redevelopment of Willesden Green library centre, demolition of the listed 19th century old library etc. Details of some of the issues involved can be found on the Keep Willesden Green website LINK.

KEEP WILLESDEN GREEN

Please join us to discuss the development of the

WILLESDEN GREEN LIBRARY

and the impact the proposals may have on Willesden Green

FEBRUARY 16TH 2012 7pm

KINGS HALL, 155 Harlesden Road, Willesden Green, NW10 2BS

You can use Brent's "ePetition" system to support the retention of the bookshop and or to save the old library building. The original old library is a quirky, small, turreted building, currently housing an Irish community advisory service. The high road is a 19th century and partly older setting. The Spotted Dog development has preserved the facade of that 18th century building. Some of the shops, for example the builders' merchants at the corner of Ellis Close also retain their original facades. Let's keep the distinctive local character. Here is a Google Streetview look at the old library centre:

View Larger Map

If the builders Galliford Try (how did they get the gig by the way?) are wanting to take this away, they are likely to turn the whole site into a horrible, anonymous, dreary, corporate warren. Maybe not, but what are the odds? The space around and about the current library centre is used for quite pleasing travelling markets, the French market appears at intervals and another world market has got going as well. Most architects these days just want to make a box. Oh no correction, more recently they want to created twisted boxes. Local people have different priorities, none of which involve boxes of any kind.

Sceptical but not cynical, the Willesden Herald hopes the new development will be an improvement, as the new sports centre turned out to be many times better than the old one in every way, but "Since the fate of man rests still uncertain, let's reason with the worst that may befall."

Ed

Robson Avenue

stories@willesdenherald.com — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 09:42:17 PST

Competition update, January 2012

stories@willesdenherald.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:17:57 PST

* Update Jan 15th: Yes: 6. Maybe: 23. Remaining: 63.

* Update Jan 31st: Yes: 10. Remaining 0. Watch this space.

------------------------------------

I should have a short list to send to the judge by the end of January. I got knocked sideways a bit when my old dog was ill and died before Christmas. All is now back on track. A lot of formalities have to be gone through before the short list can be announced and the short-listed writers contacted. As usual there will then be a gap while the anthology is prepared. The prizewinning entries will be announced at a special event in spring.

There were over 380 entries, not counting a few test ones. You might as well know that I read them in the order received and I have 93 left to read. At present I have four yeses and 15 maybes*. I'm confident that there will be more yeses in the last 93 received. I will re-read the yeses and maybes anyway and reshuffle if need be. That's how it goes.

Still finding great stories and still appreciating every single one I read, all but one or two showing great signs of craftsmanship, ambition and dedication. As we only take one entry per writer, that means there are hundreds of gifted and hardworking writers, mostly working in their spare time to create outstanding new short stories. Thanks for sending them in and entrusting us with them.

Steve

Jacintha in winter

stories@willesdenherald.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:18:32 PST

Yes, I'm still here. What do you want, news?

Jacintha

Library Lab | New Windows On Willesden

stories@willesdenherald.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:36:02 PST

WillesdenWindows.com

"In partnership with New Windows on Willesden Green, Architecture 00:/ is setting up the new Library Lab in Willesden Green Library Centre. Library Lab will be open from February to July, offering free workshops, lectures, and a pop-up co-working space aimed at accelerating local entrepreneurship in the Brent community." (More)

About "New Windows on Willesden"

Who the hell do Camden Council think they are?

stories@willesdenherald.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:37:49 PST

Big Smoke

CCTV camera and sign warning to leave the area. The area? A communal garden.

Update: Camden Council apologised. The warning messages were turned on in error. Not all that reassuring somehow.

Confused councillors cause chaos at Call In

stories@willesdenherald.com — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:39:48 PST

WEMBLEY MATTERS

The proceedings of the madhouse committee. The vandals of centuries old libraries and listed buildings fall asleep, miss votes, curse the public etc. A sort of cross between Alice in Wonderland and the chimpanzees' tea party.

Never too late

stories@willesdenherald.com — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:32:03 PST

"It is never too late to give up 'r prejudices."

Krish Cards, Willesden High Road

Offshore tax-dodging makes a farce of austerity

stories@willesdenherald.com — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 07:53:03 PST

Michael Meacher MP » Blog Archive

"A Land Registry inventory of title deeds, just published... [shows that] in just two central London boroughs the ownership of property worth £88.5bn has been transferred offshore to escape payment of stamp duty and inheritance tax. It is estimated that this costs the Exchequer about £1.7bn a year in tax evaded."

Let them eat cake.

Bittersweet

stories@willesdenherald.com — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:13:39 PST

Lay Your Head Down. Sinéad O'Connor, Brian Byrne & the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

Sunday afternoon

stories@willesdenherald.com — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:59:24 PST

It was cool but sunny. The clouds formed a striped pattern. Two football games were underway in the park with seven-a-side nets. Some familiar dog walkers and their dogs reappearing with the sun. There was a man with great joy in his face, teaching his son how to ride a new bike. The bike was big but the boy was whistling a tune as he passed us by. When he went back the other way, his father stood in the way and taught him how to stop by blocking the way. Caught the bike before it flipped. Use the back brake, see...

Willesden Green redevelopment - what do you think?

stories@willesdenherald.com — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:21:18 PST

WEMBLEY MATTERS

"The very tight timetable that envisages work starting in September has the planning application down for April 2012 and consultation obviously has to take place before then."

An interesting and informative article by Martin Francis of Brent Green party. Willesden Old Library, a "locally listed building" will also be demolished. The car park will go and there will be "a maximum of eight designated parking spaces" in the new development. There are fair words about recreating the cultural facilities but don't let your parsnips go cold waiting for that butter.

As guessed by the Willesden Herald, it is all sewn up with a single developer who will do the whole thing "at zero cost" to the council. Not at zero cost to Willesden though. The council will now have to decide on a planning application from Galliford Try but the whole schedule is setup already, so what independence can there possibly be about the planning application?

There is no question but that the existing building has been deliberately run down, the car park made unusable, the cinema and café wilfully allowed to fall into dereliction. The whole process stinks to high heaven and calls for an independent investigation into the decisions involved. Cui bono?

From the same shower who brought you the closure of six out of twelve local libraries in a year, the sort of people who cut down hardwood forests that have taken hundreds of years to grow for paltry and transient financial expediency.

Ed

On the conviction of two Eltham racists at the Old Bailey

stories@willesdenherald.com — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:41:41 PST

"Nearly 20 years after he was murdered in cold blood, Stephen Lawrence's family get justice. Their courage & dignity inspirational." Diane Abbott on Twitter

"Our crew filming point where Stephen Lawrence died had racial abuse shouted at them from a passing white van: locals say it is commonplace" Jon Snow on Twitter

The Vatican in high resolution

stories@willesdenherald.com — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 12:23:13 PST

The Sistine Chapel

A marvellous page that lets you pan in three dimensions and zoom in and out on the details. It has choral music playing, which you can turn off if preferred.

"Dear Willesden, what's your Christmas wish?"

stories@willesdenherald.com — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:42:31 PST

Food For Thought café, Willesden High Road

Merry Christmas and Hanukkah!

stories@willesdenherald.com — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 06:24:42 PST

Red, Feargal, Mona, Steve, Simon, Carmencita, Kronk, Mavis, Malachy, Noël, Harry, Ogden, Zoz, Nick, Ossian, Bartell, Jacintha and all the gang.

Competition update, December 2011

stories@willesdenherald.com — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 06:09:18 PST

There are over 380 entries. I'm miles behind with the reading but looking forward to catching up over the holidays. Thanks to everyone who entered. The art of the short story is alive and well.

More news of former finalists

Jenny Barden's novel Mistress of the Sea is set to be published by Ebury Press in September 2012.

A.N. Wilson, writing in The Financial Times, named The Coward's Tale by Vanessa Gebbie as his novel of the year for 2011. Vanessa was also photographed and interviewed in this week's Telegraph.

James Lawless, whose story "Jolt" was a highlight of New Short Stories 1, and who has published the novels "The Avenue", "For Love of Anna" and "Peeling Oranges" is also a poet. His poem "Christmas Eve" is in this week's Sunday Independent (Ireland).

Steve

While we sail the ship that never goes to sea...

stories@willesdenherald.com — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 15:17:34 PST

In memory of Zoltan (1998-2011), the guard dog of Herald House

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

stories@willesdenherald.com — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 02:01:30 PST

Christopher Hitchens (1949 – 2011)

stories@willesdenherald.com — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:45:20 PST

The sounds of London mapped

stories@willesdenherald.com — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:12:58 PST

London Sound Survey featuring London maps, sound recordings, sound maps, local history, London wildlife

Short story competition deadline Friday 16th

stories@willesdenherald.com — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:42:48 PST

A reminder that the closing date for entries to the short story competition is this Friday December 16th, 2011. Please send your best.

MissElayneous

stories@willesdenherald.com — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:20:18 PST

Real Dublin

Saturday evening

stories@willesdenherald.com — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 03:21:51 PST

London plane, silver birch, Willesden stadium