Child-friendly bike ride Sunday 26th June - Roundwood Park to Paddington Rec

 

Exploring Amy Johnson - Kingsbury Library, Tuesday 28 June at 11am

 Guest post by Philip Grant

 

An early biography of Amy Johnson from 1933  

 

Ever since the amazing solo flight to Australia in May 1930 that shot her to fame, Amy Johnson’s story has been an inspiration to both women and men, young and old. Now anyone who can spare an hour next Tuesday morning can enjoy a free creative coffee morning event at Kingsbury Library, seeing and hearing her story, and having the chance to put that inspiration on paper in their own words.

 

As a local historian, I’m proud of Amy’s time in Kingsbury, learning to fly at Stag Lane Aerodrome, and living in Roe Green while she worked to become a qualified aircraft engineer at the London Aeroplane Club there. 

 

This time, it’s not me who is sharing Amy’s story with you, but Amanda Epe of FlygirlsUK, beginning with the short film “Flying from Brent”, which she made as part of a “Being Brent” project with Brent Museum and Archives last year.

 

Sadie Kempner as Amy Johnson, in Amanda Epe’s film “Flying from Brent”

 

You can get further details of this free event, and register your interest, on the Brent Libraries Eventbrite page. It may not inspire you to go off and fly solo to Australia (that needed a lot of hard work, determination and planning), but I feel pretty sure that you’ll both enjoy the event and come out feeling more positive!

 

Amy Johnson climbing into “Jason”, her Gypsy Moth biplane, to set off for Australia

 

I hope you can make it to Kingsbury Library on Tuesday, but even if you can’t, there is a self-guided walk (a collaboration between Amanda and me) that you can enjoy at any time, “In Amy Johnson’s Footsteps, through Kingsbury and Queensbury”.

 

Philip Grant.

Former Brent Council Deputy Leader breaks cover on alleged lack of Black Caribbean political representation on the Council

 

 

Margaret McLennan

 

Former Brent Council Deputy Leader, Margaret McLennan, who did not stand for election in May, broke cover this afternoon in reaction to a newly elected councillor's tweet about Windrush Day celebrations in Brent.

She said:

Great Rita, but what about local councillor political representation in Brent for this community that built this borough. Without this it is all meaningless words. 

Everybody sees and everybody knows.

The dimishing role of the Black Caribbean community in local politics has been an issue lurking beneath the surface for some time and goes beyond the recent candidate selection process and Cabinet and Committee appointments.

A number of years ago I chatted to two Black Caribbean ex-councillors (both Labour) outside Harlesden Methodist Church where I was running a stall. They listed a number of issues that they felt meant that their community was no longer respected, including the closure of Stonebridge Advenure Playground, the council's takeover of the Bridge Park Centre and funding for the Sickle Cell Advice Centre.

An issue that has been raised with me recently is the claim that aspiring Black Caribbean candidates have been pushed out of many wards in the south of Brent.

 

Wilhelmina Mitchell-Murray

 

In February of this year Cllr Wilhelmina Mitchell-Murray resigned from the Labour Party, citing differences with both the local and national ladership, and joined the Conservatives. She unsuccesfully stood as a Conservative candidate in Wembley Central at the May election. Her son Joshua Murray, Labour councillor for Harlesden, did not stand for the May local election.

 

The current Brent Cabinet

 

Source: https://data.brent.gov.uk/dataset/vqkrd/community-profile-evidence-pack

A crude comparison might be made of the composition of the Cabinet and councillors and that of the local population but we would need to know the self-defined ethnicity of all councillors to make a legitimate comparison. I have not been able to find that recorded on the Brent website but a rough count  puts the number of Black Caribbean councillors at around six out of 57 councillors (approximately 10.5%)

Numbers alone of course does not indicate power as this depends on the position held within the council as well as their level of engagement with the community,

Brent Council names Nigel Chapman as the new Corporate Director of Children and Families

 Brent Council has named Gail Tolley's successorfor Children and Young People, now names as Corporate Director after senior management reorganisation LINK.

From Brent Council:

Nigel Chapman is to become Brent’s Corporate Director for Children and Young People, after nine years in the borough. He will assume the role in September, following the retirement of Gail Tolley. 

Beginning his career as a social worker in 1998, Nigel worked his way up through the ranks in a series of charity and London Council roles. In 2013 Nigel joined Brent from Hackney Council, as Head of Service responsible for fostering, adoption and looked after children. Nigel became an Operational Director in 2016, where he oversees social work, early help and inclusion services (SEND). 

During this time, Brent has significantly improved outcomes for children. This progress was recognised by Ofsted, who judged the council’s children’s social care services to be good with outstanding features for the first time in 2018. In 2019 the Youth Offending Service was judged to be ‘good’, and in the same year services for children with SEND in the local area received a positive inspection outcome.

Carolyn Downs, Chief Executive of Brent Council, said:

Colleagues and partners who have worked with Nigel know that he puts the interests of children and young people at the centre of everything he does.

 His experience, starting as a social worker and now becoming our new Corporate Director for Children and Young People means Nigel brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his new role, with both front-line and strategic skills.

Nigel has a deep understanding of Brent’s young people – their hopes, ambitions, as well as the barriers that need breaking down to help them achieve their full potential.

Nigel said:

 So much progress has already been made to improve outcomes for children in Brent, from those in our care to an impressive 97% of local state schools graded ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted. I’m excited to build on this excellent work.

Times are tough for many families right now, with bills going up and continued fall-out from the pandemic. Whilst we’ll always deal with families in crisis and safeguarding those children most in need, I am passionate about the importance of early-intervention.

Our Family Wellbeing Centres already play an important role in supporting parents and young people, and it is  likely that this  innovative approach will soon be adopted nationally. We’ll continue to push new boundaries to give our children the best start in life.

Nigel will take up the post at a time when numerous national debates are playing out about the best way of designing and delivering services for children and young people, from the government’s Schools White Paper, SEND Review, and the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.

REFUGEE WEEK: People Power in The Face of a Hostile Environment

 I am grateful to  Zena Kazeme (Refugee Resettlement Officer for Sufra NW London) for permission to reprint the article below first published on the Sufra website LINK.  Do please consider contributing to Sufra's amazing work. Link at the end of the article.

 

 

It’s almost unbelievable to think that this September will mark the 7th anniversary of the death of Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian toddler who captured the hearts of millions across the world, when his small body washed ashore after making the treacherous journey across the sea on a dinghy. The image of the 3-year-old jolted the world and for a moment, the tragedy provided a glimmer of hope that change would ensue.

 

Fast forward 7 years and not only have over 6,000 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean sea since Aylan’s death, but those who have managed to arrive at our shores are facing the harshest policies in an environment that is growing more hostile by the day.

 

In April this year, despite widespread condemnation, the government confirmed plans to outsource asylum seekers to detention centres in Rwanda. Following the introduction of the Nationality and Borders Act, the government announced it will transfer responsibility for providing asylum to those who arrive in the UK by irregular routes, such as crossing the English Channel in a boat from France, to a “safe third country” – Rwanda. The plan stated that anyone who had arrived in the UK ‘illegally’, as of January 2022, would be liable for removal. It slowly became apparent that once people are exported, their claims are no longer considered under UK law, but rather as Rwandan asylum claims – and even those who go on to be granted asylum won’t have right of return to the UK. The UK’s legal obligations end once they have been deported.

 

An Illegal Asylum Seeker?

 

The plans mention asylum seekers arriving in the UK “illegally”, which begs the question; is there such a thing as an “illegal” asylum seeker? In short, the answer is no. The plan is referring to individuals who have arrived via unofficial routes, usually by crossing the channel on a small boat. Under international law, anyone fleeing home to seek safety has a right to apply for asylum, regardless of how they reach the UK. In fact, the majority of the guests we work with at Sufra, arrived through unofficial routes, risking their lives to find safety. For some guests from Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, it took over a year to reach the UK.

 

Plans to export refugees to a ‘safe third country’ for processing has been lurking in the shadows for several years but it was mostly forgotten until this spring. However, the conclusion to label Rwanda as a suitable and safe third country is particularly puzzling, considering an estimated 10,000 Rwandan citizens have sought asylum in the UK between 2000 and 2018 fleeing dictatorship and human rights abuses. Many of these refugees are from the LGBTQ+ community and organisations that work with the community have expressed deep concerns about Rwanda’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies, which could put the lives of thousands of asylum seekers the UK is planning to export, at risk.

 

Seeing the Impact of the Policy first-hand at Sufra

 

As the news was announced and began to spread, I received back-to-back distressed calls from worried young people and families in temporary accommodation across London. Individuals who have already had to bear the brunt of the hostile environment policies were now facing a fresh anxiety. One single mother from Iraq who had arrived with her children in February and had still not had her asylum claim processed, called in tears asking whether she would be deported, and at the time, I could not confidently say no. Initially, the plan provided no clarity on who is set to be removed, just that it would include anyone who arrived ‘illegally’ as of January 2022.

 

Hope in Response to Hostility

 

As soon as plans were announced, immigration lawyers, activists and refugee organisations across the UK rose to challenge the decision and express solidarity with refugees. First, they challenged the retrospective nature of the rule and were successful in ensuring no asylum seekers who have arrived before June 2022 would not be deported. Within weeks, another challenge was launched against the plan over failure to identify risks to LGBTQ+ refugees. Charities across the country organised to write to MPs and place pressure on airlines not to carry passengers facing deportation. Dozens of activists protested outside of immigration removal centres, chanting ‘we are with you’, as the first notices for removal were issued to asylum seekers. Demonstrations outside the Home Office amplified the voices of scared refugees who are living in fear as they watch the news unfold every day. This led to global criticism of the plans and prompted the UNHCR to condemn the government on failing to meet the standards of legality and appropriateness.

 

As of 14th June 2022, 7 people detained in the UK were facing deportation. Despite the hard work of lawyers, activists, organisations and even criticism from Prince Charles who dubbed the Rwanda plan ‘appalling’, the Court of Appeal rejected the latest legal efforts to block the first deportation flight. Luckily, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) intervened – the Strasbourg court made a ruling on a single case, putting the whole plan on pause. However, Justice secretary Dominic Raab has confirmed the government will introduce a ‘British Bill of Rights’ which would give more power to the British Supreme Court over the ECHR and allow life-saving rulings to be ignored in the future.

 

We have seen the impact of people power reduce the number of asylum seekers facing deportation from 50 to 7, and we cannot stop now. Despite the advances we have made, there are still many suffering from severe trauma who wake up every morning to news that can upend their lives. We have seen first-hand the difficulties asylum seekers face in temporary accommodation, from unsuitable, cramped living space to starvation and lack of mental health support, and now the risk of being deported to another continent and an uncertain future.

 

United We Stand

 

The plan is unworkable, immoral, and unethical on many levels. We know that it will not deter desperate people seeking sanctuary from arriving in the UK. Instead, it will push a community that is already overlooked to the margins of society. Asylum seekers will seek any means of survival available and that could push many who fear deportation to escape from Home Office accommodation onto the streets. It will lead to an increase in mental health needs, which are already unmet. The number of young asylum seekers on hunger strike in the UK is rising daily and despite the Home Secretary labelling it as ‘attempts to frustrate the process and delay removal’, it poses a real risk to the lives of many young people.

 

As we celebrate Refugee Week and Pride Month, we must keep in mind that the hard-won rights we are celebrating were achieved through people power. Individuals came together demanding the changes we are celebrating today. We are now facing a moment in history that will shape the future of the UK’s response to refugees. We have a duty to ensure that we continue to resist any policies that pose a threat to the long-held principles of compassion and tolerance towards anyone who arrives seeking sanctuary.

 

DONATE TO SUFRA HERE

Saturday's film and other events at Preston Community Library

 

Latest events and news from  Preston Community Library

Please see below full details of this week's film, plus a note about other activities at the library.

 

 The Hired Hand - [Certificate 12] Saturday 25th June 2022
For all films, doors open at 7.15pm for 7.30pm start.

The Hired Hand - 1971, USA:
In this film Harry Collings returns home to his farm after drifting with his friend, Arch. His wife, who had given up on him, reluctantly allows him to stay, and soon believes that all will be well again. But then Harry has to make a difficult decision regarding his loyalties and priorities. Directed by Peter Fonda, the film stars Peter Fonda, Verna Bloom and Warren Oates.

Trailer and casting:  
The Hired Hand (1971) - IMDb

Films are free to members [join at the door], but a £4 donation is requested to finance future films and maintain the library.

Also at the library:
Yoga: There are classes at 7pm on Wednesdays and 9.30am on Sundays.  Our tutor is away, but will be back soon.  Please email samantha.warrington.yoga@gmail.com for information. 

Pub Quizzes
Our pub quizzes are back at the Preston pub on the first Monday of every month. In the meantime, for quiz enthusiasts, The Preston is holding its own quiz every Monday, with ours taking over for our monthly fund raising event. Our next quiz is on Monday 4th July.  All Welcome

Italian Conversation classes
These are now online on Saturday mornings.  For information email prestoncommunitylibrary@gmail.com .

How to Find Us
We have moved to Ashley Gardens, which is off Preston Road.  Scroll down for a map.  We are at the end of the cul-de-sac through the gate on the left. There is no car park, so if you are driving please park on Preston Road. For Wembley Stadium event days, parking restrictions apply.  We sometimes have  parking permits for the day, so email us before an event at the library [to prestoncommunitylibrary@gmail.com ] if you will need one.

with regards,
Preston Community Library

LETTER: Beckton Polio alert exposes Brent Council's lack of action on Wealdstone Brook sewage pollution

 Wealdstone Brook at the height of the pollution incident

Dear Editor,

 

Yesterday – Wednesday 22^nd June 2022 – the area around Beckton Sewage Works in NE London has been declared a ‘Major Incident’ because the Polio virus has been detected in the local river water. LINK

 

Raw sewage in the Woodcock Park section of the Wealdstone Brook persisted through to May.

 

If it turns out that water samples were also taken from the Wealdstone Brook (and they should have been given the information now released from the Environment Agency as of yesterday) then Brent Council were negligent to say the least in not declaring the human sewage pollution of the Wealdstone Brook a ‘Major Incident’ as requested by me. 

 

If there were no medical tests of the water for such viruses, then I would regard that a major dereliction of duty from Brent and Harrow Council and the local medical authorities, particularly since we had a zoom meeting with a health official in the Brent and Harrow area regarding just this issue. The water of the Brook was not only chemically toxic and dangerous to human health – it would also certainly contain some potentially very serious viruses and was therefore biologically toxic.

 

How dare they play games with our health let alone the health of children who continued to play in and around this river as it runs through Woodcock Park and no action was taken by the authorities to fence off this river in spite of repeated requests on health and safety grounds from the Friends of Woodcock Park.

 

I am angry, very angry – ignorance is no excuse for the failure to protect the health of residents of Kenton, particularly those that live close to the Wealdstone Brook.

 

John Poole, co-founder of Brook Way Community Diversity Project CIC and member of North West London Rivers Alliance

Refugee Week Event at Kensal Rise Library Sunday June 26th 4pm