Saturday 14 December 2013

The Saturday List #47 - The seven deadly sins - The most missed seven things in Barnet

As is the tradition, we like to have a list on a Saturday. We've had a pretty full on week with the Your Choice Barnet Week, so here is a bit of a change. I thought I'd list the seven things which we've lost from living in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a personal list

1. Barnet FC - The club still exist but now they play in Cannons Park, Harrow. A crime and a scandal.

2. Edgware General Hospital. I was born there, but first the Tories, then Labour shafted us and we lost our hospital. Now we have to go to Barnet General and wait for hours

3. Woolworths. I don't care what anyone said. Every High Street needs a Woolworths. I loved it and my kids loved it. Don't believe the porkies that it was an outdated business model. The company was shafted by asset strippers, who flogged off the properties, took all the money out and then crashed the company. If you own shares in any company where they flog off the properties, my advice is run a mile (please note this is not financial advice, as I am not qualified to give it, just a personal view).

4. Hendon FC. Another great football club shafted by the Council.

5. Watling Boys Club. A community asset in the heart of one of the more deprived parts of Barnet.

6. The Oriental Centre. The heart of the local Asian community. A great food hall and a much loved centre. Shafted by greedy property developers and left to rot.

7. Mill Hill Swimming Pool. Forget the Garden Centre, the real crime of Barnet Council was closing Mill Hill Swimming Pool, bequeathed to the people of Mill Hill in perpetuity as a community asset. This covenant was ignored by a greedy council who flogged it off as a Garden Centre. I always felt bitter about this, which is why I was totally ambivalent about the campaign to save the Garden Centre.


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