May 2008 Archives

By David Baker

Community spirit was at a high on Saturday when villagers packed out Pinner Memorial Park in aid of West House.

Residents from across Pinner enjoyed the music, children's rides and good weather on Saturday (24) at the sixth annual May Time Revels.

Raffles and stall sales helped generate much needed funds for the development of West House, which is being redeveloped into a museum and art gallery.

The event was organised by the Friends of West House, a group which leads fundraisers for the project, and one member, Cynthia Wells, who is also vice chairman of the West House and Heath Robinson Museum Trust, was delighted with the success of the day.

She said: "The day went absolutely brilliantly. We were very lucky to get the one day over the bank holiday where the weather was very good, and everyone seemed to have a fantastic day.

"We also managed to raise more than £300 just on the raffle, so we are really pleased with how it all went."

A burglar stole £100 after entering through an unlocked window of a house in Cranbourne Drive, Pinner,between 6.30pm on Saturday (17) and 1am the next day.
Anyone with information should call Harrow Police on 020 8733 3441.

By choir member Claire Palmer

Jubilate choir participates in a number of regional competitions, and has just had a successful weekend at the Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts Saturday May 17, coming first in our class (with a score of 89 per cent) and taking home a cup! We regularly perform in and around Harrow, at Christmas and summer time, and hold fundraising concerts for St Luke's Hospice in Kenton. We are planning to record a CD soon.
Jubilate started as the Kingsbury School choir in the 1980s. It won many competitions, including the prestigious Llangollen Eisteddfod. Other Achievements included reaching the semi-finals of Sainsbury's Choir of the Year and appearing on Opportunity Knocks.
The choir now has around 40 members. Some of the original members even remain in the ranks, and with Sarah Stroh as our Musical Director we have gone from strength to strength. Sarah studied at the Royal Academy of Music and sings professionally - she has appeared as a soloist at the Royal Albert Hall and the Belfast Waterfront Hall and toured France, Bulgaria and Macedonia.

By David Baker

Pinner Fair is set to cause traffic congestion across Harrow when roads close and buses are diverted to accommodate the traditional event.
The fair has dominated the main streets of Pinner each year since it first came to the borough 1336, and like years gone by drivers are set to suffer as a result.
From 5pm on Tuesday (May 27) until 1am on Thursday (May 29) as many as 13 roads in Pinner will be closed while four bus routes will be altered.
The streets closing on the day include Bridge Street, Chapel Lane, Elm Park Road, Love Lane, Waxwell Lane and parts of Marsh Road.
The 183, H11, H12 and H13 will be diverted as a result of the closures and all routes will return to normal at 8am on Thursday.
There will also be restricted traffic flow along George V Avenue due to the inside lane being closed for the use of fairground vehicles.
For a full list of closures and planned bus diversions visit the Harrow Council website.

More than 400 people paid tribute to the lives lost during the Holocaust in a special ceremony held at Pinner Synagogue.
Yom Hashoah, a day set aside by Jews to remember their persecution during the Second World War, has been commemorated at the synagogue in Cecil Park, Pinner, for the past 19 years.
And this year's event is believed to have attracted the biggest attendance ever.
Brian Eisenberg, a member of the synagogue, helped organise the event and was delighted with the turnout, particularly from younger members of the community.
He said: "Everyone felt the evening went brilliantly and we think it was the biggest turnout ever. To get so many people interested in this is very rewarding because it is something we need to keep in the minds of all generations.
"Obviously we are always worried that it's going to start fading in memory as generations get older so it is crucial to keep it in the minds of the younger people."
This year's focus was on the 70th anniversary of the Kindertransport - trains which were used to transport more than 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi Germany to Britain prior to the War.
As part of the evening two former Kinder, Susi Bechhofer and Herman Hirschberger spoke about their own experiences during the Holocaust, and Ambassador of the Slovak Republic, His Excellency Juraj Zervan, addressed those who turned up on the night.
Amongst the 400 people at the evening on May 1, were students from schools across the area who read out poems and lit candles in memory of those who died during the War.
Six candles were lit - one for every million Jews persecuted.
Pupils from Heathfield School, based in Beaulieu Drive, Pinner, came along to hear first hand accounts of those who survived the Holocaust, to help with an upcoming production on Kindertransport.
Families of the children on the Kindertransport had to pay £50 per child to send them to Britain between November 9, 1938, and September 1, the following year.

by Tara Brady

An appeal to restore a historic Pinner building has been left in turmoil after it failed to secure £1million in lottery funding for the second time running.

Pupils at Reddiford School in Cecil Park, Pinner, will put together a giant paper chain as part of a Friendship Day on Wednesday, May 21.

Children at Pinner Park First School nursery will literally reap what they got to sow during a sun-drenched gardening workshop.

OFSTED has called on governors and parents to start pulling in the same direction at a feuding Pinner school.

A pair of conmen tricked their way into an elderly woman's home and stole £195 on Friday (May 9).