I've had a long, illustrious career. I've worked for myself, for small companies, for middle sized companies and for blue chip companies. I've been to all manner of 'work events', 'team building events', 'team lunches' etc. I've never been to a 'bring your own booze in the garden' event. I've been on plenty of after work booze ups, picnics with work mates, etc. The difference is that when it is a work do, your boss organises it, pays for the refreshments and expects you to go. When it is a social get together, you pay your own way and attendance is up to you. Given that 100 people were invited, you had to bring your own booze and it was specifically mentioned that the good weather would be enjoyed, it is insulting to expect us to believe that it was work.
I just re-read the blog I posted on 20th May 2020 - http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2020/05/ing-you-most-want-to-hear-during.ht -it is pretty clear that myself and my friends had bought into the rules. Boris had a lot of good will. He has squandered it all. I hope and pray that we've beaten the virus and the pandemic if finally over, because if he has to call another one, it will be nigh on impossible to get us all to buy into it. The results could be fatal for a lot of people.
As for what will happen to Boris. Tory MP's are not stupid. Unlike Labour, they don't hang around when they decide a leader is going to cost them votes. They achieved an 80 seat majority when Boris was in his honeymoon period and Labour had Jeremy Corbyn. Every single one of them is aware of the size of their majority and that an unpopular Boris and a Labour party lead by Keir Starmer is a very different proposition to the people who put them in the House of Commons. Tory MP's who find their position under threat will treat Boris no more kindly than they treated Margaret Thatcher. The best case scenario is that no more embarrassing dead cats are lobbed over the wall by Dominic Cummings. If I was a gambling man, I'd not bet my house on that. My gut feeling is that no prospective leader will want to take over whilst there is still a risk of more variants and more lockdowns. The nightmare scenario for them is that they don't get rid of Boris and he sinks them. If Boris is still around for the May Council elections, we will see the true extent of the damage. I wonder how many have the balls to wait?
For those new to the discussion, the segregated lane along
part of the A1000 (from East Finchley to Tally Ho Corner) was put in as part of
the emergency transport measures during the initial phase of the pandemic. It
has caused much discussion amongst both supporters and opponents, and in our view
should be seen as a success.
The data shows that car journey times along the route are down,
and air quality has improved. This fits a pattern that has been repeatedly
shown wherever these schemes are objectively assessed – cycle lanes do not
cause congestion. We applaud the diligence of the data collection team and
thank them for their hard work.
At the same time, the report does mention some areas in
which the scheme could be improved. Better Streets for Barnet
highlighted some of these during the consultation and will happily work with
the council to ensure alterations meet the needs of all road users. We urge
those designing these changes to consider how shared use paths might cause
conflict between pedestrians and cyclists, and to avoid situations where
cyclists would have to move out of the safety of a lane into the main traffic
flow to avoid parked delivery vehicles.
During the trial period, several different points of view
have been raised – “why is segregation needed?”, “I support cycle lanes, but
just not this one”, “it is in the wrong place”, “it puts cyclists at risk
because of its design”.
Segregation is needed to address the fundamental problem of
our roads – that putting two tonne metal vehicles moving at more than 25mph in
the same space as 90kg bikes carrying humans with minimal protection is not
safe. Any hazard control strategy places elimination at the very top - if we remove
the risk, then we no longer need to worry about collisions occurring. Working towards zero collisions must be the
primary focus. We know by now that simple painted lanes do not remove the risk,
they are little more than a warning sign and crashes still occur.
So, Barnet are fulfilling promises in their transport
strategy by putting this lane in, and it is absolutely in the right place. The
A1000 is the number one desire route for transport in the borough. Starting
here is going to produce the most benefit, it will encourage more people to
cycle. Linking the main town centres in the borough will remove the need for
car journeys of less than 5km, which make up a disproportionate amount of our
trips. If we reduce the number of these short car journeys, the roads will be
freer for longer journeys as well as for the emergency services.
We are under no illusion that the lane is perfect, and the
report does mention improvements. Very few initial schemes of any sort are
ideal, but in assessing these kinds of change, we should not allow perfect to
be the enemy of good. We must work together to improve the lane, listening to
the concerns of all involved and establishing ways to make it better. Removing
the lane will undo the achievements of the past 18 months and will cause the Borough
to commit further to roads being overly dominated by cars with the knock-on
effect of dangerous air pollution being inflicted on Barnet citizens. The
councillors supporting the lane should all be applauded and praised for their
leadership, both in a time of crisis and going forward.
--------------------------------------
Jon Klaff is a campaigner for sustainable transport and lives in the Borough of Barnet. Guest blogs are always welcome at the Barnet Eye
I was contemplating the question of how the money the government raises from road tax and fuel duties actually relates the cost to the government of the cost of maintaining the road network. There was a heated debate on our local facebook group about the resurfacing of Lawrence St by Barnet Council. One local claimed that roads that service the wealthier residents are given preference. It got me think as to who get good value and who doesn't.
There are two main elements tto the revenue central government makes from motorists. The first is fule duty and the second is the vehicle licence. There are many costs involved. These include maintenance and building of new roads and the associated infrastructure, maintaining lighting and paying for the electricity, costs of policing motorists and the cost of managing licences and driving tests.
Road tax rates are based on value and CO2 emissions. The fuel duty is fixed and the more fuel you use, the more money you pay. It got me to thinking just how fair this is. If you think of it logically, as the road tax is fixed, the more you drive, the better a deal you get. There is little account taken of how much wear and tear that driving your car does to the road. The heavier your vehicle, the more damage it will cause. I couldn't find an answer to the question as to whether these taxes pay in full for the upkeep of our roads.
The one thing which is not factored in, or even properly discussed, is the health care costs associated with car generated pollution and motor accidents. There is no financial incentive for motorists to drive in such a way that they produce less pollution or cause few accidents. Modern technology would make it extremely easy to charge drivers more if they pollute or drive in such a way that is more likely to cause accidents. Excessive acceleration and braking is a big cause of unnecessary pollution. We could also incentivise drivers to travel outside of rush hour. I used to have a job that involved driving around the UK to test new credit card soultions for retailers. I found that if I had to drive up to Manchester, it was far more pleasant to leave at 5am and beat the traffic. I'd find a cafe and have breakfast and avoid all the stress of heavy traffic. I'd also use far less fuel and create less CO2. Is there any way that we can justify defending the rights of inconsiderate drivers to cause asthma in other people's children. Logging our journeys, speed and driving behaviour would be easy for manufacturers to install in new cars. There is no reason that this couldn't be downloaded and drivers apply for a tax rebate for good driving practicies as well as driving greener vehicles. Each driver could have a personal driving tax statement. That way a driver who only uses the car occasionally, out of peak hours and drives considerately would get a rebate, whereas a driver who doesn't pays in full.
There are some precedents in transport for differential pricing. I was intrigued to find a spreadsheet that showed how much Network Rail charges train companies for using the railway I'd never really thought about it before, but every different type of vehicle and every different type of load has its own rate and charges. The Royal Mail, for example pays £6.185 per mile for a train hauled by a class 37/5 locomotive and £6.5872 per mile for a train hauled by a class 47/7 locomotive. I must confess that I have no clue how these charges are calculated, but one assumes that the different fees reflect heavier axle loads, which have higher wear and tear on the system. I was surprised that electric locomotives are even more expensive, a class 86/2 costs £6.8908 per mile. It seems there is no discount for greener propulsion, which I have to conclude is regressive. It seems to me that simply securing access to the rail network is very expensive for operators, which given the fact that rail is far greener than car travel seems very counter intuitive.
It is also worth mentioning the fact that bicycles attract no vehicle duty or fuel costs. Whilst many motorists complain about cycle lanes, they largely ignore the fact that cycle lanes are only really required because drivers pose a danger to cyclists. They are light and impose virtually no wear and tear on road surfaces. I wonder how long it will be before HGV's and cars are legally required to fit technology to protect cyclists. I used to cycle everywhere, this stopped when a frustrated HGV driver tried to run me over as we approached Fiveways Corner. The required evasive action wrote of my rather expensive bike and the bruises and truama has put me off cycling on A roads ever since. As the technology now exists to prevent such maniacs getting away with such actions, I'd like to see it become mandatory. I was OK, but I could have spent the rest of my life in a wheelchair, such costs are never discussed when we talk about the costs of driving.
Getting back to normal after Xmas and the New Year for me. Band rehearsal on Weds (Very good session), five a side on Thursday, curry on Friday. I always have two weeks off drinking at the start of the year, so relatively quiet though, apart from a few nice walks with the doggies.
But that's enough of my week. How has your week been and even more importantly, what have our local tweeters been up to? IMHO there has been some good stuff out there this week.
1. Lets start in Edgware with perhaps the oldest picture I've seen of the High St. I love this
5. This was probably the highlight of my week, a trip up to Harpenden to watch our local team win followed by some amazing fish and chips! This was a superb goal
88’ GOALLL ..and it’s what we’ve deserved, Edwards crosses to Ofori to put us 2-0 up
My Dad, God Bless him, was a gadgetaholic. In the 1970's if there was a new fangled device that would make his life a bit easier, he'd be on it straight away. If my Mum saw an advert for some new gadget on ITV, she'd try and get him to watch the BBC until it stopped being advertised. Often these would end up as her birthday or Xmas present, much to her annoyance. I loved them, although I did not inherit his total addiction. I thought it high time that I made a list to celebrate these items.
1. The Kenwood Chef.
I remember the excitement that greeted this device. It was not only a food mixer, but also had a liquidizer on board. It may have been a borthday present. My mum often moaned that the amount of washing up it generated was more than the effort it saved. She wasn't much of a one for making cakes and soups and for most of it's tenure in the kitchen, it just gathered dust.
I do recall my mother getting her revenge by serving my Dad Gaspachio, which he said was 'cold soup', lovingly prepared in the liquidizer.
2. The buttoneer.
"The problem with buttons is they always fall off". My Dad loved the buttoneeer when he got it. The only snag was it had a bit of plastic that if you used it on a shirt was ugly and scratchy. Good for a temporary repair, but who wants a bit of plastic on the button of your Ben Sherman shirt?
3. A Tyne TV Colour telly.
Tyne TV's were made by Derek Tyne of Mill Hill Television. The man was a genius and a good mate of my Dad. My Dad often said Derek was by far the cleverest bloke he ever met. Not just because he was a fantastic electrical engineer and designer. He was also a brilliant businessman. Derek was at one time the biggest manufacturer of TV's in Australia (so I was told). Sadly, he was shafted by his bank and declared bankrupt. When he realised what was going on, he took his Rolls Royce into my Dad and asked him to respray it. He said that bailiffs would come and try and repossess it, but my Dad was not to release it unless they paid the bill in full. He told my Dad it was his car until such time as he'd fixed the problem with the bank. Tyne engaged Sir David Napley, an esteemed lawyer to represent him, as he sued the bank. Of course he won, but he'd lost the business. The bank had to pay him millions in compensation. Derek paid for the respray. I truth, my Dad was slightly disappointed, as he enjoyed swanning around in the Roller. Derek gave him a Colour Telly with a remote control as a thank you present. Dad reckoned the TV remote was the best thing ever. My mum had the telly until she died in 2008. It still worked fine.
4. A Betamax video.
Dad also bought a Betamax video from Derek. Derek told him that these were far superior to the VHS ones. Although many would see this as a mistake, Dad didn't. He didn't want to hire videos. He simply used it to record things he liked, such as the Pope's visit to the UK. He invited a posse of priests and bishops around to watch the video. Much to his irritation, I'd recorded Match of The Day over it. The priests were quite pleased. Watching the Pope was work. Watching match of the day and having a Scotch was pleasure. That saved my bacon!
5. Mastercarver knifes.
These were heavily advertised on TV. They could apparently cut through anything. Dad was born in the outback of Australia, where a knife was an essential tool. He was most excited. He was quite disappointed when a slightly shoddy set of knifes with plastic handles turned up. They actually worked ok for a while, but they were not what a Queensland bushman considered pukka.
6. Blitzhacker vegetable chopper
Take the strain out of chopping your onions. I'm not sure if we had this actual one. I recall it was yellow. I can't recall if it got used more than once.
7. Goblin Teasmade
My Dad loved lying in bed. Ideally he preferred it when my mother lay in bed with him, although she hated lolloping about. Once she woke up she liked to get up. Dad got this and announced that Mum didn't have to get up to make her a cuppa anymore. She was none too impressed. In truth, my mother liked my Dad lying in bed, as it meant he was out of the way. She said he was far too cheerful, she was a morning grumper. The big problem with the teasmade was that there was no way of keeping milk cold. My father detested powdered milk, associating it with his time in the air force. My mother used to sarcastically describe the teasmade as the "worlds most expensive alarm clock".
8. Polaroid instant camera.
My Dad was a keen photographer. He'd studied the subject in the RAF and had an array of expensive camera's. Then he saw an ad for a polaroid camera. He loved the idea and bought one. We were most excited. Before the polaroid, you'd have to send film off to be developed. It was super exciting, but once we'd used up the roll of film, that was the last time we used it. Like most of the gadgets, it was a day of fun.
I will say this though I know quite a few professional photographers. Before everything went digital. they used the Polariod for setting up shots in photoshoots. At one stage I had a pretty interesting collection taken by one such friend. I stupidly swapped it for a couple of Clash bootlegs. Must be worth a fortune
9. Breville Toastie maker.
I remember this turning up. Unlike most of the devices, this one got used. There is nothing quite so delicious as cheese and ham toasties made in a Breville. My mother had a degree of disdain for it, but Dad loved the fact that when she was out, he could put a couple of slices of bread, a bit of cheese and ham in it, nip for a pee and voila, a tasty meal was done. The best bit was the edges, where the cheese was slightly burned.
I recall one night where my parents were away and a bunch of my mates came around and for reasons I can't quite recall, we were all rather hungry. We had a breville sandwich making contest. Such things as baked bean and cheese, pilchard and vinegar and banana and chococlate toasties were produced. All were absolutely delicious. Just thinking of it, I'm tempted to buy one again. Years later, we got a George Foreman grill. I thought this would be as good. Sadly. I learned that it drains all the fat and flavour out of everything. The Breville kept it all in.
10. The Dishwasher.
My mother was a very complex woman. She was a strange mix of snobbery and anti snobbery. She would ridicule one friend who used to buy stuff from Harrods just so the neighbours could see. She'd scoff at those who watched Crossroads rather than Corrie, making clear her disdain for those who couldn't tell the difference between quality and rubbish. Many of her friends got dishwashers and she would scoff at their laziness. She felt that it was simply snobbishness and a refusal to get their hands dirty. In the late 1970's my Mum went on holiday for a couple of weeks with my Sisters. Dad and I were stuck at home. We both hated washing up. My Dad was most pleased when my then girlfriend came around and did the washing up after a Chinese. He insisted I invite her every night. After about three nights, he commented that she was very kind doing the washing up as he hated it. She said "Why don't you get a dsihwasher?". The next day, Dad turned up with one in the van. Every night we'd stack it up and say how wonderful it was. Then Mum came home. She went mental at him. About two weeks later, we were having a beer and watching telly. Mum did something she never did before or after. She said "Laurie, I owe you an apology. The dishwasher was the best thing you've ever bought."
Did your family have any wonderful gadgets? I wrote an ode to the '70's with my band. I realise that I should have mentioned a few of the gadgets in there and featured a few in the video. Maybe I'll write a new song especially
Do you remember that big announcement by Rishi Sunak that businesses in the hospitality industry would be getting grants to assist with the problems caused by the latest round of Coronavirus rules etc? That was back on the 21st December. Since then, many businesses (such as us) have had to pay VAT bills, rent and business rates are due any time now. In short, things are difficult. My business had a negative cash flow in December. Many artists booked rehearsals for Xmas and New Year shows. These were booked and paid for months in advance to ensure slots were secured. As Omicron hit and the govt discouraged us from getting together and having parties, etc, we had mass cancellations galore. We had two weeks of negative cashflow as we processed numerous refunds. As the artists had no income coming in, they had no choice but to claim refunds rather than credits. The pubs and clubs they were playing at lost a huge amount in what should be the best time of the year. In short, the whole sector took a massive kicking?
Now the bills are rolling in for all of us. We've been left high and dry. I've been checking on a daily basis to see what Barnet are doing to pay this. This is the relevant page on their website. It says
New grant for businesses affected by Omicron
On 21 December 2021 government announced a new grant scheme to support hospitality and leisure businesses that are experiencing difficulties because of the Omicron variant.
Hospitality and leisure premises, including accommodation, food and beverage services will benefit from targeted grant support.
We are waiting for guidance from government and will provide further updates when we can.
As you can see, as of today 6/1/2021 at 3pm, Barnet still do not know what is going on. It is all very well saying support will be available, but businesses need it now, to pay bills, not at some date far off in the future. We have landlords to pay, utility bills, staff costs and we have no idea how much or what the criteria are to qualify. I can understand that it takes a few days to sort the details out, but many businesses are going to the wall. Sad to see that the Windmill in Cricklewood is the latest local casualty of the pandemic.
Sad to hear Windmill pub Cricklewood is closing. Last day party @CluckTownUK is all day Sat. Good luck for future & we will miss you. Thank you George for reopening The Windmill & giving residents their local community pub back. Use your local pub, or lose them. 😢 #pubsmatterhttps://t.co/IXyFzJYA8M
The bottom line is that it is pointless promising aid, if it is not forthcoming. I've been a critic of Barnet Council but they have been most decent with our business with support during the pandemic. It is a shame that the Govt have not got their act together.
This is a very serious matter. Over the past two years, there has been a huge debate over how we should deal with medical issues. I want you all to read this, as should anything happen to me, I want you to be fully aware of my rights and my wishes.
Should I be taken ill with an emergency issue such as a heart attack or be run over by a car, under no circumstances call 999 and try and get a Doctor or an Ambulance. I have read many articles on Facebook and Youtube and I no longer trust qualified medical experts, doctors and other professionals.
Should this happen, please google David Icke, Piers Corbyn, Right Said Fred and some bloke who runs a PR firm in Essex and watch their latest video on medical matters. I am utterly convinced that this will result in a far higher standard of treatment than all of those people who spent years studying at University and working in hospitals. Why would I trust such people when there are people who have spent literally hundreds of hours watching Youtube videos about medicine on the web?
I have realised that my whole life has been a lie. When I was born, I was six weeks premature and spent the first few weeks of my life in an incubator, requiring three blood transfusions. I now realise that if my Mum had been able to watch a video on Youtube by Piers Corbyn, David Icke, Right Said Fred or the PR bloke from Essex, she could have saved us all a shed load of trouble. I also realise that in 2016, when I had a successful experimental treatment at UCH for Prostate Cancer, I was in fact being injected with nanobots controlled by Bill Gates (or was it Bill Wyman), who now control my bladder functions and make me have to get up six times a night for a pee.
It is such a shame that my mother was taken in by the medical profession in 1970 when she had a gastrectomy for stomach cancer. All those years of pain and discomfort, when she could have watched a video on Youtube by David Icke, Piers Corbyn, Right Said Fred and the bloke from Essex who runs a PR company.
My whole life has been blighted by qualified people who know what they are doing, persuading me to have all manner of medical procedures, when all I really needed was Facebook and Youtube to get first class medical advice from people who know where all the good videos and facebook posts are.
I can only wonder whether all of the nanobots implanted in me by Bill Gates are the reason I've been able to write some half decent songs after half a century of trying? It is worrying. Do these contain subliminal messages to get the rest of you to blindly follow Bill Gates (or is it Bill Wyman?).
Anyway, if I didn't use my blog to warn you, I'd clearly be working for the antichrist and would be on a one way ticket straight to hell.
I was doing some homework, looking at a few old blogs for inspiration. In my blog from Jan 3rd 2009, the first blog I ever wrote on a 3rd of January, I mentioned that Woolworth has just gone bust. There are kids aged 14 who never had the pleasure of being taken to Woolies to buy pick and mix, who never got to choose a Teddy or a Beanie Baby from the shelf, who never bought "Now that's what I call music" from the record counter. They never bought a fishing rod, a Scalextrics set or a Barbie from a well stocked counter.
When my children were small, I loved Woolies. If they were good and did things praiseworthy, I'd take them to Woolies and let them choose a present. If they went to Mass and sat quietly, they'd get a bag of pick and mix. Watching my daughters carefully select the best selection was a joy to behold. When my eldest daughter was three and managed to swim a width of the David Lloyd swimming pool, I took her to Woolies and told her she could have anything at all in the shop. I knew she'd had her eye on the milkshake maker that was a tenner. She marched straight up to it, past the tellies and radio's etc. It was her pride and joy until a week later when it fell to bits.
When I was a kid, I bought fishing tackle, dodgy footballs and ill fitting boots in Woolies. I don't think they had Pick n Mix in the 1960's although my mum was clever enough to steer me away from them. One of my earliest memories of Woolworths was going in with my mum. I must've been 2 or three. I was so small that I came up to my Mum's knee. We became separated and I started to look for her. I knew what her camel hair coat and leg looked like. I soon found her and, having been in a panic, grabbed her leg. There was an almighty shriek and I was given a hard kick. It wasn't my mum. The woman went nuts and had a right old go at my Mum for not keeping me under control. I was in disgrace and banned from Woolies. At the time I didn't speak, so couldn't really explain what happened. Luckily after a few months, the incident was forgotten.
I also recall my one foray into shoplifting was in Woolies. I was about four. I found a bar of chocolate and scoffed it. I knew it was naughty, but I didn't care. It must have been a Saturday, as the next day, we were taken to mass and the Priest gave a sermon about how thieves go straight to hell. I assumed that Priests have psychic powers and knew what I'd done. A couple of years later, I made my first confession and owned up. I've never nicked anything since. Actually that's not strictly true. I have on a couple of occasions in my youth nicked girlfriends from people I didn't like. I did this out of compassion, as I thought the young ladies were far too good for the scumbags they were hitched up with and so felt it was morally correct. I wish I could pretend that my motives were completely morally correct, but I can't. Interestingly, my missus worked in Woolworths in Mill Hill as a teenager, although that was before she was lucky enough to meet me.
When Woolies shut, there was a hole in my life. I'd buy such things as dining sets, Xmas lights, batteries, lightbulbs and presents for people's kids there. There is nowhere like it. I also loved their cheap vinyl records and CD's, especially the collections. If I was bored, I'd nip in. Now Woolies in Mill Hill is an Iceland. It is very useful, but is perhaps the most soulless, boring shop on the Broadway. I don't dislike Iceland, but it is like having your E-Type Jag nicked and being given a beat up Skoda as a replacement. It will get you from A to B, but there is no joy in it at all.
Sooner or later, someone will reinvent Woolworths and I'm convinced they will make a packet. There is a myth that Woolies went bust because it's business model was outdated. This is complete nonsense. The company was taken over by asset strippers who ran it into the ground, taking huge profits and throwing the workforce to the wolves. There was a time when shops seemed to realise that if you made them fun, people would come. The Santa at Gamages, the Train set at Hamleys, the booths to play records in many record shops. Now every space has to earn money, but why would anyone bother visiting the places. As a kid, a trip to Woolies, Gamages or Hamleys was always fun. It isn't now. Come back Woolies, all is forgiven.
So we made it through to another year. What does the new year hold. We had a pleasant week, we went up to Shropshire for a few days to see New Year in. It was most pleasant. The highlight was meeting up with the False Dots first gigging drummer, the amazing Mr Dav Davies after 40 years. A great bloke and a magnificent drummer.
2. How could I possibly not include this. BTW the False Dots have a brand new song called the Burnt Oak Boogie, that names such places as The Bald Face Stag, the Beta Cafe, the Fishmonger near Barnfield Road, the Market and the Annunciation club. Expect the album in the late spring
Started reading first of my Xmas presents this morning - London Made Us by @robert_elms having gone to school in Burnt Oak in late 70s can relate to stories about Mr Miglio and Beta Cafe, Bald Face Stag, 52 bus, Wimpey bar on Edgware Rd, and "Burnt Oak Boys" outside the station. pic.twitter.com/MfyOZujZZN
Happy New Year! This afternoon @sheila_rn and I walked the quiet and rather muddy Darlands Nature Reserve (it’s about the size of Hampstead Heath and much wilder. It’s located between Mill Hill & N Finchley). Bring your wellies! pic.twitter.com/go62P4P43k
