Category: Estate

Father Christmas

Father Christmas will be delivering on the Woodlands Estate as usual on Christmas Eve. As usual we are asking parents to provide a small present themselves and there will also be a small charge of £2 per present delivered to help Father Christmas maintain his sleigh. The presents should be wrapped and clearly marked with the child’s name and address, and delivered to 69 Woodland Gardens with the fee by 23rd December.

Parking Puzzle

New local CPZs will add to pressure for space to park in our area. A reminder that it is an offence to park on the footway or grass verge. Also to cross a kerb to park in a front garden unless a crossover (dropped kerb + drive) has been installed by the Council.

WERFA Bake Off

I was so pleased to see so many residents at our Bake Off and tea afternoon on Sun 30th Sep. There was a really fun atmosphere and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves;  seeing  the entrants’ efforts [congratulations to all the winners] and sampling the tea and cakes on offer. It was also good to see so many of our younger residents taking part. I would like to thank all those who helped on the day, and in particular Barbara Hecht for organising the event, and all the preparation beforehand. I hope we will do something similar next year as part of our planned Summer Fair. Chris Hack, Chairman

Isleworth Voluntary Care Network needs your help

Please can you join other local volunteers to help local people by:

  • Giving occasional lifts to medical appointments at GP surgeries and local hospitals (mileage allowance given).
  • Befriending the housebound
  • Help also needed for daytime social events organised by our

It’s sociable and rewarding. If you may be able to help, please ring our office at St John’s Community Centre on 020 8569 8254 and leave your contact details. Thank you

Hounslow Residents’ Associations Forum

The forum is open to all borough Residents’ associations and community groups- WERFA is represented. It provides an opportunity to hear direct from senior council officers and councillors about their responsibilities and plans. Attendees  can raise questions, offer criticisms and suggest actions.  It meets about every two months at the Civic Centre and is on Thursday mornings when the Chair, Cllr Katherine Dunne can fit it in her schedule. Cllr Dunne is Hounslow Council Cabinet member for Communities and Workforce which includes Voluntary Sector and Citizen Engagement. Recent meetings have featured strategies on Waste & Recycling, Customer Experience (and website), Thriving Communities and Engagement, and Policy & Scrutiny.  Next time, 10.00am 29 November, the major topic will be Planning. For more info contact werfa@hotmail.co.uk.

In the Garden 

 The best time to plant tulip bulbs is November and they do well in containers. Plant the bulbs to a depth of about three times their own height and a bulb or two width apart. It is important for tulips to have good drainage, so put some broken crocks in the bottom of your container and mix horticultural grit in with your compost. Also, raise the container on pot feet to avoid waterlogging. Tulips like a cold winter, a good watering in spring and a good baking from June to September.    Julia

Watching Nature –  Love them or loathe them

Jimmy Hendrix released them from his flat in Soho – Myth.

At the end of filming ‘The African Queen’ in Isleworth they were released into the wild – Not true.

The Blue Peter garden has also been blamed — along with countless other wild claims.

What are we talking about?

Ring necked parakeets or to give them their correct name Rose ringed parakeets.In all probability unwanted pets were released, or escaped, and of course the great storm that destroyed many aviaries is the most likely reason why we have these beautiful birds in the wild.

I saw my first Rose ringed parakeet in Kew gardens around 1979, almost 30 years after ‘The African Queen’ was made and you will not see any of these birds in this famous film. However, once in print, these myths continue. It was in the late 70’s that these birds really started to colonise in our area. They have now spread out in all directions reaching as far north as Manchester.

These birds are native to India where they are very common and a popular cage bird. It is estimated by the RSPB that there are now 50,000 of these birds in the Britain and they are still spreading.

Stephen Moss the producer and author who gave a talk to our residents last year told me that he had organised a camera crew to film the famous roost of over 6,000 parakeets at Esher Rugby Ground only to find that the week before they had moved en masse to Stanwell. Les

In the Borough

♦  Constituency Boundary change plans have been confirmed. Hounslow South will become part of a new Hounslow and Feltham constituency

♦  Ward boundaries are up for review now and we can participate in the consultation on potential changes.. A public meeting on this will be Wednesday 14 November, from 6pm in the Blue zone at the Civic Centre (The last review in 2000 moved us into Hounslow South ward despite protests)

Fly tipping

Sadly there’s been at least one recent street incident in Woodland Gardens (as well as the frequent bin problem on Riverside Walk). Any black bags we see outside bins have been placed illegally.

Hounslow Council is very keen to catch illegal dumpers so urge us to report incidents as soon as we see them and provide photos of the rubbish and any other clues. It gives them/Hounslow Highways a chance to catch the criminals who do this. They may find clues in the bags – and the quicker the better.  In hot weather it takes only hours for dumped food and worse to rot and attract flies and less time for foxes to find and spread it.  Report it online:

http://www.hounslowhighways.org/38-contact-us.html also

https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/info/20114/street_problems/1228/report_dumped_rubbish

A Hounslow Highways spokesperson said:

“I can confirm that even fly tip enquiries reported at a weekend are treated the same as at other times We endeavour to get them cleared within 24 hours from the time of report.”

Bake On – and more!

A family Baking Competition with Afternoon Tea in the Pavilion will take place later in the summer/autumn. Look out for the competition date and recipes in future newsletters!

(provisional date Sunday 30 September).  With perhaps a revival of some other traditional ‘Flower Show’ activities.

We have had too much on for a big event in the Park this year but hope, with enough helpers, to hold an outdoor summer event next year.

WERFA Data Protection Policy

WERFA will hold the names and addresses of all members of the Residents Association and the amount paid to be a member.  Members must accept that this information will be held in order to become a member.

This data will be only be used to confirm membership of the Association, to record participation in the WERFAGO lottery, and claim GiftAid, where this has been authorised by individual members.  It will not be passed to any other third party without the expressed consent of the individual concerned.
This policy will be published annually in our Newsletter prior to membership renewal.