Weekly Update From Councillor Guy Lambert

Please donate to Hounslow Foodbox all year round

So the year has turned to 18 and gets its key to the door but I doubt we’ll be having too many wild parties in Brexisterityland. Doesn’t stop me getting a sharp email from the editor along the lines of ‘Oi’.

Any road up, I left you when I was on the way out to the Foodbox to pick up some parcels for delivery to those who can’t pick them up themselves. The little unit where Foodbox does its stuff was packed with their lovely volunteers who work so hard to make life a bit easier for those in desperate need. There was also one ‘customer’ who had  a few moments of tearfulness. Apparently this is quite common and our volunteers are used to providing hugs and comfort, which helps a great deal. Most of the deliveries were for Feltham, as it happened, and they were all boxed up and ready for me. I went to pick a box up and decided it was a two man job and whilst I was thinking that, one of the slender female volunteers picked it up and started taking it towards my car. ‘You get used to it’ she said. I just learned today that the Foodbox helped 2000 individuals in December, which compared to the previous (November) record of 800. That is an astonishing number and the people who do all the work should be as proud as the people in central government who make it necessary should be ashamed. Keep the donations coming because you can be hungry any time of year, not just Christmas.

On Christmas Day I decided to do a bit of volunteering. With my usual superb organisation, by the time I decided to do it most places had a full complement but a Catholic church in Teddington was doing turkey dinners for the elderly and/or lonely and the car becomes a useful asset to ferry them to and fro. It was all pretty good, with a bit of community singing and no religion (which suits a heathen like me). We ‘sang’ the 12 days of Christmas (I was handing out teas at the time so had an excuse to keep mum) and I remarked to one of my fellow volunteers that as a child and young person I puzzled every Christmas as to what 4 Collie Birds looked like – Lassies with wings? She said she had had the same problem but was probably just humouring me.

That aside, other than a bit of social life I have had a quiet couple of weeks. On New Year’s Day I went to Brooklands to an annual old car event they have there. In the museum I espied this story:

attached to this splendid machine

Can any body enlighten on the subject of John Charles and Co Ltd of Brentford, Engineers and Coachbuilders, who built this beauty?

On Tuesday I spent a couple of hours cycling down the A4 cycle lane between Syon Lane and Chiswick Roundabout and back again with the chair of Hounslow Cycling. The idea was to inspect the lane, signage etc to inform further feedback to TfL who are planning to make some improvements along part of this stretch. Trouble is, as a councillor I find myself stopping every few yards to take a picture of some problem or other – there seems to have been an outbreak of graffiti tagging over the holiday and TfL, as ever, seem to have decided that it’s a great place to store rusty signs, sandbags, traffic cones etc.  A few people think a bit of flytipping improves the look too.

Wednesday I meet with some Labour colleagues. The dust is beginning to settle on our selection elections and we have candidates practically everywhere except Chiswick, where we’ll be making our minds up in January (well, the Chiswick members will). Time to start planning an election campaign which will keep us off the streets between here and May. Well, on the streets, to be more precise.

Aside from that, I’ve been easing myself back into councilloring gently before we get back to normal business from next week, catching up with phone calls and emails. Pity really, I’ve enjoyed doing very little for a couple of weeks, but I suppose I’ll get used to it!

Councillor Guy Lambert

January 5, 2018