You can't beat living in Mill Hill for the links to London and the Green belt

I had a great night last night I met up with one of my friends and had a great evening. We had a couple of beers in the excellent real ale pub The Cask, an excellent real ale pub in Pimlico. We also had  couple of beers in  the fine Fullers Pub, the Jugged Hare on Vauxhall Bridge Road and finished it off with a rather tasty curry at the Millbank Spice Tandoori. You may think that this is a rather odd way to start a blog about how marvellous Mill Hill is? Not at all, my friend Keith lives in Croydon, so when we have such an evening we meet in town. Of course Keith misses out on the fine curries available at The Day of The Raj and The Mill Hill Tandoori as he is silly enough to live in South London, but I suppose someone has to!

If you live in Mill Hill you can get to these great pubs  in less than 40 minutes, if you get  your timings right. I got the 16.43 train from Mill Hill Broadway and walked into the pub at around 17.25 The great transport links are a major reason why I've always lived in Mill Hill. I bought my parents house when my mother decided to retire to  Christchurch in Dorset in 1987 after the death of my Father. Mum had always dreamed of living in a nice town by the sea. Within a year, she'd moved back and bought a flat six doors up the road. In her later years she confided that this was the best decision she ever made. When mum hit 60 she got a free bus pass. Every Tuesday, she'd jump on a 113 bus and go on an expedition into London. She'd have tea at Harrods or Selfridges go and sit in the Public gallery at the Royal Courts of Justice, visit Parliament, but be home in time for tea. That is a real benefit of living in Mill Hill. The world is literally on your doorstep.

When Marks and Spencers arrived she said Mill Hill had reached its pinnacle. As an elderly lady, living independently, she was in walking distance from the buses, the train, the doctor, the pharmacy, the dry cleaners, the Catholic Church, an excellent off license and with Marks, if she was feeling lazy she had somewhere to get a tasty meal that could be popped in the microwave. If she wasn't feeling lazy, she'd hop on the 251 bus to Burnt Oak, where she said the mushrooms and the oranges were half the price. She was also rather partial to a nice chinese takeaway and Hees provided this. She was heartbroken when LaCarp d'Or fish restaurant closed down. She loved fish and chips. She said that the period between the opening of Marks and the closing of Carp D'Or was the the ultimate.

Woolworths - sadly missed in Mill Hill

I tend to agree. Mill Hill does miss a good fish and chip shop. Another big loss was Woolworths. All of the family miss it.  My wife worked there as a teenager and for the first few years of their lives, every Christmas and Birthday present bought for my children came from Woolies.Every Sunday I'd take them in and let them select some pic and mix (that was the reward for going to Church and being good). My daughter recently told me that this was one of her favourite memories of being little.

The common myth is that Woolies failed because its model was out of date. This is a complete myth. The company was bought by assett strippers, who sold the land and then made the retail organisation lease back the shops at ever more extortionate rates. Had they simply kept the stores, the group would have remained in rude good health. But like everything, times change. Since the Glory days, there have been some very good addition s to Mill Hill. The Rising Sun Pub now has become an excellent place to eat. Run by Roberto and Amanda, the food is excellent, the beer is good and the wine list will send you home with a smile on your face. The Adam and Eve is also a great place to spend an evening.

The Glorious view yesterday afternoon from Arrendene looking West

Autumnal views in Mill Hill Park

I specifically mention these two places for a good reason. One of my other passions for Mill Hill is the beautiful Green Belt. When I awake in the morning, If I look West from my bedroom window, I see the M1 motorway and the Thameslink Rail line. If I look east I see St Josephs college in the distance and the Ridgeway. The West represents the great Transport Links, that facilitated my evening last night. The East represented what I did before I went into town. I went with Clare and our two hounds, Tilly and Bruno for a beautiful walk.

This is something we do every day. It is one of my greatest pleasures in life. Yesterday our route took us from Millway, via Mill Hill Circus across St Josephs College fields, through Poets Corner, up the footpath across Mill Hill School fields to Arrendene. We walked through Arrendene and down through Mill Hill Park under the subway, down through the Broadway and back to Millway. The views were absolutely stunning.

Mill Hill - mostly green belt (pic Courtesy Google Earth)

This is one of our most popular walks, but perhaps the best walk of all is to start at the Adam and Eve Pub and have a pint and a bag of crisps. From here, walk down the Ridgway. From here you can walk down and across Totteridge Valley to the footpath by St Pauls School, walk across Totteridge Valley and then walk down Totteridge Lane to the Rising Sun for a great meal and a few fine pints of Ale and a bottle of wine. There are many great walks you do in Mill Hill. The Mill Hill Preservation Society has a page suggesting several routes. I'd recommend doing all of these. We do on a regular basis.

French Market in Mill Hill

Mill Hill is not stuck in the past, but it has a great heritage. We are lucky to have several great organisations which fight for our little patch of London. We have the Pres society (as mentioned above), we have the Mill Hill Residents Association. We also have the Mill Hill Neighbourhood forum. The forum organised a French Market last week in Mill Hill Broadway. This was a massive success. The timing, with the Paris attack was a sad coincidence, but the people of Mill Hill turned out in numbers to show solidarity.

I passionately believe that the Green Belt is one of the best pieces of legislation ever passed. There are ever more calls for these rules to be relaxed. As there are ever greater housing pressures in London, these calls will grow. If we listen to these voices the very thing which makes London special will be lost. The Green belt is the lungs of London. We already see appalling air quality. Research shows that thousands of people die due to poor air quality in London, however there is no consideration to this fact in planning applications. I chose to raise my children in Mill Hill because I believe that they had the best of everything, just as I had. They have the great transport links for the hustle and bustle of London if they want it, but they also have the peace and tranquility of the green belt. I believe this is something worth fighting for.

The gems of Mill Hill

This weekend is going to be absolutely glorious. Luckily for me, I live in Mill Hill. There are many great things about living in Mill Hill, but one of the best is that if you jump on a train, you can be in central London in twenty minutes, but if you go for a walk you can be in surrounded by green fields in no time at all. Let me share with you what I will be doing on Sunday, assuming the weather holds out.

One of the hidden gems of Mill Hill is Finchley Nurseries in Burtonhole Lane (http://www.finchleynurseries.co.uk/). They have a fantastic selection of bedding plants, pots, composts and shrubs. It is  a family owned business which has been in Mill Hill for seventy years. It is a great place to come down and spend a bit of time browsing. They also sell fresh grown fruit and veg (in season) as well as barbeque sets and the sheds.

I particularly like the selection of stone statues, bird baths, stone pots  and other such items and my garden has a fair few of them in there. They have a whole section of landscaping products on site and a service to landscape your garden if required.

Also on site is the Mill Hill Aquatic centre AKA Pond Life. The have all the accessories necessary for your pond, a huge stock of coldwater fish such as goldfish, sticklebacks, koi, minnows and orfe. They also stock tropicals and are a great place to get your water and marginal plants. They have pond liners, pumps, fish food and can give expert advice on any problems or issues. They are also ethical stockist, so don't stock marine tropicals or corals. They have water features and other fish related garden furniture. The fine metal sculpture featured in the picture was supplied by my brother Laurie at Bunns Lane welding for their display !

As they have a fine car park, with a catering facility, it is a great place to start a walk around Totteridge Valley. I like to get a cup of tea and a bacon roll as an accompanyment to my journey. It is a short but pleasant walk to Darlands Lake Nature reserve, one of the highlights of the Borough.

View Larger Map

Darlands used to have a boating lake and be stocked with massive carp. Sadly it has been let go by Barnet Council, but is still a fantastic place to visit and chill out  at. The history and details are here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darland's_Lake_Nature_Reserve.

Depending on what you want to do next, you can either walk across Totteridge valley and emerge at the Orange Tree, a fine pub with a great menu - http://www.theorangetreetotteridge.co.uk/. The 251 bus provides a service from the pub to Mill Hill, Edgware, Totteridge and Arnos Grove.

If you wish to head back to Mill Hill, then the Adam and Eve pub is also as fine venue for lunch or just a refreshing pint - http://www.adamandevemillhill.co.uk/ .  They have a large garden which is superb for a sunny day relaxing in Mill Hill. The Adam & Eve and Finchley Nurseries are on the 240 bus route from  Mill Hill, Edgware, Hendon and Golders Green.

And before any one asks, none of these businesses have paid for the plug. I just happen to live in Mill Hill and want to see those people who run and work in local businesses thrive. We are currently undergoing a deep recession, which seems to get worse by the day. I urge everyone to support their local traders, local businesses and local amenities. I guarantee that a walk around  Darlands lake is a journey well worth making.

Support your local business

Sometimes I truly despair. What sort of a country are we becoming? We are seemingly overrun with groups stuffed full of busybodies, running around the country, stating the bleeding obvious and whipping up hysteria, seemingly with the sole purpose of trying to shaft people who are struggling to make a living in the recession. The latest "shocking" revelation? Pepperoni pizzas at a local Mill Hill Pub are a bit salty. Well what next, maybe they'll reveal that Scotch is more alcoholic than tap water




 There is an article in the Edgware Times today highlighting the fact that the Adam & Eve pub in Mill Hill has a pizza on the menu with a high salt content -  http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/9613305.Mill_Hill_restaurant_selling_pizzas_saltier_than_sea_water/?ref=mc - following an investigation byThe Consensus Action of Salt and Health (CASH) - a health pressure group. In my opinion, stories such as this are complete nonsense. No one goes to the pub for a pizza to improve their health or because they are on a diet. Anyone who is concerned will know that processed meats have a high salt content and anyone who has salt related health issues will know that they should avoid such dishes. I love salami's and pepperoni pizzas, but due to health issues I've chosen not to eat them, but it is a choice. A healthy person will not suffer any dire consequences from eating the offending pizza even if they wash it down with six pints of Guinness.

What we are seeing here is a group of people who seem to have nothing at all better to do than go around and criticise perfectly well run establishments. These stories then get picked up by the press and local people get the impression that the establishment is in some way producing poor quality food. The Adam and Eve is my local pub. It is a pleasant establishment and the food is high quality. The kitchens are clean and the beer is good. Since it's refurbishment it has become well established as a good place for  a beer, a meal and somewhere to meet friends. I had my daughters confirmation party at the pub and we recently had a family get together there. Two of my nephews and my brother had one of the offending pepperoni pizzas. It may surprise you to find out that no one died, in fact we all rather enjoyed it.

Times are hard for anyone running a business right now. The last thing we need is groups of busybodies running around, terrorising local businesses. What next? Are they going to visit Tesco's and announce that the tubs of table salt contain more salt than seawater? The truth is that one pizza in a pub won't have any affect at all. It is the salt we add on a daily basis to food at home which is the problem. Lay off the local businesses. Am I the only person who wonders whether there is a more cynical agenda here? Like the parking charges in High Streets, such scare stories as these create an impression that the large chains, where bland tasteless food is churned out, somehow are providing a "quality" service, whilst local businesses are portrayed as slapdash? Some people like salty pizzas and there is nothing against the law with that. My guess is if you visited the Adam & Eve you'd see people adding salt to whatever was brought out, salty or not. Next thing, these busybodies will be proposing we ban salt cellars from the land.

I propose we have "support your local business day", where everyone should visit their local cafe, pub or family run restaurant, and have the dish you like most and say "stuff the health consequences" - just for one day.

And I may well make a special effort to visit the Adam & Eve tonight for a pint, just to show a bit of solidarity.

Mill Hill Music Festival TV - The Al Warner & Paul Myerson show at the Adam and Eve

Here's a few selected highlights from Sunday Night at the Mill Hill Music Festival show featuring Alan Warner and Paul Myerson at the Adam and Eve. It was a fantastic night. Here is a link to the Adam and Eve's website detailing their forthcoming events (and there are some crackers coming up) - http://www.adamandevemillhill.co.uk/events/.



There are still tickets left for the party Night at the Mill Hill Sports club on Saturday, featuring some of our top local musicians playing hits from the 1960s, 70's, 80's & 90's. There are also tickets left for the BBC Symphony Orchestra players at St Pauls Church. Both events are likely to sell out, so get your tickets ASAP. They are available from Mill Hill Wines - http://www.millhillwines.com/

From the Ebbitt Inn to the Adam & Eve

Just got back from a 2 day business trip to Washington DC. Last night, I spent a couple of hours drinking Samual Adams Ale in the Old Ebbitt Grill, round the corner from the White House and supposedly Barack Obama's favoured watering hole (he resisted the urge to have a pint with the Barnet Eye last night).  Tonight I will be up for the opening of the Adam and Eve in Mill Hill. Much as I love the States, it's impossible to get a  proper cup of tea and no one wants to talk about Football (proper football, you know the sort you play with your feet).

The Ebbitt is an example of a great bar/diner. Had a fantastic Walrus Burger (refers to the size not the ingedients). It's supposedly Washingtons Oldest Bar. Let's hope that the new owners of the Adam & Eve are equally successful.

Truly marvellous news for the people of Mill Hill

Regular readers of this blog will know that I play five a side football every Thursday night at Powerleague (and every Sunday). Whilst it might surprise you to know that none of the squad were selected by Fabio Capello for a trip to South Africa, what may surprise you less is the fact that after our kickaround, we retire to a certain well known hostelry in Mill Hill. Now I have no desire to embarrass the manager of it, so I won't name and shame it here, but in our post match analysis, our multi national panel of experts discussed some rather interesting facts. Our little group has been playing together for approx 12 year. In this time w reckon we've spent £50,000 on drinks in the pub during our Thursday night gatherings. We all usually have three drinks - average price approx £2.75. Add to that a tenners worth of crisps, nuts etc and the fact usually about ten of us go for a drink, it has totted up to a staggering amount of money.

Guess how many times since the existing pubco bought it, we've been given "drinks on the house"? Any idea? None. Guess how many times they've given us a free snack? Any idea? Once. We were once given a plate of sandwiches because "The funeral reception hadn't eaten them". Now I regularly dine at both The Day of The Raj and The Mill Hill Tandoori. Been going there for years. The governers of both institutions nearly always finish the meal by providing drinks on the house. It is just good business sense.

Anyway, last night the conversation turned to whether we should continue to patronise such an ungrateful institution. The incident that sparked the conversation was when we had to wait ten minutes to get served because there was only one member of staff actually serving, despite a busy pub. The manager was having a drink with friends (although presumably working). We discussed the possibility of switching to another pub, just to see if it might be better.

Anyway, sadly for us, the most likely venue, The Adam and Eve recently closed down. Had this not been the case, I'm sure that a decision would have been made there and then. How strange it was to see that I had a new blog follower today. Even stranger that they have just started writing a blog themselves. I'm not going to spoil the fun JUST CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT THIS EXCELLENT PIECE OF NEWS FOR MILL HILL IS. I wish my new blog competetor well.