Forum Topics

Read with children!

Do you remember a character from a childhood book as fondly as an old friend?If you do, you’ll know the magic of being able to slip into another world as and when you need to, or how books can make your world a bigger, brighter place.For bookworms especially, it’s hard to believe that anyone could see reading as anything other than empowering, or even just a pleasure. For the third of children from disadvantaged areas who leave primary school without being able to read well, often it’s nothing but a chore.That’s why we like to turn up on the doorstep, with a backpacks full of books, two little stools, and a pair of volunteers who know that words take you places. Every week, come rain or shine, our volunteers bring the magic of reading directly into families’ homes every week, in low-income areas across London.Doorstep Library volunteers don’t just read stories; they do the silly voices, handpick the books, and give special recommendations. By making it fun first, we get to watch children transform into budding readers. We love when parents get stuck in with the sessions too and encourage them to get involved in their children’s education.Sometimes though, we’re just there to give a bit of extra support, whether we’re passing on info about a family activity, lending an ear, or even just being a friendly face. Then, before we go, we leave behind a selection of books for each child to borrow for the week.If this sounds like the role for you, these are the basics. We run projects on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons in estates across Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham and Lambeth.In Hammersmith and Fulham, we start at 3.45pm and finish at 6.30pm. If you'd like to know more contact Daniela Cardoso at digital@doorsteplibrary.org.uk

Emily Oliver ● 2822d0 Comments ● 2822d

Kensington to Hounslow corridor

Over the last 5 years there has been massive construction of private apartments along the corridor from Kensington to Hounslow, such that currently, during the morning and evening extended rush hours being able to get on a bus has become more and more difficult.On this route, the access to the Piccadilly line to get to Heathrow has escalator/lift access at only Hammersmith and East/West Hounslow. This means that disabled people, those who suffer from claustrophobia and those with heavy baggage in this area, are forced to use a taxi, at a cost of £20 - £40. When the matter has been raised over the last few years with TFL, the ongoing excuse is that it would make the route too long!  So if that is the case, would TFL give consideration to introducing a new service to start, when the N9 stops its extension during the day, known as an EXPRESS service 9 (X9) running during the day and only stopping at centres of commercial areas with many other local bus services, or underground, serving as a feeder service. This would have a considerable number of benefits for all users plus those who want to travel long distances on the existing services, being able to travel quicker than staying on the local bus service, as with the 607 along Uxbridge RoadPROPOSED BUS STOPSHammersmith Bus Station, (Start point of service) Stop BTurnham Green Church Stop DD/CVBrentford High Street Stop BL/BNIsleworth Stop FHounslow West Station Stop AHeathrow Central Bus Station Stand 19Heathrow T5 Stand 6All these stops are on the existing N9 service route.BONUSWith ongoing problem of existing road congestion, and the construction of the new runway, it is forecast that there will be considerable delays in the local area. As a case in point on the morning of 9 November I went to collect a passenger from T3 and it took 1 HOUR to get from the junction with the M4 into Terminal 3! In the event that these sorts of congestion arise again, the Local TFL area manager can decide to turn the bus around at Hounslow West station, thus allowing passengers for Heathrow to transfer onto the Piccadilly line into LHR.If you support this concept for an additional service, every concerned person would be gratefully appreciated. To do this, please send an email to your MP and London assembly representative.  Please also put any ideas that make the idea more relevant, and then post them to the forum.'See https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/ where you can find details of you MP and https://www.london.gov.uk/people/assembly for your GLA representative. When posting your support, copy and paste the above leaving the last paragraph off the paste.

Philip Weaver ● 2873d1 Comments ● 2845d

B.B.C. Documentary.

B,B.C. 2 Wales at 9.00 pm on January 12. For viewers with Sky and Freeview it can also be seen on the same date and time. Otherwise for viewers throughout the U.K it can be viewed at 9.00pm pm on B.B.C.4 on January 22.                                                                                                                             It is the biggest unsolved serial murder case in British criminal history - the so-called 'Jack the Stripper' murders took place in Swinging Sixties London.Six women lost their lives to a killer who was never caught. Criminologist Professor David Wilson leads an investigation to unmask the killer, who claimed more victims than even his notorious Victorian namesake, Jack the Ripper.Professor Wilson and his investigative team - which includes former detective Jackie Malton and forensic psychologist Professor Mike Berry - begin their hunt for the killer not in London, but 150 miles away in Abertillery, South Wales. In 1921, the Welsh mining town was devastated by the double murder of two schoolgirls when eight-year-old Freda Brunell and 11-year-old Florence Little were killed just weeks apart by a local boy 15-year-old Harold Jones, who the Abertillery residents still refer to as their 'Dark Son'.Those murders - especially the sadistic nature of their deaths, and the treatment of the bodies afterwards - have eerie parallels with the 'Jack the Stripper' murders. Could Harold Jones the boy killer really have matured in later life into a serial killer?To test this theory, the team revisit the scenes of the murders in west London. They use contemporary policing techniques such as geographical and offender profiling to see if the crimes of Jones the boy can be measured against those of Jack the Stripper. And from the outset, it becomes apparent there are many chilling similarities.

Neil Milkins ● 2849d0 Comments ● 2849d