Hillingdon Council pushed the boat out in Ickenham recently with an event named ‘Streets Ahead’. This is an occasional initiative, organised by the Council’s Contact Centre, when a variety of Council departments and partners visit an area of the borough, and ‘blitz’ it with a day of clean up operations, and information and advice to residents. Present that day in Ickenham were the Mayor, Cllr Brian Crowe, and three other Councillors, several Street Champions and residents. 
First stop was Community Close, which has been the location of complaints about occasional misbehaviour. Here, Education Welfare Officer, Lesley Robson (1), and police officers told us about measures used to deal with truancy, graffiti and drug taking. Next we went to the Village Hall where the Crime Prevention Bus (2) was parked. This large vehicle is equipped with casual seating, computers, games and cooking equipment. It is used as a ‘refuge’ by the support team of Council Youth Officers who can park the bus near to potential trouble spots. They then invite people in the vicinity to visit and relax with the onboard facilities, with a view to encouraging everyone to pursue more constructive activities.
Also present were people from the Energy Efficiency and Noise Teams. And London Fire Brigade officers were there to explain that they are willing to visit houses of vulnerable people to offer advice about fire safety.
Possibly a less popular village feature is the intermittently police-manned Swakeleys Road speed trap (3), but it has its part to play in keeping our roads safe for all. We tried out the speed gun, (here we see Cllr John Hensley waiting his turn), and discovered how many motorists exceed the 30 mph limit on the dual carriageway. One motorist said he always believed the limit there to be 40 mph, but it is just 30 mph – so be warned!
In Burnham Avenue the Waste Division was at work (4) collecting WEEE (Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment) to be lovingly stripped down and 100% recycled.
Then we saw a working party clearing the undergrowth in the Compass Theatre grounds. They were on Community Payback, serving out their punishments for crimes committed. Supervised by a member of the Home Office, they serve up to 300 hours, complying with rules about attendance, punctuality, etc.
Off then, to Swakeleys Park to meet the Green Spaces Team and their contractor, Connaught plc, removing dead leaves and graffiti (5) (more about the graffiti war in a future ICN). Comments made during the visit may have helped accelerate subsequent activity (6) to clear the debris from Swakeleys Lake. And then to Hoylake Crescent, which at last is being treated to a major facelift, including carriageway and footway resurfacing and reconstruction. The work here was being undertaken by O’Hara Bros (7) and will cost £140,000 for the first section (about a quarter) of this long road.
Finally, around and about Ickenham Pond (8), to view the results of a ‘de-cluttering audit’. An initial exercise was carried out by a team of Street Champions and Council members. They had identified 72 examples of relatively minor, but irritating, defects such as damaged road signs, graffiti, footway hazards and overhanging branches. Encouragingly, although the audit had been completed only recently, much of the corrective action had already been taken.
All in all, an interesting day: we learned about the infrastructure which can repair and replenish when necessary, but also about how to strive for the continuous improvement of our much-loved Ickenham. If you’d like more information about any of the departments mentioned, or indeed any part of the Council, call the LBH Contact Centre on 01895 277730.
Alan Noad
CHRISTIAN AID WEEK IS COMING
Eighteen-year-old Nadia Kabula's story is not an extraordinary one. For many people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), life is a struggle. After a decade of conflict, malnourishment and preventable diseases still claim thousands of lives there each week.
But thanks to the support, prayers and donations that are made to Christian Aid, our partner organisations are helping to rebuild lives and livelihoods in some of the DRC's most vulnerable communities.
When Nadia's father died two-and-half years ago, she had to drop out of school to take care of her five younger siblings while her mother undertook 48-hour shifts to provide for them. But Humanité Nouvelle's tailoring course has transformed her prospects. Nadia is now confident that she can earn a good living from sewing and she is clear about her priorities: “If God helps me... I will do all I can to take care of my siblings and my mother.”
Nadia's is just one of the lives being transformed around the world by the support you give during Christian Aid Week. Please help ensure we can improve the lives of many more by donating what you can this time.
This year, the Week runs from Sun 10th – Sat 16th May. Early in the week, the familiar ‘red envelope’ will drop through your door. A few days later, our collectors will return to gather in your donations. (You can post them to Christian Aid yourself, or drop them in to either of the churches if you prefer.) If you are also able to ‘gift aid’ your donation, then that’s even better, as more can be added to its value through Government tax relief.
If you helped with the delivery and collection of the ‘red envelopes’ around the village last year, I do hope you will be able to do so again. We are likely to need some new helpers too, so if you think you could help, please call me at the Rectory on 01895 622970.
Juliette Guthrie
Receipt is acknowledged, with grateful thanks, for donations towards the cost of ICN, from:
Hillingdon Philharmonic Orchestra; Arbutus Group of Artists; Ruislip Widows’ Group; Ruislip Lions; Uxbridge & Ickenham Floral Arts Society; Mrs Parsons of Holbeach, in memory of her late husband.
Please note that copy for the June edition of ICN should be with the team by 12 noon on 13th May.
Pam Jeffreys is seen here receiving the coveted Swakeleys House Shield from Ickenham Festival Chairman David Edington. The Festival Committee had been unanimous in nominating Pam and her husband Doug as this year’s award winners in recognition of their contribution towards the conservation of Ickenham, “in the Spirit of the Ickenham Festival”.
The citation certificate, which accompanies the Shield, reads: “During the last decade, Pam Jeffreys has fought tirelessly to protect and improve the Ickenham environment. She has chaired the Ickenham Village Conservation Area Panel since February 2002 and, despite full-time employment, has been the Panel’s advisory member on the LBH Planning Committee and its Conservation Forum. Her achievements have been facilitated by the behind-the-scenes support of her husband, Doug. Without their contribution to conservation, Ickenham would be a far less attractive place”.
The presentation, during a Conservation Panel meeting on 21st April, came as a complete surprise to Pam. When she recovered from the shock she said, “I am overwhelmed! I’m not sure that Doug and I are deserving of this wonderful tribute because what we do is very much a group effort. What we try to achieve for Ickenham, which is the best place I’ve ever lived in, is a labour of love, not work. We’d like to thank the Committee for recognising us in this way and also everyone who has worked with us in helping to protect the village from becoming urbanized”.
Two loyal servants of St Giles’ Parochial Church Council stood down at its Annual Meeting on April 2nd. Adrian praised both Martin Francis and David Millen for their unstinting contribution to the efficient running of the church over the years.
Martin has been the PCC’s Treasurer for 30 years, looking after the finances and presenting the figures in his ever-meticulous manner. The PCC accounts are especially complicated, partly due to the diversity of incomes and expenditure and partly by virtue of the strict regime dictated by the Charity Commission. And the Treasurer is kept on his toes by a number of people who are always equipped with telling questions! To his great credit, Martin has never been at a loss for convincing explanations and his replacements, Alan Peachey and Fiona Chandramohan, will have a busy time ahead.
David Millen bowed gracefully out of the role of Churchwarden at the conclusion of his term of office. Caroline Hill has been appointed to the post. She is fortunate that Brenda Baxter will continue as the other Churchwarden for another year, since overseeing the day-to-day church operation and looking after its centuries-old fabric is very challenging. David is, of course, a pillar of Ickenham society and his record of involvement in church and Ickenham affairs is legion. Apart from the Churchwarden role, he was a founder member of the ‘Holy Mowers’, that happy band of gardeners who keep St Giles’ churchyard so immaculate; he is organiser of the St Giles’ Christmas Festival, and a member of the Church Hall Committee. However, perhaps he is best known for having founded the Ickenham Festival and been its committee chairman for 30 years before handing over to David Edington in 2007.
