Robert Elms is currently on BBC Radio London and is asking for three films to watch over Christmas. It seems to me an ideal opportunity to put a little list together. Now I thought I'd ask my lovely misssus and the kids for the first four picks. There was a clear winner, they all chose the first one, but Clare got in first.
1. Elf (Clare's choice)
2. Nativity (Lizzie's choice)
3. The Nightmare before Xmas (Matthew's choice)
4. Love actually (Maddie's choice)
Now personally, I'd choose none of them! Sadly (for me) I usually get out voted, they all gang up on me. At this time of the year, I think of my Mum and Dad. They both had favourite Christmas films
5. Singing in the rain. This would have been my Dad's first choice. He loved it
6. It's a Wonderful life. My Mum's favourite.
7. High Society. Clare said that this would be her Dad's choice.
And finally, I will give you the three choices that I'd watch, given the choice.
8. Its a mad mad world. Possibly the funniest film ever. It is one film that Mum, Dad and I would all endorse.
9. The Blues Brothers. Great music, funny and bonkers. Certain scenes always remind me of the early days of The False Dots.
10. Withnail and I. A great fun film. One I never tire of. The perfect film to end an Xmas day's viewing with.
And finally, a song for Xmas. Here's a video we put together back in 2023, to celebrate xmas in Burnt Oak - It's an Xmas inspied song, the Burnt Oak Xmas Boogie!
And why not come down and watch The False Dots tomorrow (Sunday 21st December) at The Dublin Castle from 1.45pm - CLICK HERE FORE DETAILS
Have you ever wondered why tech zillionaires set up new IT services, AI search engines, mega databases? The answer is very simple. They want to earn zillions more. When Elon Musk bought Twitter and renamed it to X, he did so to make money. He has announced that he is launching a competitor to wikipedia called Grokopedia (with a slightly bizarre and disturbing text).
Join @xAI and help build Grokipedia, an open source knowledge repository that is vastly better than Wikipedia!
I have no particular allegiance to Wikipedia, it is a uselful resource and has been very useful as a blogger. Whilst it provides the information I require, I will continue to use it. Mr Musk appears to be suggesting that his Grok alternative will be 'vastly better'. This is quite an interesting proposition. Wikipedia is maintained by its users. They manage and correct it. It is free to use. Will an AI with a similar functionality be better as Musk claims? Well the first thing an AI does is trawl the web. So I suspect that it's first stop will be to see what Wikipedia has to say, and then trawl the web to find extra information. So on that basis, he might have a point. If you assume that everything you read on the net is true, it would certainly be so. The problem is that it is only as good as the source information. The people who write wikipedia entries, generally are experts on the given subject and work hard to ensure it is accurate. They are not always right, but when they are wrong, it gets corrected. Musk's alternative will simply trawl the internet and try and use algorythms to effectively 'improve' on the output of wikipedia.
The big question here is how effective will this be? The way AI works, it improves over time. If it gets things wrong and people challenge its output, it will add new rules to its processing algorythms and improve. My view is that, at least in the short term, I would not use it as a primary source and I'd check anything that diverges from information on wikipedia and other sites. By its very nature, Wikipedia has its limitations and these are a strength as much as a weakness. I am not entirely sure that Elon Musk gets this. It is not interactive. It is based on constant peer review. The people who update it are invested in it and generally want to ensure it is correct. My assumption is that Musk's tool will be fully interactive. Let me give an example. Just suppose I want to write a blog about West Coast Rock legend Steve Miller. I will usually start by reading the entire wikipedia page, then the discography. Wikipedia lists its sources, I will then look at a few of these. I will then sketch out a blog and add my own observations and opinions. As I've seen the band a few times in both the UK and USA, I will also source in my recollections. This should ensure that the blog is factually correct, but also contains a unique slant. The fact that I thought Gerald Johnsons bass solo on Macho city, when I saw them at Hammersmith Odeon in 1983, was the best bass solo I've ever seen is an opinion you probably won't read anywhere else.
However. When Mr Musk's new Grokipedia comes into operation and my mate Pete decides to write his own blog on the Steve Miller Band a year later, if we assume for a second that no one else anywhere on the planet has written anything else about the band. and Pete asks Grokipedia about Steve Miller, it will not only see the information I saw on wikipedia. It may well see my blog. It may well tell him that the performance at the Hammersmith Odeon included the best bass solo in the history of the world. It may or may not give him the source of the information. But my blog will be recycled. The only thing that made it better than wikipedia, was itr ead my blog and added my content. Mr Musk, if he has his business plan correct, will make money because his interactive AI wiki product read my blog.
And what do I get for helping him? Nothing. Now just suppose for a second, in two years time, I am to be interviewed on the BBC Local news about the result of the general election in Barnet. The researcher wants to give the reporter a briefing paper on my views. What will they do? Will they read my blogs? Most likely, if Mr Musks AI works, they will simply say "what is the position of Roger Tichborne on issues in the constituency of Hendon". My guess is that they will subscribe for cash to Musks system, so that he can tell them what I think. Now without the content I've written, his service has no value, but with it, it is a valuable resource for the reporter. In short, my efforts are lining Musks pocket.
And then, I am a musician. I write and release songs. I've spent tens of thousands of hours honing my talents, practicing, composing, writing songs. Now AI tools are generating music. A big user of this music is TV and Radio. Actual composers like me are losing work and cash. Let me suggest a scenario. A friend of mine, Laurence Lynch wrote a brilliant play called Burnt Oak, that had two runs at the Leicester Square theatre. Just suppose a Hollywood director wisely decides to make a blockbuster movie based on the script. He needs a theme tune. What does he do? Historically, he'd hire a composer to write a score. Just suppose, he wants to save a few quid and so he asks AI to write him a song about Burnt Oak, which captures the essence of Burnt Oak. The AI goes off and does a trawl. It comes across The False Dots song "The Burnt Oak Boogie", which was a minor hits a couple of years ago. We wrote this to sum up the demographics of the area, using a Ska beat (as Ska was the theme tune of Burnt Oak boot boys in the 1960's and 1970's), we then overlayed an afrobeat style guitar riff over the top, as the area has a large afro-carribean community, so we felt it also reflected the vibes of Burnt Oak now. My lyrics are based on my own experiences of the growing up and going to school in the area. The AI would, presumably, do a trawl of songs with Burnt Oak references as a basis. If the AI is any good, this would be a primary source. It will then come up with a piece of music with a similar vibe and style.
In short, it will plaigerise my song and I won't get a penny. I think AI is an amazing concept. It can spot cancers, develop drugs, cut the time new medicines take to come to market, help people like me write blogs, clean up the sound on ancient cassettes, making them suitable for release (a massive boon for people like me with old music featuring dead friends). However, I have a massive objection to the fact that the only financial beneficiaries will be tech billionaires. Content creators of source material should get a BIG slice of the profit. Now in my case, if an AI trawls my blog and comes up with an answer about a hyper local Barnet issue for a bloke in Finchley, I don't expect a million pounds. But Mr Musk has earned a tangible amount of money, if his system is used. Lets assume he earns 1/1,000 of a penny every time his apps use someone elses work. I would contend that a proportion, Lets say 75% should go to the people who actually answered the query with the source data. I would suggest that creators have accounts set up, which they can claim. When there is more than £30 in the account, they can claim it. Cash unclaimed after two years, should be donated to educational charities, not linked to the platform owners.
Now, for me personally, given my blog stats, I'd estimate, I'd earn between £20-£100 per year. It wouldn't change my life but may cover the cost of being connected to the internet for a month or two. For Mr Musk. If he's going to earn a billion dollars from his new platform, but only owns a quarter of that, it won't ruin his life or pauperise him. What might make a massive difference though, would be if the unclaimed money helping to address the issues of poor education and digital exclusion.
I've never written a blog to make money. It was never part of the equation, however I do not see why the richest man in the world should make even more from my efforts, whilst I don't get a penny. There are plenty of creators who do it far better than I do and who should get proper renumeration. When people say "Grok answered a question" it didn't. Someone who has had no recognition has had their work plaigerised. Historically Google gave links, so you'd see who did teh work. Now you get an 'AI Summary' and no one knows. If you've ever wondered why the likes of Musk try and snuggle up to the likes of Donald Trump, the reason is pretty obvious. They want to ensure they keep all the csh for themselves.
I suppose I had to end this blog with this song, don't I?
Would you Adam and Eve it? Today is the 15th birthday of the Barnet Eye blog. I had been blogging for about six months on the Barnet Times website prior to this . To my amazement, the blog there became the most read feature on the paper's website. I took a very confrontational stance with the then Tory administration of Barnet Council, run by Mike Freer and Brian Coleman. This chimed with many on bothe the left and right. The council responded by threatening the paper with the withdrawal of council advertising. The paper caved in and sacked me, from my role. Mike Freer, Brian Coleman and their lacky Robert Rams went out to celebrate "the end of Tichborne's blogging career"(they left a couple up when they sacked me). They were a tad premature.
David Miller, AKA Dont Call Me Dave, former chair of the Chipping Barnet Tories and son of Baroness Hendon was outraged and urged me to start a blog that could not be controlled. I had a whole stack of rules I had to follow at the Barnet Times. I didn't look at the readership stats for six months, terrified that no one would be reading it. When I did look, I was amazed to see that I'd had over 100,000 views. The current total is -
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Can you imagine that? Nearly 4 million views? I wish my old English teacher, who used to tell me "no one is interested in your blatherings" was still alive to see this.
I have an apology. It had been my intention to have a big party to celebrate. At the start of the year, I was planning a proepr event. It is quite an achievement. I know a rather good band to play it and I am a great believer in such momentus anniversaries being celebrated. But my recent brush with cancer derailed all of my plans. I'll now have to wait for the 20th Birthday in 2028.
When I wrote that first blog, I had no idea what we'd achieve. The successful campaigns
Save Friern Barnet Library
Exposing and stopping the Barnet Freedom Pass Scandal
Reversing the CPZ overcharging and getting residents there money back
Exposing the Metpro Scandal and saving Barnet Taxpayers Millions
Stopping the Mapledown School respite care cuts
Restoring Pay and Display parking
are just a few of the best ones.
I am also proud of the guest bloggers. For our tenth birthday, I produced a list detailing the best. This will be updated. Giving others a platform has been one of my biggest achievements. It is a fairly unique feature of this blog that we give others a platform.
I am also proud that I encouraged other individuals to also start blogging about Barnet. The best was Don't Call Me Dave who actually started blogging whilst I was still blogging on the Times website. It is a shame that all of these seem to have hung up their boots. Mr Mustard still blogs, but on the subject of parking. Mr Reasonable occasionally gives an update on council finances, but has largely lost interest since Labour took over. Also worthy of a mention is Vicky Morris, AKA Citizen Barnet, Barnet's original female blogger, who invented the Friday Joke tradition.
One of the more amusing things that has happened is the jealousy in some quarters of the success of this blog. One or two rather interesting individuals took exception to the fact that people liked what we do more than their own efforts. One particular character has spent years on Twitter claiming that they are the original Mill Hill Blog, despite not blogging for years after we started. Another threw their toys out of the pram, when we were awarded the accolade "Top London Blog" by the Guardian. I was amused to be contacted by the blog editor at the Guardian, who told me that the harrassment on Twitter was driving him mad. I suggested that he simply add their blog and shut them up. It didn't bother me and it raised the profile of Barnets bloggers. I was always amused that despite these claims, no blog counter ever appeared on these sites.
For me, it has always been about producing interesting content. I've always tried to blog about a range of subjects. One of the best early blogs I wrote was "50 things to do before you are 50 in the London Borough of Barnet". What is interesting is how many of those cannot be done anymore
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 (Technically this breaks the anti boozing in parks rule Barnet Council have brought in)
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.
The last one brings us onto the subject of music, which is where this blog started. The Barnet Times originally asked me to write a blog after I contacted them saying they needed to do more to cover the Barnet music scene. Back in the 1980's, when my band was starting, the Barnet Times had a wonderful local music column, first run by Kevin Black RIP, then Clarence Mitchell (now leader of Tory Reading Council). Phil Crowther, editor of the Times, suggested I covered a few other issues. When the local Tories over reacted, I felt duty bound to put my oar in properly. I vowed to be the last man standing, when Freer, Coleman and Rams boasted of their celebrations at my demise. Coleman and Rams are long gone and Freer is set to depart next year. Their gift to Barnet of Capita and One Barnet virtually destroyed the council. Freer has not shone as an MP, I doubt too many will remember him when he's gone. Robert Rams did write a blg about wrestling for a while, but that was about as successful as his time as a councillor.
When Freer and his mob left the Council and Richard Cornelius took over, relations between this blog and the local Tories thawed significantly. I never really saw eye to eye with Richard on Politics, but I like him personally and I still have a chat with him when I see him. Other local Tories such as Hugh Rayner, Elliot Simberg, Laithe Jajeh, Lucy Wakeley and Peter Zinkin have all shown themselves to be decent and approachable. In recent years, these local Tories have sought to work with the Barnet Eye on matters of mutual interest, which never happened previously. In short, common sense has broken out.
As for the loca Labour group. I had high hopes for them when they took over last year. I personally had been hoping that there would be a Lib Dem presence, holding the balance of power in Barnet, to ensure that whoever ran the council, there would be checks and balances. When Labour won a landslide, the leader, Barry Rawlings asked if I could assist with drawing up a new strategy for culture. I put a huge amount of work into this, only to be told my services were not required, as my CV was not up to scratch. It seems that running Londons oldest and most successful independent studios for 44 years and the Mill HilL Music Festival for nearly 30 years is not enough. Labour councillors have stopped contacting me, except when they have no real choice. I suggested to Barry Rawlings that the council work with bloggers, to try and make the council more accessible. It is now clear that the Labour group are set on controlling the narrative. I suspect the real reason that I was excluded from the Culture strategy steering committee was a perception that I wouldn't tow the Party line.
Interestingly, the council did contact me this week about the strategy. The email was quite bizarre, totally ignoring the fact I'd had many meetings last year with the Leader and Cultural lead to discuss this, before the door was slammed in my face.
We want to make sure Barnet’s music scene is properly represented in the strategy and would love to hear your thoughts on how we can develop music in the borough over the next five years. Please let me know if this is something you’d be interested in.
No mention of the fact I'd spent a month drawing up a draft strategy, circulating it to the leader and the cultural lead, only for them not even to acknowledge it.
This has confirmed to me that Barnet needs critical bloggers. It seems that after 15 years, my work is not done. I've broadened the themes, there is now more music coverage and my battle with Cancer has been a big part of the mission for the last twelve years. I've also had a great response to the blogs on dyslexia and school. I will spent the next week exploring some of these themes in more detail, but thought it best to start with a catch me up for newer readers!
I hope my loyal readers have enjoyed the ride. Here's to another fifteen years.
A friend of mine had a father who used to take great delight in saying to us when we were kids "Have you ever wondered if none of this was real and in reality you were in a lunatic asylem and this is all a figment of your imagination to escape from the horror of your existence? It never really bothered me but there are times when I have to pinch myself to convince myself he wasn't right.
1. ITV cold calling me to give my views on the Brixton Academy stampede. In truth it's happened a few times, but this was the leading story on the news. It is quite difficult talking to a camera when you can't see the person interviewing you.
2. Aurora Metro cold calling me to contribute a chapter to the West London Wildlife book. They are an excellent publisher and I feel rather proud to be involved.
3. Being at the count in May when the Conservatives got ejected from the Town Hall. On the night it wasn't a shock, but I'd seen a few false dawns. As I'm not a Labour member, it was not my victory. It was a strange night, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't chuffed to see the architects of the Capita fiasco get their just deserts from the electorate. In December 2019, when Boris swept all before him, I could not imaging such a night.
4. Watching Manchester City win the league again in May. I was there for the cold, bleak years, when City were in the third tier, away at York City and in my wildest fantasies, I dreamed that they might one day be a mediocre mid table Prem team that occasionally took a few points from our all conquering neighbours in Salford. I'm really not a fan of the way foreign owners have been allowed to take over the soul of football, but if you have to have foreign owners, I'd rather have ours than the lot who own the rags.
5. The False Dots at The Dublin Castle, Camden Town, 23rd November. This was a magical night. It was great being back with the band in Camden, but even better was seeing a young audience bopping to our music.
6. The Burnt Oak Boogie. When we posted the video and it started getting thousands of views on Youtube. I am amazed at the reaction and all the people telling me how they love the song and the video.
7. The Brit Funk Association at The Mill Hill Music Festival. We took a real punt putting on the festival this year. We were planning it when the Omicron wave hit. We almost pulled the whole thing, as it seemed that lockdown would be a semi permanent feature of life. It is strange to think that the pubs were shut this time last year.
8. The fall of Boris. Boris was elected with an 80 seat majority the day before our last gig with Allen Ashley as a band in 2019. It was a miserable gig for me, it wasn't well attended. The band did a good show, but the mood was very down. It seemed like Boris was unassailable. In truth he probably would have been if he'd simply behaved like a semi decent human being. Given the respective state of Labour and the Tories then and now, this really is one that I have to pinch myself for.
9. The fall of Liz Truss. I think we all had to pinch ourselves at the way the Tories imploded and Truss was despatched. I find it absurd that Rishi Sunak, a man who even his own party members rejected when they were given a vote was made Prime Minister. There is an old saying, Marry in haste, repent at leisure. It seems to me that the Tories were in such a rush to undo the mayhem Truss caused that they forgot to ask themselves why they didn't want Sunak in the first place.
10. And finally, I got myself a Fredom Pass as I reached 60 years of age, which I still find hard to get my hear around.
We all love a good Friday joke. This one is actually a true story. Anyone familar with the history of The False Dots (my band) will know of one Peter Trayling, AKA Captain Ubungus. It is no lie to say that his personal habits were to a different standard to the rest of us. You could generally tell if Pete had a girlfriend as dishes would be done and clothes would be changed (occasionally). Pete simply didn't believe in doing more than the barest minumum. A cup of tea at his house invariably involved a mug that had simply had a splash of boiling water run around the inside just before the new cuppa was procured. However Pete was rather entertaining and so we put up with his ways. He was also a great songwriting partner, what he lacked in technical ability he added in creativity. He never, ever played the same thing twice, which could be a bit frustration in a gigging environment, but was great for writing songs as it stirred the creative juices.
So I would often find myself in his flat, with my guitar and writing songs over a cup of tea. I'd usually wash my own cup out, which much amused him as he'd say "a quick rinse with boiling water kills all of the germs". So imagine my surprise to find as I settled down two gleaming cups with tea bags awaiting me when I arrived for our jam session. The water was added and a perfectly lovely cup of tea was provided. After I finished, I complemented Pete on his new found household prowess. He chuckled and said "A bloke down the pub told me the best way to clean cups is to pee in them as you go to bed and leave them overnight. The acid in the urine dissolves the scale on the cup and they come out gleaming, no effort at all".
After that I'd bring a beer to sessions.
BTW you can get special edition False Dots Burnt Oak Boogie mugs in store at Mill Hill Music Complex in Bunns Lane for only £7.99 and we promise Pete hasn't cleaned them for us.
If you are interested in Burnt Oak and it's history, check out this out. It has been produced by Barnet Council and is a very interesting video. We've also added a collection of other great videos that feature Burnt Oak. We hope you enjoy them, it seems that the current and former residents of Burnt Oak love a bit of Burnt Oak history.
Barnet Council History of Burnt Oak Film
Another bit of Burnt Oak history you may enjoy is this short clip from The Professionals, speeding through Burnt Oak back in the 1970's
Going back to 1948, there was a tragedy in Burnt Oak, when a plane hit a trolleybus. This was recorded by Pathe News.
And finally, we have the latest Burnt Oak sensation, the Burnt oak Boogie, feeturing film from both 2022 and footage from back in the day.
IF you enjoyed the Burnt Oak Boogie, you can see the False Dots perform it live at The Dublin Castle in Camden Town on Weds 23rd November - Tickets in advance from here
https://www.wegottickets.com/event/559671
Time for another installment of London Symphonies. Today the symphony is Burnt Oak and the Watling Estate.
Where do all of the people live? I used to work down near The Tower of London and St Katherine's dock. I was having lunch at Dickens Inn once and I got chatting to an American Tourist. He told be of how he'd spent two days touring Buckingham Palace, the grand museums, Madame Tussards and the Tower of London. He was mightily impressed. He was a cab driver from New York. He then said "We've seen all of these grand palaces, but where do the ordinary people, who drive buses, sweep the floors and clear the drains live?" I explained to him that London is full of council estates, where the working people live. Our workers are, by and large, shuttled around by our wonderful buses and trains, provided by London Transport. He was mightily impressed when I told him that there were several less than a mile from where we were sitting. They were cheap, affordable and by and large well maintained. The only snag was that it is almost impossible to get one anymore.
One of the largest of these estates was the Watling Estater in Burnt Oak. Join me now for a look at Burnt Oak and the Watling, past and present and then we'll dig into the story.
Built between the first and second world war as part of a scheme to provide "Homes fit for heroes". The initial tenants were selected by The London County Council. Snobby residents of leafy surrounding areas such as Edgware and Mill Hill referred to it as 'Little Moscow' and looked down with disdain on the residents. Unlike many of the estates built in the 1960's and 1970's, the estate was built for people and with families in mind. Houses had gardens, there were communal green spaces in front of flats and a whole host of parks, ensuring children never had to walk too far. On any bus ride through the Watling in the 60's and 70's, you would see children kicking balls and riding bikes and scooters around these areas.
There were schools, churches, clubs for adults and children, shops and great transport links, with a tube station, a trolley bus and other buses (My son played for the Watling club, formerly the Watling Boys club (Sadly council duplicity saw the club lose it's clubhouse, despite some hollow promises).
As the estate was planned in more puritanical times, no pubs were provided in the estate. Fortunately for thirsty drinkers, one of Englands oldest roads, the Edgware Road, originally built by the Romans, was at the top of Watling Avenue. As stage coaches, travellers and the workers that supported them needed rest and recuperation, Burnt Oak Broadway had a liberal selection of rather fine looking pubs, such as The Bald Faced Stag, The Broadway and the Prince of Wales. None of these are pubs anymore. The only original building still standing is what was The Prince of Wales. The Bald Faced Stag was demolished, with only the facade remaining. The sole pub on Burnt Oak Broadway is a small, shop pub called Blarneys, which as you may have guessed is an Irish drinking den, suitably done out with a tasteful green frontage.
Until the turn of the century, the beating heart of Burnt Oak was the Watling Market. The market was itself a thriving community. It had butchers, fruiterers, green grocers, flowers, plants, gifts, records, trinkets and tools, all of which catered for those of us on a budget, the market was not one catering for the local Waitrose shoppers of the parish, but far more fun than a sterile shopping centre. Once you got to know the stallholders, they'd look after you and palm the rubbish off on those that they didn't like or didn't recognise. Back in 1983, when I was trying to get a proper job, I bought my first suit from the market and it didn't look too bad at all!
My first whilstle and flute, bought from Burnt Oak market in 1983, as modelled with my Mum before my cousins wedding pic.twitter.com/rFupCpZqdB
After the turn of the century, the market rapidly declined. It became derelict and is now a car sales lot. I find it sad that the council couldn't see a way to have transformed the market into a thriving hub for new entrepreneurs and give young people a chance to start a business. Running a market stall is a great way to learn how to run a business.
The demographics of Burnt Oak have completely changed. As recently as the 1970's and 80's, the estate was a white, working class community, this was reflected in the music life. In the late 1960's the original skinhead culture took hold. For many years, the bridge over the Underground was adorned with the legend "Burnt Oak Boot Boys". The sound of the era was the Ska music of the Pioneers and Desmond Dekker and the groove, look and feel of the music infused itself deep into the youth culture of Burnt Oak. Music was central to everyone growing up in the 60's and 70's. For many, the disco nightspot of choice was Jingles, behind the Old White Lion, down the Edgware Road in Edgware. For the Metallers, a short ride on the 52 to Kingsbury and the Bandwagon and the Punks would jump on the Northern Line to Camden Town for the Roundhouse and Tottenham Court Road for the Marquee Club. A sharp hair cut was always required. Many would nip up to Park Way, behind Burnt Oak Broadway saw Syd's barbers, the cheapest place for a decent haircut in the Borough of Barnet (no pun intended).
Until he became a teenager, I'd take my son there for a haircut and then down to the Pound Shop for a treat. I explained that if we went to Syd's there was cash left to buy sweets. If we went to a Mill Hill Barber it would cost twice as much!
The community was drawn from working class English, Irish, Italian and Greek families, moved to the Estate by the LCC. Each community set up businesses locally. The English and Irish tended to work in the building and motor trade. The Italians and Greeks in the food and hospitality sector. There were some amazing cafe's such at The Betta Cafe on the Watling, as well as great chippies and Tonibell Ice Creams. Burnt Oak also boasted a wonderful old school Chinese restaurant opposite Woolworths and a nice Indian opposite Tesco's. There were wonderful fishmongers, butchers, fruiterers and greengrocers. In the early 1980's, the Salvage shop opened. It provided great bargains (if you didn't mind the smell of smoke from the fire damage). I bought my first stereo there and still use the speakers.
There are still a few of the old Burnt Oak business around. Aspens flower shop is wonderful and the prices beat everyone else in the Borough. Sydney Hurry's undertakers are another survivor, as are Lloyds motor spares over the road and Dan's carpet shop over the road from where Tesco's used to be.
These days, Burnt Oak is known as Little Romania. For me this is quite ironic. My Dad was a bomber pilot and in a letter he sent my mother from a prisoner of war camp in Buchaest, Romaina in 1944, it said "It's very pleasant here, the conditions are good, it reminds me of Burnt Oak on a misty Novembers evening in the rain". If you've not tried them, the cafe's are worth a visit. The food is good and you get a friendly welcome. There are all manner of shops and if you are making authentic curries, you can source everything you need. There are also a couple of wonderful fish mongers and a great Irish butcher. If you are looking to save a few pennies, or like fresh ingredients it is well worth at trip
As for my connections, my family have long standing ties. My maternal Grandparents moved to Burnt Oak in 1941, from Kentish Town. Being of Irish heritage, they became members of the Parish of the Annunciation. When a new curate, Fr Fred Smythe arrived at the Parish, he was sent out to meet the congregation. He turned up at the O'Neill household (who became my Uncle Jimmy's in-laws) at 8pm. He turned up at the first house on the list, a good Catholic family. He knocked and the occupant Mrs O'Neill shouted "Who is it" through the door. He replied "It's Father Smythe from the Annunciation". She replied "All good people are in bed now, go away". Fr Smythe replied "Are there any Catholics who aren't in bed?". She replied "Go around to The Fannings (my grandparents) at 56 Milling Road, they never go to bed". Fr Smythe did and became a firm family friend. He conducted my parents wedding at the Annunciation, on 28th October 1944, after my Dad escaped from the POW camp and made it home. The last big family do we had with my Dad was at the Annunciation, when my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at the Annunciation, 1984. Fr Smythe gave a blessing as they retook their vows. We adjourned to the club after for a celebration meal. The Annunciation Catholic club was legendary. My eldest brother even met his wife in there! We didn't realise it would be the last big do that all the family attended as my Dad passed away in 1987.
Sadly, my grandparents died long before I was born. However I had a surrogate Grandma, Mrs Annie O'Keefe of Homefield Road. She lived in one of the metal houses, familiar to all locals.
The Burnt Oak Boogie. Homefield Road, Burnt oak. Metal homes for heroes. Local legend has it that they were made from cut up battleships but the truth is it was a scheme to build houses quickly pic.twitter.com/hoI6vChp5Z
When I was born, my mother was very ill. She took on a lady to help with the cleaning. Mrs O'Keefe turned up. She was a lovely, little old lady from Kerry. Her husband Joe was a caretaker at the local public loo's. He got around on an old black bicycle. They had a lovely old mutt called Beauty. We didn't have a dog, so I'd always be nipping around for a cup of tea and a piece of cake and to play with Beauty. I think that's where I got my love of dogs from. Joe also bred budgies, that he he kept in a structure attached to his shed, made of chicken wire and wood. I'd go around and watch World of Sport with Joe, he'd advise me on the horses. HE always loved a grey filly. Annie O'Keefe was the kindest person I've ever met. All of my brothers and sisters are geniuses, when I turned up, the family would relentlessly tease me and wind me up. I would dream of when I could grow up and thump them. Sadly when you grow up, thumping your siblings is not socially acceptable. At school I was always compared unfavourably to my brothers and sisters. I was dyslexic and pretty useless at everything.
Annie was probaby the only person that was kind, didn't tease or judge me and made me feel special, welcome and loved. Annie was a person of deep faith. Her form of Catholicism was kind, open, accepting and loving. Not the horrible, judgemental form that we see so much of. After my Dad fell out with the Parish Priest at the Sacred Heart in Mill Hill when he shut the parish drinking club, we went back to attending the Annunciation. He always said that he preferred Burnt Oak's Catholicism, with it's drinking club. Being an Aussie he despised snobbery, which he said was rife in some areas of the Sacred Heart parish.
When Annie finally retired from working for my Mum, she was given a large cash gift. A week later, the Annunciaton newsletter had a line in saying "Thank you to the anonymous donor for the generous gift". The amount specified was exactly what my Mum had given her. if I learned one thing from Annie, it was that money doesn't make you happy, people do. I've always had an open door and I've always tried to make people feel welcome. To me, Annie exemplified the best of the working class culture of Burnt Oak.
I went to school just up the road from Annie at Orange Hill School on Abbotts Road. It was handy as, when it was raining on the walk home, I could nip in for a cuppa. At Orange Hill, I met a whole bunch of talented musicians, such as Boz Boorer and Phil Bloomberg of the Polecats. They were an inspiration. When you see your mates and peers doing things well, that you aspire to do, it is a great motivation. Orange Hill was a school thay did its best to inspire you. BBC Radio London presenter Robert Elms often mentions this and also credits several of the teachers for opening his eyes to what a boy from Burnt Oak could be. Myself, Boz and Phil would sneak out and nip into the Betta Cafe on the Watling, for a tea and to do the NME crossword and discuss the latest punk rock releases. In the video above, there are a few pictures of the early False Dots, taken before a gig in the school hall. We would plan to be Rock and Roll stars and Boz always carried a cassette player around, with tapes of punk and rockabilly tracks. One day it would beRockabilly such as Ugly and Slouchy by Rose and the Maddox Brothers, the next day punk like Boredom by The Buzzcocks.
When our band finally got it's act together, we didn't quite make it to the USA and Japan like the Polecats. We did however do a residency of gigs at The Bald Faced Stag between 1983-4. The pub had a bit of a reputation as a den of scalliwaggery. It almost lost it's licence in 1983, largely due to the efforts of my ex girlfriends step father, who would take her younger brother to the pub rather than send him to school when he was 10 years old. A new landlord was brought in and part of his remit was to save the license and bring in music. We were well paid and well looked after. When the licensing issue was resolved, he was despatched to another failing pub and the well paid gigs ceased (we did make it to Dingwalls, Belgium and Scandinavia so we didn't do too bad in all honesty).
And today? With my bus pass, I took a trip to the top of the hil, got off at the Coop and walked back via a winding route, passing all of the places that had some interest for me. The Coop used to be a magnificent department store, with carefully dressed windows. It is now a Poundstretcher with boarded up windows with pictures.The cinema where my mind was blown by the original Planet of the Apes is now an Iceland, the old cinema long being bulldozed. Tesco's started in Burnt Oak, but the site of the store I know has been bulldozed and there is a block of flats going up. The fishmongers have no live eels outside, my old branch of Natwest is now a slot machine emporium. The Betta Cafe is now Lekki's cafe. It is easy enough to mourn the passing of the old, but Burnt Oak was always about more than a few buildings. It is the people that matter.
I walked around the rather wonderful Silkstream Park. It is one of Barnet's most attractive. I also visited Watling Park, where I spent many a wonderful time watching my son play for the Boys team. It is still wonderful on a sunny Autumn day. Burnt Oak was always about providing homes for people who do the work and the shops and services reflect this. I play five aside football with a bunch of guys, many of who are from Eastern Europe. They are mostly in the building game. They don't want smoky old pubs or greasy bacon sandwiches, of the type I love so much. Times change and we must embrace the change. The London of my youth did not have the amazing range of food, drink, music and culture we now see. In Burnt Oak they now boogie to a different tune, but it is still a fascinating place and I for one still love it.
