Saturday 8 October to Saturday 15 October is National Hate Crime Awareness Week and Hillingdon Police have launched a campaign entitled "Hillingdon is no place for hate". Click on this link to find out more about different kinds of hate crime, how to report an incident and where to get help and advice.

Monday 10 October is World Mental Health Day. The Department of Health & Social Care has produced a 5 minute 5 question quiz to help you assess your state of health and wellbeing so that you can draw up your own Mind Plan. Click here to see how you are doing.

The Police in Hayes Town want to hear from the local community about their concerns on local crime and anti-social behaviour, As part of their outreach work the Botwell Team is inviting you to a "Cuppa with a Coppa" on Tuesday 11 October between 2pm and 3 30pm at Cost Coffee in Station Road.

The title of this initiative prompted me to look up why a Police officer is called a 'copper' (or 'coppa'). According to Wikipedia the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary says that it came into use in the 18th century as a slang term for 'someone who captures' criminals. An alternative explanation was that police uniforms had copper buttons or badges but I prefer the one based on history. What do you think?

Unemployed jobseekers are invited to attend the Hillingdon Careers & Empoyability Fair to be held on Wednesday 12 October between 10am and 3pm in the Pavilions Shopping Centre in Chequers Square in Uxbridge.

Approximately 35 employers with multiple job vacancies across a number of sectors and industries will be present and looking to find new staff to join their workforces. Jobseekers are encouraged to dress to impress and to bring multiple copies of their CV with them. There will even be a fashion show on how to look your best for an interview. Click here to find out more details.

The Hillingdon Herald free local newspaper is now almost one year old. It is produced by students on Brunel University journalism degree courses and edited by Rachel Sharp who is not only a Lecturer but a former Editor of one of Hillingdon Borough’s commercially-produced local newspapers. She is very keen to ensure that the Hillingdon Herald serves all areas of the Borough and all sections of the increasingly diverse local community. She is therefore inviting representatives of community and faith groups in Hayes to attend the anniversary celebration. It will take place on Wednesday 19 October between 6pm and 9 30pm at Brunel. Guests are invited to drop in at any time convenient. To reserve a place click here.

The GRoW (Get Ready for Work) employment training team are celebrating recognition as the winners of the 'Outreach & Engagement of Adults into Learning' category in the first Mayor of London's Adult Learning Awards presented on Wednesday 5 October. They are based in The Winning Box office suite above the Iceland store on Station Road and are part of Belina Consulting set up 15 years ago by Founder and Director, Liz Sewell. Click here to find out more about these prestigious awards and here to see what GROW has to offer.

Liz (pictured on the left of Mayor Sadiq Khan) was also in the spotlight recently as a speaker at a conference in Stockholm to support the Swedish Public Employment System develop their work with local organisations. She tells me that in her speech she spoke about the support given to GrOW and the local community by the networking opportunities provided by the Hayes Town Partnership. Very flattering to get an international mention.

The annual awards ceremony to highlight the achievements of Uxbridge College students took place at the Beck Theatre in Hayes on Wednesday 28 September (pictured). Students who had studied at the Hayes Campus featured prominently with Johan De Sousa receiving the Intermediate Apprentice of the Year Award and Raghad Ajlouni being granted the Gavin Taylor Bursary Award - a real achievement for somebody who had started at the College with very little English. Click here to see details of all the awards

What exactly is Black History Month all about? It is a controversial subject in Hillingdon with the Council recently voting by a majority against a motion in its support. This web site gives an explanation of why some people think that it matters.

Brunel University has an extensive programme of talks and lectures for Black History Month. Many are open to the public and you can see details from this link. Brunel publishes a FREE What’s on Guide which provides regular updates and invitations to the wide range of community events, public debates, courses and recreational activities that are available at Brunel University London. Click on this link to get on the distribution list.

Do you have some free time to do a bit of voluntary work for the local community? Are you very flexible and able to adapt to new roles? If both these things apply to you then you are just the person that the Hillingdon Hospitals Trust is looking for. They call them Volunteer Response Runners. Although you don't actually have to run you must commit to work at least one 9am to 5pm shift a week. Click here to find out more.

Anybody who has been down Blyth Road in the last ten years could not have failed to notice a large building with its front covered in safety netting. It is called Enterprise House and is a Grade II listed building which is on the English Heritage 'Heritage at Risk Register' because of its poor condition. The netting was put up because of the danger of the windows falling out onto passers-by. It was built in 1912 as part of the EMI development and was one of the first factories in the UK to use the American system of reinforced concrete frames.

Despite its condition the building has continued in use for industrial purposes including the production of vinyl records. In 2014 the Council gave planning permission for a partial change of use which would see the provision of 96 flats with the retention of 4500 sq m of employment use. Work has been going on behind the safety netting for several years but last week I spotted that some of it was being removed to reveal the building in its former glory as shown in the picture. I am trying to get more details of the current plans for its future.