January 2009 Archives

Harrow College last week became a den for four local dragons.

Not exactly. But, in the style of the popular BBC TV show, four business people were invited to the college to judge the business ideas of six students.

Other students and local employers filled the big hall of the Harrow Weald Campus on Brookshill last Thursday to see the sixth form contestants present in a "professional" and "confident" manner, according to Deepa Rai of Harrow College.

The winner, Swati Kothari, planned a bar where people can relieve stress by bursting coloured-water filled balloons - and create modern art in the process.

"I chose to do 'Split Splash' because my brother suffers from depression and he's into art," said Miss Kothari. "Presenting in front of the dragons was a great experience."

Runner-up Pelin Demir, with her online venture Musicbox.com, said: "This event made me believe in myself and want to improve."

Kurtis Williams came third with his garment retail business, Custom Garmz.

Dragon Nita Nazir, who owns a deli and has owned a travel agency, urged the government to inject more cash into these schemes and said: "Harrow College is doing a great job and should do more events like these."

Harrow college ran the event to give students the chance to meet employers and improve their skills and job prospects.

The other contestants were Bhavin Narottan, Nirmal Patel and Abdi Hashi.

And the other dragons were Sherrill Channer, Area Manager for Abbey National, Heidi Santos, recruitment specialist for Working Links, and Tony Cox from the Metropolitan Police.

From battling huge blazes to attending serious road smashes firefighter Simon Gallagher has seen it all.

The 49-year-old father-of-two from Harrow was just 18 when he signed up and this year celebrates 30 years with the London Fire Brigade.

Simon, who is stationed in Wembley, said: "I remember training school very well. It was disciplined and challenging, but looking back you realise this was a good thing. I remember moving to my first fire station at Heston (near Hounslow), not really knowing what to expect, but you have to jump in at the deep end. I really enjoyed my time there."

Simon then had spells at Hillingdon, Wembley, Ealing, returning to Wembley where he has spent the last 25 years.

He said: "I have attended many major emergencies in my career, ever since my first shout to a fire alarm at a hospital in Southall.

"Perhaps the most memorable was a huge fire in a video duplication company in South Way, Wembley.

"I have never seen smoke like it and there were 30 fire engines tackling the blaze. Wembley Stadium was being developed at the time and when people saw huge plumes of smoke in the distance they thought the stadium was on fire."

But a firefighting career leads to some humorous moments too. One of Simon's more unusual calls involved rescuing a swarm of bees.

He said: "We were called because a big swarm of bees had attached itself to branches overhanging a busy road. We sent a hydraulic platform and I had to go up it with a beekeeper. I was even wearing a beekeepers' outfit over my fire gear.

"The beekeeper shook the branches and it was literally raining bees. He managed to find the queen and get it into a box, and obviously all the others followed. Amazingly, I didn't get stung."

Simon said the main change to the service in 30 years was in the safety of fire crews. "Health and safety and training have increased markedly."

Passengers can quiz British Transport Police (BTP) officers next week about crime and safety on the Jubilee line.

The Jubilee Line Neighbourhood Policing Team - comprising one sergeant, two constables and two PCSOs - has been patrolling the line and stations between Stanmore and St Jonh's Wood stops since its launch in August.

They will take questions at the conference room at Wembley Park London Underground Station, Bridge Road, Wembley, on Thursday 5 February from 7pm onwards. It will the second such public Q&A the team has held.

PC Matt Dobbs said: "The neighbourhood team means we can respond to issues and needs more easily, as well as making people feel safer using the Tube.

"We are easy to contact and always welcome feedback from the community.

"These meetings give passengers the opportunity to highlight issues of concern and discuss them with us. ItÕs always very helpful to speak to people face-to-face."

Tunde Taiwo, group station manager for the London Underground's Willesden Green Group, said: "Our staff work closely with the BTP Neighbourhood Policing Teams and whilst crime remains low on our network we know it's important to talk with our passengers as well as the communities that live and work close to our Tube station.

"We are fully supportive of these meetings and hope they'll help everyone move around more confidently and safely across our network."

n Anyone who is unable to attend but would like to share comments can email the Jubilee Line NPT by email at Jubileelinenorth.npt@btp.pnn.police.uk

Harrow Friends of the Earth meet on the second Thursday of each month, at the Scout Hut, in Northumberland Road, North Harrow, from 7.30pm until 9.30pm.
The next meeting is on Thursday 12th February 2009 and it is open to the public.

People met at Harrow Civic Centre on Sunday to pray for peace.

Councillor Navin Shah, (Labour) member for Brent and Harrow, jointly organised the meeting with the Middlesex New Synagogue, Muslim Council of Britain and Harrow Interfaith Council.

They prayed for all those who had lost their lives or have suffered during recent conflicts in the Middle East. The climax of the meeting was the signing of the Peace Declaration by almost 100 people.

Mr Shah said: "The gathering was a true reflection of the unity and harmony enshrined in Harrow's diverse community".

Representatives from nine faiths including Hinduism, Judaism and Sikhism read prayers as well as committed to maintaining peace and harmony amongst Harrow's diverse communities.

The fire brigade and police commander for Harrow are also to sign the declaration. Mr Shah is hoping to conduct regular meetings to reflect upon global crisis.

When asked what was gained from the meeting he said: "At a local level we saw the will to continue working for piece and solidarity. It is great to see the desire to live in Harmony."

A pioneering Harrow scheme to get more young people teaching the elderly to surf the net is being introduced across the borough.

The Double-Klik project gets ex-young offenders giving lessons to the over 50s at two Harrow day care centres.

The Youth Offending Team is planning to join forces with Harrow YMCA in February to get more people online.

Councillor Christine Bednell, portfolio holder for children's services, said: "This is an innovative and cost-effective opportunity, developed by Harrow Council for both the older generation to get online and for the young offenders to engage in something positive and help members of the community.

"We are seeing our seniors corresponding with distant friends and relatives by email and even using YouTube to watch and listen to their favourite music and film clips and it has proved a great hit, many of our senior clients have never before used a computer.
"Getting more supervisors for the service will mean that even more people are able to get on the web with confidence."

Harrow College is also considering offering a foundation or NVQ level qualification to people taking part in the Double-Klik scheme.

Commuters travelling on the Metropolitan line from Harrow-on-the-Hill are facing disruption this weekend.
On Saturday (January 24) there is no Metropolitan Line service from Harrow-on-the-Hill to Amersham, Chesham and Watford in both directions.
While on Sunday (January 25) there will be no Metropolitan Line service from Harrow-on-the-Hill to Rickmansworth in both directions.
Metronet Rail, which is owned by Transport for London, will be replacing rails to renew tracks on the line.
For more information on travel changes visit www.tfl.gov.uk/tube or call 020 7222 1234.

Harrow's Trinity Orchestra presents an afternoon of story-telling through music at its annual family concert on Saturday, January 31.

The orchestra will play classics that will appeal to children such as Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, a tale about a boy who is attacked by a wolf in a forest.

Michael Murray, the orchestra's director who plays the French horn in the BBC Symphony Orchestra, will conduct.

The children's entertainer, Mike Hadjipateras, will narrate.

In the finale, the audience can join in and help "raise the roof" by singing along to Johann Strauss' "Radetsky March".

The annual concert has been a popular event since 1980, when the group of talented professional and amateur Harrow musicians was founded.

The concert starts at 4.30pm at Trinity Church in Hindes Road, Harrow. Tickets cost £6 and can be booked in advance by calling 020 8428 5924.

Job hunters are being encouraged to visit libraries to get back into work.

Harrow libraries are being hailed as a secret weapon in the job market, as residents can use the internet and computer software free of charge for all their employment needs.

A new toolkit of useful websites and packages has also been created to help people improve their CVs and applications.

Councillor Chris Mote (Conservative), portfolio holder for community and cultural services, said: "We realise that people are now looking for work who may not have revised their CV in a long time, or perhaps have not explored the internet as a job-hunting tool.

"We hope our libraries will provide a calm atmosphere, away from home perhaps, where people can concentrate on making their employment credentials as strong as possible and see what work opportunities there are out there."

Staff at the 11 libraries across the borough can also advise visitors on the best websites for people looking for work, as well as provide books on everything from changing careers to interview skills. Residents can take advantage of magazines and newspapers to browse for job adverts.

A college-owned company that ran computer training programmes has collapsed after "quality and performance concerns" with its Government contract.

The North West London Colleges Consortium (NWLCC) had provided award-winning Learndirect courses since 1999 from Crescent House at The College of North West London (CNWL) and later Dexion House, Empire Way, Wembley, but was put in administration late last year.

Founding colleges Harrow, Stanmore, St Dominic's Sixth Form and The College of North West London took their share of the firm's modest profits, and so the only financial blow to them is believed to be the absence of future income.

In a statement, NWLCC's board of directors said: "It is very regrettable that, after years of successful trading and despite the high quality of the company's training provision, NWLCC encountered recent difficulty in covering the operating costs associated with the delivery of its publicly funded programmes.

"Other similar companies have faced the same challenges. NWLCC staff worked hard to make sure that, wherever possible, students completed their qualifications before the closure of the company."

Stanmore College principal Jacqui Mace, who was chairwoman of the board, said the firm's downfall was in part due to a delay at government body University for Industry (UfI) over whether to renew the company's Learndirect contract.

She declined to go into more detail, saying only: "They held back on the number of centres there were, and changed the system from having a hub which managed a contract for a wide area.

"That caused quite a few problems. There was uncertainty about the future and the biggest issue was cash flow. NWLCC wasn't badly run - it was well run."

But a spokeswoman for the UfI said: "UfI terminated NWLCC's contract to deliver Learndirect in July 2008. NWLCC's contract was up for renewal in July 2008, therefore there was no delay in the timing of the decision.

"The decision was taken by UfI not to renew NWLCC's contract because of concerns about performance and the quality of the learning being delivered by the organisation. All providers are made fully aware of the performance and quality standards required before signing contracts."