Hammersmith Bridge Protest on Saturday 5 December

On Saturday 5 December from 2-3pm there will be a Hammersmith Bridge Protest Meeting.  Hammersmith Bridge is now closed not just to vehicles but also to bicycles, pedestrians and river traffic. 

The bridge is to remain closed indefinitely, as our Council, TFL and central government argue over who should pay. 

When will the bridge re-open? It has been closed since April 2019, following a long and sorry saga of temporary closures and regular postponement of the necessary repairs.

If you're fed up with the endless delays and prevarications and would like to see our council do something about repairing the bridge (which they own), then show up and let your voice be heard.

D-Day-style Solution for Hammersmith Bridge?

Proposed temporary bridge by Tim Beckett

According to a recent article in the Daily Mail, Shepherd's Bush author and journalist Robert Hardman has identified an imaginative solution to the perma-closure of Hammersmith Bridge - a "D-Day"-style steel replacement. 

The temporary bridge is the brainchild of marine engineer Tim Beckett and his team at Beckett Rankine, builders of harbours, bridges and piers. 

Cooke's Pie and Mash Reborn?

Photo: Helen Carey

Cooke's Pie and Mash is back - or is it? Cooke's Pie and Mash closed its doors on 25 July 2015, a casualty of the aborted redevelopment of Shepherd's Bush Market that never was. 

Cooke's Pie and Mash had been a feature of the the Goldhawk Road for over a century, and was made famous by the cult film Quadrophenia, as well as being a favourite haunt of the Sex Pistols. 

Cooke's was part of the local landscape, and when they closed they even lost the right to use their trading name.  

The original building signage is being restored, but sadly the shop is not re-opening. Today, it is a plain old office building, but one that is celebrating its heritage with a new paint job. 

Shepherd's Bush Lockdown 2.0

Empty trains on the Central Line

Shepherd's Bush is back into Lockdown. Pity the businesses who barely survived the first Lockdown; now they must endure it all over again. 

There are however some rays of sunshine, such as the empty Tube train which opened its doors to me during my morning commute on Thursday - the first time in my adult life when I have sat in an empty train during "rush hour".  

For those who aren't getting out much, or indeed at all, below are some resources for surviving Lockdown 2.0 in Shepherd's Bush.

Humans of Shepherd's Bush - No 14

Amar, aka Tony

Meet Amar, also known as Tony. Amar's father, Amaro, came from India to London in 1954 and started this shop at Shepherds Bush Market in 1960.

In the beginning Amar sold men’s ties in Petticoat Lane in East London on Sundays; he moved the business to W12 a few years later.

"Most of the shops here were run by women during the week, while the men had day jobs in factories.  My father cut rubber at a foundry nearby and worked in the market on the weekend for an extra income. The market ran for three days as it was also hard to get much stock in due to London rebuilding after the war".

Tony’s mother, Manjit, joined his father 15 years later from Punjab. She was chosen by his grandmother as a suitable wife for the then 19 year old Amaro while he was still in London.