St Stephen's Christmas Fair Saturday 15 December

St Stephen's School on the Uxbridge Rd is hosting a Christmas Fair on Saturday 15 December from Noon until 4pm.

St Stephen's is an excellent local school, rated by the Sunday Times in 2017 as the fifth best primary school in the UK. Parents fight to get their children in, and one of the best things about the school is the energetic fund-raising carried out by FOSS - the Friends of St Stephen's.

The St Stephen's Christmas Fair is always busy and always popular, with, as you'd expect, tons of stuff for children and families. Donkey rides are rumoured for this year, along with all the traditional seasonal festivities.

DIMCO Applies for 7 Day Entertainment License Until 1am

DIMCO Buildings - an entertainment venue?

The DIMCO Buildings, The Grade II listed former bus shelter which lies (slightly incongruously) at the heart of the Westfield shopping centre, have applied for an entertainment license from our council.

If you would like to comment on the application, you can do so at the official site. Once you register a view, you will be notified of the time and date of the hearing and, if you feel strongly, you can attend the hearing and offer your views.

Albertine "Best Place to Drink" at LBHF Business Awards

Allegra McEvedy and her "Albertine" team

Our local Shepherd's Bush wine bar, The Albertine, recently won the "Best Place to Drink" at our Council's Business Awards.

We've long been fans of the Albertine, owned and run by celebrity chef Allegra McEvedy, who bought the Albertine a few years back, resurrecting an old family story in the process: the wine bar was originally founded by her Mum, back in the 1970s.

Today, the Albertine isn't just a great boozer, it has lovely food as well. Congratulations to Allegra and her team on a well-deserved win.

Council Threatens the Shepherd's Bush Blog

Hammersmith Bridge - overdue repairs

This morning brought a little excitement to my inbox, being threatened by our Council for - according to them - getting Monday's story about Hammersmith Bridge wrong.

Russell Butt, a "Communications Officer" at LBHF, complained that my story is wrong, and that LBHF, far from postponing repairs to the bridge, is "actively trying to drive the works forward and keep costs to a minimum, so to imply the council has deliberately slowed them down is wholly inaccurate".

Hammersmith & Fulham Historic Buildings Group AGM 29 Nov

Hammersmith and Fulham Historic Buildings Group are having their annual AGM at the refurbished Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, on Thursday 29th November.  Drinks at 6.30pm, and the meeting starts at 7pm. Anyone who is interested in the history of our neighbourhood - and its preservation - is welcome to come along and get involved. The historic fabric of our neighbourhood is under constant threat - last year we lost the lovely Art Deco Cineworld in Hammersmith - replaced by a big hole in the ground after our local Council killed the development, without any apparent plan for what might replace it.

Hammersmith Bridge Repairs Delayed Yet Again

Hammersmith Bridge

Hammersmith Bridge Repairs are to be delayed again, as our Council kicks the long-postponed repairs into the long grass.

And, as anyone who has ever postponed repairs to a leaky roof knows, the cost of the proposed works keeps on rising, as do the costs of continuing to patch up the problem.

Papers presented to the council's leadership on November 5 showed that the provisional price-tag has risen to £36m from the 2014 estimate of £25m.

Kite Studios Winter Event: 24th of November

Kite Studios Winter Fair

Kite Studios are having their annual Winter event on the 24th of November.

The event aims to raise money for the Kite Studios' sponsorship fund, which goes towards providing subsidised art and craft classes for children and also towards community art projects. 

The event runs from 2pm until 10pm at Kute Studios at 2B Bassein Park Road, just off the Askew Road. 

Included are all sorts of craft workshops, as well as handmade gifts for sale, and food and drinks.

You can buy tickets in advance at www.kitestudios.org or just turn up on the day.

The Shepherd's Bush Blog offers a personal view on life in Shepherd's Bush. If you would like to contribute a story about our neighbourhood, email us at shepherdsbushblog@gmail.com

Free Bicycle Marking Today at Shepherd's Bush Green

Free Cycle Marking today from 4pm

Today at Shepherd's Bush Green from 4pm to 6.30pm our local police are marking bicycles - for free.

What happens is they bind a non-removable marker to your bike and add it to a national register.

If it gets stolen, your bike can (in theory at least) be much more easily returned to you. Plus, anyone thinking of stealing your bike might think twice if it's registered.