Go Green for Grenfell - live links to today's anniversary solidarity events

WEBSITE: GoGreenforGrenfell.com
6pm Multi-faith vigil youtube.com/grenfellunited
Afternoon and evening Instagram.com/grenfell_united/

International Reggae Day Sunday in Willesden

Strawberries and scones celebrate 80th anniversary of Titus Barham's gift to Wembley

From Friends of Barham Library

Saturday 8 July was the 80th Anniversary since Titus Barham "Wembley's Greatest Benefactor" donated his home and gardens in Sudbury which became Barham Park.

Friends of Barham Library held a Celebration 'Vintage' Tea Party in honour of Titus Barham as a Thank You for his generous gift. As the gift took place in 1937 thirty seven lucky people, whose names were drawn out of a hat, including 6 members of the Barham family, were served a traditional afternoon tea. The Tea Party was held inside the Community Library itself specially decorated for the occasion.

Gaynor Lloyd and Paul Lorber, two Trustees of Friends of Barham Library, and the waitresses dressed up in a traditional 1937 way, to serve and entertain the invited guests.

To make sure that no one missed out the following day Friends of Barham Library opened their doors to their Community Library in Barham Park and served strawberies and traditional scones with cream and jam to around 150 people who came to a picnic in Barham Park and watched a Kino Van showing films of how people lived in the 1930s.

Milk & More, a Muller Company which took over part of the former Express Dairy business, donated the cream, jam and many other items for the Party. All the work putting on the event was carried out by local Volunteers.

Teachers invited to celebrate Welsh Harp Centre & find out about its outdoor learning programme

Teachers and pupils in Brent fought hard against the proposed closure of the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre and it was saved when the Thames21charity took it over from Brent Council.

This is a message for Brent teachers and educatiors from Thames21

Teachers and Educators – join us by the campfire!

Thames21 is hosting an open afternoon at the Welsh Harp Environmental Education Centre in Brent, for teachers and educators.

This get together is being held to celebrate our first anniversary of managing the site and to share our outdoor learning programme.

There are a wealth of opportunities for developing the centre and we’re really keen to hear what other ‘outside of the classroom’ learning activities people are interested in attending there.

We’ll host a tour of the site and give a camp fire lighting demonstration after which you can cook up your own tasty treats.

We’re meeting from 4.30pm – 6pm, so feel free to drop in at any time.

To book your spot, please get in touch with Edel Fingleton, Thames21’s Education Coordinator, at edel.fingleton@thames21.org.uk or by telephone on 07734 871 728 to book your spot.

Queens Parade Celebration April 23rd

Those pesky Preston people won't give up - get behind them!

Standing up for the Palace walls in Wembley

Philip Grant of Wembley History Society has asked me to post the following Guest Blog:

The Palace of Industry during the Exhibition, looking up Kingsway (renamed Olympic Way in 1948) towards the Empire Stadium.
[Source: Brent Archives – Wembley History Society Collection]

 The remaining section of the Palace of Industry in Olympic Way now, with the new Civic Centre and Wembley Stadium beyond 

 Your recent item on Quintain’s planning application for a 1,350 space temporary car park near the new Civic Centre attracted my attention. When I looked at the details online, I found in the “small print” that it also involved demolishing the remaining part of the Palace of Industry, Wembley’s last remaining building from the 1924/25 British Empire Exhibition (“BEE”). As its “Listed Building” status was removed about ten years ago, this is no longer regarded as a “heritage asset” which requires special consent before it can be demolished, but I believe its external walls should be allowed to remain in place for a little longer.

My reason for this is that 2014 will see the 90th anniversary of the exhibition, for which the Palace of Industry was built as part of the world’s “First City of Concrete”. The BEE was one of the most important events in Wembley’s history, giving us the stadium and bringing millions of visitors to the area, which promoted its rapid suburban growth over the following ten years. One of the main aims of the exhibition was ‘... to enable all who owe allegiance to the British flag to meet on common ground and learn to know each other’, and on an international level the BEE was an important stepping stone on the path from the old Empire to the modern Commonwealth of independent nations. To discover more about the BEE, and many other local history subjects, visit the Brent Archives online Learning and Resources collection at LINK

Since 2010 I have been involved, as a volunteer, in discussions with Brent Museum and Archives about an exhibition and other events in 2014 to mark the BEE’s 90^th anniversary. More recently the Arts team for the new Civic Centre (currently nearing completion at the southern end of the Palace of Industry site) have become involved, and although no final plans have yet been drawn up it is likely that these events will take place. It would be a great pity if these walls, which illustrate the scale and architecture of this great exhibition, were to be lost unnecessarily just before that anniversary, when they could be enjoyed by visitors to Wembley during the summer of 2014, probably for the final time.

The Civic Centre surrounded by the proposed car park space today

Looking at the plans, it would not be necessary to demolish the remaining outside walls on the north and east sides of the Palace of Industry building to facilitate the access, lighting and all of the car parking spaces which Quintain are seeking. Only a small part of the outside walls at the north-west corner would need to be demolished, to allow access from Fulton Road. I have therefore written to Quintain and their planning agent, asking them to amend their plans so that these historic walls remain standing to their full height until they are ready to construct the proposed shopping centre which is planned for a later phase of the Wembley City redevelopment.

Paula Carney of Signet Planning has said that she will liaise with her client on this and come back to me. However, in case they are not prepared to co-operate, I have also put in an objection to the planning application, which other Wembley History Society members and people interested in our local heritage are supporting. These objections do not seek to prevent the use of the site for temporary car parking, but do seek to make consent for that parking conditional on retaining the outside walls of the Palace of Industry building until the main construction phase of work on the site is ready to go ahead.

If you would like to add your support for the walls (not physically, as their ferro-concrete construction means that they can stand up by themselves!) please go to the Brent Planning website at: LINK  then use the "Comment on this Planning Application" link.  Alternatively, please send an email, quoting the reference number 12/3361, to David Glover, the Brent Case Officer dealing with the application, at:  david.glover@brent.gov.uk . Thank you.