Showing posts with label finchley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finchley. Show all posts
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
The Barnet Eye Advent Calendar - Wednesday 10th December
It's the tenth day of Advent and we continue our journey through the past today for our little Gem. Today we have a PAthe News Video of Dr Cunninghams collection of antique frocks. This was the largest collection of such items and Dr Cunningham lived in Finchley. I find such antique films fascinating. This video is from 1938, the year before the second world war. I guess this really was the end of the era when such things were seen as the height of fashion and elegance. Just a year after, we were plunged into a dire conflict, followed by the austerity of the late 40's & 50's. These gave way to the swinging 60's and the mini!
For our Charity focus today, we also focus on Finchley and the excellent North London Hospice. Whilst it is an establishent none of us want to visit or enter, when we have to we find that it is the most fantastic establishment. How many of us have had a friend or relative who needed the services provided and have seen the excellent work first hand. I cannot praise this organisation highly enough and if you are looking for somewhere to help in this festive season, this is cetrainly somewhere that should be high on your list - www.northlondonhospice.org - if you don't fancy donating, why not visit one of their 18 local shops and buy a few presents for your friends and family there. It all helps and makes a big difference.
Monday, 22 February 2010
Barnet Eye : Spotlight on Finchley and Finchlinks
If you are looking for a night out in Finchley, my personal recommendation would be to visit the Phoenix Cinema - one of the few suburban "proper cinemas" left. If you want to eat out there, my favourite restaurant is the Japanese food at Tosa. It's always been great. Sadly Barnets premier rock venue, The Torrington shut down a couple of years ago, but if anyone knows a good gig venue, please post a comment. No mention of Finchley would be complete without mentioning The Arts Depot. I was highly amused to see a press release from Boris Johnson giving the Arts Depot the thumbs up. Those of us locals with long memories well remember how our local Tory party poured scorn on the place when in opposition. Now they are in charge they think it's marvellous. I am proud that the Lib Dems and Labour administration at the time had the vision to build such a fine resource.
The picture is the cover of the 1967 album by the New Vaudeville band. Sadly this was the most iconic picture of Finchley I could find.
Friday, 22 May 2009
Andrew Dismore & Expenses : The Barnet Eye Response
Dan Hope alluded to a conspiracy as to the way I posted Andrew Dismore's letter regarding his expenses. I just published it with no comment whatsoever and a curt "Draw your own conclusions". As I explained in my response to Dan, I thought that was an appropriate way to deal with such a letter, with a follow up response blog from me.
As Andrew Dismore is often keen to say, the devil is in the detail. Having read Andrews letter, he has probably written nothing in it with which I can take issue. What does this tell us? It tells us that when it comes to writing letters, Andrew is an excellent lawyer and I'm a dyslexic guitarist in a punk rock band. It reminds me of a story one of my teachers told me. A well educated athiest was up before the court for heresy at a time when the punishment was death. They asked him what he thought of the teachings of Jesus Christ. The athiest responded "I can say with all my heart and in a clear conscience that I agree with every word Jesus wrote in the bible". A suitably impressed court dismissed the case. When challenged in later life as to how the athiest could square his statement with his views, the athiest responded "Jesus didn't write a single recorded word, he spoke them and other people documented them".
The point I'm making here is that the problem with Andrews letter is not what he says, it's what he doesn't say. I fundamentally disagree with any London MP ever claiming for second homes. He may have claimed less than most but he is shouldn't have claimed anything. Full stop, end of story. It is all very well criticising others for their claims for Moats, but you should look at yourself first. Open the windows of your glass house before throwing stones.
Andrew talks about his 50% pay cut. He chose the job and there were plenty of other people who wanted it. Rightly or wrongly, people expect MP's to set a good example. There is an implicit admission that the second home allowance is wrong. If that is the case, it should never have been claimed. It reminds me of someone my father knew who employed a "financial advisor" to look after a substancial amount of money. After 2 years the friend was tipped off that the advisor had played the market with the money and made a huge profit. When questioned, the advisor returned the money with zero interest. A solicitor was contacted who advised the friend that "He returned all of the money, there was no contract to say he'd actually pay interest, so technically he's done nothing wrong" The solicitor went on to say "You are lucky, in cases like these, usually you lose the lot!". When I read the defence that MP's use "It was within the rules" - I know how my Dad's friend felt. When I read Andrew Dismore's letter, I understood his feelings when he was told "You are lucky". Sure Andrew has not broken the rules, sure compared to some he's been relatively restrained. Sure his letter contains many of the things that I think we'd like to have seen all along, such as on line access to expenses. I just can't help feeling let down.
Having given my feelings about Andrews letter, I must say that he appears to be getting his house in order. He is putting his claims on line, which must be applauded. This is the minimum I expect to see. There is a very interesting point which this has raised. Andrew's opponent for the Conservatives in Hendon is Matthew Offord, who until recently was the Deputy Leader. The Leader of the Council is Mike Freer, who is the Tory PPC for Finchley.
These two have a great opportunity to show whether we can trust them. Put all Councillor expense claims On Line as Andrew Dismore has done for his MP's expenses. This is an ideal opportunity to see if our prospective MP's are any better. If Mike Freer and Matthew Offord refuse full disclosure, we will have to assume that like their Tory colleagues with Moats, they have something to hide.
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Some practical advice for Mike Freer PPC for Finchley
Now as those of you who follow my blog might know, Mike Freer has hijacked the Finchley Conservatives website and turned it into his own personal site. Unlike other association sites such as Chipping Barnet, the history of the constituency is hardly mentioned. This is rather surprising as the most successful Conservative of modern times, Lady Margaret Thatcher, was the MP for many years. She warrants one rather grammatically poor sentence.
Just out of interest, I decided to check out what was happening in the seat where Mike Freer was PPC at the last election. They've selected Dr Rachel Joyce as their PPC. Like Mike Freer she has a site for her candidacy and a blog. There are a few big differences. Let's look at her blog first. Now I don't agree with Rachel on some of the stuff she writes. I left a comment telling her so. Unlike Mike, she posted my comments and gave me a completely reasonable response. Not only that but her blog is a freebee from Blogspot, unlike Freer's leader Listens site, which we pay for. She's also rather busy, with over 20 posts since Mike's last effort on 5th March. Seems like old Lazybones Mike could learn something here.
Now lets look at her "Official" website. If you look at Mike Freer's "News" you get "No items found". Rachel Joyce has letters to the press, practical advice for home owners, News about the police. On local campaigns Joyce has 6 items with pictures of her out on the streets. Real local campaigns for hospitals, transport and the environment, all strongly local. Mike has four soggily rehashed National campaigns with no evidence of any work at all. Most interestingly, rather than trying to hijack the local association, the website bears her name.
In response to previous criticisms of the Finchley Conservatives site, Mike said (through a spokesman of the FOF's) that it was done like this because it is a marginal. He said Chipping Barnet could have a normal constituency site because it was a safe seat? Looking at Dr Rachel Joyce's site, it is clear to me why they didn't ask Mike back and picked her instead.
Don't get me wrong, I hope they both lose, but ask yourself this. Which of these two appears :-
a) More hard working
b) More civil
c) More intelligent
d) Less egotistical
If I was Mike I'd get on to Rachel and ask for some help sorting my website out. That will do him far more good than making offensive podcasts.
Just out of interest, I decided to check out what was happening in the seat where Mike Freer was PPC at the last election. They've selected Dr Rachel Joyce as their PPC. Like Mike Freer she has a site for her candidacy and a blog. There are a few big differences. Let's look at her blog first. Now I don't agree with Rachel on some of the stuff she writes. I left a comment telling her so. Unlike Mike, she posted my comments and gave me a completely reasonable response. Not only that but her blog is a freebee from Blogspot, unlike Freer's leader Listens site, which we pay for. She's also rather busy, with over 20 posts since Mike's last effort on 5th March. Seems like old Lazybones Mike could learn something here.
Now lets look at her "Official" website. If you look at Mike Freer's "News" you get "No items found". Rachel Joyce has letters to the press, practical advice for home owners, News about the police. On local campaigns Joyce has 6 items with pictures of her out on the streets. Real local campaigns for hospitals, transport and the environment, all strongly local. Mike has four soggily rehashed National campaigns with no evidence of any work at all. Most interestingly, rather than trying to hijack the local association, the website bears her name.
In response to previous criticisms of the Finchley Conservatives site, Mike said (through a spokesman of the FOF's) that it was done like this because it is a marginal. He said Chipping Barnet could have a normal constituency site because it was a safe seat? Looking at Dr Rachel Joyce's site, it is clear to me why they didn't ask Mike back and picked her instead.
Don't get me wrong, I hope they both lose, but ask yourself this. Which of these two appears :-
a) More hard working
b) More civil
c) More intelligent
d) Less egotistical
If I was Mike I'd get on to Rachel and ask for some help sorting my website out. That will do him far more good than making offensive podcasts.
Monday, 2 March 2009
Leader Listens? Well he can't even be bothered to turn up !
If you were the leader of Barnet Council and you decided to start a program called Leader Listens and you promoted this as a chance for regular people to engage directly with the council leader, and you only had to fit around one visit a month in, would you bother to turn up? Well it seems that if the meeting is in Burnt Oak and your name is Mike Freer, the answer is clearly NO. You send your bagman - Matthew Offord - (check Leader Listens for full details and video of this charade).
Now as the scheme is Mike Freer's baby, you think he'd be able to plan the meetings so that he could be there. The sessions aren't called Leader and Deputy Listen. They are not called "A bloke from the Council Listens" they are not even called "Leader Listens if he can be bothered to turn up". The sessions are quite clearly called "Leader Listens". Now if I'd put off a hot date or given up a pre Christmas night out with the boys to engage with Council Leader Mike Freer and he sent a lackey along, I'd feel pretty cheated. You see if the Leader is there, you know he's heard what you have to say. If you tell Deputy Dawg what is troubling you, our great leader can say "Oh, Matthew in the middle was very naughty and forgot to tell me".
So what is it about Burnt Oak which means that Mike can't be bothered to go? I put this question to the Burnt Oak Society of Jedi Knights and after 3 days meditation on this issue they suggested the following possible options:-
a) Mike Freer is a snob and wouldn't be seen dead in a working class area such as Burnt Oak.
b) Mike Freer got a better offer and went somewhere else
c) Matthew Offord did the session as Burnt Oak is in the constituency he's standing in for Parliament.
So lets explore these options.
a) Well if this is true it's terrible. The voters of Burnt Oak deserve the same treatment as everyone else.
b) There is no mention in the minutes of an apology from Freer, so we can assume he either hadn't had a better offer or he is too bad mannered to offer an apology. Not the standard of behaviour we'd like from a council leader.
c) It seems to me that Freer and Offord have form on this. I attended the Mill Hill Leader listens session (again in Hendon Constituency). Offord took this session as well. If Offord and Freer are divvying up the sessions according to who's constituency they are in, I'd say that could be an abuse of public funds to gain an electoral advantage. Candidates are not allowed to abuse their position to gain an unfair advantage. As opposition councillors candidates are excluded from these meetings on the grounds that the purpose is engagement with the Council leader, use of the forum for party political advantage would clearly be deemed "out of order".
The only way to clear this up is for Mike Freer to post an explanation as to why Offord took the Burnt Oak and Mill Hill Sessions and he took the Finchley and Golders Green sessions (in his constituency).
The only crumb of comfort I would take from this, if I were an opposition candidate is that from what I saw of Offord at the Mill Hill Leader Listens session, he is completely useless.
I raised 3 points with him
1) The fact that the council had failed to chop down a tree on their property which was damaging my mothers flat. A week later they dispatched a team and chopped the wrong tree down.
2) Illegal turns onto Mill Hill Broadway from Goodwyn Avenue. Offord confirmed that this had been monitored and that 300 offences a day were occurring. I asked what he intended to do and he said nothing. I asked if this would change if someone got run over. He said "It might then".
3) Improvements to Bunns Lane Car Park. Offord said he would investigate this and report back to me. I'm still waiting. It must be a very thorough investigation, having taken over a year.
So there you go. If you live in Hendon Constituency, you don't get the Leader Mike Freer - he can't be bothered. You get Captain Useless - Matthew Offord. I just hope that the voters in Finchley, Golders Green and Hendon see through this charade.
Now as the scheme is Mike Freer's baby, you think he'd be able to plan the meetings so that he could be there. The sessions aren't called Leader and Deputy Listen. They are not called "A bloke from the Council Listens" they are not even called "Leader Listens if he can be bothered to turn up". The sessions are quite clearly called "Leader Listens". Now if I'd put off a hot date or given up a pre Christmas night out with the boys to engage with Council Leader Mike Freer and he sent a lackey along, I'd feel pretty cheated. You see if the Leader is there, you know he's heard what you have to say. If you tell Deputy Dawg what is troubling you, our great leader can say "Oh, Matthew in the middle was very naughty and forgot to tell me".
So what is it about Burnt Oak which means that Mike can't be bothered to go? I put this question to the Burnt Oak Society of Jedi Knights and after 3 days meditation on this issue they suggested the following possible options:-
a) Mike Freer is a snob and wouldn't be seen dead in a working class area such as Burnt Oak.
b) Mike Freer got a better offer and went somewhere else
c) Matthew Offord did the session as Burnt Oak is in the constituency he's standing in for Parliament.
So lets explore these options.
a) Well if this is true it's terrible. The voters of Burnt Oak deserve the same treatment as everyone else.
b) There is no mention in the minutes of an apology from Freer, so we can assume he either hadn't had a better offer or he is too bad mannered to offer an apology. Not the standard of behaviour we'd like from a council leader.
c) It seems to me that Freer and Offord have form on this. I attended the Mill Hill Leader listens session (again in Hendon Constituency). Offord took this session as well. If Offord and Freer are divvying up the sessions according to who's constituency they are in, I'd say that could be an abuse of public funds to gain an electoral advantage. Candidates are not allowed to abuse their position to gain an unfair advantage. As opposition councillors candidates are excluded from these meetings on the grounds that the purpose is engagement with the Council leader, use of the forum for party political advantage would clearly be deemed "out of order".
The only way to clear this up is for Mike Freer to post an explanation as to why Offord took the Burnt Oak and Mill Hill Sessions and he took the Finchley and Golders Green sessions (in his constituency).
The only crumb of comfort I would take from this, if I were an opposition candidate is that from what I saw of Offord at the Mill Hill Leader Listens session, he is completely useless.
I raised 3 points with him
1) The fact that the council had failed to chop down a tree on their property which was damaging my mothers flat. A week later they dispatched a team and chopped the wrong tree down.
2) Illegal turns onto Mill Hill Broadway from Goodwyn Avenue. Offord confirmed that this had been monitored and that 300 offences a day were occurring. I asked what he intended to do and he said nothing. I asked if this would change if someone got run over. He said "It might then".
3) Improvements to Bunns Lane Car Park. Offord said he would investigate this and report back to me. I'm still waiting. It must be a very thorough investigation, having taken over a year.
So there you go. If you live in Hendon Constituency, you don't get the Leader Mike Freer - he can't be bothered. You get Captain Useless - Matthew Offord. I just hope that the voters in Finchley, Golders Green and Hendon see through this charade.
Tuesday, 23 December 2008
Mike Freer - The ego has landed.
A chance passing comment lead me to discover something rather alarming about MiKe Freer. To understand how massive an ego the Tory Candidate for Finchley seem's to have, I suggest first you have a look at the constituency next door and see how they do things. Click this link to the Chipping Barnet Conservatives website.
The front page has a nice picture of the High Street. Click on the constituency link and you get a very interesting breakdown of the history of the seat. The Branches link gives you all of the details of the wards and the key people. The Gallery page has a selection of pictures of various people, events and themes for association activities. Some have pictures of MP Theresa Villiers, some have pictures of other worthy people. The Links page is a bit of a disappointment as it has no links to the Barnet Eye, but other than that has most of what you'd need. In short, if you were interested in the Tory Party in Chipping Barnet, it's a good place to find out about it.
Now have a look at their next door neighbours, Click this link for Finchley Conservatives website. You are greeted with the Banner
Welcome to Mike Freer's Website the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Finchley and Golders Green
There are two short sentences which say :-
If you compare that to the five paragraphs Chipping Barnet dedicate to backbench former MP Sydney Chapman. Now I would have thought there would be a few quotes about Lady Thatcher's achievements in the constituency. Maybe something about her charity work. It seems that to Mike Freer, such a venerable predecessor is unimportant. What does it say about the conservative councillors? Nothing. What about Links to other important Conservative websites? None
Now click on the photo's. What do we get? We get 15 pictures of Mike Freer. Just in case we haven't got the message there is a special link to "about Mike Freer". Whilst Lady Thatcher warrants two short sentences, Mike gives himself 9 paragraphs. Strangely the achievements don't list increasing Barnet's borrowing by 5 times, losing £27.4 million in Iceland, deposing the Leader who'd just won the Council election in 2006, putting a Plasma screen Telly on the desk of all the top officials or overseeing a huge cost overrun on the Aerodrome Road bridge project. Mike recently supported a motion from former Mayor Braun condemning the governments "Big Brother" policies, but he lauds the installation of the 100th CCTV camera in Barnet. He mentions that he used to be a meals on wheels volunteer, but fails to say that he privatised the service last year, causing chaos and major distress to the borough's most vulnerable people.
Mike also says on his biography that he'll work for less Government regulation. As his field of experience is Financial services, it is fair to assume that he would deregulate this, even though the credit crunch is a direct result of loosening of regulation.
I wonder what ordinary Conservative members of the Finchley association make of this. Wouldn't you like to know about your councillors on your party website? Wouldn't you like some info on the history of such an important association? Does Lady Thatcher's contribution to Finchley really only warrant 2 sentences? Far be it from me to tell Mike Freer how to do his job, but if I was a Conservative in Finchley, I'd have a whole page dedicated to Lady Thatcher and her life's works. The association must have a whole stack of photographs and papers which are genuinely worth viewing.
One other thing I noticed. If you go to the Home page of Mike's website and click on the map of the constituency, you get a map of the whole of the Borough of Barnet. It seems that our very own Napoleon, Michael Witney Freer, isn't content with the current boundaries of Finchley. It reminds me of a Monty Python Sketch where a candidate, bearing an uncanny similarity to a certain rather unsavoury historical figure announces "Historically, Taunton is already part of Minehead"
Remind you of anyone?
The front page has a nice picture of the High Street. Click on the constituency link and you get a very interesting breakdown of the history of the seat. The Branches link gives you all of the details of the wards and the key people. The Gallery page has a selection of pictures of various people, events and themes for association activities. Some have pictures of MP Theresa Villiers, some have pictures of other worthy people. The Links page is a bit of a disappointment as it has no links to the Barnet Eye, but other than that has most of what you'd need. In short, if you were interested in the Tory Party in Chipping Barnet, it's a good place to find out about it.
Now have a look at their next door neighbours, Click this link for Finchley Conservatives website. You are greeted with the Banner
Welcome to Mike Freer's Website the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Finchley and Golders Green
There are two short sentences which say :-
Finchley is best known for its former MP, Margaret Thatcher. She was the UK’s first female Prime Minister, breaking a string of records including three general election victories and the lengthiest premiership of the 20th century.
If you compare that to the five paragraphs Chipping Barnet dedicate to backbench former MP Sydney Chapman. Now I would have thought there would be a few quotes about Lady Thatcher's achievements in the constituency. Maybe something about her charity work. It seems that to Mike Freer, such a venerable predecessor is unimportant. What does it say about the conservative councillors? Nothing. What about Links to other important Conservative websites? None
Now click on the photo's. What do we get? We get 15 pictures of Mike Freer. Just in case we haven't got the message there is a special link to "about Mike Freer". Whilst Lady Thatcher warrants two short sentences, Mike gives himself 9 paragraphs. Strangely the achievements don't list increasing Barnet's borrowing by 5 times, losing £27.4 million in Iceland, deposing the Leader who'd just won the Council election in 2006, putting a Plasma screen Telly on the desk of all the top officials or overseeing a huge cost overrun on the Aerodrome Road bridge project. Mike recently supported a motion from former Mayor Braun condemning the governments "Big Brother" policies, but he lauds the installation of the 100th CCTV camera in Barnet. He mentions that he used to be a meals on wheels volunteer, but fails to say that he privatised the service last year, causing chaos and major distress to the borough's most vulnerable people.
Mike also says on his biography that he'll work for less Government regulation. As his field of experience is Financial services, it is fair to assume that he would deregulate this, even though the credit crunch is a direct result of loosening of regulation.
I wonder what ordinary Conservative members of the Finchley association make of this. Wouldn't you like to know about your councillors on your party website? Wouldn't you like some info on the history of such an important association? Does Lady Thatcher's contribution to Finchley really only warrant 2 sentences? Far be it from me to tell Mike Freer how to do his job, but if I was a Conservative in Finchley, I'd have a whole page dedicated to Lady Thatcher and her life's works. The association must have a whole stack of photographs and papers which are genuinely worth viewing.
One other thing I noticed. If you go to the Home page of Mike's website and click on the map of the constituency, you get a map of the whole of the Borough of Barnet. It seems that our very own Napoleon, Michael Witney Freer, isn't content with the current boundaries of Finchley. It reminds me of a Monty Python Sketch where a candidate, bearing an uncanny similarity to a certain rather unsavoury historical figure announces "Historically, Taunton is already part of Minehead"
Remind you of anyone?
Monday, 3 November 2008
50 things to do before your 50 !!!!! (in The London Borough of Barnet)
Despite all of the the moans and whinges I seem to spend my life posting, I thought I'd make one of those infuriating lists. This is 50 things to do in The Borough of Barnet before your 50. Now there a few things I'd like to do, but have to leave out for reasons of decency (yes even I can be a bit censorious at times). Hey it's Monday so lets have some fun. In no particular order.
1. Write a blog about life in Barnet.
2. Watch Barnet FC win at Underhill.
3. Have a Curry at "The Mill Hill Tandoori" restaurant (I'd recommend the chicken Tikka to start, the Bengal Fish Bhuna as main, a Keema Nan and Bindi Bhaji (I don't like rice). Wash it down with a pint of Kingfisher Lager.
4. Score a Hat Trick against your mates at Powerleague 5-a-side on a Thursday night.
5. Walk the dog across Arrandene Open Space on a gloriously sunny Winter Sunday afternoon.
6. Have a fry up breakfast at the cafe on Apex Corner.
7. Thrash your kids at Bowling at the Hollywood Bowl in Finchley.
8. Do the walk from the Ridgeway in Mill Hill via Darlands Lake to The Orange Tree in Totteridge for a nice leisurely lunch.
9. Sail a boat on the Welsh Harp.
10. Visit the RAF Museum in Grahame Park for an activity day.
11. Watch live jazz at lunchtime at "The Rising Sun" pub as part of the Mill Hill Music Festival.
12. Go to The Finchley Lido and play in the waves from the wave machine.
13. Go To Alfresco Italian restaurant in Whetstone for a dinner. Try the Fried Smoked Cheese and the Parmiagana.
14. Have dinner at the Good Earth Chinese restaurant in Mill Hill, The lobster is out of this world !
15. Buy a bottle of the finest Plonk known to man at Mill Hill Wines in Mill Hill Broadway.
16. Take said bottle of wine and have a picnic as the sun goes down on the Millfield on the Ridgeway in Mill Hill on a glorious July Saturday night.
17. Visit Highwood House at the Top of Highwood Hill for a summer open day, they have a fantastic garden.
18. Watch Hendon & Edgware cricket club play on a Sunday in Mill Hill Park.
19. Pick Blackberries with the kids at Arrandene open space on a glorious late summers afternoon.
20. Catch a carp in Totteridge ponds as a 251 bus goes by.
21. Watch a great jam at The Mill Hill Jazz club on a Wednesday Night.
22. Go on a fairground ride at the Watling Festival at Montrose Park.
23. Watch a band at the East Barnet Festival.
24. Watch the School band competetion at the Finchley Carnival.
25. Watch the End of Term concert at the Finchley Music Centre at Moss Hall School.
26. Watch the Mill Hill School marching band perform at Finchley Nurseries as part of the Mill Hill Music Festival in the summer.
27. Collect conkers with your children in Wills Grove, Mill Hill in the Autumn.
28. Go toboganing at Bunns Lane Park in Mill Hill in the Snow in the Winter.
29. Attend the fantastic Firework display at Mill Hill County High school (sadly not on this year).
30. Have a kebab at the Mill Hill Kebab house at the Green Man, at 2am after a great night out (I'd recommend the Lamb Shish with Chilli source)
32. Take some great photographs of the Totteridge valley in it's autumnal glory.
33. Walk down Sanders Lane, the country footpath in the middle of Mill Hill East.
34. Watch Exorcist at The Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley.
35. Check out an exhibiton at the Church Farm Museum at the Top of Greyhound Hill, Hendon (Currently it's Calligraphy).
36. After you've done number 35, go for a long lunch at The Greyhound pub.
37. Go for a mad friday night of drink at the Claddagh Ring in Hendon.
38. Go to a wedding reception at The Hendon Hall Hotel of some good friends.
39. Buy the Elvis Presley CD Box set in Woolworths on Mill Hill Broadway.
40. Catch a comedy show at the Arts Depot in Finchley.
41. Check out the animals in Golders Hill Park on a hot, sunny, summer Sunday.
42. Have an Ice Cream at Golder Hill Park in the Summer.
43. While you're doing no 42, Watch a band on the bandstand.
44. Fish for Tadpoles with your children in Angel Pond.
45. Get fish and Chips from the King Neptune chippy in The Green man.
46. Walk along the Ridgeway, Mill Hill on a clear day and spot the Gherkin, the Telecom Tower and the Wembley Arch.
47. Go to The War Memorial on the Ridgeway for rememberance Sunday.
48. Watch The Battle of Britain Flight fly north from central London, from The Ridgeway in Mill Hill.
49. Walk through St Josephs College fields and give the horses a carrot with the Children.
50. Best of all, play loud rock and roll with a Punk Rock band at The Mill Hill Music Complex.
Well that's my choice of decent and legal things to do. Some are free, some are expensive. All of the one's Ive done I've really enjoyed and all of the ones I haven't done I will in the next few years. If there is anything I've missed which you think should have made the list, please feel free to comment. I know there are lots of great eateries & drinkeries I've missed, but these are my very favourites.
I'm always on the lookout for new ones though.
1. Write a blog about life in Barnet.
2. Watch Barnet FC win at Underhill.
3. Have a Curry at "The Mill Hill Tandoori" restaurant (I'd recommend the chicken Tikka to start, the Bengal Fish Bhuna as main, a Keema Nan and Bindi Bhaji (I don't like rice). Wash it down with a pint of Kingfisher Lager.
4. Score a Hat Trick against your mates at Powerleague 5-a-side on a Thursday night.
5. Walk the dog across Arrandene Open Space on a gloriously sunny Winter Sunday afternoon.
6. Have a fry up breakfast at the cafe on Apex Corner.
7. Thrash your kids at Bowling at the Hollywood Bowl in Finchley.
8. Do the walk from the Ridgeway in Mill Hill via Darlands Lake to The Orange Tree in Totteridge for a nice leisurely lunch.
9. Sail a boat on the Welsh Harp.
10. Visit the RAF Museum in Grahame Park for an activity day.
11. Watch live jazz at lunchtime at "The Rising Sun" pub as part of the Mill Hill Music Festival.
12. Go to The Finchley Lido and play in the waves from the wave machine.
13. Go To Alfresco Italian restaurant in Whetstone for a dinner. Try the Fried Smoked Cheese and the Parmiagana.
14. Have dinner at the Good Earth Chinese restaurant in Mill Hill, The lobster is out of this world !
15. Buy a bottle of the finest Plonk known to man at Mill Hill Wines in Mill Hill Broadway.
16. Take said bottle of wine and have a picnic as the sun goes down on the Millfield on the Ridgeway in Mill Hill on a glorious July Saturday night.
17. Visit Highwood House at the Top of Highwood Hill for a summer open day, they have a fantastic garden.
18. Watch Hendon & Edgware cricket club play on a Sunday in Mill Hill Park.
19. Pick Blackberries with the kids at Arrandene open space on a glorious late summers afternoon.
20. Catch a carp in Totteridge ponds as a 251 bus goes by.
21. Watch a great jam at The Mill Hill Jazz club on a Wednesday Night.
22. Go on a fairground ride at the Watling Festival at Montrose Park.
23. Watch a band at the East Barnet Festival.
24. Watch the School band competetion at the Finchley Carnival.
25. Watch the End of Term concert at the Finchley Music Centre at Moss Hall School.
26. Watch the Mill Hill School marching band perform at Finchley Nurseries as part of the Mill Hill Music Festival in the summer.
27. Collect conkers with your children in Wills Grove, Mill Hill in the Autumn.
28. Go toboganing at Bunns Lane Park in Mill Hill in the Snow in the Winter.
29. Attend the fantastic Firework display at Mill Hill County High school (sadly not on this year).
30. Have a kebab at the Mill Hill Kebab house at the Green Man, at 2am after a great night out (I'd recommend the Lamb Shish with Chilli source)
32. Take some great photographs of the Totteridge valley in it's autumnal glory.
33. Walk down Sanders Lane, the country footpath in the middle of Mill Hill East.
34. Watch Exorcist at The Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley.
35. Check out an exhibiton at the Church Farm Museum at the Top of Greyhound Hill, Hendon (Currently it's Calligraphy).
36. After you've done number 35, go for a long lunch at The Greyhound pub.
37. Go for a mad friday night of drink at the Claddagh Ring in Hendon.
38. Go to a wedding reception at The Hendon Hall Hotel of some good friends.
39. Buy the Elvis Presley CD Box set in Woolworths on Mill Hill Broadway.
40. Catch a comedy show at the Arts Depot in Finchley.
41. Check out the animals in Golders Hill Park on a hot, sunny, summer Sunday.
42. Have an Ice Cream at Golder Hill Park in the Summer.
43. While you're doing no 42, Watch a band on the bandstand.
44. Fish for Tadpoles with your children in Angel Pond.
45. Get fish and Chips from the King Neptune chippy in The Green man.
46. Walk along the Ridgeway, Mill Hill on a clear day and spot the Gherkin, the Telecom Tower and the Wembley Arch.
47. Go to The War Memorial on the Ridgeway for rememberance Sunday.
48. Watch The Battle of Britain Flight fly north from central London, from The Ridgeway in Mill Hill.
49. Walk through St Josephs College fields and give the horses a carrot with the Children.
50. Best of all, play loud rock and roll with a Punk Rock band at The Mill Hill Music Complex.
Well that's my choice of decent and legal things to do. Some are free, some are expensive. All of the one's Ive done I've really enjoyed and all of the ones I haven't done I will in the next few years. If there is anything I've missed which you think should have made the list, please feel free to comment. I know there are lots of great eateries & drinkeries I've missed, but these are my very favourites.
I'm always on the lookout for new ones though.
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