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Tea Darling at Questors MATTOCK LANE W5 > Pam Redrup’s vintage tea room, Tea Darling, is at The Questors Theatre until 17 September – open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 5pm. Could Questors be the new permanent home for this three-time pop-up? > find out in our Q&A with Pam later this month
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Contact us MAGAZINES publishers of
@The_Ealinger
– out online every Monday
Anita Wong
Q&A Bommie Media and Ealing Connect are two recent start-ups from Ealing Broadway based Anita Wong. Her aim is to “make businesses social” through social media, websites and face-to-face networking
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“Making sure your business message is seen within social media, online or at a networking event is crucial to its existence”
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Q&A
ould that be your new slogan then: “Making your business social”? Why is being social so important for a business? > Yes, “Making your business social” does have a good ring to it and it does sum up what we offer at Bommie Media and Ealing Connect. As a web designer and social media manager I feel we can offer a unique combined service which sets me apart from most who only offer one or the other! Being able to launch or renew a website as well as create or update social media platforms really offers the full package, especially to new start-ups. If you then bring Ealing Connect Networking into the mix then you have all three key aspects
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of publicising your business. Being social within a business is very important, especially as we move further and further into the realms of automation and the digital world. It is very easy to go the whole day without actually seeing or speaking to anyone, especially if you work from home. So making sure your business message is seen within social media, online or at a networking event is crucial to its existence.
Click for the Bommie Media video channel
What’s the advantage of keeping your two businesses separate? > At the moment, I feel that Bommie Media and Ealing Connect should be kept separate as my long term plan for Ealing Connect is to make the face-toface networking really work for those who attend, and to make the Ealing Connect website into a busy, online business hub for Ealing and West London businesses where they can advertise their services as well as appear in the members directory.
Your businesses have high visibility in Ealing, clearly you’ve mixed the right cocktail of social media and networking – any tips for other businesses hoping to get that mix right? > Yes, plenty! To start with, I would suggest experimenting with a couple of social media platforms and see which one works best for the type of service or product you are offering. Spend some time monitoring the social media platform and take notes on which type of posts gains more engagement and at what time of the day you are getting the most responses. Make sure you get yourself involved in the social media platform you have chosen and engage with your followers. Secondly, have a look at your own website and see if it is attractive and modern looking, check that it presents well on mobile devices and that all the links work well and that it’s promoting your business in the right way. Finally, network. It can be very daunting walking into a room full of strangers but most groups are very friendly and welcoming and you can be sure you will not be the only one who’s new in the room. If you are really worried, contact the organiser beforehand and tell them this is your first time; they will definitely make sure you feel at ease. bommiemedia.com @BommieMedia BommieMediaLondon ealingconnect.co.uk @EalingConnect Ealingconnect – interview by Carlene Bender
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The Q&A Ealinger
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Three-day Ploughfest NORTHFIELDS W13 > If it’s one thing guaranteed to draw a crowd on a Sunday evening in Ealing, it’s the combination of live music, hot food, good weather outdoors, and a pub with a garden. The Plough Inn at the southern end of Northfield Avenue managed to get such a mix right for their threeday August bank holiday weekend Ploughfest 2016, featuring jazz and blues performers, a bit of Latin music, artisan food, 80s disco, and a chill-out cinema spread across the three days of the festival. The event was billed as fundraising for the Shooting Star Trust.
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Check out our clip of The Plough customers enjoying Kate de Freitas and The Babacools’ version of “These Boots Were Made for Walking”: youtube.com/watch?v=6naI3_8lr0M
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PLOUGHFEST (continued) Below: Eating, drinking and grooving along to local jazz and blues singer Kate de Freitas, performing with The Babacools on Sunday evening at The Plough Inn in Northfields, Ealing. Opposite: Ploughfest 2016 continues until Monday Opposite bottom: Patrons get boogieing to the music
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The community Ealinger
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Final sale at BHS West Ealing Got a story or a local event coming up? Contact Rory Thomas @rorythomasb
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The Ealinger
WEST EALING W13 > Making the most of the last opportunity to purchase home wares, shoes and clothing at rock-bottom prices and buy-one-get-one-free deals, hundreds of customers descended on the West Ealing branch of British Home Stores (BHS) on Wednesday as the high street retailer prepared to close its doors forever. The_Ealinger freelance journalist Rory Thomas stopped by to capture
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BHS LAST SALE (continued) the “downcast and disappointed” atmosphere, and chatted with staff and shoppers as the queue stretched out the door and into the street. One male employee confided in Rory, saying: “This is it, today! I’m only part-time but I think everyone is being made redundant. It’s sad”. The business, originally modelled on the success of the Woolworths model, went into administration in April this year, after an 88-year run, and spanned 164 stores nationwide. There are plans for turning the building into flats.
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See Rory’s video of shoppers making the most of bargains on the last day of trading at British Home Stores (BHS) West Ealing: youtube.com/watch?v=64mr_7RMT1s
The business Ealinger
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Emergency services on hand UXBRIDGE ROAD W13 > The_Ealinger freelance journalist Rory Thomas was out and about in West Ealing last Tuesday night when a middle-aged man collapsed in the street next to Dean Gardens. “Onlookers say there was no sound of an accident involving a vehicle, and witnesses speculate heat exhaustion, due to the high temperature. Emergency services arrived within minutes and stabilised the man, before loading him onto ambulance,” Rory reports. If you’re out and about in Ealing and you see something worth sharing, tweet a photo and tag us on Twitter: @The_Ealinger
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The Ealinger
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Last chance to play Cricketforfun this summer Fri 2 September 1-2pm. Kindly sponsored by Anita Wong of Ealing Connect Visit ealingconnect.co.uk to find out about “An Evening of Networking” (8 Sep) @EalingConnect Ealingconnect
Cricket, let’s play! South Ealing based cricket club Old Actonians Ladies were thrilled when TV presenter, author and sportswoman Clare Balding stopped by to have a go with the cricket bat while her wife Alice Arnold gamely offered to keep wicket. Clare had just formally opened the Super Saturday of Sport event in Turnham Green last month.
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The networking Ealinger
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So much to enjoy in Ealing WALPOLE PARK W5 > Our guess here at The_Ealinger is that quite a few of the people dangling on climbing ropes and pumping the water sprinkler in the big kids/little kids adjoining playgrounds at Walpole Park are studiously ignoring the “back-to-school� posters and adverts popping up ever more frequently across the borough. Make the most of the last week, holiday people!
The Ealinger
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community
29 Aug 2016
NETWORK WITH US IN ACTON Join us for a coffee on Tuesday 30 August, 1-2pm at the Contactus magazines Acton Business Meetup (which takes place in the last week of every month). This month we’ll be meeting at the award-winning Field’s cafe on Churchfield Road. Bring your cards and marketing materials to share. Everyone also gets to make a 1-minute presentation to the group.
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Acton
WIN A £150 ADVERTORIAL Subscribe to The_Ealinger for a chance to win a Q&A (see pages 2-3) Online readers click here: eepurl.com/bLdZQb Congratulations to our August winner, Yewande Rolph. Read her Q&A in last week’s issue. Continuing to the end of 2016, the names of all new subscribers will be entered into each month’s prize draw. For all the latest information, follow @The_Ealinger.
*closest parking: Morrisons car park 2 hours free
business
Contact:
Carlene Bender @ContactusEaling
meetup
Tue 30 Aug 2016 | 1-2pm
Field’s
132 Churchfield Road, Acton W3 6BS
Field’s owner Toufik Bennebri
29 Aug 2016
*this is a free event* (but do order a drink or something to eat)
The networking Ealinger
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Florists’ windows PITSHANGER LANE W5 > If Pitshanger Lane were to stage a “best dressed window” competition, both these shop windows would no doubt do themselves proud. Lucky Pitshanger (and Ealing) residents to have these displays to brighten their days. Below: Old Oak Floral Designs, towards the western end of the popular row of independent shops, is pushing a late summer vibe, with powder-pink highlights in the form of cut-out butterflies, potting jars and assorted petals and foliage.
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PITSHANGER FLORISTS (continued) This page: at Stems Flower Gallery a few doors to the east, straight-hanging strings of crystal beads catch the light and shine on a wheaten-yellow and cobalt-blue design. Pitshanger Lane is the reigning London winner of the Great British High Street competition, awarded last November. Follow our Twitter feed on: @PitshangerW5
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The business Ealinger
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Physiotherapy in Ealing W5
w5physio.co.uk Ealing’s premier physio clinic, W5 Physio, is here to help you with fast, effective treatment for long-lasting results. @W5Physio W5Physio
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tinyurl.com/The-Ealinger Editor/publisher: Carlene Bender All content: Carlene Bender, unless otherwise credited
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EALING BUSINESS NETWORKING Links at: tinyurl.com/EalingBusinessDiary
Updated every Monday morning since April 2014. Come networking with us. Tweet
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29 Aug 2016