What Brentford Needs is Chewed Pink Owls

Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert reports back

Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert

April 10, 2025

On Friday I started with a visit to the FoodBox place in Brickfield Close, behind Pets at Home. This was to pick up a bank card that the geniuses at Lloyds bank had sent there, causing me a bit of anxiety because I tried to approve a payment and the old debit card had expired without notice. Obviously they didn't send it to me, but Lloyds have form as far as I'm concerned. I should probably have a party to celebrate 20 years of being free from Lloyds for my personal banking, but I don't seem to be able to escape them entirely.

The good news when I got to Brickfield, was a bunch of people who turned out to be volunteers from Heathrow Airport were busy in our kitchen garden.

The lady volunteer who works so hard on growing vegetables was so delighted to have this support. Warms the cockles of my heart. Cockles in my heart? Perhaps I need to see a doctor.

I had a largely free day after this and I had decided to go and look at some of the places Hadley, who are busy redeveloping (or planning to) the old GSK site had told me of some schemes elsewhere they are progressing. So I got the tube along to North Greenwich and the bus down to central Greenwich. It had dawned me on the way that they actually have not yet started here so there was no Hadley stuff to see, but it's interesting to see how other parts of London live. There is a lot of development there - not terribly lovely IMO but clean and modern. I think we need a branch of Chewed Pink Owls in Brentford.

I took a break on the way back at Canada Water, which I hadn't really clocked before and thought would be interesting. It wasn't very. Not a patch on Brilliant.

Talking of which we had the next meeting of our people who are trying to Make Brentford Great Again by establishing it as a Heritage Harbour. I suggested we impose 125% tariffs on anything coming from Ealing but I got little support on that and revoked the tariffs. Of course that was my plan all the time. Well, we made a bit of progress, at least in terms of getting a bit more structure into our efforts to move this forward. We will have 5 trustees (once we actually have an organisation) and I am delighted to be one of them along with at least two real boat people. I am a real people but don't live on a boat.

On Sunday it was the Chiswick Flower Market. I have supported this from the start though to be fair my support is mainly spiritual or theoretical. There have been resistance to the markets, mainly from local councillors who should know better but the markets, in particular the flower one, have been a great success and have certainly attracted many to Chiswick to enjoy its charms. This was a special day because the local partner Abundance (and/or the Flower Market itself) had gained agreement and funding from Hounslow Council and support from local companies including Hounslow Highways to create a new seating area and planting outside the old police station. Local celeb Nicki Chapman (off the telly!) and a supporter from Isleworth (sorry I didn't get her name) cut the ribbon having been introduced by local human dynamo Karen Liebreich. With my unparalleled cinema expertise I managed to catch Nicki with her face covered.

On Monday I got in my car and went up to see my eldest sister Toni and my middle sister Vicki in darkest Norfolk. My parents, among the most conventional people on the planet in the 1940s and 1950s very surprisingly gave all their children names that were very unconventional at the time. Toni wanted to be called Katherine (she cheats because that is her middle name) and I wanted to be Dave. Not sure of Vicki's view but at school they insisted she was called Victoria, which she wasn't, and which of course she hated. Nobody was called Victoria in the 1950s except various people's grannies. Not mine, who was the equally outdated Emily. Anyway lovely to see them. The relevant Brothers-in-Law have their difficulties. One broke his leg in 2 places but is back to walking 5 miles a day. I am similar. I walk 5 miles every month without fail. The other is recovering from cancer which he claims is of the cervix, but he likes a bit of drama. I of course am called Guy, but my dark secret is that my first name is actually Edwin. I have never been called that except occasionally as a nickname. I used to be Edwin in the NHS but I persuaded them to switch my first names around. It still confuses banks, airlines, and the council, though they know how to manage it. "the Labour party candidate - no longer, I'm an ex now - Edwin Guy Lambert (known as Guy Lambert) has been duly elected".

Well I hope that little diatribe amused you. It doesn't tell you much about Brentford, I confess.

On Tuesday evening we had the Cabinet Question Time at the vacuum cleaner stadium. I attended for some reason (I seem to have an over-developed sense of duty). I didn't learn anything, partly because I couldn't hear and partly because there was very little I didn't already know. I kept mum throughout but one of my council colleagues took a scurrilous picture that gave the impression I was half asleep (true) and fat (utter nonsense). There was coffee and various snacks. I didn't want a sandwich but I did take a Kit Kat. Perhaps I should be declaring it as a freebie.

Before that there was excitement around the Police Station. Well, it was the opposite really. Earlier in the day I had cycled past it on the way back of doing a bit of inspecting in Challis and Whitestile and Windmill Roads. I found another Goddards van (with a matching trailer) in a front garden accompanied by another car. The tax ran out on this one ran out in August 2020 but mysteriously it has had a valid MoT until March 2024. Sherlock - get to it. Actually this is in Ealing so I suppose I should be calm.

At the police station I noticed a couple of young men stacking up pallets. I wondered whether they were trying to get in to the building. I should have called 999 (a copper told me that later) but I just wrote an urgent email to the enforcement guy at the council and the local Sergeant.

Somebody rang me later to say there was a fire engine and Ambulances around the cop shop. I had a sinking feeling and went to investigate. Talked to a bored but friendly fireman who told me he didn't think anyone was injured but the scene was alarming.

I chatted briefly with a copper but learnt nothing more (I suppose somebody knows what was going on but officially they are very reluctant to share). I went back a bit later and saw that the 2 or 3 pallets I'd seen stacked earlier had now become 10 of them .

I feel bad for not reporting it better early on, but the truth of the matter is that that site has not been properly secured during all the time I have been a councillor. It wasn't in my ward until 3 years ago but prior to that I was nagging Steve Curran to improve it because there was heavy fly tipping and the building was never secured. The fly tipping was cleared from time from time after more nagging of Steve and officers. Earlier this year people were seen on the roof and somebody put graffiti very near the top of the building. I have been arguing and will continue to, that the building should be securely boarded. I raised it again, and extended it to the Leader and lead member for regeneration but I have had no response from anybody. I assume we have escaped a tragedy. Yet. At the very least we need to take those pallets and any other potential 'ladders' away, fast.

On Wednesday evening we had a Trustee meeting for Hounslow Community FoodBox. We now have a full and very professional set of trustees and a new agenda to move the service forward. It is currently financially stable but these kinds of activities are fragile so keep the donations of food etc and £££ going.

Afterwards I was down to the Watermans Arms for a Brentford Voice drinks. There were few people there when I arrived (I suspect some might have been and gone) but a good chat until somebody knocked over my beer. When I was very young, such an accident might have led to an incident. Well, I suppose it did. Somebody talked to the landlord and returned with a long handle dustpan and brush. No fisticuffs or raised voices. Nothing to laugh at at all.

Today nothing much on so I met my daughter and delivered the keys of her flat in Chiswick which is on sale, to Quilliam. It reflects my interior decorating fashionable approach. "The property has been neutrally decorated, providing the perfect canvas for you to put your own stamp on it." Do they know the price of stamps these days? My Brother-in-Law was ranting about it on Monday.

A pretty picture for your weekend.

Councillor Guy Lambert