I was delighted to be invited to the launch of a new project on 18th May called the Redbridge ESOL Conversation Club, which offers a new layer of support for residents in the Borough learning to speak English. ( ESOL stands for English for speakers of other languages.) The project is run by the Redbridge Institute for Adult Education, which has trained volunteers to lead the clubs to help people learn English. The great thing about the Conversation Clubs is that they are free to join and held all over the Borough – in schools, libraries and Children’s Centres, as well as Redbridge Institute itself. I am sure the Conversation Clubs will carry out an important role in helping residents from Redbridge’s diverse communities learn English and play a full part in Borough life. If you want to find out more about the Conversation Clubs, go to Redbridge i.

On 10th May I attended an event about the Olympics at Cineworld I Scene, along with Cabinet Members for Resources and Leisure, and several other Members. The event was  jointly organised by Ilford Town Business Improvement District(BID) and the Council. The aim of the event was to let local businesses know about the likely impact of the Olympics on their business, and also to encourage them to think about this global event on our doorstep as a major opportunity. There was an impressive turnout of local businesses and Guy Conway from Transport for London left us in now doubt that traffic in the Borough is going to be massively affected. Businesses were asked to think about the impact on their customers, staff and suppliers. There were also presentations by the Police and Cleansing Services Officers.  However the Council, Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure (RCL)- who run our leisure services – and Ilford Town BID are confident there will be an upside for some local business who can capitalise on increased footfall in the Borough. If you are a local business owner, I urge you to plan ahead and make the most of this opportunity. A good place to start is the Council’s website.  You can also check out the Ilford BID website.

On Sunday 31st March I tried White Water Rafting at Lee Valley Regional Park. To ride the rapids before the world’s best athlete’s paddle for Gold in the canoe slalom events at the London 2012 games was an exhilarating experience.

Although the season has now ended before the Olympics the centre reopens in September for rafting and canoeing.
Visit Lee Valley White Water Centre

The White Water Centre is one of many facilities run by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, the Authority is a statutory body responsible for managing and developing the 26 mile long, 10,000 acre linear Regional Park. A zone of sporting excellence is being created which includes centres for athletics, horse riding, ice skating, sailing and golf.
There are a variety of things to see and do including sports and outdoor activities, nature reserves, farms and heritage sites.
The Authority has an appointed board of 28 members; the Redbridge representative is Councillor Mrs Joyce Ryan.
http://www.leevalleypark.org.uk/

HM The Queen meets Redbridge residents with Councillor Keith Prince

I was very privileged to be able to welcome The Queen to Redbridge on such a beautiful day as part of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations. I was delighted that so many residents came out to greet The Queen and Prince Philip. Valentines Mansion and Gardens looked at its very best, and The Queen was very taken with the new ‘dry garden’. As she noted, it was well designed for a summer of water rationing! She was also clearly very interested in the London Pride exhibition of art and design from the last 60 years, and enjoyed her tour of the exhibits. I’d like to thank every resident who turned out to make it such a special day for the Borough, and a real honour too. If you couldn’t make it today, I hope you will be able to visit the London Pride exhibition this weekend, and enjoy Valentines Mansion and Gardens which is one the jewels in Redbridge’s crown.

On Friday 23rd March I attended the Redbridge Chamber of Commerce’s breakfast networking event.   The meeting was held at The Papermakers Arms in Roden Street, Ilford, and hosted by the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Geoff Hill. Sainsbury’s Supermarket Ilford sponsored the event

This was attended by Members of the Chamber of Commerce, Redbridge Police Borough Commander, Detective Chief Superintendent Sue Williams and Councillor Thomas Chan.

At the event David Silvey, from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and Olympic Logistics spoke on the arrangements for traffic during the games.

The Chamber exists to be an effective voice for businesses and to be a resource to help business to flourish and grow within our Borough. They provide a range of support services to businesses.

The Chamber works actively with Redbridge Council and other Agencies to stimulate business activities and help influence decision making bodies in the Borough.

Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure (RCL) parks development and sports development teams have been awarded almost £50,000 by Sport England towards the refurbishment of Hainault Recreation Ground Pavilion.

On Friday 23rd March, I  together with Councillor Mrs Joyce Ryan had the pleasure of being at the official presentation organised by Sport England where Lee Scott MP was presented with a cheque for £50,000 from their Inspired Facilities Award.

Inspired Facilities is focused on making it easier for local community and volunteer groups to improve and refurbish sports clubs or transform non-sporting venues into modern grassroots sport facilities. This funding has been added to the current Capital Improvements Programme at Hainault Recreation Ground pavilion which will modernise and provide better access to sport.

In addition, Vision RCL has also been awarded an additional £5,000 by the Thomas Cook Children’s Charity and this was formally awarded at this event too.

• Find out more on Hainault Recreation Ground.

• View the Sport England website.

Cllr Prince with Janet Crossland Cllr Solomon and Mary Daven

I had the pleasure of attending the celebration of Women’s World Day of Prayer held at St Andrews Church in The Drive, Ilford on Friday 2nd March.

Women’s World Day of Prayer is a global day of informed prayer and prayerful action held on the first Friday of March each year.

The services are written by a different country each year and that country becomes the focus of the world’s prayers on the day itself.

This year the Women’s World Day of prayer was prepared by the Christian women of Malaysia with the theme “Let Justice Prevail”

The service was introduced by Reverend Marie Segal and led by Janet Crossland. Sharing her personal experience with us at the service was Mary Daven.

I found the service both moving and informative.

Find out more on the Women’s World Day of Prayer here

I was privileged to be among the many people who took part in this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day service at Valentines Park on Friday 27 January.

Councillor Prince, Leader of the Council, gives a speech on “Speak Up , Speak out” , the theme of Holocaust Memorial Day 2012

The Holocaust is an incredibly harrowing subject and I am proud that we were joined by so many residents and more than 300 of the Borough’s schoolchildren to remember the those who died in the atrocities and to commit that we would learn from the past so such acts may never be repeated in the future.

The service, which was presided by Councillor Alan Weinberg, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, was very moving, featuring readings from the Borough’s students, the Mayor’s Chaplain Reverend Dr Liz Horwell, from Christ Church, Wanstead and prayers from the Rabbi I G Hyman from Ilford United Synagogue.

There were also speeches from the Mayor, Councillor Chris Cummins, a poem from Maria Leier, a member of the Roma Support Group, and an incredibly touching first hand account of the horrors of Auschwitz from Ivor Perl, a Holocaust Survivor.

The crowd, which included MPs Mike Gapes and Lee Scott and Councillor Jas Athwal, Leader of Redbridge Labour Group, also heard a hymn from the combined choirs of the South West Essex and Resettlement Reform Synagogue and Ilford United Synagogue.

The theme of this years Holocaust Survival Day was “Speak Up, Speak Out” which encourages us to speak out against discrimination.  This isn’t a message to be taken lightly.

We can each do our bit to ensure that racism, discrimination and xenophobia have no place in our society and I would encourage each of our residents and workers in Redbridge to speak out against any such behaviour to ensure that Redbridge can be a safe and happy place to live for people of all faiths and ethnicities.

Along with the Deputy Mayor of Redbridge Councillor Felicity Banks, I joined the London Tigers last week at their annual awards ceremony to recognise the positive contributions.  The event took place on Monday 12 December and rewards the extraordinary contributions of London Tigers’ staff, volunteers and members.  The Awards given out were in the themes of Children & Young People, Community Cohesion, Health, Sports (Football, Badminton and Cricket) and Employment. There were also special awards for outstanding achievements. I would like to congratulate all those who received an award for their hard work and fantastic achievement.  It was also wonderful to see so many inspiring individuals from Redbridge.  I was proud to attend the event and am pleased to support the work of London Tigers.  Their volunteers and staff work tirelessly to offer people across London opportunities to learn and take part in sport to help them achieve their goals.

Below is a list of the winners from Redbridge.

Community Cohesion -  Outstanding Achievement Award

Nasir Jamal Ali

Daaniyal Iqbal

Sports Football – Daniel Noel’s Sportsmanship Award

Aminur Rahman

Sports Football – Manager’s Player

Alhad Mohammed

Sports Football – Most Improved

Ehsan Afzal

Employment – Voluntary Contribution

Yasir Sadiq

Nasir Jamal Ali

Special Awards – Outstanding Recognition

Sulthana Begum

On Saturday 19th November I attended a Salsa night hosted by Broadmead Baptist Church in Woodford Green.
The fundraising event was in aid of Cuba Mission.

For the last twelve years a team of Jamaican Christians have been going to host concerts around the island of Cuba providing practical support and encouragement for the people and spreading the love of god.
The event was well attended and I had a great evening.

There was a very interesting presentation on the work of the Cuba Mission team and I also took to the dance floor and learnt a few salsa dance steps during the evening too!  To find out more about the work of Cuba Mission email BroadmeadSalsa@yahoo.co.uk