Mammoth exhibition could be prelude to celebration of steppe Mammoths in Ilford!

Wilson's children drew images of a mammoth similar to ancient cave paintings.

Wilson Chowdhry and his family were one of only 190 guests invited to the launch of the Natural History Museum's Mammoth Exhibition.  The key attraction at the exhibition is the actual body of Lyubia a baby mammoth that was excavated in Russia.  Lyubia is the most complete mammoth ever uncovered and is on loan for the length of the exhibition, which ends 7th September 2014.  

Their VIP invite entitled them to a reception that included Ice Cream with Mammoth wafers, Naomi Chowdhry (6) said;

"The big mammoths were scary and I kept thinking they would come to life, but the ice cream was very tasty"

Hannah Chowdhry said;

"I felt very excited going into the museum late at night.  I have never seen the museum so empty, parts were creepy.  The Mammoth Exhibition was very exciting, the baby mammoth was very cute, I wish they were still alive today."

Wilson Chowdhry said;

It was a privilege to be invited to this wonderful Mammoth Exhibition launch.  Having seen the exhibits and the interactive displays, I would recommend the exhibition to all Redbridge residents as there is something for everyone.

He added;

Ilford is steeped in Mammoth history, and excavations here led to discovery of the only complete mammoth skull ever found in the UK."  

The East Ilford Betterment Partnership are working on a project with the NHM and Redbridge Museum, that could eventually lead to the installation of a replica of the complete mammoth skull found in Ilford.  The EIBP also hope to hold a mammoth celebration in Ilford Town Centre to commemorate 150 years since Sir Antonio Brady excavated mammoth remains locally.

Dates and times: Opens 23 May to 7 September 2014, 10.00–17.50 (last admission 17.15)

Visitor enquiries: 020 7942 5000

Admission: Adult £10*, child and concession £6*, family £28*

Adult £9, child and concession £5.40, family £25

Free for Members, Patrons and children under four

Nearest tube: South Kensington

Website: www.nhm.ac.uk/mammoths

A full press release regarding the Mammoth Exhibition at the Natural History Museum can be found at the end of the post (after images)

Supervised by capable NHM Staff  Hannah and Naomi learnt how to use their hands to create the mammoth shapes.

Young children were given clear instructions on how to use this ancient form of art.

Mammoth images allowed children to compare their artwork with the actual shape of mammoths.

Children were taught about scale and size.

A very popular activity that children instantly migrated towards.

The mammoth models helped children to conceptualise their art.

Attentive to the very end.

An illustration of the use of tusks in battle and their purpose in attracting mates, fascinated children (we think they just adored the toys!).

Mammoth wafers in ice cream were a special treat.

Yum!

Even the adults could not resist!

Mummy I found a mammoth!

A wonderful evening in the museum was filled with surprises!

Palaeontologists allowed children to hold bones of ancient mammals, the most of which were derived from the UK

Screens displayed the history of mammoths in moving images.

Mammoth teeth were on display and illustrated the huge size of the mouths of these prehistoric beasts.

Teeth from an ancient predecessor to contemporary sloth illustrated its huge size.

A replica skeleton is one of the oldest exhibits in the Natural History Museum.

Wilson could not resist a picture.

Moving images illustrated the evolution of mammoths to elephants.

Replica tusks and mammoths filled the exhibition.

 

No Leah, it is not a removable toy!

Told ya!

Images of elephants contextualised the evolution of mammoths to elephants.

Replica mammoth poo brought out some giggles amongst children.

The displays were extremely eye-catching and informative without being over-written.

Wow this feels like real mammoth fur!

Mummy I want a baby mammoth.

Images caught the eyes of all visitors!

I can see the eyes!

Err?  My nose is not that big?

I like the baby!

Wow is this how people lived? 

The mammoths are coming! Mammoths: Ice Age Giants opens May 2014

Enter the amazing world of some of the largest creatures to have ever walked the earth in Mammoths: Ice Age Giants at the Natural History Museum. Be awestruck as huge fossils and life-size models of mammoths tower above you and come face to face with the powerful trunks and tusks belonging to these great beasts.

You’ll even be able to try out life as a mammoth: tusk jousting, trunk moving and feeling the weight of the hundreds of kilos of food a mammoth ate each day, equivalent to 230 bags of sugar.

The exhibition will take you on an inspiring journey from the time when these titans roamed the land through to today’s research into the causes of mammoth extinction and ways to protect their precious modern relative, the elephant. Meet some of the best-known species, from the infamous woolly mammoth and the spiral-tusked Columbian mammoth to their island-dwelling relative the dwarf mammoth. Discover prehistoric giants such as the mastodon, the fearsome sabre-tooth cat and the giant cave bear. Find out how they evolved, uncover their environment and behaviour, and consider how they finally went extinct.

Professor Adrian Lister, mammoths researcher at the Natural History Museum says, ‘This exhibition is very exciting as these amazing creatures were not only giants of the Ice Age, but the science behind their incredible lives is still relevant to the natural world today. This exhibition promises a rare glimpse into the Ice Age world of mammoths and their relatives through life-sized models, original skeletons and the latest science.’

Dates and times: Opens 23 May to 7 September 2014, 10.00–17.50 (last admission 17.15)

Visitor enquiries: 020 7942 5000

Admission: Adult £10*, child and concession £6*, family £28*

Adult £9, child and concession £5.40, family £25

Free for Members, Patrons and children under four

Nearest tube: South Kensington

Website: www.nhm.ac.uk/mammoths

* A voluntary donation is included in our admission ticket prices. If you are a UK taxpayer and pay the ticket price including donation, the Natural History Museum can reclaim the tax on the whole ticket price under the Gift Aid scheme.

Landlord neglect creates local health hazard

Electrical box near damp, condensated walls.

These images are taken from one of many Council let, private landlord properties within our borough.  This property on Gordon road is habited by a single mother and her infant child and is covered in damp and infested with mice.  The landlord has not responded to requests for a repair and has allowed his son and friends to congregate in the communal garden for the property in the evenings, during which much anti-social behaviour has left the tenant extremely frightened.  The victim has informed her social worker of the concerns, but no real action has yet come to fruition.  Toady Wilson Chowdhry has informed Redbridge Councils Private Sector Housing Department of the concerns.  They have placed this on their action sheet.  We have also informed local Police, Redbridge ASB team and Redbridge Public protection who deal with the control of pests.Wilson Chowdhry said;

"Residents habiting council let properties should expect much higher standards.  The council is clearly failing in it's responsibility to vett private landlords on their existing housing scheme.  A leaf could be taken out of Brighton' Council's book, their much vaunted Accredited Landlord Scheme" devised by the Green Party has become a paradigm for other councils."  

Rising damp

Damp seeping.

Damp on walls

Damp from ceilings.

Damp in one bedroom.

Street trading costs council £1000's!

 

Removing stickers like this is costing Redbridge Council £1000's

A while ago Wilson reported a brothel that is currently operating from 74 Gordon Road.  The brothel has become the bane of residents living there, with visitors frequenting the property 24 hours a day.  (Click here)

Recently however, whilst delivering leaflets in Ilford Town Centre, Wilson Chowdhry approached a street cleaner and asked him whether they were ensuring that our local Police were aware of the stickers advertising for massage services, that were proliferating throughout Clementswood Ward and Mayfield ward.  He was informed that they were sharing the contact details on the stickers for a register maintained by streetscene and our local constabulary.  The contact details were being kept for a special operation by the police and that the Streetscene tam were removing stickers from lamp posts and other utilities, as quick as possible. 

The Cleaner did admit us however that the clean up operation was unsuccessful.  He described one occasion when they removed over 3000 stickers from the High Road, Green Lane, Gordon Road and a few other roads,  only to find that around a third of the cleared locations had new stickers the following day.  

The sticker in the photo was found the day after the conversation with the cleaner. The location has been reported to Streetscene.  There is legislation in place that tackles bill stickers like these, those responsible should be charged £100 for each individual sticker.  We will be chasing up the Streetscene team to see what they are doing about it.

Homeless and home-baked!

Homeless Man asleep on Oaks Park Road (just behind High Road)

Ilford High Road and Oaklands Park Road have become the congregation point for homeless

people in the borough over the last few years.  Benches placed outside Fitness first (opposite Ilford Police station) have now become the regular haunt of our local vagrant community and are commonly used as beds or communal drinking venues.  Despite attempts by our  local police and charitable groups, many victims of  homelessness simply refuse to obtain the support they need to escape the deprivation and harsh conditions they face.  

Whatever the reasons for the continued homelessness faced by these societal victims, the images above show how badly they are being affected by the weather.  The Image below from the High Road shows a homeless individual that collapsed due to the heat.  When he eventually came round, I asked him why he did not remove his jacket and jumper, despite the exhaustive heat.  He said;

"If I take my jacket off, it will not be here when I wake.  What will I do then, during the cold night?"

When I asked him who would take his garments form him.  He advised me further, he said;

"My clothes could be taken by other homeless people, the council or the Police. No-one cares about me."  

I asked him if he knew of the Welcome Centre and he was aware of it.  However, his case and many others will be exacerbated in future weeks, as the heat will no doubt take it's toll on our local vagrant community.  Better engagement and counselling is an essential need for Redbridge.  Taking care of our homeless community will boost local morale, it will prevent deaths and should be made a stronger priority.  Somehow, we must learn how to capture the confidence of these homeless people, so we can turn their lives around.

A homeless man collapses in heat on High Road Ilford.

Police respond to calls.

Holey moley!

This utility services hole has lost its front cover and is accusing a major safety concern on Stanley Road.  The trip hazard is in the middle of the pavement along Stanley Road nearby the wedding cake shop.  We have reported the hazard to the Highways team, who will ensure the utility company responsible will cover the aperture.  

Violence at party spills out out on Gordon Road.

Ryan and Avtar Singh watching as Police took over at crime scene.

Residents near the corner of Kingston Road and Gordon Road were woken by screaming and shouting and the sound of broken glass smashing, after a dinner party erupted in violence on Saturday 17th May 2014.

Earlier Wilson Chowdhry your Green Party candidate received calls from concerned local residents at around 11:30pm, who were dismayed by loud noise emanating from the house. Ryan Duggan and Avtar Singh both residents of Kingston Road, asked Wilson for advice on what to do. 

Wilson suggested calling the Redbridge ASB Team in the first instance and the local Police to complain about the noise. The two young men arrived at Wilson's home around 11:45pm to obtained the correct telephone numbers and proceeded back to their home. They were in the process of making the calls when suddenly a mother with one child (around 12years) ran screaming from the house, two teenage girls ran out later and a man was seen getting into a car and driving of in a hurry.  

Avtar and Ryan also saw a man collapsed in the middle of the street and covered in blood, with extensive facial injuries. The two young men called Wilson for further assistance.  Wilson told them to call the Police and London Ambulance service using 999 immediately, and he ran out of his house to the incident area. 

Wilson arrived at the scene within seconds and immediately checked the victims vital signs asking Avtar and Ryan, to prevent cars from endangering the victim in the road.  The man was deemed unconscious and Wilson with the help of Ryan started to put the victim into the recovery position. 

As they moved him the male victim started to come around and Wilson asked him if he could get up.  Ryan and Wilson assisted the victim  in rising and helped him move to a safe location, at the side of the road, where he was left in a seated position. Avtar Singh kept the road safe until the victim had moved to safety.   

The police arrived 20 minutes later and took over at the scene.  Wilson to let his wife Juliet know he would be returning to help.

Ryan Duggan said;

"The Police arrived and only had two officers.  This seemed wholly inadequate to me, considering the amount of blood and victims.  They hesitated going into the house due to their few numbers and waited for  a further response team.  In the end PC Julia Wade entered the property with her baton drawn after taking a key form the male victim.  I was afraid for her safety, even though the other male officer was outside ready to help as he was on the radio."

Avtar Singh said;

"I could not believe what was happening on the corner of our street, the amount of blood and noise at the scene was very disturbing." 

When he arrived back Wilson was shocked to see that the victim was standing and not left in a seated position.  The ambulance had not arrived despite 40 minutes since the original emergency call and Wilson offered to drive the victims to Queens hospital.  The police stated that it would be dangerous for Wilson or the Police to convey the victims, as the nature of the injuries, meant there was a possibility they could go into shock or something much worse.  Wilson advised them that he was a First Aid Trainer but agreed to wait for the ambulance.

In the meanwhile 18 year old hero Avtar Singh who made the initial call to Wilson and the Police, was looking after a dog that belonged to the victim.  Police were concerned that the dog would dislodge or contaminate evidence.  Ryan could be seen holding a female victim covered in blood, wearing a police disposable protective glove, preventing her re-entering the house.

Hero Avtar Singh with the female victims dog.

Three Police vehicles arrived at the scene in total and closed access to the section of the road before the property, this area was also cordoned off by Police tape.  After an hour and a half a Police van arrived and carted off a further woman from inside the property, who had been accused of assaulting the injured female victim.

Wilson asked the male victim if he would like a seat.  Despite his injuries the male continued to stand.  In the end Wilson asked Ryan to bring a chair form his home and sat the male victim down.  Wilson felt this important as the male was still bleeding in obvious pain and still could not recollect in full the details of the incident.

After two hours and 16 minutes had lapsed since the initial call, Wilson again sought permission to convey the victims to Queens hospital.  The Police told him they would take the victims after the crime scene forensic team had completed their investigation. Wilson argued that the head injuries meant that the victims were required to have an immediate medical examination.  The police took details of Wilson's vehicle, identification and address and allowed him to take the victims to Queens hospital.  Wilson then invited Ryan along to drive with him and ensure the victims stayed concious throughout the journey.

On arrival at the hospital Wilson and Ryan ensured the victims were comfortable, assisted then in completing the forms provided by Queens Emergency team and ensured they had travel fare to return home later.

Wilson Chowdhry said;

"It seems quite diabolical that any victim with such serious injuries would have to wait more than 2.5 hours for an ambulance.  The government stipulated turn around time is close to 8 minutes and our NHS often provides data that would suggest they are compliant in most cases. Yet during my conversation with the Police at this incident, they highlighted that at weekends this lengthy delay is common place and not unusual."

He added;

"Something must be done to correct this lack of resource, especially considering that during my drive to Queens, I met every single red light on the way to the hospital. This meant my overall journey time was in excess of 25 minutes.  Moreover, when we arrived at the hospital the A&E ward was already full to the rafters, two patients got up from their seats so that the victims could be seated. However, there were even more patients waiting outside the A&E.  The removal of A&E from King George Hospital will increase burden at Queens even further and will no doubt, result in many deaths, I am certain of this."

Clementswood Crime update in brief!

Richmond Road has been a main target to combat Antisocial Behaviour over the past few months and has reportedly calmed down now, although this could be also due to the colder weather.

A dispersal order is now in place for Ilford Lane and for most parts of the Town Centre which means groups of two or more can be asked to leave the area if suspected of any type of Antisocial behaviour, including drinking alcohol.

Operation Clearlight dealing with prostitution in Ilford Lane is still high on the agenda.  Clemenstwood Police advise us that they have "probably reduced prostitution by half and made a real big difference."

Crime in the Town Centre is now down 21% which means 1 in 5 fewer crimes happening. This is due to various initiatives ie static patrols, Operation Swift, Operation Holly etc.

Cyclists are continuing to be targeted and zero tolerance for drinking alcohol and low level petty crime, remains in place.

Homelessness support is being given by local Police. They have advised us that "Probably 100% of our homeless have been given leaflets, advice, contact numbers and advice of how to help themselves as well as contacting our partner agencies on their behalf."  This support is continuous.   

 The reported situation on illegal workers in the High Road is getting worse. However we ahve been advised "The UKBA recently had a major ‘hit’ on the illegal workers in the High Road with good results."

Members of the Panel reported the following items:

Arabian Lounge opening hours exceed the planning permission.  Local Police have confirmed that this is currently being monitored by Redbridge Planning.

An old lady who lives in Ilford has been seen begging on a train. Clementswood Police advise us that British Transport Police have been informed.

Local buses have been full of litter. STT informed.

Certain cars on Connaught Road  look suspicious. Patrols will be increased to this area to determine wheteher any criminal activity is taking place.

Undesirables outside Ilford British Rail Station selling ‘stuff’ at about 2300-0000hrs. Clementswood Police said; "We are Looking at installing ‘pink’ lighting around the area of Dixy Chicken and Ilford Hill. A lot of work is on-going around this area by ourselves, the Town Centre team, plain clothes units and also Safer transport. Arrests have been made and there is a lot of intelligence that should result in more arrests." 

Pink Lighting has the affect of distorting teenagers countenance and has proven to avert them form areas where installed. (Click her for more on pink lighting)

Wilson spoke about the brothel at 74 Gordon Roada local resident followed some young women who were sticking "massage" stickers on lamp posts in the area.  Mayfield Neighbourhood Police were made aware of this by the Clementswood Team and Wilson Chowdhry directly and a special operation is underway.

Fitness First has become a lounging spot for homeless people. Clementswood Neighbourhood Police said; "We have been working closely with the Manager and staff and have advised on a number of ways to combat this problem."     

Useful numbers:              

Police Non Emergency Number 101

Council ASB out of hours 0208 478 4679

It’s all about the money

Wilson Chowdhry organised the largest protest for King George Hospital in Feb 2011.  Over 500 peopel met in Ilfor Town Centre.  The protest was joined by MEP Jean Lambert, Darren Johnson London Assembly member, MP Lee Scott and most of our local councillors.  A notable absence was MP Mike Gapes.

The Green Party has been involved with campaigns to stop the cut backs at King George Hospital. However, the problems are much deeper rooted with the trust being hamstrung by the joint problems of its revenue being capped while the cost of the building of Queen’s Hospital through the ill thought out PFI scheme draining what money they have.

The Green Party believes that Healthcare is not a commodity to be bought or sold. The National Health Service must provide healthcare, free at the point of need, funded through taxation. It must be a public service funded by, run by and accountable to local and national government and devoid of all privatisation, whether privatised administration, healthcare provision, support services or capital ownership. The NHS is concerned with healthcare provision and should not be subject to market forces either internal or external.