Haven Green Stables Saved and Red 46

Great news in from Victor Mishiku  -he's confirmed that the Haven Stables is won!

2 Years after the fight commenced he's shown the importance of Covenants and his own steel in standing up for them.

A building that won't become flats 

It's too darned hot

A really nice evening yesterday with a chance to catch up with long-time friends Liz and Mike.
Kicked off with a drink at The Kent and then on to Pitshanger's Atlantis Greek restaurant - good value meal and the Retsina flowed.

Lizzie and Debbie 

Yours truly and Mike

It's around 10 years since Mike and Liz left Ealing to carry out the build of a super energy efficient home near Evesham  and they're now going to the Island of Skye to create an even bigger home along with something of a holiday letting business.

[Their first house is for sale - check it out]

The big issue for them both is the warming planet and the destruction of our habitat so this is a project from their heart.

Having had a very hot September to date it's hard to argue the point with conviction  and temperature wise we're in un-charted territory - is the Earth going to continue to warm and how quickly will life become difficult for the ever growing population?

Red 46

So this, a small fan is probably not really enough to cope with the weather we've been having of late (but it is red)

A fan and not my only one!

Prep for BEAT w/2 and Red 47

All credit to those behind setting up an Arts Trail in the Borough of Ealing (the coverage is spreading) - the first weekend went well as far as I can tell (being in one of the venues the overall vision is limited).

Hoping to give visitors more to look at 

It'll be intriguing to see if word of mouth gets us more visitors and whether or not we get some repeat appearances from punters.

Gordon's Woodcarvings' display

I've actually been printing and mounting to give some additional depth to what I'm showing and to fulfil a customer order - next week, after it's over  there'll be some celebrations and the opportunity to reflect on what worked well and how we can improve.

Orchard Café - our home for w/e 2

For me the brochure and 'Commercial' have been particular high points- the brochure is the right size and well structured to fit the purpose - the TV style commercial incredibly slick and provided another level of professional sheen.

Been very lucky with a shared venue as well - it means extra visitors and the chance to chat with  adjacent Artists-see some of their varied  work too.


BEAT : Borough of Ealing Art Trail 2016 from james lewis on Vimeo.

Red 47

A red  'Sun Tropical' drink carton discarded in nearby park.

-Not so Exotic now?

If you've got a 'Red' idea send it to me here

mail me

Allotment, Mysteries of the Mind and Red 48

Down on Plot 202 yesterday - harvesting Potatoes, Onions and (yet more) Tomatoes -  feels like summer is almost over but certainly a hot one (31C in London and in double figures in Gateshead too).

I'm looking like I've onions for a few months and will dry them out now before hanging them up.

I'm drying them for a week or two first

More soft fruit too 

A busy bee not as worried by the heat

Seeing signs of Olives growing on bushes I've had for a few years - not a normal crop to harvested in the UK in any numbers - 

Mysteries of the Mind

A lesson or two learnt

I've had a fascination of late with how and what we are - largely I subscribe to a 'Newtonian Model' but recognise that we're still refining it.

One of the areas that seems (perhaps) knowable but where we're still putting together evidence is how the mind/brain works.

From the Mail on Sunday I saw a review of a book I'd like to read - Patient HM by Luke Dittrich 

After World War II there was a rather 'Gung Ho attitude to operations on the brain the recipient of such an operation was a young man who was suffering severely from Epilepsy - partial Lobotomy performed and pretty much all short term memory was lost - this brain and the patient have provided a rich source of knowledge about howe the brain works - drastic way of doing it though.

Red 48

Odd that a favourite fruit has avoided the radar-  until now.

Strawberries forever 

 [see the latest rough cut of the ongoing project here]

[I sometimes wonder where the tracks Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane would have sat on the Sgt Pepper album - had they not been released the double A-sided single ahead of the 'Opus']

Pathways changing allotments and Red 49

Oldest (and best)

Last week I went to one of a number of consultative meetings regarding Housing Charities Pathway's stated aim to re-use land bequeathed by the Bishop of London in 1832 for Allotment use to provide Housing.



It's fair to say that this is causing a stir in the area of the site.

Pathways - bad guys?

It was good to see the Labour MP, Rupa Huq  whose ward the allotments sit in attending the meeting - she didn't make a lot of noise or fuss and I hope that here presence has a good affect on the outcome of the issue around the allotments.

Just more concrete or a community asset?

I can understand that a Housing charity should wish to use resources for provision of housing but that doesn't mean they can - there were, fairly recently  moves to change the law but for me as  a layperson the picture now is not that  clear.


I'm very far from being a Lawyer or Solicitor but do know that we rely on the law for a smooth running society - I also know that precedent is very important in English (and British) Law the idea that land bequeathed for one purpose should become available for another seems at odds with the way that the law operates.








2 points

1) It's not clear  that Pathways have the right to sell the land

2)  Can the Housing charity believe that   they will not meet any opposition?  - this looks unlikely to be the case - for sure the Bishop and Pathways were not set up to be a charitable institution supplying legal firms with work!

Part of a lovely green space.

Red 49

Sad to see an abandoned Henry  - odd too to think that it's a Henry (the Hoover) when it's not really a Hoover as Hoover make Hoovers.

But it's Red

Henry's still grinning