News December 2004

Winter Solstice

At 42 minutes past noon (12.42) on Tuesday 21st December the Winter Solstice occurs. From then on, there is more daylight every day.

At 8 p.m. on Tuesday 21st December, Brentford Dock Residents' Association will be carol singing, mince-pie-eating and mulled-wine-drinking in the Residents' Clubroom.

Second Comedy Night

Edita, Robbie and Maggie
Click to enlarge On Thursday 23rd December, Robbie Greig Smith, of Julius Court, will produce another Comedy Night in the Waterside Café-Bar. Tickets cost £8 or £6 for concessions. Doors are "open" from 7.00 pm onwards. The show starts at 8.30 pm. Tables can be reserved by emailing info AT comedydock DOT com or calling Robbie on 020 8758 2517.

On the last Comedy Night, the only entrance to the Waterside Café-Bar was the lower door at the Marina (water) level. The patio door was shut. (The "stage" was at that end.)

Producer Robbie writes:

The acts are as follows:

Act One - Dylan
In 2002 Dylan won the Wilkinson Sword Cutting Edge of Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Festival and also scooped the runner-up award in the BBC New Comedy Award Final, managing to beat off all but one of 2,500 entries.

Act Two - Steve Hall
Runner up in the BBC New Comedy Awards 2003 and Daily Telegraph Open Mic finalist in 2002, Steve is back, fresh from his second successful year at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He is not the first comic to go for a wryly sarcastic, slightly supercilious approach - think of the proudly college-educated humour of Stewart Lee.

Headline - Glenn Wool
Glenn began his comedy career eight years ago in his home town of Vancouver. He moved to London four years ago and quickly became one of the rising stars of the London comedy circuit. His first venture as a solo artist, his one hour show Bizarre Cocktail, won him critical acclaim and has enabled Glenn to travel the world showcasing his talents: a favourite of The Edinburgh, The Kilkenny, The Melbourne, The South African and the Laugh Festival in New Zealand.
  "You have to go and see Glenn Wool" The Guardian
  "Well worth an hour of your time" The Independent
  "Tipped for greatness" The Telegraph
  "Lethally funny" Metro

You can also check out the comedians on Chortle, the UK Comedy Guide's website.

Christmas Day Dinner on Brentford Dock

Once again, Dilys Mathews invites anyone on Brentford Dock, who may be alone on Christmas Day, to a Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings in the Residents' Clubroom, 1 Augustus Close. 3.30 pm. The cost is £17.50. Advance notice required for catering. Further details from Dilys. 020 8568 1146.

The Waterside Café-Bar will not open on Christmas Day.

Jan Nairn Leaving

Early this month Jan Nairn, the Management Office secretary, told a resident that she was leaving at the end of December.

Dress to Impress on New Year's Eve

On New Year's Eve, the Waterside Café-Bar will stay open until 1.00 am on New Year's Day. Free admission. Canapes. Dress to impress.

163 Visitors Per Day

During November 2004, an average of 163 visitors per day viewed this site.

In all, there were 10,136 requests to view pages of this site from 4,755 visitors.

Lively Property Market in Brentford Dock

Dwellings are being sold, let and sought after in Brentford Dock, for example, a cash-payer wants to buy a two- or three-bedroom property. Further details are on the Property page. If a flat, maisonette or house is missing from the Property page, it has been sold or let.

Cat Lost

A small white and tortoiseshell female cat with a blue, silver and black collar went missing from Galba Court on Sunday 5th December. She has a patch of short fur from being speyed. Call 07903 711 630 if you have recently seen her or found her. Please check your garages.

Comedy Night Audience

The picture shows the audience at the Comedy Night held on Wednesday 24th November in the Waterside Café-Bar. The next Comedy Night is on Thursday 23rd December.

Click the picture to enlarge in a separate window.

BCC Xmas Dinner

On Saturday 4th December thirty four members and guests of Brentford Cruising Club enjoyed an excellent three-course Xmas Dinner with all the trimmings, served by pretty waitresses, in the Waterside Café-Bar. There was a glass of champagne on entry, wine, Christmas crackers and party poppers on the table, and mince pies and coffee afterwards. The proprietor, Melanie Hill donated nautical prizes to a raffle that raised £120 for Macmillan Nurses.

Pictured are the diners, Tina (cook) and Melanie, and Edita taking diners' orders. Click pictures to enlarge in separate windows.

Yellow Birds

On Saturday 4th December Vanessa Taylor saw two yellow birds flying around Augustus Close. They may be lost or they may be part of the wild exotic flock that now lives here. Green parakeets have established themselves in the wild all over this area.

Did you know?

The following paragraph in the November Newsletter is wrong.

. Sky +
Several residents have recently enquired about access to Sky+. Unfortunately Sky+ was not in existence when the digital TV system was installed at Brentford Dock and Sky+ is unavailable on the Dock's digital TV system. There are currently no plans to enhance the current system. Augustus Close residents are able to access Sky+ as their system has just been installed and has incorporated the new technology.

Sue Green (Pinnacle PSG manager) wrote the paragraph to warn potential buyers of Sky+ (Sky Plus) boxes that they could not use them in Brentford Dock - apart from Augustus Close residents. She said some vendors would not allow residents, who had purchased Sky+ boxes, to return them.

However Sky+ was available when the estate-wide installation of the digital TV system commenced in September 2001.

Dwellings with only one aerial cable from the satellite dish on the block roof cannot do any of the following:

simultaneously watch one Sky programme in one room and another Sky programme in another room, or

watch one Sky programme whilst recording another Sky programme, or

use a Sky+ box.

Two aerial cables (and associated switches on the roof) are needed to do any of these.

A Sky programme means any programme received from the Sky satellite, for example, BBC1, ITV, Channel 4, Sky News, Sky Sport, etc.

Sky+ is a box sold by Sky that allows the user to record one Sky TV programme whilst watching another Sky TV programme. It requires two aerial cables connected to your flat from the communal satellite dish. In most cases Sky charge an extra monthly fee for using Sky+.

In September 2001, the pre-installation information distributed by SCCI (the prime installation contractor) was misleading and inaccurate! SCCI offered extension sockets at between £90 and £110.

At the time, Neil O'Dwyer explained the implications of a single-cable connection to Jim Saunders (Pinnacle PSG director) and Mark Diblin (Pinnacle PSG manager) and asked that they make this clear to residents before the installers left Brentford Dock, as it would be prohibitively expensive to have a second aerial cable connected once they had left.

Mark Diblin, of Pinnacle PSG, who were managing the overall installation, did not distribute this information to the owners and residents of Brentford Dock.

History: A pilot Radio and TV Distribution System was installed in Marcus and Julius Courts a few years earlier than 2001. During 2001 and 2002 the same system was installed in Galba, Leo, Maurice, Nero, Numa, Otho, Romulus and Servius Courts. Mike Edwards, lead director for TV at the time, had three aerial cables connected to his flat.

The houses and maisonettes in Augustus Close were too poor to have the system installed at the same time. They had a system installed in 2004. Each dwelling has two cables from the satellite dish and two sets of switches on the roof. Augustus Close owners paid more for their Radio and TV Distribution System than owners did in 2001-2002.

The above information is only true for programmes received from the Sky satellite. Terrestrial Digital TV (Freeview) viewers can simultaneously receive two terrestrial digital TV programmes if they have two set-top boxes which are now less than £50. There is information about the 2001 and 2002 installation on the TV Installation, TV Options and TV Channels pages of this site.

Why Did you know? Each Brentford Dock monthly one-sheet newsletter is padded out with an irrelevant paragraph headed Did you know? This month it is about the origin of Christmas cards.

Back Home page Top