We are AllStars – a band of singers with learning disabilities and/or autism, turning our stories into music that speaks to everyone.
We’ve written 11 powerful original songs
about love, friendship, fears, and dreams – the same hopes and feelings
we all share. Now we’re ready to release our first album and bring it
to life with a live performance! But to make this dream shine, we need
your help.
We already have £2,300, but we need £1,500 more to:
Professionally mix and master our tracks
Hire a rehearsal space
Host our album launch with a live show
By
supporting us, you’ll not only hear amazing music – you’ll also
highlight how talented and capable people with learning disabilities
are. Together, we can inspire other people with a Learning Disability
across the UK to share their talents too.
Be part of the dream. Help us light up the stage.
And donate on our Just Givingpage to make it real.
At Brent Civic Centre
Our Music Artists
The Power of Music: Our Singing Groups
At
Brent Mencap, music is more than just a pastime — it’s a powerful tool
for connection, self-expression, and joy. We currently run two singing
groups:
One is open to anyone who simply loves to sing, whether you're a shower-singer or stage-ready star!
The other is something truly special...it's Mencap AllStars!
Meet the Mencap AllStars
Our
Mencap AllStars have been on an incredible musical journey. With
guidance from Milly, a professional singer-songwriter, the group has
been writing and composing their own original songs — songs that tell
stories of life, personal experience, friendship, and shared human
emotions. Their music is honest, heartfelt, and deeply moving. With the
amazing support of our neighbours at BBMC Music Studio, the AllStars
have been recording their tracks professionally. The next step? Turning
their dream into reality!
The Vision: An Original Album
We
are currently applying for Arts Council funding to support the
production of a full 12-track album — featuring one original song from
each group member.
But this project is about more than just the music:
The group will design the album artwork in collaboration with our art group
They plan to launch the album with a live band performance
And they want to take the lead on promoting and sharing their music with the world
This is their voice. Their stories. Their creativity. And we can’t wait to help them bring it all to life!
Stay tuned for more updates — and get ready to hear something truly extraordinary!
It has been hard to ignore the troughs of collapsed cobbled road on Harlesden High Street but now action is being taken. Brent Council says it will take 22 weeks but perhaps that will enable Council PR to greet a slightly earlier finish as a great success:
The Council is planning to deliver much needed carriageway reconstruction works in High Street Harlesden, between Tavistock Road and the Harlesden Jubilee clock end of the road (the buses only section of the High Street) from 15 September 2025. The works are expected to last 22 weeks under a road closure, where buses will operate under a diversion route. Pedestrian access will be maintained as normal.
Deliveries to local shops and businesses will be catered for from delivery areas outside the closure at the Tavistock Road end of the High Street. Brent will also have a site-based team to help with deliveries during the hours of 08:00 and 16:30.
The map above shows the full area affected. If you have any issue, the Public Liaison Officer for this scheme is Michael Heffernan who can be contacted via email Michael.heffernan@gwhighways.co.uk or phone 01202 043259
As yet I can find no details of the bus diversion route.
Though the southern part of Brent is not on the formal Carnival route, the Harrow Road corridor will be a much visited location
There have been a series of planning meetings between Brent Council officers, the MP’s office, the metropolitan police and other agencies to learn from previous years’ experience, pass on and seek to alleviate residents’ concerns raised through councillors or by other means and try to ensure that the event is an enjoyable and safe celebration with disruption during and after the event managed as well as is possible.
Carnival begins at 10am on Sunday 24 August and Monday 25 August 2025. The official schedule, including fringe events over the weekend, is on the Notting Hill Carnival https://nhcarnival.org/
The following local arrangements will be in place during the event on Sunday, 24 and Monday, 25 August:
Traffic and Parking: We will have a Traffic Management Order (TMO) in place. There will be no parking or waiting at any time (including in parking bays) on certain roads. The traffic management arrangements are listed here
No parking or waiting (including in parking bays) will be permitted on Sunday 24 and Monday 25 August 2025 in:-
Banister Road; Chamberlayne Road, between Kilburn Lane and Mortimer Road; Harrow Road (Kensal Green), between Kilburn Lane and College Road; Kilburn Lane, the west and north sides, between Harrow Road (Kensal Green) and the south-western arm of Claremont Road; Mortimer Road, the north side only.
There will also be no waiting (except in parking bays) on Sunday and Monday in: Kilburn Lane, north side, between the south-west arm of Claremont Road and the north-east arm of Claremont Road.
Residents in these streets will be able to park in their neighbouring CPZ, as below and have received letters to this effect:
Mortimer Road residents (KR Zone) and their visitors, will be able to park in KL and KQ zones;
Holders of KC zone permits and their visitors, will be able to park within KL, KR and KQ zones.
Parking enforcement: We will also have additional parking enforcement from 7am to 11pm throughout Carnival in the most affected areas. This will include Harrow Road, Chamberlayne Road, Kilburn Lane, Banister Road and Mortimer Road where parking will be suspended. There will also be additional enforcement in the wider footprint including Kensal Rise, Kensal Green , Harlesden and Queens Park. The dedicated parking enforcement team in the area will include mobile, foot-patrols and tow-trucks.
There will be a road closure and public safety barriers in Harlesden, to prevent members of the public spilling on to the roads.
Policing: Following discussions and concerns raised by councillors, supporting residents’ concerns an increased police presence has been committed including outside the main carnival area. This will include:
BBQ patrols: Police officers, helped by Council officers will ensure the removal of BBQs or sound systems that have been setup outside any permitted area.
Immediate area: Increased Police presence throughout the Notting Hill Carnival weekend. Harlesden Town Centre: Additional Police resource in Harlesden.
Specialist Licensing Police team available to deal with Licensing contraventions. Additional Police in Westminster who will support our Brent Policing team where necessary.
CCTV: There will be additional CCTV during Carnival and Brent Council officers, linked to police command, will be monitoring CCTV covering the area around the carnival to ensure resident safety.
Toilets: There will be 15 toilets including disabled access toilets along Harrow Road and Kensal Rose station with directional signage for carnival attendees.
Enforcement patrols will team up with local police officers to ensure compliance, including preventing illegal street trading, barbecues and street parties. They will be out early with the police to prevent barbeques and stalls setting up where these are not permitted.
Noise Nuisance patrols will be available to deal with any complaints. Please encourage residents to use our noise app to let us know about anyone.
Clean up: Brent has planned and booked extra clean up resources to ensure rapid clean-up during and post event, including inspections of our streets before carnival.
A team will clear the streets between Sunday and Monday from 3am and will include mechanical sweepers, physical sweepers and a pickup crew.
The same will apply on Monday night at the end of the event and in the early hours of Tuesday morning the jet washing crew will begin a deeper clean. Note that full cleaning of adjacent streets will be done as soon as possible but may take more than a day.
Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) canisters. Because of the gas in the canisters they have to be cleared separately to other waste. (To avoid the high risk of explosion when crushed.) They will therefore only be collected once other waste is cleared from the streets. If you see these in piles across the area, they are for collection by our waste contractor Veolia. Please bear with the team as they clear the canisters up and please DO NOT add them to other bins.
Wembley Stadium will be hosting the COLDPLAY MUSIC OF THE SPHERES WORLD TOUR in August on Friday 22 August, Saturday 23 August, Tuesday 26 August, Wednesday 27 August, Saturday 30 August and Sunday 31 August. [Editor's note: Coldplay added Wednesday 3 September, Thursday 4 September, Sunday 7 September and Monday 8 September]
EDITOR NOTE: Be aware Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th September and Monday 8th September may affect children travelling between Harlesden and Wembley Park and v/v due to road closures and bus diversions. Not great for those starting secondary school in Year 7 and perhaps travelling alone for the first time. In particular look out for the early curtialment of the 206 bus at Brent Park (IKEA/TESCO).
Timings
-The COLDPLAY MUSIC OF THE SPHERES WORLD TOURdoors will open at 6pm and road closures will be in place from 2pm for all above events.
We expect the area around Wembley Stadium to be very busy before and after this event so please avoid the area if you can, unless you have a ticket for the event.
Event day parking
Event day parking restrictions will be in place from 8am to midnight on main roads and from 10am to midnight on residential roads on Friday 22 August, Saturday 23 August, Tuesday 26 August, Wednesday 27 August, Saturday 30 August and Sunday 31 August. [See additional dates above]
The Campaign Improvement Board (CIB) the external body that is carrying out the selection of Labour Party candidates for the 2026 Brent Council elections will soon be choosing successful applicants from a shortlist to stand in the Brent Council election in May 2026, probably helped by the London Region of the Labour Party.
Decisions on placements - which candidates for which wards - take place after panel interviews that judge whether the candidate is a 'good Labour person' . The panels are made up of Labour members and councillors from outside Brent and they submit the shortlist for decision by the CIB.
Candidates have been left hanging, not knowing if they have been selected and if selected, the ward they have been allocated. Whatever the individual outcomes the end result is likely to be controversial.
There is still uncertainty over why Brent was selected by the Labour Region for the imposition of external selection. Among the possible issues cited have been an allegation that a candidate paid for friends and families to join the Labour Party in order to vote for him last time round (he wasn't selected), dissatisfaction with the Buttocracy and Cllr Muhammed Butt's longevity as leader, and the Nablus Twinning (a suggestion pushed by Lee Harpin of Jewish News).
There is also speculation over whether any rejected candidates will decide to stand as Independents or join an opposition party.
Of course the most important aspect is what the electorate will make of all this - or will they even notice?
Brent Museum and Archives, located in The Library at Willesden Green,
preserves and showcases the history of the London Borough of Brent. It
houses a vast collection of over 10,000 objects, including historical
documents, photographs, and artifacts as well as council records, local
newspapers, and more.
With this funding, the museum will undertake a detailed cataloguing
project of the Brent Trades Council (BTUC) archive, which documents the
organisation’s involvement in a wide range of local and national
campaigns and social justice issues from the 1960s through to 2013.
The Brent Trades Council is the community branch of the Trades Union
Congress (TUC) for the London Borough of Brent. It represents union
members from organisations including UCU, RMT, GMB, CWU, Brent NEU, and
various Unite branches, working in solidarity to champion workers’
rights and social activism.
The cataloguing project will deliver access to this vital collection,
enabling local communities, schools, and researchers to explore Brent’s
rich history of trade unionism and political activism. BMA will also use
the BTUC’s archives to create greater engagement with the borough’s
diverse communities and encourage conversations about Brent’s past and
present identity.
Cllr Promise Knight, Cabinet Member for Customer Experience, Resident Support and Culture said:
This
funding is a fantastic opportunity to preserve and share the powerful
history of the Brent Trades Council. These archives capture the voices
and struggles
of our local communities and workers, and through this project, we can
ensure that their stories inspire and educate future generations.
The
project is expected to be completed over the next year, with the
collection becoming fully accessible for public use and academic
research.
TUDOR GARDENS HA9: Road closed eastbound, from Monday 11 August 08:00
to Friday 5 September 17:00, due to Affinity Water works. During these
works, ROUTES 83, N83 and 302 towards Golders Green and Mill Hill
Broadway will be diverted via Salmon Street, Fryent Way and Kingsbury
Road. STOPS NOT SERVED: Tudor Gardens (BC), Deanscroft Avenue (BD),
Lavender Avenue (BE), Queensbury Road (P), Slough Lane (R), Kingsbury
Green (S), Kingsbury/Pipers Green (H).
Additional Bus Route Information
Valid from: Mon 11th Aug 2025, 7:00AM UTC Valid to: Fri 5th Sep 2025, 4:00PM UTC
Note: I did see one stop at The Paddocks bus stop but that may have been unofficial. It would be useful to make it official for those bound for ASDA and Wembley Park - just walk up Kings Drive from the Paddocks bus stop
Graham Durham - ex Brent councillor and ex-member of the Labour Party
From Brent branch of Your Party
The Brent branch of the newly formed political party, temporarily called Your Party, which was launched by Jeremy Corbyn MP and Zarah Sultana MP on 24 July 2025 has criticised Barry Gardiner, MP for Brent West, for his support of the classification of the peaceful non-violent campaign group, Palestine Action, as a terrorist organisation by the Labour government.
One of the local organisers of Your Party, former Brent Labour councillor Graham Durham, said;
On Saturday 9 August 532 peaceful protestors were arrested by police in Parliament Square.Their only offence was to hold a cardboard handwritten sign stating they opposed the Israeli genocide against Palestinians and supported Palestine Action. Amongst the arrested were numerous members of the peaceful religious group The Society of Friends (Quakers ) and over half the arrests were of pensioners including 15 people over eighty years old. Charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act are to be made against all arrested.
These charges against peaceful protestors opposing genocide by Israel are only possible because hundreds of Labour MPS voted on 2 July 2025 to proscribe the peaceful non-violent group in an attempt to halt criticism of the Israeli genocide and the Labour Government complicity in continuing to sell arms and parts to the Israeli Defence Force. For Barry Gardiner MP for Brent West to be one of these MPs is an utter disgrace. Your Party alongside other organisations and international bodies will continue to campaign to end the arms sales and end the genocide, we will not be deterred by Barry Gardiner or Yvette Cooper who arrest us in an attempt to silence our voices.'
As Jeremy Corbyn said, 'These arrests will go down as one of the most shameful moments in British legal history. No amount of suppression can hide the truth: our government is complicit in genocide'
Graham Durham added, 'As our party grows and organises we will consider standing against Gardiner and other supporters of this represssion at the next general election'
