Good Morning Neighbour! ☕
A Bollywood Sunday in the Memorial Park, a familiar Eastcote kitchen getting ready to reopen its doors, and a big retail arrival landing at South Ruislip later this month. Brass and chiffon, a long-awaited plate of pie and mash, and a fittingly big tenant for an empty Carpetright unit.
In today's Good Morning Pinner:
Bollywood tunes take over Pinner Memorial Park this afternoon
Lawrance's Eastcote reopens on Wednesday after a long temporary closure
A new NEXT store is set to open at South Ruislip Retail Park later this month
Let’s dive in.
- Chinar
If someone forwarded this to you, you can get the Pinner updates every Sunday at goodmorningpinner.com.
This Week in HA5
Nimesh Sanghoi Sings Bollywood at Pinner Memorial Park this afternoon, 2:30pm. The third Sunday of the Pinner Association's summer concert series, with Simply Gray closing on 16 August. Bring a chair, a picnic, and a loose plan to make friends. Free entry, retiring collection for the Pinner Association (Charity No. 262349). Pinner Association
Lawrance's in Eastcote reopens this Wednesday, 12 August, after a lengthy temporary closure. Pinner and Eastcote's pie and mash crowd will be relieved to have their regular back behind the counter.
Wild Harrow takes over Roxbourne Park this morning, 9am-1pm. A morning of practical tree care, hedgerow work and gentle site tidy-up, with tools and gloves provided. No experience needed, just a willingness to crouch, lift and learn. A good fit if you want to give something back to a green corner of the borough before lunch. Wild Harrow
Meet the Lovely Humans
Know someone local with a brilliant story, unusual side project, or wonderfully niche obsession? Hit reply with their name and one line about them, and we will slot them in next Sunday.
Local Business News
NEXT is opening a new store at South Ruislip Retail Park later this month. The fashion and home chain takes over the former Carpetright unit on Victoria Road, with women's, men's and children's clothing, NEXT Home, beauty, Click & Collect and an in-store cafe all in the plans. Hillingdon Council approved the conversion with a mezzanine level. A fourth NEXT in the area, sitting alongside the existing Harrow, Hayes and Greenford branches. Harrow Online
Spotted a new opening, refurb, hygiene-rating change, local offer, or shopfront mystery? Hit reply and send it over. Bonus points if it involves a sign going up and half the high street quietly trying to work out what it means.
What’s Happening This Week
Events with (£) are paid.
General
Wild Harrow at Roxbourne Park | Roxbourne Park | Sun 9 Aug | 9am-1pm - Practical tree and hedgerow care with tools provided.
Concerts in the Park: Nimesh Sanghoi Sings Bollywood | Pinner Memorial Park | Sun 9 Aug | 2:30pm - Bollywood tunes under the trees.
Board Game Mondays | Queen's Head | Mon 10 Aug | 7:30pm - Free entry, bring your game face.
Quiz Night | Queen's Head | Tue 11 Aug | 8pm (£) - £2 entry, with £1 going to Mount Vernon Cancer Centre.
Slimming World | Pinner Green Social Club | Wed 12 Aug | 7pm (£) - A warm weekly group with real food and ongoing support. From £6.65.
Quiz Night | Three Wishes Pinner | Wed 13 Aug | 7:30pm (£) - £3 entry per person, with a £50 bar tab for the winning team.
Quiz Night | The Ascott | Wed 13 Aug | 8pm (£)
Tai Chi Taster | Whitmore High School | Wed 13 Aug | 7pm (£) - Beginners Wu Style Tai Chi session. More info
Speed Quiz | The Whittington | Thu 14 Aug | 8pm (£) - £3 entry, with cash prizes on offer.
Zumba Gold | St Albans Church, North Harrow | Thu 14 Aug | 10:30am (£) - Lower-impact fitness class, with packages available.
Cacao & Sound Ceremony | Pinner Methodist Church | Fri 14 Aug | 7:30pm (£33) - An evening of ceremonial cacao, gentle breathwork and a live sound journey. Bring a blanket and an open mind.
Ruislip Country Market | St Martin's Approach Car Park | Fri 14 Aug | 10am-12pm
The Welcome Space | Pinner Village Hall | Fri 14 Aug | 2pm - Free Friday drop-in for older neighbours and carers.
Futsal Class | Barnhill High School | Fri 14 Aug | 5:30pm (£) - Weekly session for all abilities.
Yoga with Nikky | Eastcote House Gardens | Sat 15 Aug | 8am (£) - Vinyasa flow, with class packs and drop-in options.
Activities for Children
Junior Parkrun | Pinner Village Gardens | Sun 9 Aug | 9-9:45am - A free, friendly 2km for under-17s (and their grown-ups on the sidelines).
Lion Dance Cultural Experience | Harrow Arts Centre | Sun 9 Aug | 1-2:30pm - Third session of the six-Sunday Lion Dance school for children aged 8 and above.
Crafternoon Time | Roxborough Heights, HA1 | Mon 10 Aug | 11am (£) - Weekly family crafts and activities.
Kids Kung Fu | Harrow High School | Tue 11 Aug | 5:45pm and 6:30pm (£) - Two age groups for 4-6 and 7-13 year olds. More info
U9s Training and Trials | Parkfield Youth FC | Wed 13 Aug | 6-7pm - Contact Jason at 07772671464 before attending.
Lion Dance Cultural Experience | Harrow Arts Centre | Sun 16 Aug | 1-2:30pm - Fourth session of the six-Sunday Lion Dance school.
Weekly Classes
Boogie Knights | Bishop Winnington Ingram Primary School | Every Mon and Tue | 7am (£) - Dance themed fitness for all levels. Book here
Beginners Pilates | Pinner Village Hall | Every Tue | 9:45am (£) - Calm and friendly Pilates for beginners and returners. Book here
Tai Chi | Whitmore High School | Every Wed | 7pm (£) - Beginners Wu Style Tai Chi class. More info
Qigong and Tai Chi | Eastcote House Gardens | Every Wed | 10am (£) - Gentle movement and breath practice in the gardens. More info
Zumba classes | Harefield Community Center | Every Tues 7pm and Sat 10am (£) - The first class is free to try. Book here
Women Only Self Defence | Harrow High School | Every Thu | 7pm (£) - Self defence class taught by a female instructor. Book here
Plan Ahead
Concerts in the Park: Simply Gray | Pinner Memorial Park | Sun 16 Aug | 2:30pm - The closing Sunday of the 2026 series. A good one to plan a picnic around.
Duck Pond Market | Manor Farm, Ruislip | Sun 16 Aug | 10am-3pm - Artisan food, crafts and small-business shopping at Manor Farm. Market details
The events and activities list is growing as I speak with more organisers each week. Reply to this email and let me know what you'd like to see here!
Organising an event? Submit it here to get it added.
Community Corner
Several over-60 friendship clubs around our patch are looking for new members. Reader-shared tip: groups meet weekly at local synagogues in Stanmore, Bushey, Edgware and Northwood, with music, speakers and trips for older neighbours who fancy more company. Bushey is at particular risk of closing on Mondays if more members don't come forward. Most clubs don't care about religious denomination, just respect for the venue.
Tudor Lunch Club in Eastcote has had a short reprieve from closing but still needs members and funding support. A quietly important resource for older neighbours in the area. Worth a mention to anyone you know who might fancy a warm lunch and good company during the week.
Pinner Association is on the lookout for volunteers to help with the summer concert series at Pinner Memorial Park. A few friendly hands on the day make the whole retiring-collection-and-chair-shuffle run smoothly. A nice fit if you already come along to the Sunday concerts and want to give something back.
Seen a local sign, mystery shopfront, very specific noticeboard drama or useful community callout? Hit reply and send it over. These are the tiny things that make this newsletter much more fun.
Civic Updates
Another quiet week out of Harrow Council. The August admin cycle is still in holiday mode and the council's own messaging is, for now, mostly about enjoying the parks rather than announcing them.
If you have spotted something new on the streets we should cover, hit reply.
Transport
Good service on the Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines this weekend, and we are not expecting any planned engineering works on either next Sunday either. Always worth a quick check of the TfL status page before you set off, but for once the lines our patch relies on are behaving themselves.
Pet of the Week
Want your pet to take the highly unofficial GMP crown next week? Hit reply with one photo, their name, and the tiny household role they have appointed themselves to.
Inspiration from previous winners: Pepper the Glossy-Coat Inspector, the Junior Train Inspector at the Miniature Railway, or a certain Head of Roast-Chicken Diplomacy.
Whether yours is Chair of Afternoon Sunbeam Allocation, Head of Window-Ledge Surveillance, or Director of Sock Reallocation Operations, we want to hear about it.
Closing
Thank you for reading Good Morning Pinner today.
If you only do one sociable thing this week, take a chair to Pinner Memorial Park this afternoon for Nimesh Sanghoi Sings Bollywood. If you only do one generous thing, muck in at Roxbourne Park this morning with Wild Harrow. And if you only do one curious thing, peek at the new Carpetright-shaped building going up at South Ruislip Retail Park and see if it really does have a cafe.
Got a story, event, local win, or random neighbourhood question? Hit reply. I read every one.
See you next Sunday, same time, same place.
P.S. - If you found something useful, please share it with a neighbour!