London refuse collector Wilbur Ramirez has become something of a celebrity following his appearance in a BBC television documentary, where he swapped his normal round collecting rubbish and recycling in Hammersmith & Fulham for the mean streets of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
Wilbur recently featured in a BBC2 series called Toughest Place to be a ... where it followed his time working as a binman with local street sweeper and dustman Imam, and living with Imam’s family just yards away from a huge rubbish tip. Imam works seven days a week, not only collecting rubbish, but also sweeping the front of houses and opening and clearing the storm drains, all in bare feet and without gloves.
Imam receives a tiny wage for the job – so meagre that it is not enough to support his wife, child and parents. So he works late into the night, every night, sorting recyclables like plastic bottles and tins from the rubbish pile to sell on for a little more cash. Most of the 3,000 people living near the tip in shacks must live off what they can scavenge.
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Mayor
Monday, February 13, 2012
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Fourth place in New Year’s Day parade
Above: Mayor of H&F, Cllr Frances Stainton, on the float at the New Year's Day parade
Hammersmith & Fulham Council celebrated coming fourth in the council’s competition in the world famous New Year’s Day parade.
The council, which was one of 19 to take part with a float in the event’s march, was given £4,000 towards the Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham’s chosen charity, Walking with the Wounded. The winner was Westminster City Council, whose float was Peter Pan.
It was the first time in years that the council entered a float in the parade, encapsulating all elements of the parade’s theme - the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
The parade stretched two-miles through the centre of London, from Piccadilly to Parliament Square, and drew a crowd of up to half a million. There were more than 8,500 performers on the day.
Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham, Cllr Frances Stainton, was on the float with her mayoress and consorts, curator of the Buckingham Palace 2012 summer exhibition: 'Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration', and Olympic gold medal winning rower, Ben Hunt-Davis, who is an ambassador for next year’s games.
Accompanying them was Albert and Friends’ Instant Circus with a team of stilt-walkers, and 27-year-old Manindra (Mani) Rai, a Ghurkha soldier who was shot while serving in Afghanistan in 2010, representing the Mayor’s charity.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
A year as Mayor
Cllr Adronie Alford writes
In May 2010 I was privileged to be elected by my fellow councillors to be Mayor for the forthcoming year. As the first citizen of the Borough, which is how the mayor is known I was privileged to represent the borough at over…..events. I also choose as the mayor charity for the year the RNLI. The section of the Thames which runs though Fulham and Hammersmith is the second busiest RNLI station the whole of the whole of the United Kingdom.
Some of the many and different events I attended in the borough included Open Day at Worm Wood Scrubs, the Norman Park Dog shop, Polo at Hurlingham and the opening of the Hungarian Gate. I was also able to attend many celebrations at the Bhvan Cultural Centre. I also tried to visit the schools in the borough particularly for Academic and sports celebrations and I was delighted by the very warm welcome I received.
I was also able to attend our citizenship ceremonies which welcomed many new member of our community. Throughout the year it was a pleasure to attend so may different and events and to meet so many residents of the borough. there were so many high lights that it is not possible to mention them all, but was delighted to host the children’s parliament in the Town Hall and to speak about the mayoral duties. I have failed so far to give the weight of the Mayoral regalia.
We have two set s of regalia one for Hammersmith and the other for Fulham, which date from the inauguration of the metropolitan boroughs in 1900.
The many duties out of the borough that I attended including services at Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Brompton Oratory. I also attended the Dragon Boat Race, the Great River Race and the Boat Race.
I can only say that to have been Mayor of Hammersmith and Fulham was a great honour and my time as mayor as one that I shall never forget.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
New mayor for Hammersmith and Fulham
Cllr Frances Stainton was elected the new Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham at last night’s council Annual General Meeting.
Cllr Stainton succeeds Cllr Adronie Alford in the role, with Cllr Belinda Donovan serving as her deputy mayor.
Cllr Stainton first became a councillor in 1990 and during her council career has served first as chief whip and cabinet member for regeneration in 2006, and subsequently as cabinet member for parks,
culture and heritage.
The chosen mayoral charity is Braveheart - a military charity dedicated to the relief and healing of the psychological and emotional scars of war both with serving members of the armed forces, and with veterans. It is funding a five-year long scientific research project with Oxford University, which began this spring, that uses neurological technology to study how the brain is affected by combat related post-traumatic stress disorder.
Speaking after last night’s AGM about the year ahead and her charity, Cllr Stainton said: “I am looking forward to carrying out the role. I am going to ask everyone to help my chosen charity with all their hearts. I felt that many charities were helping soldiers with prosthetic limbs and giving counselling. They are superb. Braveheart looks at the causes of post traumatic stress, which is immensely valuable.
“I have a number of military friends and have seen evidence of this disorder. Having met some people who have been affected by this issue in the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation in Fulham, I feel they have given so much and they deserve all the help we can find for them.”
Cllr Stainton oversaw the regeneration of Fulham Palace where she also held an exhibition of the borough’s treasures past and present. She has also sent some of the finest pieces from the Cecil French bequest of pre-Raphaelite paintings to exhibitions around the world. One is in Japan and Australia and the other, called The Cult of Beauty is currently at the V&A and runs until July 17. This will then continue to Paris and Los Angeles.
As cabinet member for culture and heritage she was instrumental in bringing Lottery Heritage funding to the borough for the much-wanted restoration of Bishops Park, Fulham Palace grounds and the ancient moat. She added: “I am looking forward to the completion of this project and the full unveiling of the Fulham Palace grounds and Bishops Park.”
Cllr Stainton has exhibited her oil paintings in Paris, London and Rome, and in her spare time she enjoys sport and sailing, in particular in Turkey. Her late husband was Suffolk MP, Keith Stainton, and Cllr Stainton has a very large family.
Cllr Stainton’s consorts are William Proger, Comte Edouard de Guitaut and her mayoress is Pauline Lyle-Smith.
The new council cabinet was also announced at last night’s meeting:
Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh - Leader and Cabinet Member for Economic
and Housing Development
Cllr Nicholas Botterill - Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for
Environment and Asset Management
Cllr Mark Loveday - Cabinet Member for Strategy and Chief Whip
Cllr Helen Binmore - Cabinet Member for Children’s Services
Cllr Joe Carlebach - Cabinet Member for Community Care
Cllr Harry Phibbs - Cabinet Member for Community Engagement
Cllr Andrew Johnson - Cabinet Member for Housing
Cllr Greg Smith - Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Monday, January 03, 2011
Christmas Day at the Town Hall
What do you get when you combine 1,500 Brussels sprouts, 130 pounds of turkey, 500 stuffing balls to prepare and a massive 33 pounds of custard? – Christmas Day lunch at the Town Hall!
Once again, over 200 pensioners celebrated Christmas Day in style with a massive lunch organised by the council.
Hammersmith & Fulham Council has been organising a special Christmas Day lunch at the Town Hall for more than twenty years, offering people who may have no family living nearby a place to come together for roast turkey with all the trimmings, Christmas presents and entertainment.
Thanks to the generous support of local businesses and volunteers, guests were chauffeured from their homes to the Town Hall where they were greeted with a drink and a traditional Christmas lunch.
Councillor Adronie Alford, Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham said:
"Christmas is a time for families to be together. Unfortunately not all of us are lucky enough to have friends or family around. That is why we host our annual Christmas Day lunch party for older people who would otherwise spend the day alone. We rely on the support of volunteers to make this special event possible and to me this truly demonstrates the spirit of Christmas.”
The volunteers come from all walks of life and all have one aim in common – to make the Christmas experience memorable for pensioners who may otherwise have to spend the day alone.
Monday, November 01, 2010
Labour's shoddy attack on the Mayor
At last week's Council meeting, Labour councillors backed an unpleasant and astonishing motion attacking the Mayor, Cllr Adronie Alford. This was because she had followed legal advice and allowed on vote on whether or not extra business should be added to the previous meeting an Extraordinary Council Meeting. In fairness it should be noted that several Labour councillors looked embarassed at the attack on the Mayor from their colleagues and refused to applaud the speeches from their own side.
This was the speech opposing the motion from her predecessor Cllr Alex Karmel.
May I first say that as the immediate past Mayor I fully understand the difficulties that chairing a meeting comprising 46 politicians presents, especially when it was an election year in my case. It is a challenging task.
The Mayor also has a civic role as the First Citizen of the Borough.. If you look on the table in front of you will see a report listing over 40 engagements that the Mayor has carried out in the last month. I am sure that we can all agree that Cllr. Alford has been exemplary in carrying out these duties.
Moving onto the subject of the motion before us I think that it is of vital importance that we consider this motion in the light of historical context. Extraordinary Meetings of this Council have only ever been for the business for which they had been requisitioned.
Mr. Deputy Mayor, this evening we have seen a display of hypocrisy that even by the low standards of the Opposition is breathtaking. Earlier this evening the Opposition attempted to use Standing Order 15 (e) (ix) to adjourn debate on an item. This is exactly the same Standing Order that was used to adjourn the Special Motions at the Extraordinary Council Meeting to their proper place on this Agenda.
At the Extraordinary Meeting the Opposition would have us believe that the use of this Standing Order was an affront to democracy. At this meeting it is suddenly in the Opposition’s eye the saviour of democracy.
The Mayor dealt with the two uses of the Standing Order in exactly the same way. This seems to me, Mr Deputy Mayor, to be correct and impartial way to deal with procedural motions – unless the Opposition believe in double standards, actually they must do or this motion would not be on the Agenda tonight.
