Clubs/societies

A CHILDREN'S centre is busy planning a Fun Day which will take place next month.

The Yiewsley Cornerstone Children's Centre, based in Colham Avenue, Yiewsley, are to hold their Fun Day on Monday September 14.

It will be held from 12pm until 3pm with activities for all, including craft time, games, story time, and music.

For more information call 01895 435805 or e-mail info@yiewsleycornerstone.co.uk

CAGE fighting is undisputedly one of the fastest growing sports on the planet. A club in Cowley is now ready to take on the challenge of training the up and coming fighters with their new cage - the first one in the whole of Middlesex. Charlene Mitchell talks to instructor Ian Morgan ahead of the opening of the club this weekend.

WITH mixed martial artist (MMA ) Michael Bisping leading the way for UK fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) many dream of following in his footsteps.

To help these dreams come true, two well accomplished fighters, Ian Morgan and Andy Jardine, have set up their own club, Ronin MMA, at Panthers Gym, in Packet Boat Lane, Cowley.

As well as teaching MMA, the club is also very keen to train men, women and children in whichever martial art they are interested in - and they even do boxing too.

Mr Morgan, who lives in Phelps Way, Hayes, has a long history of fighting in judo and kickboxing championships all over the world, and he has even tried his hand at jiu-jitsu.

The 38-year-old said: "We don't want people to think it's all about cage fighting and getting your face smashed in. We want them to know they can come here safely and learn a sport and if they want to go into the cage they can do but not until we get them to a level where we feel they are ready for it.

"Including myself we have got seven high level instructors who all have dan grades in various martial arts. We are also affiliated with the World Association of Kickboxing Organisations (WAKO), the British Judo Association and the Amateur Boxing Association. The other guys who do grappling have also got other affiliations.

"We cover all the main sports so people can learn to become the ultimate MMA fighter.

"MMA is only for the men because we don't want to promote women into that sport but if a woman really wanted to do it then we would."

Mr Morgan runs the club with his business partner Andy Jardine, from Hounslow, who has also been running a company called Extreme Brawl for 10 years.

Mr Morgan said: "He has trained a lot of our fighters himself and now all those guys have got somewhere to train.

"We have all come together to run this one club as a team. It's quite an exceptional room now.

"There's nowhere else like this in the area for people to go. We have got a proper training cage. It's 15ft wide and we will hopefully at some point go for the much bigger training cage, but you can't do everything in the first hit when you're doing something of this magnitude. We're just going to see how well it goes first.

"We have got quite a large following already and if it does go well, which we hope it will, we will look to expand it.

"At the moment we're going to be open five days a week and there will be some weekend sessions too."

The club will be open for men and women and children from the age of five to 16.

"We want to get kids into a well grounded sport where they are going to learn something and get enjoyment out of it," explains Mr Morgan.

"A lot of children go to clubs because their parents tell them to and then they get bored, but here they can move on to another sport once they get bored of what they're doing."

The club is holding an open day on Saturday (8) and Sunday (9) from 10am to 3pm and their website www.roninmma.co.uk should be up and running by September.

AIR cadets have returned from a week long camp at an RAF base in Lincolnshire where they experienced life on a front-line air base.

The cadets and staff from 1381 West Drayton and Yiewsley Squadron enjoyed the action packed stay at RAF Coningsby.

Activities included climbing on the high ropes, rifle shooting, flying in a 'Typhoon' simulation, and a capture the flag night exercise.

In addition most cadets gained swimming qualifications during the week.

Chris Bigos, Squadron Commanding Officer, said: "These camps are intended to show the cadets what day-to-day life is like in the modern RAF, and to reinforce the classroom training they receive during the year.

"It is also an opportunity for them to gain confidence from the physical activities and team exercises.

"There is also a strong social thread running through the week and we aim to make it fun as well as challenging."

The squadron website is www.1381sqn.co.uk and anyone wanting to find out more can contact them on 01895 448353.

PEOPLE are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting for The Yiewsley and West Drayton Community Association.
It will take place at the community centre in Harmondsworth Road, West Drayton on May 15 at 7.30pm. The event will be followed by a meeting by West Drayton Social Club Ltd.
For more information contact 01895 44 34 23.

A BRASS band has trumpeted all expectations by qualifying to the finals of the national championships.

The Yiewsley and West Drayton Brass Band took second place in the second section at the regional qualifiers and have now resultantly been promoted to the first division from the start of 2010, the bands highest grading in its 118 year history.

The amazing achievement will now see the band represent the region at the Great Britain National Brass Band Championships 2009 in Harrogate later this year.

Dave Longman said: "After some difficult times for the band in recent years, this is an incredible result.

"I still cant believe it. Everyone put in many hours of hard work at rehearsals since January, but it was made easy in that all the players really enjoyed playing the test piece New World Sketches."

The band is now busy rehearsing every Wednesday and Friday evenings, at Yiewsley Methodist Church, in Fairfield Road, Yiewsley, and recently performed at a St George's Day procession which began in South Ruislip on Friday.

JUST 200 vacancies at a new superstore have sparked a staggering 2,500 applications.

Morrison's is set to open up its new Yiewsley store in the High Street at the end of May and have been overwhelmed with demand with response to the posts.

The applications are currently being sifted through to find the ideal candidates for the roles, which include checkout operators, bakers, butchers and staff to serve on fresh food counters.

The applications followed adverts in the Uxbridge Job Centre as well as a three day recruitment event.

Recent figures showed that unemployment is Hillingdon has risen by a third in the past year as the effects of the credit crunch hit home.

Gail Roberts, retail recruitment manager at Morrisons said: "We have had an amazing response to the recruitment drive and are really positive that we will build up a team that can deliver great service to the people of Yiewsley."

SIX cadets from 1381 (West Drayton & Yiewsley) Squadron took part in the Wing Inter-Squadron Cross Country competition held at RAF Uxbridge on November 23.

Eleven Squadrons from across the Wing took part, and the team of cadets from 1381 Squadron achieved second place in the Junior Boys group. Cadet Kane came second in the individual race and following this success has been chosen to represent Middlesex Wing at the Region Inter-Wing Cross Country competition on December 7.

Having been awarded his Wing Blue for this competition he is hoping to go forward to
represent the London and South East Region at national level.

1381 Squadron has a current strength of around 30 cadets aged between 13
and 18 and parades on Monday and Thursday evenings between 7.00pm and
9.30pm at the Squadron HQ in Porters Way, West Drayton.

Prospective cadets are welcome to contact the Squadron on 01895 448353.

The successful air cadets with their medals.

A NEW holiday club is aiming to give parents a break this summer by keeping bored youngsters off the streets and giving them something fun to do.

Children and young people between 10-16 can try any of the 50 activities on offer which include bungee running, dragon boat racing, archery, football, giant origami, film making and many more.

FLUX Club runs for three weeks, August 4-22, at Stockley Academy, Park View Road, Yiewsley.
Day passes start from £30 with early bird rates and special offers for local schools.

It is run by a professional team trained in all aspects of anti-bullying and first aid.
Club director Krzysztof Bahrynowski, said: "It has literally been based on the needs of working parents and the expectations of children and young people.

"So FLUX will open earlier and stay open later than most other clubs."

For more information call 01895 460 968.