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Every cloud has silver lining – delay to bridge work creates a window for cyclists

Image: Roger Miles

If you are a pedestrian who uses Hammersmith Bridge regularly you will currently be breathing a sigh of relief as pedestrians no longer have to jostle with cyclists on the narrow side walkways.

If you’re a cyclist – happy days – journeys are suddenly faster with no need to get off and push your bike slowly along the side paths.

The central span of bridge opened for bikes (with a snazzy new tarmacked area) on February 13 but it’s only going to be open until the middle of April.

Why the brief window, you may ask? Well, it’s because the stabilisation works on the bridge haven’t been going to plan and have now been temporarily paused. Hammermsith and Fulham Council’s website puts the timeline for the pause at around 10 weeks but we wouldn’t be surprised if the central span stays open a little while longer. After all, the works on the bridge so far haven’t been renowned for speediness.

Why has work on the bridge been suspended?

One of the reasons that stabilisation work has been suspended seems to be the fact that some major components in the engineering stabilisation solution don’t fit properly and are having to be remade. 

If anyone asks you why stabilisation of the bridge has been taking so long and you want to be on hand with a short and snappy answer you need to say ‘It’s the steel support plates, first they took ages to be delivered because of the war in Ukraine, and then when they were delivered and installed they didn’t fit properly.’

 

By this stage you might see the eyes of your interlocutor glazing over, but if they do follow up by asking ‘What are the steel plates for?’ the answer gets a little more complex, but it goes something like this ‘The cracks that were found in the bridge, that caused it to be closed, were in the cast iron pedestals situated under the bridge’s four towers. These pedestals have now been encased in concrete to stabilise them. However, the next stage of stabilisation needs to be the loosening of seized up components in the bridge’s suspension chains which pass over rollers on the saddles the top of the towers and the pedestals. The rollers themselves also need to be replaced. While this happens the chains will need extra support and that’s where the steel plates come in; they are part of an external frame that will allow the saddles to be jacked up allowing the rollers to be replaced and making it possible to work on the seized bearings in the bridge’s chains.’

By this stage whoever you are talking to may be making their excuses and saying something like ‘Is that Jane over there, I must go and talk to her’.

 

If, however, they ask you more, simply ask for their email address and send them this pdf which although very out of date (it’s from three years ago when the bridge repair was going to cost a measly £122 million to repair, versus today’s £250 million estimate) clearly explains the engineering requirements for the stabilisation of the bridge.

What about the boat that crashed into the bridge?

Image: @Mortlake Brewery

Well, that hasn’t helped obviously. Hammersmith and Fulham Council says the boat severed the 130-metre-long gantry running under the bridge. This is the platform that maintenance workers use to access the underside of the bridge. The gantry is now being repaired. According to the Evening Standard the repair bill for the damage will be in the region of £100,000 and Hammersmith and Fulham Council is looking to recover this amount from the boat's owners.

 

In order for the stabilisation works on the bridge to recommence both the steel plates need to be remade and refitted and the gantry needs to be back in place. This may or may not be done by mid-April. We will hopefully know more by the next Bugle so watch this space.

Secret meetings about bridge funding uncovered by local MP

Image: Freepick.com

Local MP Sarah Olney has accused the government of covering up the existence of regular conversations between the Department of Transport, Transport for London and Hammersmith and Fulham Council.

Olney says the conversations, which have not been minuted, have been discussing funding for the bridge repair and have been held bi-weekly. She discovered their existence through the answer to a written Parliamentary question.

She is quoted as saying “"Government officials have been having secret meetings for months about how to get the bridge reopened, but despite £24 million of public money already being committed, they still won't give us a straight answer on when that's going to happen. 

"This stinks of a cover up. The Government promised to fix the bridge back in 2019. It is time for them to honour that commitment, show some transparency and end this ongoing nightmare for local residents."

Commons plea for pedicabs across Hammersmith Bridge

Sarah Olney has also flagged up the enterprising spirit of the Barnes Community Association in a speech made in the House of Commons. The debate was considering regulation of pedicab and rickshaw use and she used the opportunity to talk about the BCA’s pedicab service which was introduced after the bridge’s initial closure to traffic. The service was suspended when stabilisation work on the bridge commenced and the central carriageway was closed. It is hoped that the service will be re-introduced once stabilisation works are complete.

You can see her Commons speech here.

Gerard Road, SW13                                                      £4,250,000

Has Sadiq Khan been bypassed in the approval process for Mortlake Brewery?

Computer generated image showing the impact of high rise buildings on the riverscape at Mortlake.

Image supplied by the Mortlake Brewery Campaign Group

It will probably be of no surprise to Bugle readers that the latest plans for the old Mortlake Brewery site were approved by Richmond Council’s planning team on January 31. After all, previous iterations of the plans have been approved by Richmond twice before.

 

The proposed mega-development will bring 1,075 new homes to Mortlake but only 65 of them will be affordable.

 

After the council gave the application the nod, local campaign groups immediately requested for the plans to be ‘called in’ by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who dismissed a previous version of the plans in 2021 on the grounds of the development not offering enough affordable housing. Back in 2021 the level of affordable housing proposed for the site was 30%, in the latest plans it has shrunk to 7%. 

 

However, in a dramatic development (if a document found on the GLA website is correct), it appears that the developers of the property have themselves appealed Richmond’s decision. While this seems to make no sense (why appeal against a decision that has gone your way?), this move could be interpreted by some as an attempt to break the stalemate (as in Richmond approves, Mayor Khan then objects) that has prevented plans for the site being given the go-ahead. 

 

By making the appeal, the developers seem to be circumventing the Mayor by going direct to the Planning Inspectorate which is ultimately under the control of the Secretary of State for Levelling up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove.

 

In 2023 Gove published an update to the National Planning Framework encouraging development on London brownfield sites of which the Mortlake Brewery is a prime example.

 

It seems that Sadiq Khan isn’t taking this challenge to the London Mayor's authority lying down. Hidden away on the GLA website the Bugle has discovered this document requesting funding of up to £450,000 to potentially fight the GLA’s case in the formal public inquiry that is likely to arise from the developer’s appeal.

 

Francine Bates from the Mortlake Brewery Campaign Group has responded to this news by saying “We were very hopeful that the plans would be turned down by the Mayor. It’s a highly dense scheme, including a secondary school that demographic trends show isn’t required, and it contains a pitiful number of affordable units.”

 

“Now that it looks like there’s going to be a public planning inquiry, we will make exactly the same case as we would have done to the Mayor. However, we’re going to need to fundraise to afford the services of planning experts and lawyers in this high-stakes inquiry.”

 

“We want to emphasise that we are not nimbys, the site should be developed and there’s ample opportunity to include affordable housing if the unnecessary secondary school were to be removed from the plans. What we are concerned about is the incongruous high-rise nature of the development and the impact on local infrastructure and travel in an area that’s already blighted by gridlock caused by Hammersmith Bridge’s closure.”

 

What happens next?
There is currently no date for the public inquiry that the appeal to the Planning Inspectorate will make necessary. However, the GLA document anticipates that the inquiry will be held in June or July and that it will last eight days.

 

A bit of background
We won’t go into the twists and turns of the lengthy planning process for the brewery site here but you can get a feel of what’s been going on from this summary timeline on the Bugle’s website. 

 

We’ve also put together a table below showing how the number of housing units on the site has grown and the number of affordable dwellings* has fallen since the development was first proposed. Despite having promised higher levels of affordable housing in the past the developers now say that rising building costs mean the levels currently proposed are all that is affordable.

*Percentages are approximate

Ponder groups get going

 

The second Barnes Ponder – the community participation project helping to shape the future of Barnes – is now well and truly getting into its stride with the formation of six planning groups.

The groups, joined by some teenage volunteers from the Harrodian School, met for the first time this week to kickstart a process that will see them coming up with proposals for measures that will make Barnes a better place to live.

By far the most popular group was Green Barnes which is focused on making Barnes a more sustainable community and also on improving our flood resilience. Other groups included:

One Barnes – a team hoping to build more cohesion between north Barnes, the village centre and Little Chelsea.
High Street Barnes – a group aimed at supporting our local businesses and keeping our shopping streets busy and vibrant. This group is keen to encourage more use of local shops and to attract more visitors to Barnes.
Safe Barnes - the focus of this team will be to work with the local police and spread information about how all of us can keep safe from crime.
Travel Barnes – this team will focus how we get around Barnes as pedestrians, on bikes or by public transport. Led by Raphael Zachary-Younger of the BCA, the group’s initial plans involve expanding the 20mph speed limit to the whole of Barnes, looking at the issue of double yellow lines on the High Street and lobbying for a zebra crossing from the Green to Essex House surgery (see image in carousel below).
Placemaking Barnes – this group led by architect Charles Campion is looking at how to improve our local environment – can we make more of the riverfront for example, and has already made suggestions for improvements at Small Profits dock and at the junction of the High Street with the river. (see images below).

 

The Bugle asked a few of those participating at the meeting why they had come along. Sebastien Barrillot, who is a relatively new Barnes resident, said he was joining the Placemaking group because he could see such potential for the area, Carrie Hodge is joining the One Barnes group because she cares about the community and has a keen interest in social cohesion and we also spoke to Valerie who said she came to the very first Barnes ponder back in 2013 but commitments back then meant she couldn’t become involved as much as she would like. This time round she’s joined the Green Barnes group and is keen to work on schemes like planting around tree pits that make small but significant differences.

If you would like to get involved in any of the ponder groups it’s not too late to hold up your hand to volunteer, just email Emma Robinson at the BCA .

Fight against local crime turns a corner after residents make a stand

 

Often just one incident can galvanise a community into action, and for Barnes that was the mugging of a Harrodian pupil last May . The incident was caught on camera and the footage widely spread on local WhatsApp groups and other social media.

The resulting uproar in relation to that attack and an increase in muggings elsewhere in Barnes (most notably near Hammersmith Bridge) led to a packed meeting of the local Police Liaison Committee. The meeting, which was attended by local councillors and the Head of Richmond Council Gareth Roberts, heard from residents about their concerns, many of which related to drug dealing activity and the crimes that often go hand-in-hand with that, such as shoplifting, burglaries and mugging.

 

Since that meeting two very significant things have happened, members of the public have been working far more closely with our local police team, and, very importantly, our small local police presence has been bolstered by extra staff. 

 

This month there has been more good news with the arrival of a police patrol vehicle for the exclusive use of our local team. The vehicle will not only increase the response times from the local police* it will also act as a crime deterrent when parked as the police pursue their enquiries.

It looks like all this extra effort is paying off as three suspects were arrested after five 17-year-olds were mugged near the Harrodian School on February by a group of up to ten young assailants. 

 

Police were on the scene very quickly and thanked witnesses for subsequent excellent location updates on the whereabouts of the assailants, which enabled the police to make multiple arrests.

 

This incident highlights the value of reporting crime. As we have mentioned many times in the Bugle reporting crime can make a huge difference to our police resources. When crime goes unreported it appears that Barnes isn’t in need of police help and resources go elsewhere. Additionally, police stress that although there are times when they can’t respond immediately that every report is useful intelligence in putting together a picture of local crime. There are numerous ways of reporting crime (see this document for a comprehensive guide) and if you witness a crime being committed whether it’s something violent like a mugging or something antisocial like drug dealing you should call 999 immediately.

 

Another consequence of the standing-room-only meeting last June has been the implementation of micro-neighbourhood policing. This has meant that the police have been concentrating resources on a number of locations in Barnes where drug dealing and antisocial behaviour have been reported by local residents. By specifically targeting these areas it is hoped that crime overall in Barnes will fall.

*Our local officers can often be called out to deal with serious incidents elsewhere so they can’t always be on hand for a swift response locally. However, the arrival of this vehicle will speed up response times when the officers haven’t been deployed somewhere else.

Have your say on crime at two significant local meetings

If the article above has struck a chord with you and you have concerns about crime the police would be very keen to hear from you at their next Police Liaison meeting which will be held at Rose House on Wednesday March 13 at 7pm.
Meanwhile there will be a presentation by the Met Police at the Wetland Centre on Wednesday March 19 (starting at 6.30pm) focusing on antisocial behaviour. This event relates to the Met’s London-wide policy and not specifically to Barnes.

 

The event promotion material says “We’d love you to join officers in a conversation to explore what our new plan, A New Met for London, created following feedback from 10,000 community members, partners and Met people, will mean for improved policing for your local communities.

You can book your place at the meeting by clicking here.

Remembering and celebrating Leyla Hutchings

The BCA has announced the very sad news of the death of Leyla Hutchings who was a key member of the BCA team supporting membership, communications, the BCA website and social media. She was also involved in organising events like the Barnes Fair and the Food Fair. However, her favourite event was the festive Turkey Run which she organised with Barnes runners, raising enough money each year for a splendid Christmas Day lunch for those alone at Christmas. 
 
Leyla died suddenly in hospital at the end of February and she is much mourned by her colleagues and everyone who came into contact with her. It also goes without saying that her loss is devasting for her immediate family. After her death was announced on Instagram many people responded with memories of Leyla who was described as ‘such a sweet and lovely person’, who was ‘beautiful, funny, polite and professional’.

 

In memory of Leyla the BCA will be supporting the charity Annabelle’s Challenge, nominated by Leyla’s family, at its forthcoming events.

How healthy are our high streets?

The weather’s been rubbish, we’re in a recession and all of a sudden there seem to be quite a few closing down signs and empty premises in our shopping parades. Is this a sign of things to come? Although you may be forgiven for thinking so, that couldn’t be further from the truth. According to Town Centre Manager Emma Robinson what we are experiencing is natural churn and as some businesses close, new ones are popping up to take their place. This month there’s news of new Pilates and yoga studios, a brand-new restaurant, and, very excitingly, a new deli. Additionally, we hear that there are more new businesses in the pipeline. Here’s our roundup of recent and future changes on our shopping streets.

Castelnau Parade
The restaurant that was True Grill has been replaced by the very smart looking Quarter Kitchen. It’s the latest outlet for a small restaurant group run by a local Barnes couple. Other restaurants in their portfolio include the Kensington Quarter on Kensington High Street and the Royal Quarter near Buckingham Palace. They also run a bakery – The Royal Artisan in Victoria. The food is Mediterranean-based and Valeria Zilkha one of the owners says "everything is made by us using ingredients we really care about". She adds "all our restaurants have a sense of community and what we love about Barnes is how community minded it is. We hope our restaurant will become part of the fabric of the Barnes community and we can’t wait to welcome our neighbours.”

Joining the Quarter Kitchen soon across the road on the Castelnau Parade will be a new fish and chip shop. Apart from spotting the coming soon sign in the window of an empty shop the Bugle knows nothing more about this new business but we’ll keep you posted when we find out more.

Church Road
The old Nordic Style premises have now been beautifully transformed into a Pilates studio - LifeBody - featuring 'reformer' Pilates machines. Reformer Pilates is fast becoming the go-to class for those looking for a strong sculpted body, so expect to see clients emerging with excellent posture and enviable figures!

The old McColls newsagent and post office has now been rebranded as a Morrisons Daily. The change has come about after Morrisons acquired McColls. The site is still offering post office services but the shop has had a refit. The post office counter is now on the left as you come in and the food offering now includes more chilled foods, many of them Morrisons branded.

Across the road and around the corner at the bottom of Castelnau there are two now-empty premises. We hear the recently closed Starbucks is much missed by Barnes teenagers who loved it as a hangout, and currently there’s no news about what might replace it. Similarly, what was the Maze Gallery now sports a To Let sign but Town Centre Manager Emma Robinson says she understands that there has been interest from new businesses who might want to take on the site.

Further along Chuch Road towards the Green, long term Barnes business The Clothes Room is closing but we hear the premises won’t be empty for long as it is rumoured that Caroline Bloomfield who has been running a pop-up shop in the High Street for the past couple of years will be moving into the old Clothes Room shop. We hope this rumour is true as it's a lovely shop.

Next door, haberdashery Creations has been closed while its building has been undergoing renovations but neighbouring shopkeepers say they believe that Creations will reopen in due course.

The High Street
Although they have been empty for quite a while the old Boathouse premises are set to become another café, and a further café is due to open in what was the hairdressers Head Spa opposite the river. As mentioned above the Town Centre manager believes Caroline Broomfield will be moving premises, but that her existing shop won’t be vacant for long as her landlord has unspecified plans for it.

White Hart Lane
The very Zen looking Yoga studio Ticho Wellness has opened up near Orange Pekoe on White Hart Lane and at the other end of the Lane near the level crossing there’s going to a a brand new deli/café/wine bar.

 

Harty’s is the brainchild of David Gatt who is a well known face locally as he was previously at the Brown Dog. He’s currently revamping the old China Express takeaway shop and the plans sound great. To begin with, he’ll be opening as a café, but this will be very swiftly transformed with the addition of a deli counter and shelves of wine and specialist foods. Once the café and deli have found their feet, the site will also become a wine bar in the evenings at weekends where you can enjoy some of the wines the deli sells together with great cheese boards and charcuterie plates. Eventually he hopes Harty’s will have the feel of a French traiteur, somewhere where you can drop into on the way home for the sort of enticing ingredients that you can assemble for a simple dinner or even some fresh home-made dishes like pasta sauces. Harty’s will open as a café on April 3 and he hopes the deli element will be on stream by April 24, with the wine bar arriving in early May.

See the Boat Race in style

It’s the Boat Race on Saturday March 30, and the traditional way in Barnes to see it is to bag your spot at the White Hart early or to stand by the river with a Thermos and some thermal undies to keep you from turning into a block of ice. If you’re lucky you might be invited to a Boat Race party by a grand friend whose house has river views.

However, if grand friends are thin on the ground or you don’t fancy freezing by the river there are alternatives, as both Rick Stein’s and The Bull’s Head (both of whom have excellent river views) are offering the chance to buy tickets to special Boat Race events.

At the Bull’s Head there will be canapés galore and sparkling Nyetimber as you take in the panoramic views from the beautiful Melrose Room above the pub. Tickets are £55 each.

 

Over at Rick Stein’s there’s a special Boat Race menu priced at £100 a head.

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Barnes cricketers show they are good sports

When the perfect delivery arrives on the pitch at the cricket ground by Vine Road, and the opportunity to hit a ball for six comes along, jubilant batsmen might have to contend with the fact that their cricket ball may end up lost in Beverley Brook. If the lofted drive is flamboyant enough the ball may even hit a passing train.

Even gentler fours, when the ball crosses boundary, can lead to a ‘new ball’ moment during a match on our lovely local pitch. The Barnes cricketers have been eschewing traditional red balls for many years now to make finding lost balls easier but this February they got involved in a local conservation project which should make lost balls a far rarer occurrence.
 
Giving up a Sunday, along with volunteers from Barnes Common, and some enthusiastic teenagers taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, the cricketers constructed a new fence along the Beverley Brook railway line boundary.

 

In a win-win-win-win situation the new fence was constructed from branches that had been overhanging the pathway and were trimmed back to make the path lighter and safer for people walking from Barnes Station at dusk or later. The new hurdle style fences will become a haven for wildlife, allow people to use the full width of the pathway and not trample over the grass on the common, and most importantly, they’ll be an effective barrier for cricket balls.

Rocking on Rocks Lane

The cricket pitch project isn’t the only way the team at Barnes Common together with Duke of Edinburgh scheme volunteers have been making a difference recently. 

As we’ve reported previously, in recent years Rocks Lane has flooded every year between the traffic lights on Common Road and the approach to Barnes Station.
The flooding which inevitably followed big storms was as a result of the drains being blocked by leaves and debris brought down by rainwater. Some of the drains have also been partially crushed by the weight of passing vehicles.

Using their understanding of the local topography and a spirit of initiative the Barnes Common team came up with a plan to tackle the flooding problem by building gravel filled trenches along the side of the road which will allow the water to gently seep away. The trenches are now in place and next time a rainstorm comes it will be interesting to see if floods on that patch of road become a thing of the past.

This small project is part of an even wider initiative Community Bluescapes which aims to harness our local green spaces to reduce the risk of flooding to all of us.

You can find out more about the Community Bluescapes project at a Climate and Nature Fair being held at Lowther School on March 23rd .  There will be family-friendly activities (storytelling, crafts and a nature discovery table) focused on environment and nature, and very enticingly, there will be free refreshments.

Cue the music

Just as we breathe a sigh of relief having put another issue of the Bugle to bed, the team at the Barnes Music Festival are at their busiest, putting the finishing touches on what is looking like their most successful event ever.

Many concerts are now nearly sold out – big names like the Kanneh-Masons and Dame Imogen Cooper caused a run on the box office – but it’s also in the smaller more intimate concerts organised by the festival where the magic lies. You can go to lunchtime concerts in churches that are a balm to the soul, or how about listening to the classical music stars of the future at a chamber concert by Menuhin school pupils?

As part of the festival there will be a fantastic art and photography exhibition at St Mary’s where Barnes Artists will be running a Pocket Art initiative at which small original pieces will be on sale with proceeds going to local charities including FiSH. The Barnes Photographers group will be also offering a 25%  discount on their fully framed pieces.

In the carousel of images above you can see a wonderful example of the photographer’s art with Andrew Wilson’s Celestial Bird named after one of the compositions of the Music Festival’s patron composer Roxanna Panufnik. It’s one of Andrew’s favourite subjects – a kestrel on Barnes Common.

Also displayed in the carousel is the poster produced by artists David Pearce and Hannah Bourne to promote the Barnes Artists Pocket Art charity exhibition. The artwork celebrates many of the legendary artists and musicians who have lived and worked in Barnes.  From artist J.M.W. Turner who sketched the Thames in Mortlake to William Blezard, pianist, composer and musical director to Noël Coward, Marlene Dietrich and Joyce Grenfell.  It also commemorates George, Frederick Handel who briefly lived in Barnes as well as Gustav Holst and artists Jan Pienkowski and Judith Kerr.

Accidental art

As well as the Barnes Artists exhibition at the Barnes Music Festival there’s another intriguing sounding exhibition coming soon to the Putney Library which sounds like it’s well worth checking out. 

The images above aren’t abstracts created by an artistic hand, instead they are the result of water damage on photographic images. 

In Mallorca, a friend of Barnes artist Alasdair Saunders, Baroness Dorothea Friesen discovered that some of her family photo albums which had been stored in the cellar of a converted watermill had been ruined. However, once her initial disappointment had subsided, she became entranced by the effect that the water had on the analogue film and the mysterious images that emerged. Strange features appeared with people and faces distorted amongst mystical colours. 

 

You can see these ethereal visions together with a selection of great photography from March 7 onwards at the Putney Library in Disraeli Road.

New Director at the BCA

The BCA has announced the appointment of Mike Taylor as its new Executive Director.

He has an extensive background in the charity sector, boasting a wealth of experience that it is hoped will contribute to the continued success of the BCA. His primary focus will be on spearheading crucial initiatives such as fundraising, events and community outreach, aligning with the BCA's commitment to making a positive impact on the Barnes Community.

 

In his role, Mike will not only oversee the day-to-day operations but also play a pivotal role in the development and implementation of all BCA programmes. 

Every picture tells a story

If you’ve spotted this magnificent image in the window of Olympic Studios Records you might be wondering what the story is behind it. It’s actually a very simple shot taken by the Olympic Studios archivist Roger Miles, who as well as documenting the history of the studios, is a conceptual artist. 

The picture was taken after a visitor to Olympic Studios Records brought in some ancient copies of New Musical Express. Such pieces of ephemera are catnip to Roger and the team of volunteers at the shop. The ads on the back will no doubt be for albums that the shop has once had in stock. If, for example, you do have a copy of Eat It by Humble Pie which was released in 1973 you’ll be very pleased to hear that it’s now worth over £30; quite a profit on the £3.99 that it would have cost at local record shop back then.

 

And as for what was hot news back in 1973, songwriter Ronnie Lane left The Faces, Geordie band Lindisfarne were breaking up and for some unknown reason David Bowie was being described as Tarzan.

Let the good times roll

While the Bugle was travelling far afield in February one of our favourite events carried on without us. This year’s Great Sausage Roll Off at the Red Lion was as competitive as ever with chefs descending from across the country to see if their sausage roll recipe was the fairest of in the land. Veteran Scottish chef Alan Paton emerged triumphant with a Battenburg cake inspired creation made with squares of Suffolk Duroc pork and black pudding with Yorkshire rhubarb curd. The judges, including radio and TV personality Jeremy Vine, ate their way through no less than 17 different sausage rolls and perhaps deserved an endurance award of their own.

The event raised £5,000 for the brilliant charity Only a Pavement Away which helps homeless people into hospitality careers.

Red Lion to close briefly for refurbishment

While we’re mentioning the Red Lion you might want to know that it’s having a wash and brush up at the moment. Scaffolding is up on the outside as the external walls are being repainted but next up is the interior where everything will get a fresh lick of paint and the floor will be upgraded. To allow this to happen the pub will be closing for two weeks from March 11 and will reopen if all goes to plan on Tuesday March 26.

Two sad goodbyes

Two of Barnes’ most talented residents left us last month. We’re very sad to hear about the death of musician Bobby Tench who was an extraordinary guitarist and a great singer too. He played with Jeff Beck, Humble Pie, Roger Chapman and Van Morrison and was an accomplished solo performer in his own right. He was a huge influence for younger musicians. Superstar guitarist Joe Bonamassa cited him as a vocal influence and Canadian rock band Danko Jones mention him in their vocals for the song Sugar High.

In later years Tench was a regular performer at the Bull’s Head, often jamming in Alan Price’s band.

You can see Tench in his youth performing with Roger Chapman in this YouTube clip.

Art historian and writer Edwin Mullins also died at the end of January and his extraordinary career was celebrated at a service at St Mary’s. He was blessed with enthusiasm, erudition, charm, and an inquisitive mind, all of which stood him in great stead in a career that encompassed journalism (he was the art correspondent of the Daily Telegraph) and TV presenting. He wrote definitive books on artists including Georges Braque, Vincent Van Gogh, and the naïve artist Alfred Wallis. He also met many of the great artists of the 20th century, and his book, Swimming with Dali, is full of personal memories of meeting artists including Henry Moore, Oscar Kokosckha, Picasso, Giacometti, and, of course, Salvador Dali. Mullins encountered the eccentric surrealist in a swimming pool, where, whilst swimming, Dali managed to contrive to keep his famous moustache out of the water. 

 

His final book, In Search of Art, is also full of wonderful anecdotes of a life well lived and can be found on sale in the Barnes Bookshop.

 

Away from the life of the mind, Edwin was a lover of Barnes. He and his wife Anne moved from Putney Common when he decided that nobody should live more than a five-minute walk from a pint of milk. He was true to his word and was a familiar sight in Barnes walking to the shops with his golden retriever Magic. The shopkeepers loved him too and it’s a testament to the esteem in which he was held locally that his funeral was attended both by Malcolm from Two Peas and Bernie from the Barnes Pantry.

Local charity is looking for a new home

You may not have heard of local charity group Share and Care, but let us introduce you to them. They are, in their own words, a tiny group of volunteers who run a food resource for Barnes, Sheen and Mortlake primary school families.
 
They provide food bags every week to about 40 families (with 90 children) who have been identified as being in need by their children’s primary school.  “We take donations from Waitrose, Marks and Spencer in Barnes, Cavan Bakery and local street collections.  Any money we receive goes directly to buying food. They receive no funding or grants as they are not a registered charity” they say.

 

They operate out of a little studio in Sheen but  are about to lose their premises. If you have a space that you think they could use they would love to hear from you. 

You can find out more about what sort of space they use and how they would use it here.

Barnes author offers perfect comfort reading says The Times

Retired St Paul’s teacher and crime novelist Bernard O’Keeffe’s latest novel has had a cracking review in The Times. The book, which is the third in a series featuring O’Keeffe’s sleuth DI Garibaldi, rather marvellously features the Barnes Bookshop (where of course you'll be able to buy the book) on its cover.

 

It begins with the discovery of a dead crime writer in Barnes pond. The key to his murder seems to be hidden in the author’s own novel 'Schooled in Murder' which reflects the victim's time as a teacher at the fictional school St Mark’s, where, apparently, the staff's behaviour is worse than that of the pupils. The Times says “The gentle humour, oodles of clues and happyish ending create perfect comfort reading.”

Choral scholarship on offer at St Michael and All Angels

St Michael's Church is offering Organ and/or Choral Scholarships to young musicians between the ages of 15-20. The church has a choir of around 20 members who enjoy making music every week both for services and for concerts. This is a great opportunity to discover lots of new music, improve sight-singing/reading, make new friends and work with the experienced Director at St Michael's, all whilst earning an honorarium fee of up to £1000 for the year (£1500 for organ scholars).
 
Rehearsals take place away from school time at 8.15-9.30pm on a Wednesday evening, in preparation for the Sunday service at 10am. Attendance is expected at around 70%, so the successful candidate will have  flexibility if there are occasions when they have something else on. 
 
To apply, click here.

New choir at St Mary’s

St Mary’s church is launching a new choir for children. Everyone is welcome and along the way choir members will learn to sing, read music and become part of a team. The choir will rehearse every Wednesday at 6pm and sing monthly at Sunday services. Email choristers@stmarybarnes.org for more information.

Small hall now available for hire

If you’re looking for an events venue for long term hire, the Small Hall at the Kitson Hall may well fit the bill. It’s going to be available for long term licencing from September 1, 2024. You can find out more by contacting the venue manager at kitsonhall@gmail.com.

North Worple Way restrictions

Richmond Council is planning to bring in traffic restrictions on  North Worple Way to tackle problems caused by drivers trying to dodge congestion on Mortlake High Street.

A ban on vehicles travelling west along North Worple Way will be introduced from 7am to 7pm on Mondays to Sundays on an experimental basis, with permit holders exempt. 

A report by council officers says that many of the pedestrian footways are “narrow and can sometimes lead to pedestrians entering the carriageway to pass one another”. It also flagged up concerns regarding pedestrian safety.

Lib Dem councillor Marjory Millum says: “As someone who has to drive through this area every time I take my car and try and get out of Barnes, it is a rat-run. There is a queue of traffic trying to get from Mortlake up to Chalkers Corner.”

The OSO is looking for new trustees

After 12 years the indefatigable Simon Danciger has decided to step down as Chair of Trustees at the OSO, although will continue as a trustee for a while longer. Sue Carruthers and Sharon Coussins will take over as co-chairs.

This means the OSO is now looking for two to three new trustees to join its board. In particular, the OSO is looking for individuals with expertise and experience in the fields of marketing, arts venue/production management, strategic planning and property management.

 

You can find out more here. 

Barnes Pond Market dates

Oh how we love it when the Barnes Pond Market returns. It’s like the first swallow of summer or the first green shoots of spring, a harbinger of warmth and sunnier days to come. Weather allowing, the collection of bric-a-brac stalls will be back by Barnes Pond on the first Saturday in April, and here are the dates to put in your diary for the rest of the year.

May 4
June 1
July 6
August 3
September 7
October 5

About the Bugle

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At the Bugle we endeavour to simply report what's going on in Barnes in as comprehensive and entertaining a way as possible. We have no agenda apart from spreading the word about the huge number of genuinely interesting things happening in and around Barnes and sharing information about local campaigns and news events.

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At the Bugle we endeavour to check information for accuracy to the best of our abilities. However we are reliant on information provided to us by third parties. On occasion, dates and times of events may be subject to change and we would urge Bugle readers wishing to attend events, or use a service mentioned to verify information in advance. Where possible we provide links to websites to allow readers to double check the most recent information available, as details can be subject to change.

 

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