Sunday, 14 April 2019

The Tweets of the Week in the London Borough of Barnet

It's Sunday, so here's our selection of the weeks best tweets!

Don't forget to follow any Twitters who you like the look of.

1. Great Tweet about one of the Borough's gem


2. Good luck to one of our local teams


3. A date for your diary!


4. Historical tweet of the week


5. Someone is rather tickled by Cricklewood


6. Nice picture


7. This is something we support


8. I'd take away the driing license of anyone who did this


9. Jazz in Mill Hill. This sounds good


10. At a loose end tonight? This will be good!


That's all folks!
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Saturday, 13 April 2019

The Saturday List #213 - Ten songs that changed the way I think

Soundman
I've been in Portugal for the week. As I always do, I took a couple of books to read on the plane. Soundman by Glyn Johns (Music producer and Engineer) and a Bowie book by Paul Morley. I love reading on flights and as it was raining for much of the week, I had plenty of opportunities in the apartment to read both. It got me thinking about music and its place in my life. Music has without doubt shaped me and made me a better, calmer person.
 But which songs were the most important in changing the way I think? Here is my list and here's why


1.  Song for our Ancestors - The Steve Miller Band. How can a calm, quiet instrumental track change the way you think? Seemingly a ridiculous question but this is the first piece of music that ever made me put off the lights, light a candle, lay back and just enjoy the tranquillity of a beautiful piece of music. When some time out is needed, this is very much my go to track.

2.    Betrayal Takes Two - Richard Hell and The Voidoids. Perhaps the most grown up piece of music to emerge from the punk era. I had always thought of betrayal in the Christian sense, of Judas Iscariot and thirty pieces of silver. This song is about betrayal in a relationship. It is about how we change and our feelings change, and how sometimes not holding on to the past and things which we are only attached to for sentimental reasons is not positive. As a musician if ever I find the right singer, I’d love to record this as I feel it should sound. I love the Voidoids version, but I think there is a monster lurking within the song, waiting to be unleashed.

3.   You can’t put your arm around a memory - Johnny Thunders. There are a few versions of this knocking around, but the one from his solo acoustic album is the best. It almost destroys me listening to it. The title is self explanatory. There is the pathos of Thunders drug induced death, but there is so much more. The song has got me through various relationship break ups, deaths of loved ones and friends. The message of the song is just to let go, however painful that might be.

4.    Gloria - By Patti Smith. She opens the song with the stark line ‘Jesus Died for Somebody’s sins but not mine’. As someone born and raised a Roman Catholic, this was shocking beyond belief when I first heard it as a fifteen year old. I was intrigued, but then I realised Patti Smith was saying she was taking responsibility for her actions. Maybe if a few more religious haters faced up to the fact that their sins belong to them, the world would be a better place.

5.    God Save The Queen - The Sex Pistols. Another song that shook me hearing it as a 14 year old. The country was having a love in with the Monarchy in 1977, for Her Majesties Silver Jubilee.  How could anyone have the impertinence to have a number one record with a anti monarchy song in the week of her jubilee? But if you looked at the institutions of state, many were morally bankrupt at the time. The Police were institutionally racists, the courts were convicting all sorts of people on flimsy and highly dodgy charges. British citizens were being interned without trial in Northern Ireland. Much as we love her majesty, her state was behaving in an appalling way and someone had to hold the mirror up.

6.    I feel like I’m fixing to die - Country Joe and The Fish. This song is to me the best anti war song ever. Written in protest at the Vietnam War, you can change the lyrics to replace Vietnam with just about any post WWII conflict. It help reshape the way I thought about war, which had been shaped by comics and John Wayne films. It was an inspiration for the song Action Shock, that my band The False Dots play as our set finale.

7.    Too much Too young - The Specials. A song about teenage pregnancy and relationship responsibilities. Thought provoking and to the point. I love The Specials and everything they stand for. Many of their songs are thought provoking, but this one, to me stands out.

8.    Germ Free Adolescence - X Ray Specs. There are many things about Poly Styrene that I loved, I believe that it is a sad truth her talent could only flourish in the punk era. This song was  a truly bizarre piece of work on the subject of teenage obsessive behaviour. Although not something I had a problem with, I read an interview with Poly where she stated that we shouldn’t mock people for their differences and oddities. It was a wake up call for someone at a very macho Catholic Boys school.

9.    Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding. I can remember hearing this song on the Jukebox of The Railway pub in West Hampstead. I immediately checked out what it was and played it five times. It is a song about dislocation and loneliness, but not in a bad way. It  is a very thoughtful song and it takes me to quiet times and places.  My only criticism is that it isn’t ten minutes long. It has a calming effect on me unlike any other song. One I always play on the jukebox if I’ve had a bad day.

10.   Moonlight Mile - The Rolling Stones. Until the advent of punk, my taste in music was largely informed by my elder sisters record collection. The album I played most was Sticky Fingers. Initially Brown Sugar was my favourite track, but the more I listened, the more intrigued I was by Moonlight Mile. I would ponder for hours over the meaning, until that point, I’d never really listened to music to analyse it. From that point on if I was listening to something at home it had not only to be musically exciting but had to excite my brain. I think my deeper interest in music was born listening to this number.
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Friday, 12 April 2019

Guest Blog - Open Letter to Barnet Councillor Melvin Cohen - Treat the public with respect by Gerrard Roots

A guest blog by Gerrard Roots, 
Former Curator of Church Farmhouse Museum



Dear Cllr Cohen

 I have been attending LBB Council meetings for forty years, but last Tuesday's meeting was unquestionably one of the worst.

 John Dix and I had submitted, within time, questions about agenda item 8 (* Barnet Eye note:  Agenda item 8 concerned the proposal by Barnet Council to require ten objections before a planning application is referred to the planning committee for approval. Applications where there are less than ten objections will be decided under delegated powers by the Capita lead planning department) , and had both indicated that we would be present at the meeting and would ask supplementary questions. 

However, at the beginning of the meeting, you suddenly announced that item 8 had been removed from the agenda, and so questions could only be addressed to it at some future- unspecified- time. Although your decision must have been made well beforehand, no one had had the courtesy to inform Mr Dix or myself about it: we wasted our time in coming to the Town Hall.

That, in itself, was a discourtesy, but more importantly, your decision to disallow any discussion- by councillors or by the public- on proposals designed to yet further reduce the ability of Barnet residents to comment on Barnet Council's actions was simply shocking.

 You offered no justification for your decision, but, with the exception of one Labour councillor's comment, your Committee supinely accepted it. When, on leaving, I remarked that the meeting was a disgrace, you said that that was 'just my opinion'. I have since mentioned the meeting to a number of people, and they all agree with me: the meeting WAS a disgrace. You and your fellow Committee members should be ashamed of yourselves .

 Yours

 Gerrard Roots

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Gerrard Roots was the Curator of Church Farmhouse Museum in Hendon, until its closure by Barnet Council. The museum has been converted into offices for Middlesex University and much of the collections were sold off with some disappearing without trace.

 Guest Blogs are always welcome at The Barnet Eye.

 Here is a video we made at Church Farm Museum on the day it closed featuring Gerrard

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Wednesday, 10 April 2019

Has your business prepared for #Brexit? A practical guide - Guest Blog by Bhavini Kalaria


By Bhavini Kalaria,

The 29th March 2019 has come and gone, and whilst Parliament has rejected the majority of options before it, and the main parties try and come to a resolution which can garner enough support to get through Parliament we await (presently) further confirmation on whether the UK will have another longer extension to Article 50, the mechanism by which the UK was to depart the European Union.

The end game for Brexit remains unclear.  The possible scenarios lie anywhere between a “no-deal” Brexit through to some kind of Norway-style deal where the UK will be a part of the European Economic Area.  In all cases, businesses trading with the EU, or employing staff from any of the EU 27 countries, in receipt of EU funding will want to take some immediate practical steps to be ready for Brexit (deal or no deal). 

If the UK was to have a transition period as envisaged under the Withdrawal Agreement, then largely the compliance culture will remain the same.  During the transition, the UK would be out of the EU, but not represented on EU bodies and would have the same obligations as another EU member.  It means remaining within the single market (that is allowing freedom of movement of goods, people, capital and services), customs union (applying the same tariffs).  No deal means leaving without an implementation period, and no agreement across a myriad of different areas and sectors – including trade, immigration, borders, and the European Court of Justice. 

Practical Steps that Businesses should take to prepare for Brexit

Step 1: Comply with HMRC Guidance

These require businesses to:
(i)                  Register for a UK Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number.  Businesses will need this to be able to import or export goods with the EU in a no-deal scenario.  If your business trades in goods you must apply for the EORI now.  This requirement applies to VAT and non-VAT registered businesses.
(ii)                hire an agent to make import and/or export declarations.
(iii)              contact any organisation that moves goods to ensure that all safety and security declarations can be made
​Step 2: Check your contracts where you are trading or doing business with businesses or individuals based in the EU.
Where the UK doesn’t negotiate an alignment of regulatory and health & safety standards, then your goods or services will not have the same recognition and status as they do currently. Additional regulatory steps can add costs and may make what is now a legal transfer of goods or services, into an illegal one.  In this situation, any commercial agreement may become economically unviable or illegal.
As a business you should look at your contracts to see whether there are any provisions which will help you to terminate the contract and re-negotiate should your business need to. You should consider whether there are any express provisions dealing with Brexit and what scenarios this covers, and if not whether your force majeure, frustration or material change clauses can be relied on.  You may want to consider whether the ability to bring the contract to an end exists too.
The likelihood that a contract can be brought to an end because it is uneconomic is limited and generally will not be a good enough reason to trigger a material advance change clause.
You should consider taking legal advice on your contract if you believe that there is a risk that your current contractual arrangements will be affected.


Step 3: Check your responsibilities as an employer of EU staff members
One of the key issues for the Brexit Referendum was immigration – and it is highly likely that the freedom of workers to move and stay here without applying for a visa will end. The UK has reached agreements with Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.  Outside of this we will need to await final details.
The Home Office has issued guidance to EU Citizens to apply for a visa under the EU Settlement Scheme. You will need to check whether your staff members have the right to stay and work in the UK after the Brexit deadline expires. 
If you are an employer you will need to consider whether you need to apply for a sponsorship licence to enable you to employ members of staff from the EU, and There is no guarantee that your business will be eligible to apply for a sponsorship licence and so taking early guidance and Brexit proofing your business now will be key.
Step 4: Check whether your regulator can provide licences and certificates which will be recognised by the EU
It is not clear at this stage whether UK regulatory agencies will be able to provide licenses and certificates that will be recognised by the EU for goods and services that are exported to the EU.  It all depends on whether reciprocal recognitions stays or goes.
In any event if your business holds licences to trade or work in the EU – you should look at the licencing requirements now and contact your relevant regulator so you can get the most up to date guidance you are able to.
Step 5: Check the impact on your group structure if you have an office in any of the EU27 country
Many companies benefitted from the recognition afforded to them under the existing regime to be able to set up and operate in any of the EU27 countries.  Freedom of establishment is something which will be affected without any express agreement and if your business operates an office outside of the UK you will need to consider your existing structure to see whether you will need to either get additional licences, re-incorporate or re-establish back in the UK.  This is especially relevant if you have members of staff and need to look at sponsoring them.
There are a myriad other issues which arise out of multiple locations, and you must seek advice on the where your business is rightly considered to be located and if there are follow on tax implications. There will also be an impact on current litigation, and the ease with which debt can be recovered.
The key issue is that without some sort of reciprocal treatment the future effectiveness of your group structure must be looked at and you should take immediate advice on the impact of Brexit before the Brexit deadline.
Step 6: Consider data protection
Even if we leave the EU, where a business is dealing with European Citizens, the data belonging to those citizens will have to be dealt with in compliance with the standards set by the General Data Protection Regulations.  By and large, the Data Protection Act 1998 works well, and compliance with this should mean that even as a third party country, the UK will meet the necessary standards required.  Nevertheless, if businesses have not considered how they are protecting data – it would be wise to do so now.
There are numerous other areas that businesses will need to consider and specific industries such as food, fishing, pharmaceutical, transport and finance will have specific rules which will apply.  All businesses are encourages to start preparing for any Brexit scenario by reviewing their current operations, contracts, people and licences.
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Bhavini Kalaria is  a lawyer working at the London Law Practice. She prepared this briefing for the Federation of Small business and has kindly agreed to publish it as a guest blog, as many small businesses are unaware of the effects of Brexit on the their business. She is also a resident of the London Borough of Barnet. Guest blogs are always welcome. Please Click Here to submit.









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Saturday, 6 April 2019

The Saturday List #212 - Ten great ways to celebrate life in London

As I sometimes do, I am going to start this list with a slighlty rambling anecdote to explain why this list. Back in November 1986, I went for a curry with my Dad, who had just come out of hospital following an operation to remove his gall bladder. When I'd seen him in hospital, I genuinely didn't think he'd make it, which was devastating, but thanks to the NHS, he'd been patched up and came home. He was on the mend to the extent that my Mum had gone down to see her sister in Bournemouth, so I took the opportunity to have a few beers and a curry with him. Mum wouldn't eat curry, but Dad loved it, so it was our gulity pleasure. I'd not got on well with my father for most of my teenage years and our relationship had been strained, until about a year before, when we made our peace. This was probably the only time that I went out, as an adult with just me and my father and had a proper chat. We had a couple of pints in Mill Hill Services Club and a game of snooker, then a curry at The Mill Hill Tandoori, and a few scotches back at my parents house.

My father was leaving the following week for a long holiday in Florida with my sister, who lives there. As an Aussie from the outback, he loved the sun and hated English winters. He was much looking forward to the holiday. We chatted and he told me something, the significance of which was wasted on me at the time, but I have mulled over ever since. He was a pilot for the RAF in WWII and on his 38th and final mission of his tour, he was shot down near Bucharest in Rumania. As the pilot, he was the last (alive) crew member out. He baled out as the plane was less than 1,000 feet from the ground and his parachute opened just enough to break his fall. He sprained both ankles on landing. He told me that as he was getting ready to bale out, he realised that his prospects where none too promising. As a devout Roman Catholic, he prayed to the Virgin Mary to protect him, and asked that he be given his three score and ten years, and said that in return he'd lead a good life.

The last picture of my Dad before he passed away
The thing was, he was in his 70th year, having been born in 1917. He said that when he'd made the deal, he hadn't considered how he'd feel about it when he entered his 70th year. I asked if he had any regrets, things he wished he'd done differently. He replied "Son, there are lots of things I'd probably have done differently, but there are no regrets". He then said "Always remember that you can't take your cash with you when you go. Life is to be lived, it's always too short and you never have enough time". The following January he died of a heart attack, completely unexpectedly. I never saw him again. But the legacy of that chat was that I vowed to enjoy life and celebrate it. I don't want to have regrets. My Dad would have been a hundred and two if he was still around last Monday. So this blog is dedicated to him!

Yesterday I was featured on ITV news talking about the Save London Music Campaign and the nighttime economy. They heavily edited the interview and one thing they cut was where I said "London is a dirty, noisy city, but one where you can have a great time, if you want a quiet life don't live in central London". I'd love to have a flat in Soho if I was single and if the noise annoyed me, I'd buy earplugs. It got me thinking of the ten things you can do in London to celebrate life. Here are my selection. I hope that they give you some inspiration.

1. Watch the sun set from the top of Parliament Hill. Take a bottle of something decent and just enjoy the moment. Watching the lights come on and start twinkling is a site to behold. When my Uncle George was 18, my grandfather, as his birthday present, took him to the top and said "Son, all this is yours". George didn't understand what he was saying until he was an old man.

2. Watch the sun rise between the Towers of Tower Bridge from Blackfriars Station. I never tire of this. If you go to the station in late November at around 7.10am, you will get the best view.

3. Have a boozy lunch in The Artillery Arms in Bunhill Row, near Moorgate. There are hundreds of pubs I could have chosen, but I think the Artillery Arms is perhaps my favourite. You have to get there bang on noon to get the best table. The food is unpretentious and the beer is good. It is a very historic area and the Krays used to conduct their business in the pub and the cemetary next door. The area has changed beyond all recognition now. The pub is busy but not jam packed and it is just a very pleasant way to spend a long lunch.

4. Watch Leyton Orient play at Brisbane Road. I agonised long and hard about this. I wanted to include a football match in the list and struggled to find the right choice. To me, the mega palaces of the "big boys" Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham and Chelsea are a bit soulless in their modern stadia. I always enjoy a trip to QPR, but on reflection the ground I have most enjoyed visiting in London in recent years is Leyton Orient. The ground is literally like going into a time warp back to the seventies. The fans are proper fans, not glory hunters, and the O's get crowds well above most League 2 teams in the Conference. There is also a not bad pub crawl up to Leytonstone for an apres match pint.

5. Watch a Ska band at The Dublin Castle. As with the football, I agonised long and hard over this choice. London has a plethora of great grassroots venues, and a night is made by the band. I settled on the Dublin Castle as it is still authentic and does what it says on the tin. At Xmas we saw The Silencerz, Lee Thompson of Madness other band there. It was a cracking night. Ska and Punk are my two favourite genre's of music and as the missus prefers Ska, I lean towards that. It is a proper London celebration of life.

6. Have a romantic dinner at The Bleeding Heart, near Farringdon. We all need a bit of romance in our life, and I think a bit of romantic dinnering (is that a word?) is a great way to celebrate life. Like many of these places, there are so many to choose from, but when it comes down to it, my favourite is The Bleeding Heart. the food is great, the service is friendly and you feel like you've had a proper night out. They do stuff that is what I consider proper food, such as Liver and bacon, but cooked to absolute perfection. There is a great wine list as well.

7. Watch a Play at The Kiln Theatre. Now I am going out on a limb here. I've never actually been to the Kiln Theatre. You may say "Well why are you recommending it then?". The answer is because it used to be The Tricycle Theatre and I have had some of my best nights out there. It has been done up. I am hopoing that the the ambience has been enhanced (if it hasn't I'll let you know, don't worry). A couple of years ago, we went to see "The man who wears womens shoes" featuring Mikel Murfi. It is a truly amazing and uplifting play and I can think of nowhere better to watch it. We all have our own ideas of what a good night out at the theatre should be. I prefer the ambience of a smaller, more intimate theatre and a play that makes you laugh, cry and think. That is how you know you are really alive.

8. Attend a Mass in Latin at Westminster Cathedral. Whilst I know that religion is not for everyone, a sung mass in Latin is a joy to behold, even for the non believer, if you can just enjoy the spectacle and the music. I am not a fan of modern religious music, but when its in Latin you can enjoy the beauty of it regardless of whether the words would annoy you if you knew what they meant. I have come to the conclusion that the second biggest mistake the Roman Catholic church made was abolishing the regular latin mass in local churches (the biggest being that they didn't get all the bad priests banged up for their sins). There is something hypnotically peaceful and soothing about the spectacle of  sung mass in Latin with incense and the spectacle. Westminster Cathedral is my favourite such place in London (although Southwark is also worth a look around). Although St Pauls is a magnificent piece of architecture, I don't believe that a Holy place should have so many military connections.

9. Visit one of the key exhibitions at The V&A museum. Did you see the Bowie Exhibition a few years back at the V&A Museum? If you didn't and you like Bowie, you missed a treat. The V&A has had some absolutely amazing exhibitions on over the years. The current one is the Mary Quant Exhibition, which I will endeavour to get down to see. Make a day of it. When I was  a child, I loved the Science museum and they have some great exhibitions there too. The Soviet Rocketry exhibition was amazing, but I think the V&A really is the one for me as a grown up.

10. Ride on Crossrail from Farringdon to Heathrow. I know, you can't do this yet, but I am really looking forward to the day you can. As I live in Mill Hill, it will give a fast and efficient way to get to the airport. I hate taking cabs. The British as a nation love to moan and groan about any new development, be it a road, railway, building or even a pier on the River Thames. I love progress. That doesn't mean I support every new, ugly block of flats being built, far from it. I do however think that projects like Crossrail are amazing in terms of their engineering and how they  improve accessibility for our great city. Sure it's late, sure its run over budget, but once it's built that will be forgotten. I recall the sheer excitement of when Thameslink opened and we found we could jump on a train from Mill Hill all of the way to Brighton. The same when the Channell tunnel opened.   Transport projects improve our lives. That is why I can't wait for Crossrail. I have yet to meet a critic of the concept of Crossrail who is anything but a tedious bore ( I am not referring to those critical of the mismanagement). So roll on Crossrail!

 Just as a footnote. One of the great things about writing these blogs is that as I put them together I come across new things researching and fact checking, often accidentally.  I thought you may want to check out this - the 15 best places to watch the sun set in London. I will deffo check a couple of these out
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Friday, 5 April 2019

Rog T's Cancer Blog - It's Cancer time again!



For those of you who are regular readers and have read the previous posts on Cancer, you can skip this first paragraph. I write this blog because knowledge is power and if you know what you are dealing with, you have more weapons in the locker to fight it. It is a personal view, I'm not medically qualified. This is for the sole purpose of information for those who are interested.This is the latest installment in my occasional series about how I'm adjusting to living with a big C in my life.  For those of you who aren't, here's a quick summary. I'm 54years old and in October 2011 I  had a prostate biopsy following two "slightly high" PSA tests - 2.8 & 4.1. The biopsy took ten tissue samples and one of these showed a "low grade cancer" which gave me a 3+3 on the Gleason scale. I was put on a program of active monitoring.  In early February, I got the results of the a PSA test - down to 3.5 and an MRI scan which found absolutely nothing, two more tests in 2012 were at 3.5 and 3.9, in 2013 my test was 4.0, Jan 2014 was 3.8, August 2014 was 4.0,  February 2015 it was  up to 5.5  and my latest in August 2015 was down again at 4.6. In October 2015 I had a transperinial Prostate biopsy, that revealed higher grade cancer and my Gleason score was raised to 3+4 (Small mass + more aggressive cancer). On 22nd Jan 2016 I had HIFU (Hi Intensity Focused Ultrasound) treatment at UCHL). My post procedure PSA in May was 4.0 which was down, followed by 3.7 in August, and 3.5 in October  which means that the direction is positive . However in January the follow up MRI revealed "something unusual which requires investigation" After a follow up biopsy, it appeared this was nothing to worry about. My two most recent PSA tests were Ok (3.7 and 4.6) and an MRI scan in March was very positive.  I've no symptoms apart from needing to wee quite regularly and sadly for a few people, if I'm gonna die soon, it won't be from Prostate cancer. Got the picture? 


It's that time of the year again. In January 2016 I had a HiFu procedure to treat a change in the cancer in my prostate gland. The treatment was successful, however I have to have regular PSA tests and an annual MRI scan and consultation, to ensure that the situation is stable. This is done annually and with the time between MRI's and consultations, that time of year has come around again. Yesterday I went down to UCH for the scan. Anyone who has ever had an MRI will know it isn't the most pleasant of experiences. Luckily I don't suffer from claustrophobia, so it is just a bit uncomfortable. Last year the scan looked good, nothing to worry about. For a year, there is little thought given to the matter. But having had the MRI, now I am in that season of worry, waiting to see the consultant to find out if it is all still behaving.

Not many people realise this, but cancer is classified as a life long disability once you've had a diagnosis. Anyone who has had successful treatment and is remission knows that the worry never completely goes away and the period between the tests and the prognosis is the worst time. My consulattion is in a months time on the 8th May. In the five weeks between now and then, I will get ever more nervous about the issue. It will play more on my mind and my wife tells me I get increasingly ratty as the day approaches. Last year when I got the good news, she told me it was like I'd had a cloud lifted from me.

As someone who plays guitar and football, there are plenty of activities I can do to take my mind off the issue and work is certainly a distraction, but when you get home and sit down, and start to think about it. You can't help but think whether there will be a change, whether more treatment will be required, whether once again you will have to confront the issues of your own mortality. I don't want to be over dramatic. It is highly unlikely that this will say "you've got six months", but there are all manner of possible life changing side effects of treatment for prostate cancer and in many ways, I fear these more than I fear death. Since my diagnosis, this is something that I've discussed with dozens of fellow sufferers. I don't think that the medical profession adequately recognises this and I certainly dont think that quality of life is high on the list of considerations of surgeons, when considering the situation of patients. I would like to see consultations following MRI's and other tests as close as possible to the date of the tests. This would at least mean that the period of anxiety would be minimised. We are lucky to have the NHS and the costs of my treatment thus far would have been prohbitive for most people in the UK. Having seen the NHS at first hand, I am always both in awe of the amazing people who work for it and frustrated by the bureaucracy and poor management of many aspects. Just one example of this is the MRI I had yesterday. I received through the post an appointment and a health questionaire. This I had to fill in and hand in on arrival. In this day and age, this should be online by default. Of course, if someone cannot access online forms etc, they should get a paper copy, but I for one would much rather do an online form, and the costs would be far less.

This would mean that if you ticked any box that was of concern, this would be flagged up by the system before the procedure started. Think how many forms and bits of paper there are in the NHS. I believe at least 70% of people would prefer an online system. It is more convenient and this would save billions. It would mean less waiting around and more people to do the important clinical side.

I've calculated that since 2011, I've probably spent a week in total hanging around waiting in hospitals etc, I can't remember any time where I was seen at the time on the appointment. As a fan of the NHS, I accept that this is part of the deal, but there is no reason why things could not be made more efficient. Surely that would benefit everyone?
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Wednesday, 3 April 2019

The Wednesday Culture Round Up and The Wednesday Poem

The Wednesday Poem

Mill Hill Park
Pic courtesy of Richard Wilkinson

As a kid, from dawn till dark,
Swings and roundabouts what a lark,
Mums and Dads nowhere in sight,
except on Sunday to fly the kite

Pitch and putt and football too
Tennis courts for the wealthy few!
Dogs would roam off their leads
Ice cream vans for tasty treats

Now its all so sanitised
Tarmacs gone from the swings and slides
No more knees caked in scabs
Kids are watched by Mums and Dads

Now I'm a parent I don't see
How as I kid I ran so free
It's a miracle we survived 
And had such fun and no one died

Copyright 2019 - Roger Tichborne 

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Borough of Barnet Cultural Round Up




 

Other local gigs this week

Odette Michell at the Colindale Folk Club - Monday 8th April
The Chandos Arms, 31 Colindale Avenue, Colindale, NW9 5DS
Odette has her debut album coming out this month. Catch her beautiful singing and playing in the intimate setting of our folk club. Listen to samples of her songs on her website https://www.odettemichell.com
"Odette Michell possesses one of the most remarkable voices you'll hear anywhere, and it's matched by a rare songwriting talent." - Justin Coleman, Explorer Magazine.
"'By Way Of Night' demonstrates a freshness and vitality enduring in English folk... and presents a talent that English folk should not ignore" FolkWords, May 2018
"Odette Michell has placed herself firmly on the map" FATEA Magazine, May 2018
We will have talented folks doing floor spots starting at 8:30.
Free entry, good food, a friendly pub. The pub has been a finalist for the Best Live Entertainment Pub of 2018, as well as a finalist for Best Community Pub in the Star Pubs & Bars Awards, 2018.
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Music at the Sebright Arms Every Saturday Night
This Saturday the 6th of April at 8:30PM we have Steph Scott
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Moonlight Fever well 2/5th of the band it will be out making a debut as a duo Ken on Keys and Vocals and Jay on 2nd keys,Vocals and percussion on Friday 12th April at the Queens Arms, Barnet.
9pm - 12, Soul, Funk and Pop. See you there.
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The Video of the week

This is R&B Mill Hill Legends "The Ron Lewis Partnership" performing Don't Start Me Talking. If you like rhythm and blues, this is the band for you, so put a date in your diary of the 14th June, at The Adam and Eve as they are playing for free for the Mill Hill Music Festival
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Guest Blog - Local news, who makes it? By Gerry Stanhope

By Gerry Stanhope,
 
Barnet Press - A defunct local Newspaper
Back in the 'old days', local news was presented to us by local newspapers. We accepted what they told us because, well, they were qualified and accountable. The reporters had names, the newspaper had a proprietor, and a physical address.


But in recent years local newspapers have gone into decline. There are less of them, and they are often patched together in offices well away from the areas they report about.

Increasingly the vacuum left by local newspapers has been filled by electronic media. Some of us will find out more about local events and news via social media, especially Twitter.


But how can we assume this 'news' is reliable, balanced and transmitted by individuals who have a real sense of fair and balanced reporting?


Just because someone sets up an online 'newspaper',  it doesn't necessarily mean it is an adequate replacement for the role printed newspapers once had. If the same individual(s) uses Twitter and Facebook to promote the activity, often with multiple accounts,  should we not be suspicious of their motives? 

Why do these accounts follow Hyper local accounts
One individual can have several Twitter accounts, that on first viewing appear to be unconnected. However there are instances where these accounts will then spin their own 'stories',  seeking to artificially amplify what they are saying. Furthermore some of these Twitter accounts will boast that they have thousands of followers, but can you be sure those followers are genuine?


We should question what is broadcast to us, and perhaps ask, who is this benefiting? If the content of a 'newspaper' is reflecting the interests of the individual(s) publishing it, or even the people who appear in the 'articles' or the advertisements and promotions?

I have recently seen a local 'newspaper' that says that the editorial is produced by 'The Community'.  No names, just that rather strange and intriguing reference.


I am not saying there is no room for enterprise when it comes to news gathering and distribution,  but what I am saying is that there needs to be more accountability and proof.

I would also suggest that the reader needs to be a little more critical of the content they are consuming. Be more curious. Ask the news source, ask what their motives are, ask where the information came from. Ask them to back up their claims with proof.

There is also a point to be made about the sort of person who puts together these 'newspapers'- what are their motives? What do they hope to gain from it? 

Local news should not be 'owned' by individuals,  especially when those individuals are seemingly anonymous and unaccountable.
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Guest blogs are always welcome at The Barnet Eye. Gerry Stanhope is a resident of Edgware and works in Mill Hill. If you wish to submit a guest blog, CLICK HERE TO SEND YOUR COPY. The Barnet Eye publishes guest blogs of interest to Residents of the London Borough of Barnet
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Tuesday, 2 April 2019

Save London Music Campaign – Why the Night Czar isn’t working - guest post by Bally Studios

By Bally Studios

On the BBC newson the 28th March, there was feature bit about music venues closing in London, and how the Mayor appointed Night Czar isn’t helping much. We predicted this exact thing back in November 2015 (link to that article below,) for the exact same reason that it’s happened.

The segment was about the future of venue ‘The Social,’ in central London, being threatened. In the interview, the Night Czar says “some things are just out of our control, like rents”, and the fact that someone else wants to pay more for the rent is the reason given as to why the future of the venue was at stake. A point being missed is that there’s a huge difference between how much profit something can generate at the point of sale, and the actual value of something.

For example, Nelson’s Column doesn’t actually bring in any money in itself. If it was taken down, we wouldn’t get tourists saying, “Now that Nelson’s Column isn’t there, I’m cancelling my trip to London…..” People don’t have to pay £10 to look at it, it’s free, so it doesn’t directly bring in revenue. Instead it sets a tone for the city in that it shows tourists what the city was built on, which is the power that the UK had in the past. That history has a value, and the statue is a symbol for that, and the fact that it is one of the most central parts of London shows the value of that history. In turn, that history brings in the profits in tourism revenue.

Likewise, imagine if Manchester United said, “there’s not many people coming to our Under 18 matches, so we may as well close down the Academy and Youth teams….” that wouldn’t make sense either. The point of the academy is not to generate profits at the point of sale. Instead it acts as a development tool where the profits are earned many years down the line. It means they can sell players for £50m+, or not have to buy players for £50m+.

The same applies in the music industry. It has just been announced that there will be a new 21,500 capacity venue being built in East London by the people behind Madison Square Garden, which will be the biggest in the UK. (https://www.theguardian.com/…/proposed-designs-revealed-for…) Hence, there is clearly a demand for live music in London and this relies on new acts coming through, but for this to continue happening we need the smaller independent music venues, and we also need a culture of music in the capital, which is what is at threat here.

The new venue also needs a market of people who consume that music, which requires a vibrant music scene, which is built upon the independent music venues. The more these venues close down, the more we drive those people away to other cities. These venues act like Nelson’s Column – they may not bring in the profits themselves, but they set the tone of the city. They help to ferment the culture within the city that these large new music venues can then profit from. It’s an obvious point, but it is being missed by the UK government.
It also said in the report that the music venue The Social had been threatened as “the leaseholder had been made a generous offer by a chain to take over the venue, and to turn it into a cocktail bar. To counter it, The Social raised £95,000 by crowdfunding.” The Social is a very popular venue, so it was most likely making a profit beforehand, but as someone else could make the leaseholder more money, it was under threat.

But would that work elsewhere? If the National Gallery closed down they could build an amazing hotel there and charge £200 a night per room, all year round. It could certainly make more profits than the National Gallery does, yet that doesn’t happen, because to do so would damage London’s reputation, and put off tourists from coming. So why doesn’t the same apply in this case? As it says in the article above about the opening of the new music venue, “Jayne McGivern, MSG’s executive vice-president of development and construction, said: “This is an opportunity to take an inaccessible coach park and use it to support thousands of jobs, and billions of pounds of economic benefit.” Analysis conducted by EY on behalf of MSG suggests the project will create 4,300 jobs across the three-year construction phase, and then generate £2.7bn of revenue over 20 years, supporting 3,200 jobs annually.” Are the UK government really going to risk eroding the music culture of London, when individual projects that are based around that music culture can bring in this kind of money into the capital? This is just one project, and it’s £2.7 billion of revenue. Why would the London Council risk that for £95,000, or 0.0035% of the amount?

This isn’t a matter of prioritising art over profits, it’s a matter of prioritising greater long term profits over lesser short term profits, and central to that is making sure that the music industry, and the culture of live music in London is kept strong. If ever there was a case of short sighted economics, this is it.
(https://www.ballystudios.co.uk/…/PART-1-WHY-LONDON%E2%80%99…)


Bally Studios are founder members of The Save London Music Campaign. This article was first published on their Facebook page. Check the Save London Music Website for all the latest news on our fight to save Londons grassroots venues.

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Monday, 1 April 2019

Environment Monday - How local politics is failing the environment

I'm an engineer by trade. If you ask any engineer what the biggest problem they face is and it will not be the laws of physics or thermodynamic engineering issues. It is the scourge of modern life, the bean counters. The biggest curse in a modern capitalist society is that the absolute key to delivering any new product is "time to market". That is why so many apps don't work properly, so many products are badly engineered, why kettles spill water when you pour tea, why your new car has a blind spot when you overtake. It is why Volkswagen rigged the results of their pollution tests, it is why your iphone annoyingly switches itself off randomly. Companies are always looking for ways to get products out quicker and this inevitably means cutting corners in testing and rushing things out too quickly.

Whilst it is understandable how bean counters damage private industry, what is less understandable, is how we've let the beancounters ruin local politics. This has resulted in councils constantly looking for easy targets to cut, things that won't lead to major demonstrations. Maintenance of historic woodlands, that bring no cash in, or enforcement of planning laws where selfish residents encroach on public space is not seen as a economically beneficial by the bean counters. We have the perverse situation where deelopments which blight the landscape, cause pollution and ruin the quality of life of local residents are passed so that the council can get hold of the development dividend. For the best part of a decade of austerity, local politicians have ruthlessly cut the money they spend on the environment. It is not entirely the fault of the local politicians. If you have the choice between cutting care for disabled children or maintaining ancient woodlands, what would you do?

The problem is that local elections, where the decision makers are selected have become an issue about how much tax we pay. Political parties have become conditioned to the concept that no one will want to vote for a party that says it will raise tax. There is a completely bogus argument that if an authority needs to charge residents more money for better services, it is in some ways inefficient. Whilst the well off, middle class residents of areas such as Barnet will happily buy expensive German cars, because they recognise that quality comes at a premium, they are not prepared to apply the same thinking to local government. In short, there is a perception that a majority of residents couldn't give a stuff about anything in their community that doesn't directly affect them. Whilst so many residents will pay a fortune for a premium coffee in one of our upmarket coffee chains, they will not forfeit the cost of just one cup a week for better local services.

In the Borough of Barnet, this ultimately has translated into the ridiculous situation where the council are trying to flog off local nature reserves. From the perspective of the council's balance sheet, this makes perfect sense, but it is a leap into the unknown for our environment. Groups of local residents groups and local charities are vying for the contracts in the anticipation of cash grants etc. These groups believe that they can do a better job than the local council. The problem is that if they fail, who will pick up the pieces and what damage will be done?

It is not just the local environment that is suffering at the hands of the beancounters, but I believe this has been hiot harder than any other aspect of local government, because it is seen as non key to the council. I've spent my whole life regularly walking around Mill Hill and the surrounding areas and the deterioration is heartbreaking. Local wildlife needs a clean, available supply of water, and much of this dried up last summer. The Council refused to acknowledge that there was a crisis and refused to call an emergency meeting of the urgency committee to address the issue. I am convinced that this was purely down to keeping the beancounters happy.

Local politics and local politicians have spent the best part of a decade failing the enviroment, purely to keep the beancounters happy. We urgently need some more enlightened politics in the UK. We need a realisation that if we don't look after the environment, then we will suffer the consequences. Whether humans realise it or not, we are animals living in an eco system that is reliant on a whole food chain of all manner of plants, fungi, insects, mammals and other organisms. If we don't respect the flora and fauna on our doorstep, we have no moral authority to criticise anyone else. If no one takes responsibility, ultimately the human race runs the risk of destroying itself. Maybe you don't care about the world you leave to your Grandchildren (maybe you don't have any). I believe that we would never knowingly harm ourc children, so why don't we recognise the damage that our actions will have on their future? This should start locallly, with a new generation of local politicians who have the guts to do the right thing on our doorstep.
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