| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:What’s the future for the Ealing Park Tavern | |
| Posted by: | John Dickinson | |
| Date/Time: | 05/10/24 17:40:00 |
| Hmmm. I'm a resident local to Occupation Lane, my home almost on the meeting of the lane, the path down the cemetery, and Clayponds Avenue. I've lived there for 25 years. My flat looks over that area. I do not recognised what is being described in this thread. I'm a late-50s man, and routinely walk and cycle along the paths and roads, at all times of day and night. They are a delight, barring the inevitable bit graffiti and the hanging around of folk who are either of that stage of life where hanging around is a thing and are boundary-testing, with the braggadocio, bluster, and swaggering grabs for status amongst their peers, or are the less fortunate who might like a beer, smoke, or joint in a comfortable place away from an all-too-cramped home-life, all-too-car-and-motorbike blighted street, all-too-expensive pub. I've never seen any "drug dealing", and the only time I remember being harangued was perhaps a decade ago when some teenagers lobbed twigs over the cemetery fence at me, at which point I barked at them something like "COME HEEEEERREEE!" and they ran off, scared witless. The fact that I can enjoy the utterly lovely cemetery, the quiet, low traffic (and one totally traffic-free) roads, lined with trees, in a city, is magnificent. The particularly bad events I've experienced have been 1) over the summer of 2023 when on a few nights the now quiet cul-de-sac of Clayponds Avenue attracted a congregation of loud cars, and loud music from the cars, in the middle of the night, doing some sort of partying - thankfully they didn't return this summer, 2) similarly anti-social individuals or groups with a moped who ignore the traffic restrictions. Part of the problem is often low-quality, estate kinds of housing (Clayponds estate - though it's also green and spacious, not too high-rise, not too shabby) in which of the less fortunate congregate. Do I wish that loafers, litterers, unruly teenagers, boy-racers and aggressive oiks would have grown up in a society that had made them more considerate, less oikish? Of course. And there is always the risk of worse. All sorts of factors are playing into our society that might be making it less civilised. And I am forever aware that being a woman makes things much worse. I'm lucky for not just having the oasis of human scaled, mature nature around me (including Gunnersbury Park and the walkable-distance river, canal, and other parks) I'm lucky to be able to be freer of the concerns that come with being a woman, which might make paths and quiet roads more intimidating. (I was also, though, brought up by a Mother who live her life to the full, not letting fears stop her enjoying things, and she instilled some of that in me). It is such a shame that the Ealing Park Tavern (the grim Penny Flyer when I moved here) is not being used, and I long for its return (with better beer than the stuff it used to brew) and hope against hope that the owners don't persuade the council to allow change of use. It's a community asset that should be recognised as such. I long for the cemetery chapels to get the love they deserve. I watch with interest as cafes and shops open and close. I suggest that stuff like "drug dealers" and "no-go areas" become self-sustaining myths. Do they exist? Yes, of course. Can they add a level of risk of violence? Yes, of course. Should there be efforts and initiatives for the better world we all want? Yes, of course. But the starting point for all effort must be what is true, and some myths might cause the circumstance they're describing if they put folk off using the areas. The solution is not always more cars, more lights, more cramming of the city with more concrete, tarmac, signs, buildings, and all the other ironically dehumanising products of humanity. |