December 2008 Archives

Children as young as four took to the stage at Wembley Academy's first ever Christmas play yesterday.

There wasn't a dry eye in the packed house as more than 50 pupils performed
Jesus in the Manger at the school in Forty Avenue.

A new children's centre has opened in Wembley offering a wide range of services for families in the area.

The £374,000 facility, which is housed within the recently-opened Wembley Primary School in East Lane, is already proving popular with the community.

Activities include under-five stay and play sessions, speech and language therapy classes, diet and nutrition support, a Citizens Advice Bureau and crèche.

IT courses, yoga, Jobcentre Plus and English language courses are also being introduced in the new year.

The centre's manager, Claire Charles, said: "We are delighted that the centre has already been so well received by parents and children and we are looking forward to welcoming many more new faces.

"The beauty of the centre is the wide range of services that we offer under one roof - it's a great place to come to get help and information on a range of issues and of course to meet other parents and make new friends."

The centre is one of seven being developed as part of a £3.6 million council programme.
Two have already opened at the Wembley Centre for Health and Care, in Chaplin Road and the Willesden Centre for Health and Care, in Robson Avenue.

And further children's centres will open in Queens Park and Alperton community schools and Fryent Primary School in the new year.

Councillor Bob Wharton, responsible for children and families, said: "Parents with small children can sometimes face problems and perhaps not know how or where to get advice.

"This new children's centre will allow them to access many support services and help to give children the best possible start."

For more information about childcare, contact Brent Council's children and families Information Service on 020 8937 3001.

A pot-smoking criminal who used fake documents to try to steal £100,000 worth of camera equipment from a hire company has been jailed for a year.

Mark Walters, 42, gave staff at the Soho hire shop a fake driving licence, before trying to make off with the expensive items.

But the manager became suspicious of his behaviour and immediately called the police, Southwark Crown Court heard last week.

On his arrest Walters gave a bogus name, but officers discovered his real identity after searching his pockets.

The born-again Christian claimed he had gone to collect the camera on behalf of an underworld figure, who was going to pay him £200 for his trouble.

Walters' home in North Church, Wembley, was later searched by police, who discovered he had converted his attic into a mini cannabis factory and was growing a small crop of marijuana plants.

A total of 20 plants were found to be growing in Walters' attic, but he told police he grew the drug for himself and did not sell it on to others.

Passing sentence, Judge Stephen Robbins told the defendant: "In so far as the fraud indictment is concerned, that was an elaborate scheme involving £100,000 worth of equipment.

"You played an essential, albeit minor, role as a courier."

Walters admitted one count of fraud and one of being concerned in the production of cannabis.

A CHRISTMAS festival will take place at Brent Council Town Hall on Thursday next week (18) with all residents being invited to get in the festive spirit.
The free event, organised by the council, kicks off with the screening of Miracle on 34th Street (1947) at 4pm, followed by refreshments, a tombola, pin the tail on the donkey, paper chain workshops and a Santa's Grotto.
From 6pm, pupils from St Andrew and St Francis Primary School, in Willesden, will give poetry readings followed up by a Christmas play from theatre group Drama Workhouse.
Christmas carols and music end the evening with a special appearance from Hear Me Now, a group from the BBC's Last Choir Standing competition, and a sing-along.

A crack house described by police as a "crime generator" has been shut down for three months following complaints from the public.

The flat in Alexandra Court, Empire Way, Wembley, was visited by drug addicts and dealers regularly, blighting the lives of neighbours.

Officers from Tokyngton Safer Neighbourhoods Team closed it down last Thursday, and it will remain boarded up.

Sergeant Liam Tierney, from Toykynton Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: "This address had been a crime generator for months. With the help of residents we have taken action to improve the lives of everyone in the block and send a clear message that Tokyngton will take action necessary to tackle drug crime and improve the lives of residents."

Police and Brent Council received many complaints about anti-social behaviour stemming from the Brent Housing Partnership-managed block.

These ranged from noise nuisance, prostitution and intimidation, to used syringes and needles being found in communal areas.

A crack house described by police as a "crime generator" has been shut down for three months following complaints from the public.

The flat in Alexandra Court, Empire Way, Wembley, was visited by drug addicts and dealers regularly, blighting the lives of neighbours.

Officers from Tokyngton Safer Neighbourhoods Team closed it down last Thursday, and it will remain boarded up.

Sergeant Liam Tierney, from Toykynton Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: "This address had been a crime generator for months. With the help of residents we have taken action to improve the lives of everyone in the block and send a clear message that Tokyngton will take action necessary to tackle drug crime and improve the lives of residents."

Police and Brent Council received many complaints about anti-social behaviour stemming from the Brent Housing Partnership-managed block.

These ranged from noise nuisance, prostitution and intimidation, to used syringes and needles being found in communal areas.

Are you a top puzzler, the pride of your local pub quiz team?

We are looking for people to set quizzes, crosswords and puzzles to be published in the Observer series in our New Year edition.

If you would like to set a puzzle or quiz for our readers please email davidtilley@trinitysouth.co.uk, write to Harrow Observer series, Gazette House, 28 Bakers Road, Uxbridge, UB8 1RG, or visit our website www.harrowobserver.co.uk

Closing date for submissions is December 19.

Brent Council is currently operating an air quality text service you can use to receive alerts to your home phone, mobile or by email on days of high air pollution.

AirTEXT is a free service and the alerts will give you advance warning so that you can take extra measures if your health is normally worse on these days. The service is recommended for people with asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, heart disease and angina, who are more at risk from high levels of air pollution.

You can receive alerts for the area where you work, go to school or live - even if this is not in Brent.

These free alerts go straight to your mobile phone and/or email on days of elevated air pollution and you can choose whether to receive your airTEXT alert on the evening before or on the actual morning of days when elevated air pollution is forecast.

Contact Brent Council's airTEXT coordinator to sign up on 020 8937 5252 or on www.airtext.info

A rogue trader who peddled piles of fake designer clothes has been banned from every market in England and Wales.

Adnel Avram, 30, was also slapped with a three-month suspended prison sentence, ordered to complete 150 hours of community service and fined more than £10,000.

The stall-holder, who also goes by the name of Hagi Avram, sold the counterfeit clothes at Wembley and Bovingdon markets, before being stung by Brent and Harrow Trading Standards.

Undercover officers raided his home in Holyrood Avenue, South Harrow, in January and found a stash of more than 700 items hidden away in his garden shed and white transit van.

The haul included clothes displaying the names of popular brands such as Diesel, Lacoste, Timberland, Dolce & Gabbana, Stone Island and Moschino.

Avram, who had been sent a number of warning letters from trading standards officers about selling the fakes, was subsequently arrested but claimed the goods belonged to his 18-year-old brother.

He appeared at Brent Magistrates' Court on November 20 and pleaded guilty to 10 offences under the Trade Marks Act.

The court was told the trader had "told porky pies" to probation officers about his level of involvement in the illegal enterprise and had been caught on more than one occasion supplying fake goods at Wembley Market.

Avram will face a year in jail if he fails to pay the £10,250 fines and costs within six months.

Bill Bilon, director of Brent and Harrow Trading Standards Service, said: "Mr Avram was warned about his illegal conduct at the market on more than one occasion but he continued to offend.

"We remain as committed as ever to prohibiting the sale of counterfeit goods from Wembley Market or anywhere else within our boroughs."

ST Andrew's churchgoers have begun their 'Journey to Bethlehem' by sheltering the baby Jesus from their Christmas crib in their own homes.
Each night the Christ Child will be carried around the homes of the parish in Sudbury on a symbolic journey to celebrate Advent.
"As Christmas approaches the idea is to reflect on the journeys we have made so far in our own lives and the journey we continue to make towards the birth of Christ in the stable 2000 years ago and in our hearts every day," said the Rev'd Felicity Scroggie.
"Maybe we are journeying from a place of fear to a place of trust, from unbelief belief, from a place of dispossesion to one of belonging, or from exile to somewhere we know as home."
St Andrew's, in Harrow Road, is open all day from 9am-7pm for prayer in the build-up to Christmas and there is a huge labyrinth laid out on the floor for people to journey around.
Advent discussion groups are beging held on Tuesday nights and Wednesday mornings. On December 17 churchgoers will be singing in the nearby Black Horse pub and also around the streets of Sudbury on December 21.