Save Mill Hill Sports Club

Today we have  started the campaign to Save Mill Hill Sports Club. The club is situated in Grahame Park Way and is a vital hub for many of the best things in Mill Hill. As well as cricket, football, hockey, squash and boxing, there is a  gym and a social club. It also plays host to the Mill Hill Jazz Club as well as the Mill Hill Music festival.

Sadly, whilst most people recognise the importance of good sports facilities for young (and older) people, the message doesn't seem to have gotten through to the people running Barnet Council. It seems that not a year goes by, without us losing another local sports ground. It seems that Barnet Council just doesn't care about providing activities for our children. It is a proven scientific fact that regular exercise reduces the probablity of developing all sorts of chronic ailments, which place a huge burden on Barnet Council social services and the local NHS. When I see young people rioting, I ask myself why providing activities for our youngsters, where they can learn the value of work, understand the importance of team spirit and get themselves fit, are not our no 1 national priority.

I am disturbed to hear that the closure of Mill Hill Sports club has seemingly been brought about by intransigence at Barnet Council. We cannot afford to lose these facilities, which is why we are launching the petition today to try and persuade Barnet Council to think again and save the centre. If our councillors are not prepared to step up and fight for local people, I intend to make sure that they pay the price at the next council elections. As Boris Johnson is standing for mayor next year, I'll also be seeking his opinion.

The campaign will continue. Sign the petition by clicking here - http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-mill-hill-sports-club-facilities-for-local-peopl.html - It's in the sidebar. Please forward this to your friends

Today has been a good day for me

I've just got back from Sheffield. My daughter Madeleine won the National youth open water swimming championships gold medal (14-15 age group) at the Rother Valley water park.  She's a member of Barnet Copthall Swimming club. This was her first open water event, she swam 1,750 meters in a time of 20:23:11. It was a fantastic achievement.  The sport has been on the up since Great Britain won a Silver and Bronze in Beijing. She is staying up for the National Youth Championships.  The club has had a great week with Barnet Swimmer Freddie Cornwell winning five golds so far and two silvers at the age group National Championships. I know first hand how much time, commitment and effort goes into such an achievement. Barnet is fortunate to have such a successfull elite sports club.  Two years ago, then  Barnet Mayor John Marshall presented Maddie with an award recognising her achievements winning five golds and two silvers at age group. I sincerely hope they do the same for Freddie this year.

The Barnet Copthall Swimming blog (nothing to do with me) - keeps us all up to date with the acheivements of the swimmers - http://www.barnetcopthall.blogspot.com/ - Maddies success is detailed on the British Swimming website -

http://www.swimming.org/asa/news/clubs/payne-takes-youth-open-water-title/5697/ -

I must say a personal word of the thanks to Rhys Gormley, Maddie and Freddies coach. We hear plenty of stories in the press about the bad things young people do. Through my childrens sports clubs and my own associations with  YMCA and the Sound Skool project, I think it is also important to remind ourselves that we have some really brilliant young people in Barnet, who I for one am proud to bits for.

The Barnet Eye Post no 1000 - The Kids are Alright

Welcome my friends to the 1,000 post on the Barnet Eye blog. My first blog was posted on Saturday 11th October 2008.Times have changed a bit since then. The top story on that day was a claim in the Daily Mail that affair smears were set to derail Barack Obamas presidential campaign. Finger on the pulse as ever at the Mail. Anyway that's enough of that nonsense, BTW.

All we ever hear about in papers such as the Daily Mail, are horror stories about immigrants, hoodies, asylum seekers etc. Try a search on the Daily Mail website and just type in the word YOUTH. I got this as the TOP STORY. How often do we hear good things about our youngsters? Well let me tell you about my day. I started it at the Finchley Music Centre for my sons end of term Concert. The standard of play was superb. A special mention must be made of Julian Hinton, who organises the Jazz Strings group. They are truly superb. I must pay tribute to all of the staff. The standard of playing has always been good at the Finchley Music Centre (my wife started her music career there in the early 1970's) what they have added in recent years is an element of fun to the concerts. If you have children who are interested in playing, please check out the centre. As a player myself, I recognise all of the hard work the young people who entertained me today put in. I was especially impressed by one young lady who as part of her Duke of Edinburgh award has assisted with Group 1 in tuning up and encouraging the youngsters. We don't hear enough of this.

When the Concert was finished, I nipped into the office. I run Mill Hill Music Complex and today we were hosting Barnet Community Focus, who were doing a youth radio project at the studio. I cannot praise this group highly enough. They are based at the Arts Depot and this is part of their mission statement :-

CF is a place where people of all ages, abilities, faiths, ethnicities and circumstances cross paths with a common enthusiasm for the arts and a desire to learn new skills in a friendly and welcoming environment.

There are many great things going on in Barnet but this project is one that I am proud to be associated with. The young people were a joy to host at the studios. The group was diverse in many ways, yet they all pulled together and delivered something special. If you have an interest in arts check it out and if you have a surplus in your bank account, give them some cash (click on the support us in their website sidebar). Having seen the music centre concert and the Community focus project, I was feeling rather proud of the London Borough of Barnets young people. I was going to write a blog saying this, but I decided to be a bit lazy and not bother. As I sat down for my cup of tea, I heard a knock on the door. I wasn't expecting anyone. Who could it be? As I opened the door, I was greeted by the sight of a large black guy, aged about 18 in a hoodie, with a set of headphones. As I opened the door, he said in broken English "Sorry to trouble you sir, is that you car there, the red one". It wasn't. I said "No, sorry it's not". He replied "Oh, sorry to trouble you, but they've left the window open and it could get stolen. It is going  to rain and the seat will get wet". I didn't recognise the car, it probably belonged to a shopper in Mill Hill Broadway. I told him I'd keep an eye on the car. He said thanks and went on his way.

They say the good Lord works in mysterious ways. As I shut the door, I thought "yeah, the Kids are alright" and I realised that the least I could do for all the great young people I've met today, is tell you all about it. Then I noticed that it was blog no 1000 - if that isn't a sign, I don't know what is. Have a great Saturday night.