Good Morning Neighbour! ☕
Hillingdon unlocks its hidden doors for a free heritage festival in September, a major high street name has quietly opened at South Ruislip Retail Park, and Harrow planners have just knocked back three HMO conversions above a Pinner shop. Plenty to mark in the diary this week.
In today's Good Morning Pinner:
Hillingdon's Open House Festival lands in September with Manor Farm and Eastcote House Gardens on the list
NEXT opens its new South Ruislip Retail Park store, complete with a cafe
Three HMO conversions above Pinner TG Jones are refused by Harrow planners
Let’s dive in.
- Chinar
If someone forwarded this to you, you can get the Pinner updates every Sunday at goodmorningpinner.com.
This Week around HA5
Hillingdon's Open House Festival runs from Saturday 12 to Sunday 20 September. Manor Farm in Ruislip opens across the opening weekend (12-13 September), with the Manor House drop-in and the Great Barn open on the Sunday. Eastcote House Gardens opens on the Sunday only, with rare access to the normally-closed dovecote. Most sites are free and drop-in. The Civic Centre tour in Uxbridge needs a free Open City account and tends to sell out fast. Hillingdon Open House
NEXT is open at South Ruislip Retail Park. The new store landed on Wednesday in the former Carpetright unit on Victoria Road, with the usual clothing, NEXT Home, beauty and Click & Collect, plus a cafe inside that should make it a useful rainy-day stop as well as a shopping one. A fourth NEXT in the wider area, sitting alongside the existing Harrow, Hayes and Greenford branches. NEXT Ruislip Retail Park
Three HMO conversions above the TG Jones shop in Pinner have been refused by Harrow planners. A small but useful planning win for anyone who has been watching the steady creep of houses-into-multiple-occupation across the village centre. The decisions were published this week. Harrow Online
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 open at South Ruislip Retail Park. The new store opened on Wednesday in the former Carpetright unit on Victoria Road (HA4 0QE), with clothing for women, men and children, NEXT Home, beauty, Click & Collect and a cafe on site. A fourth NEXT in the wider area after Harrow, Hayes and Greenford. Worth a browse even if you were only planning to grab a coffee. NEXT Ruislip Retail Park
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
Junior Parkrun | Pinner Village Gardens | Sun 23 Aug | 9-9:45am - A free, friendly 2km for under-17s (and their grown-ups on the sidelines).
Board Game Mondays | Queen's Head | Mon 24 Aug | 7:30pm - Free entry, bring your game face.
Crafternoon Time | Roxborough Heights, HA1 | Mon 24 Aug | 11am (£) - Weekly family crafts and activities.
Quiz Night | Queen's Head | Tue 25 Aug | 8pm (£) - £2 entry, with £1 going to Mount Vernon Cancer Centre.
Kids Kung Fu | Harrow High School | Tue 25 Aug | 5:45pm and 6:30pm (£) - Two age groups for 4-6 and 7-13 year olds. More info
Slimming World | Pinner Green Social Club | Wed 26 Aug | 7pm (£) - A warm weekly group with real food and ongoing support. From £6.65.
U9s Training and Trials | Parkfield Youth FC | Thu 27 Aug | 6-7pm - Contact Jason at 07772671464 before attending.
Quiz Night | Three Wishes Pinner | Thu 27 Aug | 7:30pm (£) - £3 entry per person, with a £50 bar tab for the winning team.
Quiz Night | The Ascott | Thu 27 Aug | 8pm (£)
Speed Quiz | The Whittington | Fri 28 Aug | 8pm (£) - £3 entry, with cash prizes on offer.
Ruislip Country Market | St Martin's Approach Car Park | Fri 28 Aug | 10am-12pm
The Welcome Space | Pinner Village Hall | Fri 28 Aug | 2pm - Free Friday drop-in for older neighbours and carers.
Futsal Class | Barnhill High School | Fri 28 Aug | 5:30pm (£) - Weekly session for all abilities.
Activities for Children
Lion Dance Cultural Experience | Harrow Arts Centre | Sun 23 Aug | 1-2:30pm - Sixth and final session of the six-Sunday 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
Autumn Fair | Pinner Village Hall | Sat 29 Aug | 12pm (£2) - An afternoon of jewellery, crystals, art and craft stalls, holistic wellness treatments, psychic reads and a raffle. Refreshments on site, with local businesses at the heart of it. Book here
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
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 than a spreadsheet wearing shoes.
Civic Updates
Harrow Council has agreed to drop enforcement fines issued without body-worn camera evidence. A quietly significant reversal after sustained complaints about traffic warden conduct around the borough. Anyone who has been disputing a PCN can ask their case to be reviewed under the new rules. Worth flagging if a recent ticket is still being chased.
Transport
TfL has planned engineering works on the Piccadilly line for Tuesday 25, Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 August, so allow extra time or pick a backup route if you are using the Piccadilly for airport, west London or central London trips in that window. Check the TfL status page closer to the day for the latest.
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 Chief Garden Inspector (Leaves Edition), Head of Biscuit Security, or Professional Crumb Detector, we want to hear about it.
Closing
Thank you for reading Good Morning Pinner today.
If you only do one planning thing this week, slot Manor Farm or Eastcote House Gardens into your September diary for Hillingdon's Open House Festival. If you only do one bookable thing, lock in a slot at the Autumn Fair at Pinner Village Hall. And if you only do one good thing for your local newsletter, hit reply with an event, a story, or a sign you have spotted in passing.
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!