Questions to answer at St Gabriels Church

Advice surgery this morning for the East Acton Estate at the Old Oak Methodist Church Hall. Issues raised included planning enforcement, housing, and tree pruning.

On in the evening with former Cllr Steve Donnelly and Nigel Williams to the regular quiz night at St Gabriels Church in the ward in North Acton. We formed a team together with churchwarden Gill Brunstrom for this enjoyable event. Local minister Rev Keith Robus had a difficult job when he arrived at St Gabriels in following the much-loved former minister James Alcock – but has done superbly. The quiz nights are part of a very warm church community, and congregation attendances are I understand rising steadily.

St Gabriels is a much larger building than you’d expect for a church built in what was then suburbia between 1929 and 1931. The architect was Ernest Shearman who designed some interesting inter-war London churches. The website of Shearman’s St Silas’ Church in Kentish Town includes an article on St Gabriels of which the most interesting section says “The most unique items are the two fine low-relief terracotta panels by George Tinworth, which are placed on either side of the chancel / nave arch and were given to the church in 1930. They were exhibited in the Paris Exhibition of 1878 and were formerly in Sandringham Church, Norfolk. This church is truly fortunate to have two of his works.” The article also repeats the rumour that I’ve previously heard from local worshipers that the St Gabriels font was originally in Westminster Abbey. The website is at http://www.saintsilas.org.uk/section/107.

We came second in the quiz to the reigning champions – a team from the neighbouring Parish of the Ascension, led by their energetic minister Simon Reed. In 2002, the Ascension was the first church to be awarded a plaque for its environmental efforts, given by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland to recognise “the efforts made by the congregation to preserve their environment and save wastage.” I was honoured that they asked me to unveil the plaque at their Spring Festival in 2002. You can read more about their work on the Ascension website at. http://www.churchoftheascension.org.uk/

The quiz included fish and chips from the best chippie in Acton – Tony’s, just round the corner on Elm Park Parade in Horn Lane - and we followed it with a couple of pints of well-served Guinness at the Leamington pub . Now, that’s what I call a balanced diet.