Heathrow Primary School Summer Fayre

On Saturday Transition Heathrow were invited down to the Heathrow Primary School Summer Fayre. In the blazing sunshine we set up our stall amongst the array of other stalls including local radio station Hayes FM who were airing live from the school playground.

Our stall was the only one offering free plants and free seed sowing and once word had spread that the plants were free they were soon all snapped up. Many kids and parents went home with chilli and tomato plants and hopefully a bit more knowledge about the importance of growing our own food locally. We also gave out lots of newsletters and flyers promoting our regular events at Grow Heathrow.

Thankyou for the invitation Heathrow Primary School – we hope to be involved again next year!

BA Chief says Heathrow 3rd runway “will never be built”

BA chief executive Willie Walsh has said that a third runway at Heathrow “will never be built”. He told a Times CEO yesterday that “it’s dead” and that British Airways were looking for expansion elsewhere.

This is brilliant news for the residents of Sipson, Harmondsworth and Harlington and hopefully now we will see the full transformation of the villages that have been blighted for so long.

John Stewart, chair of the residents organisation HACAN said:

“It now looks as if finally the third runway has been killed off. It’s most enthusiastic backers, British Airways, are now planning for life without a new runway.”

Stewart added:

“BAA should now sell off the houses they have bought in Sipson to allow life in the villages to get back to normal.”

Ain’t that the truth.

Ken Livingstone promises to compulsory purchase homes off BAA – Keith’s Blog

Despite the cancellation of Heathrow’s third runway, BAA are continuing to buy up houses in the village of Sipson. 145 so far with another 100 possible purchases. This is having an adverse affect on village life. Local people feel that whatever their wishes about airport expansion BAA will keep on with their war of attrition against local people until all resistance is eliminated.

Hope in the form of a promise from Ken Livingstone arrived in Sipson a few days ago. At a question and answer session in the King William public house Ken told residents that if voted in as Mayor of London “if there was support from local people” he would “compulsory purchase all homes owned by BAA in Sipson village”. These homes would then be sold to people who actually wanted to live in Sipson.

Ken, who doesn’t support plans for a third runway, also said the Labour Party would no longer be giving it’s support. This leaves us guessing what Boris Johnson’s plans might be for the people of Sipson whose lives have been blighted by the continuing fear of this airports local community and climate wrecking plans.

Heathrow villages are blooming marvelous

Transition Heathrow have teamed up with Harmondsworth village allotments to bring you a community project to brighten up the villages with hanging baskets and public flower beds.

After the crazyness of last Thursday with 40 riot police rudely invading Grow Heathrow, we are moving on to concentrate on more serious business. On Sunday 22nd May from 10am at Grow Heathrow there will be a day of planting up hanging baskets and containers for residents to take home to hang around the neighbouring villages.

One week later on Monday 30th May, again from 10am at Grow Heathrow, we will have a day dedicated to planting up all the flower beds in the area. In the meantime we’re asking all local residents to drop off there hanging baskets in preparation to The Vicarage in Harmondsworth or to Grow Heathrow in Sipson.

If you want any more information or have any other ideas to bring to the project then please e-mail info@transitionheathrow.com

The Grow Heathrow banquet – Dai’s blog

June the 18^th 2010 will remain in my memory for quite some time, as that morning I attended my Uncle Arthur’s funeral in the foot hills of the Pressely mountains in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. He had died peacefully in his sleep a few days earlier at the age of 87. Standing around the grave in the sunshine within a silence that exists only within this context of collective familial grief there is a bond which is rare and precious. At the wake this rare atmosphere continued but now with lots of hugs and smiles, catching up and fond memories.

Leaving then to catch the train in Cardiff, then to Paddington, onwards to West Drayton then the 222 to Sipson Lane where I met a couple of mates who were also coming to the Grow Heathrow Banquet. We arrived late, and were told that the first course was ending, so we crunched across the gravel yard to greenhouse No. 2 where a long row of tables and chairs had been sumptuously decorated and laid out, seating around 80 people and the banqueting was in full flow.

The rare feeling of family returned, yet this time a gathering of disparate fellows of differing ages, classes, nationality, races, sexuality, ability, locality, religion, politics and philosophies gathering to celebrate in this common union, collective achievements, not least amongst these, this union in itself.

The atmosphere was buzzing a bit like a very exciting wedding, panache Paddy and beautiful Becky were our hosts, our celebratory chefs were outrageous Oscar and lush Lily who had prepared a three course meal of mixed vegetable tempura with chilli and ginger dipping sauce to start, followed by bean pea and broccoli risotto with fresh home grown salad and for desert elderflower ice cream with chocolate chip shortbread finger. We drank elderflower champagne and cordial hand picked and made on the site.

During the meal we were invited to discuss the future of Grow Heathrow and Transition Heathrow with our fellow guests, share ideas with each other and to write our conclusions on the back of the menu. As the feast was coming to an end Becky and Paddy asked some of the guests to give a short speech on there contribution to this project. Linda McCutcheon, member of local protest group NOTRAG, spoke of the energy that Grow Heathrow had brought to the community and the campaign. James Clarke told of how through his work he was able to bring wood and building materials to the site. Emily James talked about her experiences filming the site take which will be included in her film ‘Just Do It’. Rachel Taylor talked about how having found that she had a brain tumour and through her contacts with Plane Stupid she discovered Grow Heathrow and how she felt that this has become her retreat. Keith Robin talked of his experience finding Grow Heathrow and how he enjoyed living with such gorgeous house mates. May Mackeith talked about how she enjoys working hard at the site but also just likes to come and chill out with her mates.

The England match was screened on a large screen, a fire was lit and general merriment went on into the small hours, as for me it all got a bit hazy from that point on and as I retired to the sofa where I like to sleep, only to find someone was cleaning up chunder where I usually lay my head! I slept well, in a chunder stain, but on this day, somehow this didn’t matter.

Sipson send-off for naked cycle protest



Even though a third runway has been scrapped, airport expansion by other means is still possible at Heathrow. To keep airport expansion in the public eye, the World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) will include Sipson in its eye-catching annual bike ride. What WNBR describe as “a crack group” of cyclists will be setting off on this year’s ride from the village of Sipson, now hopefully spared from total destruction.

The group will leave around mid morning to meet up with a larger group in Central London by mid-afternoon to hand deliver a letter to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and the Mayor of London. The letters encourage the politicians to reduce the world’s dependency of burning oil.

So if you live near Sipson, head down to the village on Saturday morning to give the group an arousing send-off or cast off your cycle-clips, and your trousers, and join the group on their journey to London. They would be absolutely thrilled to have some support at the roadside or as they pass through Sipson centre as they start the ride (current plan is to move off just before 1pm).  The route starts in Harmondsworth Lane, then heads South on the Sipson Road.You won’t feel out of place as, since the first WNBR in London in June 2004, the ride now attracts over 1200 protesters each year. If you are not near London, don’t let that stop you. Similar rides take place on the same weekend all over the UK and the rest of the world.

Rambling thoughts from the garden…

I’ve just finished my first cup of tea of the day as a robin flew around the greenhouses greeting me. Our routine at the garden has started settling into place, albeit with many interesting turns of events along the way.

One such event occurred a few nights ago. A police helicopter was circling overhead and we presumed that it was simply passing. However, as the nuisance persisted, 3 police cars pulled up at the site explaining that the helicopter was initially passing over until it noticed ‘a commotion – possibly protesters or terrorists’. This ‘commotion’ was in fact some friends from the Kew Eco Village joining us for dinner! Several neighbours and friends including Tracy, Linda, Geraldine and John McDonnell, our local MP, turned up to see what was happening. In the end the police left with their tails between their legs and we even got an apologetic visit from them the next day.

Other aspects of the garden adventure have been more productive. Our kitchen at the back of the first greenhouse is rapidly becoming the social hub of the site, complete with a hammock for lounging. It’s looking very beautiful with our collective artwork sprucing it up. There’s still lots more to do all over the site, but hopefully this weekend, the 27th – 28th March, will be fruitful in terms of numbers of visitors. We hope to build a compost toilet, glaze and repair some of the panes of glass in the greenhouses, and pot lots of fruit and veg. The front area is now clear and raked, ready for us to sow a meadow on Sunday. In the summer it will hopefully be glorious and flourishing.

A couple of pigeons are perching on the top of the greenhouse as I write; it’s nice to share quiet times with birds and bees. We couldn’t have got this far without the help, support and donations of countless people. The further we progress, the further our aspirations for the site grow. Who knows, maybe one day soon we’ll even get rid of the mound of rubbish that we’ve cleared out!

Swoop on abandoned market garden

Today , community activists from the group Transition Heathrow [1] moved into an abandoned market garden in Sipson. [2] Around lunchtime, about 20 people “swooped” [3] on the land in Sipson, one of the villages due for demolition if the third runway at Heathrow goes ahead. [4] After securing the site, the group immediately informed their new neighbours and local residents of their intention to reopen the old market garden for the benefit of the local community.

The ‘Grow Heathrow’ project aims to encourage and support locally grown produce in an area that once had some of the most fertile soils in Britain. Transition Heathrow has launched the project to highlight the need for a community controlled food supply in order to remain resilient to the impacts of peak oil and climate change. It intends to use the old market garden not only for growing, but also for activities such as bike workshops, clothes making, solidarity support for local workers and direct action workshops for people trying to stop the third runway.

Transition Heathrow member and local resident Joe Rake, described the events of the day. “Around lunchtime, a group of us walked onto the site. Once we had secured the gate, we set about telling local residents why we were there and inviting them to join in. We also had to start tidying up as it appeared to have been used for scrapping cars. Since the last tenants were evicted, the site has attracted unsavoury characters, so we wanted to restart the market garden for the good of the local community.”

Many of those involved in the ‘swoop’ see today’s action as a positive way of resisting the third runway whilst building an alternative community solution in its place.

Heathrow resident Amy Summer said “We’ve been fighting the threat of the third runway for years, and its blighted our community. This kind of action not only helps stop expansion but also helps regenerate the area, providing local skills, green jobs and organic produce instead.”

She added, “This form of direct action is just as important as sitting on a runway, blockading the bulldozers or striking for more green jobs. There’s no point in growing your own veg if it’s going to be covered in tarmac by BAA. At the same time there’s no point in community resistance if there’s no community left to defend. We have to do both.”

Notes:

[1] Transition Heathrow is a grassroots action group aiming to draw out the juxtaposition of sustainability and airport expansion, as part of the Transition Towns Network. It was established in October 2009 by Plane Stupid activists and Climate Campers who have been working with local residents. For more info see www.transitionheathrow.com

[2] Berkeley Nursery in Sipson has been derelict since the last tenants were evicted by the council. Local residents say they were using the site to scrap cars. Previously, the site had been used to grow fruit and vegetables as one of the many local market gardens.

[3] The ‘swoop’ is a term recently used by climate activists to refer to the sudden arrival of people on a site, often linked to land occupation or sites of protest.

[4] The third runway at Heathrow will demolish more than 700 homes around Sipson, Harmondsworth and Harlington, and will leave many more homes uninhabitable as they find themselves at the end of a runway.

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