A COFFEE morning to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support will be held in Northwood.

Northwood Bowling Club in Chestnut Avenue are holding the coffee morning on September 26 from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

A CHAMPION runner who has her eyes set on the 2016 Olympics is determined to break a new course record.

At just 12 years old, Sky Draper, of Tanworth Close, Northwood, has already set course records in the Under 10s and Under 12s categories of the Manches Moor Park 10k & Junior Fun Runs.

On September 21 she will run in the Under 15s category for the first time and is determined to break the course record by running 2.5 miles in under 18.31 minutes.

The Northwood College pupil said: "I am going to do the fastest race I can and if I do that I should get it.
"I started doing triathlons when I was eight and now I train three or four times a week for running and twice a day for triathlons.

"I would like to be a professional athlete when I leave school, but at the moment I am trying to keep my options open.

"It has been my dream to compete in the 2016 Olympics for quite a long time.

"I really enjoy running because it's something you can see yourself progressing in and it's really rewarding."

The event has been organised for the seventh year running to raise funds for the Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre at Mount Vernon Hospital in Rickmansworth Road, Northwood.

To take part in the event, which is being held at Merchant Taylors' School in Sandy Lodge, Northwood, go to www.moorpark10k.org.uk.

A EASTCOTE shopkeeper who failed to store fireworks safely has been fined £350.

Karim Mawji, owner of Young's newsagent in Field End Road, Eastcote, was also ordered to pay £400 in court costs after pleading guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on August 26.

He was caught in November last year when Hillingdon Council's Trading Standards carried out an underage fireworks test purchasing exercise.

Quantities of fireworks were found to be stored incorrectly and not securely or away from combustible material in the shop.

The container outside the rear of the shop was also open and could have been accessed by the public.

LORD Michael Levy is coming to Northwood to do a book signing.

He will be signing a copy of his book, A Question of Honour, and will also be interview by The Observer correspondent, Ned Temko.

The book signing will be held at Northwood & Pinner Liberal Synagogue in Oaklands Gate, Northwood, on September 18 at 7.30pm.

THE campaign to keep the cancer centre at Mount Vernon Hospital may soon be over if a consultation into its future goes the right way.

The shape of cancer services at the Cancer Centre in Rickmansworth Road, Northwood, will be decided over the next year through a development process led by the PCTs that commission its services.

The first stage of the process began yesterday (Thursday) and will ask stakeholders, patients and user groups to agree a list of options on the future of its location.

The three options are to move the Cancer Centre to a different site, keep the Centre at Mount Vernon and restrict development at the site, or keep the Centre at Mount Vernon and build a new capacity at one or more satellite locations.

However, the steering group overseeing the process are recommending that only the last two options are put forward to the next stage of the process.

The Community Voice, an umbrella group linking local organisations concerned with good NHS services, has been campaigning for years to keep the Cancer Centre at Mount Vernon.

Chairman of the group, Joan Davis, said: "The consultation document is fantastic news that people have worked for, for many years.

"The Varley report (published in 2002) recommended that the Cancer Centre be moved to a new hospital or to a district general hospital elsewhere in Hertfordshire.

"It's fantastic that the new review has made clear that the steering group wishes to overturn the Varley recommendations.

"We welcome the last option because it will benefit patients who live a long distance from the Cancer Centre."

Anne Walker, chair of the steering group and chief executive of East and North Hertfordshire PCT and West Hertfordshire PCT, said: "This is a real opportunity for everyone that has an interest in the future of cancer services at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre to make their views heard. The views that are expressed will help us shape the proposals for change."

The first stage of the review will finish on November 4 and an interim report based on this process will be published at the end of the year.

A SPONSORED walk has been organised for the 20th year running to raise funds to help people with life threatening diseases.

Michael Sobell House Sponsored Walk will help to raise money for the hospice at Mount Vernon Hospital in Rickmansworth Road, Northwood.

Participants can either take part in the three-mile stroll, the seven-mile hike or the 12-mile trek across the Hertfordshire countryside on September 21.

Registration is at 8am in the Michael Sobell Centre building, next to Michael Sobell House, and the walk will start at 9am at the Centre.

Last year's walk raised £20,000 and the hospice hope to beat that figure this year.
Download a registration and sponsorship form from www.michaelsobellhouse.co.uk or contact Ophelia on 01923 844 829 or email her at ochambers@michaelsobellhouse.co.uk.

THE Coach House and Dovecot in Eastcote will be open to the public for a day.

The historical buildings in Eastcote House gardens, High Road, Eastcote, will be opened for the day in conjunction with The London Open House Weekend, to give the public the opportunity to view buildings of architectural interest.

The Open Day will be held on September 21 from 10am to 4pm.

ALMOST £700 in fines were paid on the spot to bailiffs during a police operation to crack down on people who have not paid up.

Northwood Hills Safer Neighbourhoods Team conducted an Automatic Number Plate Recognition Operation yesterday (Monday, September 1) for non-payment of fines.

During the three-hour operation 11 cars were stopped and £680 in fines were paid and there were final notices issued for £594 worth of outstanding fines.

The operation was done in partnership with Marston Group PLC, which is a private company who work with Her Majesty's Courts Service and London boroughs to execute distress warrants for non-payment of fines.

A SEVERELY epileptic man has been waiting almost five months for the unsafe flooring in his bathroom to be replaced.

Stephen Marsden, 47, of Beatrice Close, Northwood Hills, asked Hillingdon Homes to replace the aqua flooring because it had become very slippery and loose causing him to fall and injure himself several times.

After an inspection he was sent a letter in April saying the repairs would be completed within 20 workings days.

On August 6 new flooring was finally fitted, but it was the wrong type and two days later Mr Marsden slipped on the floor and cracked his head open.

He said: "They told me it was a non-slip flooring, but I slipped and cracked my head open again and there was blood all over the tiles.

"I paid another company to inspect it and they said it wasn't non-slip flooring and it wasn't fitted properly.
"I can't understand why it wasn't done correctly in the first place.

"They came to inspect it again and said it would be done by August 26 but it wasn't. Then they said they were trying to find the right flooring.

"Some of the flooring has been taken up so I can't have a shower now. I have to wash out of a bowl or a bucket.

"I think it's disgusting and a couple of my friends are furious about it."

Mr Marsden contacted The Gazette for the second time in the hope something would be done, and after calling Hillingdon Council we received the following response from the chief executive officer at Hillingdon Homes, Tim Price.

"Regarding this matter, we have agreed with Mr Marsden that we will reinstall the flooring in his bathroom and our Quality Control Team is liaising with him to arrange a suitable installation time on 1 September.

"Regarding the injury Mr Marsden has displayed, we cannot comment further on how this may have occurred."

However, Mr Marsden did not know anything about plans to reinstall the flooring yesterday (Monday) and he has still not heard from them.

He said: "I called them this morning (Tuesday) and I was told that it was being looked into."

A DRAMATISED reading of the entire text of St Matthew's Gospel has been organised by a Northwood Hills church.

There will be about 20 people taking part in The Big Read at St Edmund's Church in Pinner Road, most of whom are from the church's drama group, Arrow Players, and St Edmund's Choir.

It will start at 5.30pm on September 20 and will take about three hours.