The tweets of the week in the London Borough of Barnet 3rd January 2020

 So it's finally here. The Sun is shining. As it's the new year and I often get asked how I select these tweets, I thought I'd recap on the rules and the process. Firstly, as it's Sunday, the idea of the selection is to be a chilled and fun selection, we do the serious stuff during the rest of the week.  As the week goes on, I keep a note of all of the tweets which I found funny, made me laugh, made me cry, had some interesting historical data, have details of a local event or have some other local contents or link of interest. Before I collate the list, I then do a trawl throug of all the neighbourhoods, looking for other interesting tweets. Often people tag me or ping me to alert me to good stuff, which I also keep an eye on. I then pick the best ten. I try and get a mix, of events, history, pictures, local nature. If I've got too many I tend to give preference to new tweeter's I've not seen, if the sack is empty, I have a few trusty favourites.

I don't ever pick the following sort of stuff, as I find them boring beyond comprehension.

* Daily Mail retweets

* Conspiracy theories (unless there is a genuinely amusing local angle such as a UFO in Mill Hill Park)

* Posts from troll accounts

* Badly framed pictures that are local but have no artistic or informative value

* Tweets about Brexit (unless there is a direct local angle and the tweet is interesting enough to justify it)

* Tweets that overuse emoji's (they are irritating and people who overuse them are invariably dullards)

* Blatant politics, especially groups of people with 'Vote for Norman' style placards

* Bigotry, homophobia, sexism, racism or any other form of bullying or intimidation

* Activities and tweets from people who remind me of Jimmy Savile, if you know what I mean

Please note I will occasionally pick tweets from local councillors or politicians if they are doing a genuinely community activity that is not blatent electioneering.

So now you know the rules, here is our first selection from 2021 and damn fine it is too, even if I picked them myself.

1. We start with an absolutely amazing thread. This is one of those that I just happen upon doing my trawl of the neighbourhoods. I strongly advise you to check the whole thread. Be warned, we will be coming back to this on the blog

Burnt Oak #WalkTheNorthernLine pic.twitter.com/IOIfvm50mA

— Derick Rethans (@derickr) January 2, 2021

2. Another new account for us, with some great info about a Cricklewood street to set us on our way

The street in Cricklewood that remembers an African king who transformed a nation... #Londonhttps://t.co/6aUwOHVI5B pic.twitter.com/Cu5nuJj8B5

— London Street Guide (@LondonStreetGu4) January 2, 2021

3. This account may be in Staffordshire, but the subject is in Cricklewood and is the most glorious clip I've seen for a while. Yet another amazing tweet that needs further research. Happy new year to all our friends in Staffordshire, that's where my maternal Grandma came from, so I've always had a soft spot for the county

Horses' New Year's Dinner (1916)
There's no sign of any New Year's diets or detoxes going on at the Cricklewood Home of Rest for Horses. Instead, the retired nags - former London cab horses & military steeds, are treated to a well-earned feed https://t.co/L4mHehpnou
Source: @BFI pic.twitter.com/mFFWQVIfqV

— Staffs Libraries (@StaffsLibraries) January 1, 2021

4. And on to one of our regulars, Mr Mark Amies, with a super tweet about the former rail depot in Montrose Park

Nice to see that @BarnetCouncil have now put up a heritage board for the Aerodrome railway loco shed in Montrose Park, Colindale. I wrote a small piece about the line some time back. https://t.co/RYUvF4O5by

(Board image by @AnitaAmies) pic.twitter.com/GgUHjULqRw

— NW London TimeMachine (@time_nw) December 31, 2020

5. I've always had a soft spot for the Belarus Church in Finchley. I have fond memories of attending my sisters wedding at the Orthodox Cathedral in Minsk in 1990. The people of Belarus have a soft spot in my heart, the KGB even mistook me for a "Beolarussian peasant drunk" on a train from Minsk to Vilnius once. Quite handy really, as I had no visa to travel. Lucky I'm a good actor!

Believe me I had to learn quickly when I was Secretary of the Anglo Belarus Society. It involved liaising with the Papal Nuncio. They wore nice frocks, I’ll give them that. Some Belarusians are Orthodox & others are Greek Catholics like the church in Finchley. pic.twitter.com/BqBzJww9wl

— Alison Cameron 🤍❤️🤍 (@allyc375) January 3, 2021

6. As you know, we love live music, we love Stephens house and so how could we ignore this!

Our favourite gig locations at St. Joseph’s, Highgate and @stephenshouse, Finchley 🥰

Here’s a tiny clip of us warming up for our September concert from Stephens House with the brilliant @conductorben at the helm 💜 pic.twitter.com/Tg8RiYQXv5

— Nuestra Singers (@nuestrasingers) January 2, 2021

7. Being in Tier 4 there isn't too much going on, so make sure you support the stuff that is!

🚨Online Activities🚨

Sammy & the Beanstalk is aimed at children aged 7+, families & any adult with a sense of fun and wonder. Tickets to watch this performance will be £5 & it will be FREE to access for schools & those on low incomes

📅19 Dec-3 Jan - https://t.co/TDBbe6Xefv pic.twitter.com/cHHJDZtqUG

— Young Barnet Fdn. #NeverMoreNeeded (@Young_Barnet) January 3, 2021

8. A local Mill Hill lad has been doing rather well in the Darts. His talents were refined at the Mill Hill Services club with Colin the Postman! Great stuff

 

Darts #PDCWorldChampionship well done @ChizzyChisnall All that practice with Colin the postie in Mill Hill years ago paid off! Good luck against Anderson 😊

— RozzieB (@AoSauntonsands) January 1, 2021

9. Dr Julia Hines is a great friend of this blog, an esteemed guest blogger. We are pleased to see her mum has been given the vaccine. Whilst we are not the Brains of Britain here, Julia is rather clever and knows about this stuff. If she's letting her mum take the vaccine, then believe me, it is safe. I've alwasy found that listening to people who are clever and know what they are talking about saves a lot of bother, which is why I value Julia as a friend

 

This is my mother, waiting for her first dose of vaccine. She is 81. For her, vaccination means she can regain a little bit of her independence. As a lifelong community volunteer, she misses being useful. pic.twitter.com/iGsr93ta5V

— Julia Hines (@JuliaHines) December 29, 2020

10. Where else indeed????

 

Where else can you bump into both Amy and Dr Who? pic.twitter.com/hppo9fF1bz

— #MillHillMusicComplex (@MillHillMusicCo) January 2, 2021

 

That's all folks. Have a great week!