Replacing a stolen history! Ilford Mammoths return...

Image of proposed plaque.

The British Pakistani Christian Association (located in Ilford) will restore a community plaque that was stolen from Ilford Methodist Church, Ilford Lane.  The original 1951 plaque was installed by Redbridge Council during the Festival of Britain and commemorated Pleistocene Mammoth finds collected during an excavation of the former Uphall Brick Pit site by Sir Antonio Brady in 1936. 

Image of original plaque

To date the most remarkable find was the only full mammoth skull ever to have been found in Britain.  This "Ilford Mammoth" skull along with many other remains are being preserved by the Natural History Museum.  Currently the revamped Ilford Central Library is displaying a real mammoth bone in the Historical section of their adult library and the BPCA are encouraging local people to visit both the plaque and library to celebrate our paleontological heritage  

Wilson Chowdhry Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association said;

"When we heard of the loss of this important historical plaque our group decided to replace it.  Our intention was to preserve our local history, whilst increasing awareness of the existence of our minority community.  Few people in this country and our Borough are aware of the significant Mammoth finds excavated in Ilford - even fewer realise Pakistani Christians exist. We originally hoped to unveil the plaque during the Queens Jubilee celebrations we held in Ilford Town Centre 4th - 5th June, unfortunately circumstances delayed the installation.  We have now sent the first draft to local historians, the Natural History Museum and the Methodist church for approval and hope to install the plaque next week."  

Further  details on the history of the Ilford Mammoth can be found on the "Geology of Essex" website:

http://www.essexwt.org.uk/geology/mammoth.htm

An in-depth paleontological study of Mammoths can be viewed on the Natural History Museums website at:

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/departments/palaeontology/research/vertebrates/quaternary-mammals/mammoth-evolution/index.html

Cranium and tusks of the Pleistocene Steppe Mammoth found in Ilford - the only complete Mammoth skull found in Britain.

Model of the Woolly mammoth found in Ilford 

Gordon Road Queens Jubilee Street Party

The East Ilford Business Partnership have applied for a traffic management order to close Gordon Road from numbers 1-23 and 2-54 (the first block from Green Lane to Winchester Road).

Date:  2nd July

Time:  12:00 - 18:00

Venue:  Gordon Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1SP

Activities:  Street disco, bouncy castle, face painting, barbecue, resident food stalls, traditional British games e.g. sack race, hoops, egg and spoon race, short runs, and much more...

Attendance:  All welcome - Free entry!

Planning meetings have been held for the last two weeks at 19:30 on Tuesdays at Clementswood Community Centre, 14a Connaught Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1RN.  Please feel free to join future

meetings.

Real live Pumas in Ilford!

Hundreds attend Ilford Territorial Army Centre open day to admire the Puma Helicopters.  The helicopters will provide air support during the Olympics and the site was being used for a trial run.

Wing Commander Anderson with Hannah and Sophia Chowdhry

Staff at the Territorial Army Centre made visitors feel very welcome.

Puma Helicopters can carry 16 airmen we were told.

Airmen allowed visitors to try on their specialised safety helmets.

Over 90 extra military personnel will be deployed at Ilford TAC during the Olympics.

Local Squadrons joined the Airman in making the day a special one for visitors.

Ilford is only 7 miles away form Stratford, making it the most important strategic site and nearest response base.

The helicopters make a large noise on lift-off, but rise quickly to avoid excessive noise pollution.

Airmen described the use of the helicopter whilst sharing time with local residents.

Children and adults experienced the reality of the cramped space in war helicopters.

Few luxuries are provided within the Puma's.

Many families from neighbour SS Peter's and Paul's School visited the base.

Children struggled with the steps to the helicopter but enjoyed the adventure nevertheless.

Around 90 Airstaff will be deployed at the base during the Olympics.  Parents dropping or picking children to/from school are advised to park further away to avoid congestion on the road.

Children and young people got to hear first hand what life in the military was like.

There is always time for fun and frolics!

This driver seems a little young...

The fuel carrier bonnet is higher that the rather tall Airman before it, illustrating how large the vehicle is.  The tyres were over 1m high.

In a war zone a gunner would be standing in the ceiling cavity.

Again the internal furniture is sparse, military vehicles are made with practical design philosophy.

Looks like I am taking the picture from a small hill ay...

Ilford Territorial Army Centre - provide Olympic assistance

2 Puma Helicopters to be present at Ilford Territorial Army Centre

During the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Ilford's Territorial Army Centre on Gordon Road is to be used as a base for 2 Royal Air Force Puma helicopters.

An additional 90 personnel will live at the site from mid-July until shortly after the Paralympics.  Consisting of crew members from the 33 Squadron, RAF Benson and support staff.

Ilford was picked for its secure communications infrastructure at the defence owned site and compliance with planning nand Civil Aviation Regulations.

A number of familiarisation flights during late April and a major national exercise will take place form 2nd - 10th May 2012, to test the Armed Forces support for the Police. The Aircraft will arrive for their stationing on 12th July 2012.

Every 3 - 5 days planes will need to go back to their RAF base for testing and will be replaced by one that has been tested.  Changeover will occur between the hours 09:00 - 17:00 to minimise local disturbance.

Flight paths will involve quick climbs to a height that reduces noise level.  However residents are warned that take-off and landing will involve considerable noise.

The Officer commanding 33 Squadron invites residents of Ilford to meet him and his crews and to see the helicopters at Ilford Territorial Army Centre on 4th May from 15:00 - 19:00 and on 7th May from 15:00 - 17:00.  

No Drinking Zone signs to be installed on Green Lane

The East Ilford Business Partnership has been successful in obtaining No drinking signs for Green Lane.  For quite a while we have led a campaign to end the antisocial behaviour attributed to excessive drinking in our area. Under Redbridge's Cumulative Impact zone which has now been extended to include Green Lane, Ilford Lane and a much larger proportion of the borough than initially, it is now illegal to drink on public streets in these areas.

With three off licences and a pub in the vicinity we have always been a high risk area for this type of crime, however in recent years the number of homeless people in the borough has increased. In particular a large community of homeless Sikhs have been visibly causing concern in our community.

Our thanks to Clementswood Safer Neighbourhood Police team who attended 2 Police meetings at our community centre and have endorsed our request for the local signs.  The team have agreed to use the new signs as an opportunity to challenge this type of behaviour in future in an attempt to reduce the local problem.

Simon James from Redbridge ASBO Team said in a recent email:

"I am waiting for a date from the Street Lighting Team to place the signs you have requested as well as others in the new DPPO.  I have requested the date be 25^th – 27^th April as I am not in on the Mon or Tues.  Once I have received confirmation of the date these will be placed I will advise you accordingly."

The three locations for which we have requested No Drinking signs are:

1. Junction of Stanley road with Green Lane
2. Junction of Connaught Road and Green Lane
3. Junction of Gordon Road and Green Lane

Learn more about the Cumulative Impact Zone here:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1uhi1txZxlhMnUteTh1WXN1RTQ/edit

View map of protected areas:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1uhi1txZxlheHdQMGt4LTZRUFk/edit

Read about the night spent in Ilford Police cells by a local pub landlord trying to fight the local antisocial drinking:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1uhi1txZxlhNWVvWXBSYTREOTQ/edit

Free Zumba for women and Bollywood Dancing for children at Clementswood Community Centre!

The East Ilford Betterment Partnership and British Pakistani Christian Association has secured funding via the Redbridge CVS   “Fit for Fun” programme. The scheme  encourages  groups in Redbridge to improve their fitness levels and self worth by giving groups a chance to have 20 weeks of FREE exercise training.

The sessions will be held at Clementswood Community Centre located  at 14a Connaught Road, Ilford, Essex  IG1 1RN at the following times:

If you would like to take part in this unique opportunity please contact the group for the start date

Zumba for women every Friday  evening from 19:00  - 20:00

Bollywood for Children every Wednesday afternoon from 17:00 – 18:00

The classes are open to all members of the public however due to a shortage of space, we ask local people to contact us early to book your place. Bookings will be reserved on a first come first served basis.  A start date will be fixed once we have completed ourt list of potential participants. 

Please contact  Wilson Chowdhry the centre co-ordianter for more information.  Tel: 020 8514 0861 Fax: 020 8514 2438 email:wilson@aasecurity.co.uk

End of an era: Fauja Singh of Ilford quits running marathons at 101!

Wilson Chowdhry with Fauja Singh just before 31st March 2012 Park run in Valentines Park.

Fauja Singh at 101 became the oldest ever Marathon runner this year whilst running the London Marathon.  After the race he confirmed that this was his final London Marathon after celebrating 9 years of these charity runs.  This year he raised £1000 and ran the race in 7 hours 49 minutes smashing his target of 8 hours 25 mins.

I had the privilege to run with him at a Local Park run in Valentines Park and was astounded at his efforts to encourage others and endurance at his ripe age.   He has spoken of continuing to run shorter distances and will continue his role of being an ambassador for his sport.

The Ilford recorder described his achievement this year:

http://www.ilfordrecorder.co.uk/news/london_marathon_redbridge_s_record_breaking_101_year_old_runner_defies_expectations_1_1356802

Read the full BBC report on his retirement  here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17784505