February 2009 Archives
Brent residents are invited to wear green and join the borough's Irish community for the St Patrick's Day Parade in Willesden Green.
Ireland's patron saint has been celebrated in the borough on March 17 for more than 12 years.
This year's parade will start at 4pm at Willesden Green Tube Station in Walm Lane and progress to Willesden Green Library Centre in the High Road.
A Willesden teenager has won a prestigious hairdressing competition.
Sunmi Williams, 15, from Queen's Park Community School, took home top prize in the bridal hairstyling category at the AHT [Association of Hairdressers and Therapists] Southern Regional Championships earlier this month.
The teenager, who lives in Willesden, attends the College of North West London once a week to practise.
She said: "I had 45 minutes to create a perfect bridal hairstyle. When the results were finally read out an agonising four-and-a-half hours later, I was in shock to hear I was the winner."
Sunmi is the second year 11 pupil from her Kilburn school to become a regional hair champion.
Last year Leanne Smith, 16, won the same regional category.
Other winners in different categories included Sherine Roberts, 24, and Aida Lebedeva, 23, both from Neasden.
Second place prize went to Chhaya Dagli from Wembley.
Parishioners at a church in north Wembley are celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Earlier this month more than 300 people attended a special service led by the Bishop of Willesden.
Photos capturing the church's five-decade history were also displayed reviving memories among the congregation.
Reverend Fraser McDermott, vicar of St Cuthbert's, said: "It was a wonderful occasion celebrating the ongoing success and worship on the Sudbury Court Estate."
Cara Lovell, parishioner, was also at the service. She said: "Since it opened 50 years ago St Cuthbert's Church has been a pivotal part of the local community.
"Fun days, toddlers' groups, youth clubs and much more have been enjoyed by people across the Sudbury Court Estate.
"The church family continues to grow, participates in lots of lively activities throughout the week and enjoys an international flavour with 23 nations represented among the congregation."
Throughout 2009 there will be more events planned to celebrate the church's anniversary year including quiz nights, jazz evenings, children's parties and treasure hunts.
For more details visit or call the church office on 020 8904 8599.
People over 60 in Harrow and Brent can now use their Freedom Passes to enjoy free travel at any time of day on any buses, trams, Tubes and trains run by Transport for London.
The lifting of the previous restriction on travel during the weekday morning peak time came as part of a new five-year deal with London councils.
A doctor accused of killing a baby in Willesden by dangerous driving is due to appear in court on Monday.
Two-month-old Sacha Mason died after a car mounted a pavement in Park Avenue, Willesden, hitting his pushchair and knocking his 32-year-old mother to the ground.
Mohamad Fazle Hussain, 63, a GP of Starlings Close, Pinner, is charged with causing death by dangerous driving and will answer bail at Harrow Crown Court.
Two men and a woman have been jailed for a total of five years after the discovery of a fake passport factory in Willesden.
Last summer officers stopped and searched a car in Bloomsbury Way, central London, and found a large number of fake identity documents.
The trio were arrested and when questioned said they all lived in a five-bedroom house in Yewfield Road, Willesden. Officers searched the address and found a large-scale passport factory in the attic room.
It included embossing equipment, printers, scanners and raw materials to produce counterfeit Italian, Portu-guese, Spanish and other identity cards, passports and driving licences.
The Joint Immigration Crime Team, made up of police and the UK Border Agency, were called to continue the investigation and found a large number of fake documents with two of the offenders' photographs on.
When they were examined by a forgery expert they were found to have been manufactured on equipment in the attic room.
On August 14, Marcos Rodrigues De Oliveria, a 37-year-old Brazilian, was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, possession of an article for use in fraud and six counts of possession of false ID documents with intent.
Walter Martins Icardi, 37, who is half-Brazilian and half-Italian, was charged with eight counts of possessing identity documents with intent and possession of articles for use in fraud. Gerciane Beltrame, 29, also a Brazilian and Italian national, was charged with possession of an article for use in fraud.
They were all remanded in custody and appeared at Southwark Crown Court in January.
De Oliveria was sentenced to 28 months in prison and was recommended for deportation. Icardi was sentenced to 24 months and also recommended for deportation.
Beltrame was sentenced to nine months.
Detective Superintendent Chris Foster, of the Joint Immigration and Crime Team, said: "This excellent result has disrupted a sophisticated organised immigration criminal network. The UK Border Agency and Metropolitan Police will continue to work closely to prosecute those responsible for such crime and remove those who cause the most harm to our communities from the UK."
Brent residents can recognise the good work of others in their community by nominating them for an award.
The annual Brent Community Champion Awards will thank people who make "exceptional contributions" to the community.
Councillor Ralph Fox said: "In the last year I have met many residents across the borough who have given their own time to help others. They have impressed me, not just for their commitment to their activities, but for their values in being so dedicated to their voluntary work. I look forward to receiving many nominations, and celebrating the awards at the ceremony."
Last year, Umesh Raichada, of Byron Road, Wembley, won an award for his work as school governor of Byron Court Primary School, which his daughters Karishma, 10, and Kareena, seven, attend.
Mr Raichada, who hopes to be re-elected as governor in the next two weeks, manages fundraising, helps at social events and is chairman of the Parent Teachers' Association.
Brent Council chief executive, Gareth Daniel, said of Mr Raichada at last year's ceremony: "He is precisely what we look for in our school leaders."
Outside of school work, Mr Raichada fundraises part-time for a charity for people with learning difficulties, Link Up, and is a freelance chartered marketer.
Winners in previous years have included a conservationist, a classical Indian musician, a sea cadet organiser, a retired postmaster and a park campaigner.
Last year, 59 people from youth club organisers to carers and good neighbours were nominated.
People who live outside of Brent can still be nominated if they do deserving work in the borough.
Nominations close on Monday March 2 for the ceremony in May and can be made online at www.brent.gov.uk/communityawards
To mark this year's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) History Month, Brent independent film-maker Anna Black will be showing her movies during a special screening.
The event, which takes place between 6-9pm on Friday, February 20 at Willesden Green Library Centre, will also feature movies from the Transgender Film Festival, which took place in London recently.
On February 26 the library will be hosting an evening also from 6-9pm in which readers will have the chance to meet and talk to people from the LGBT community.
Elsewhere in the borough the Brent Museum has chosen to mark the month with a special LGBT history timeline.
The history month has been organised in association with the Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre, which is funded by Brent Council's youth service.
Youth centre manager Lukasz Konieczka said: "We are proud of Brent's diversity, now we have an opportunity to explore and celebrate the history and heritage of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, which is key to encouraging inclusion and tackling homophobic hate crime."
Drivers are being warned to avoid East Lane, in Wembley, from Saturday because of urgent work to replace a major gas valve.
Roadworks will close East Lane to traffic at the junction with Blenheim Gardens for between 10 and 14 days. Signs show diversionary routes.
The work is being carried out by Morrisons on behalf of British Gas. The defective valve is being urgently replaced because the gas to many homes and businesses in Wembley could be cut if it failed.
There will be no disruption to gas supplies while it is under way.
For further details, contact 020 8937 5145 or email k
The Tricycle Theatre is giving away free tickets to young people under 26.
The theatre in Kilburn has signed up to the scheme called A Night Less Ordinary, run by The Department of Culture, Media and Sports and the Arts Council. Other theatres around London will also be offering free tickets to shows.
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