Water supplies restored in Mill Hill - Are we entitled to compensation

Many families in Edgware and Mill Hill had a nightmare day yesterday. We awoke to find that there was no water. For some of us this simply meant no shower or cup of tea, but for many it caused a massive problem. Schools closed down as toilets ran dry. For parents with young children this meant working arrangements were disrupted and other plans abandoned. This blog had over 1,000 hits from google searches of people trying to find out what was going on.

We posted a link to the affinity water site detailing the problem - https://www.affinitywater.co.uk/where-we-are-working.aspx?wID=1817 - so that readers could keep up to date with regular updates. It seems the problem was finally fixed at 17.40, although low pressure and water discolouration persisted for a while. Here is the last update.

Water Supply Problems - N12 Finchley, WD6 Borehamwood, HA8 Harrow, NW7 Mill Hill, EN5 Enfield (click here for more info) - 06/10/2014

Update 17:40
Our technicians have now repaired the main and will now begin to recharge the network in the area. Pressure will gradually increase to normal throughout late afternoon and into the evening and supplies are now being restored in some areas.
When your supply is restored, you may notice some slight discolouration or cloudiness to the water. If you experience this, simply run your kitchen cold water tap until the water clears.
We would like to thank you for your patience whilst we carried out this essential repair.
Our technicians have now repaired the main and are working to restore your supply. Pressure will gradually increase to normal throughout late afternoon and into the evening.

Given the huge disruption and inconvenience caused, one would hope that Affinity water would give affected customers some sort of rebate. One has to presume that given that there wasn't  a huge meteorite strike on the water main affected, the problem was caused by them not maintaining their network properly. It seems strange to me that so large an area can be affected by a single broken pipe, you'd think that they'd build a degree of resilience into their network. We get charged through the nose for services and if we don't pay our bills, the companies are only too quick to cut us off or call in the bailiffhttps://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9215006984353817373#editor/target=post;postID=7860141216468423494s. When they fail to deliver, surely we should be entitled to some sort of rebate. In our case we had to make an emergency trip to the shops to buy bottles of water, simply to have a cup of tea.

I will be emailing my MP as follows

I am writing with regards to the water supply issues in Mill Hill. Many families were inconvenienced. My daughter was unable to attend school at Mill Hill County High, disrupting her A Level studies. Whilst we all understand that such things happen from time to time, it strikes me that Affinity water had no adequate contingency plans. Surely bottled water should be delivered to affected households, to at least allow people to clean teeth and make a cup of tea? For many working and travel arrangements had to be changed as childcare issues needed addressing.

I believe that as Affinity water failed to provide a service, affected households are due a rebate on our water bills. Can I ask you as my MP to address this issue. If there is a mechanism for claiming compensation, please can you let me know and I will publicise it via my blog. FYI I had over 1,000 hits on the site yesterday from people doing google searches on “low water pressure in Mill Hill”. To me this indicated that Affinity water were doing a lousy job getting the message over. They should have done an emergency leaflet drop informing vulnerable people as to how to deal with the situation.

I suggest you do the same. For residents of the Hendon Borough email matthew.offord.mp@parliament.uk

Field Day for the Sundays

It seems that the printed press is in terminal decline. Ever wondered why? On Sunday we reported the monstering that the Daily Mail have given Great Bakeoff contestant and master baker Richard Burr. The Daily Mail are no mugs and they think they know their audience. If you look at the circulation figures they've lost 350,000 readers since 2010. They are not alone. All papers have seen massive fall offs in readership. As a father of teenagers it is noticable that my children never pick up the papers for a quick read. When I was a teenager I was an avid reader of the papers. My parents used to buy the Guardian and the Sunday Express. This is a habit I've maintained.

What strikes me as odd is the way that the printed press has seemingly given up on trying to attract younger readers. I cant help that feel that when the last of todays 30 year olds passes away, the last traditional newspaper reader will have gone. The only time I've ever seen my son even glance at a paper is when there is a catching headline concerning Manchester City. Even then it's a passing glance. He has an Ipad and he doesn't want to wait until a paper comes out to find out what he wants. There was a song by the Rolling Stones "Who wants yesterdays papers?". For todays generation, it is not yesterdays papers. Attention spans are much shorter. By the time the paper plops through the letter box, for todays generation the news might as well be centuries old.

I was thinking about this challenge. I don't believe that papers are obsolete, I just think they haven't followed the golden rule of Darwinian evolution. To survive you have to adapt. Papers can't compete in the information war. So they need to find a way of delivering some sort of eperience that digital media can't. It may seem hopeless, but there are ways to repackage and remarket seemingly obsolete products. One example of this is the resurgance of sales of vinyl. If I was a newspaper owner I'd start by condsidering what the brand means. Newspapers like the Times, The Guardian and the Telegraph still have strong recognition and  reputation for quality. The tabloids also have a strong image, but perhaps are a little bit more anachronistic in todays world. This is exemplified bythe sun losing nearly 800,000 readers.

I happen to think that the issue is that the editors of the papers don't really understand the young people of today. I suspect that there are many tricks they are missing. Take my son and his love of football. When he picks up the Express, he is simply reading regurgitations of match reports etc that he read the day before on his iPAD. Often what fills the back pages is tittle tattle and rumours. reports of what Arsene Wenger said at his press conference or what Jose Mourinho said after the match dominate the Sunday papers. The return of Mourinho has been  a field day for the Sundays. But given that this was all on the telly, is that really what will inspire a 14 year old to buy a paper.

It amazes me that the papers coverage of football hasn't changed in a generation. The Sun trademarked the heads on turnips and the inflammatory headlines. But I don't believe this has any appeal for the digital generation. I believe that they would be more successful with more interesting and detailed reports into the background, training tactics etc. There is still a place for the match reviews etc, but how about articles about coaching techniques etc

Another thing that amazes me is just how bad coverage of music is. I think papers should champion and showcase young talent. We get endless stories about the latest X factor starlet, whilst they ignore hard working up and coming artists. When I was a teenager I used to read the NME to find out who the up and coming bands. I've always been mystified as to why the papers simply ignored rock and roll. Teenagers can be obsessed with music so why do the papers not use this to build new readerships.

Then there is coverage of art. Again I think the coverage is rubbish. Many young people chose to do A level art. It intrigues me why the papers don't take notice of this and use this to build readerships through articles which would help young people with their studies. It seems to me to be blindingly obvious that if the papers could become part of the syllabus, then they would reverse their decline. 

What is going on with the water pressure in Mill Hill?

Does anyone know what is going on with the water in Mill Hill? Our house in Millway has had just a trickle coming out of the taps since early yesterday evening. We've had reports of friends near Mill Hill County High school having no water at all. A quick enquiry on the Affinity Water website reveals there is a burst water main Edgware. There is an alert detailing the progress of work indicting that there will be many households without water until this afternoon. Details here https://www.affinitywater.co.uk/where-we-are-working.aspx?wID=1817

This was the latest update


 Update 06:20
We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused by a burst on a 21" inch main on the A41 in Edgware which may be affecting your supply.
Our technicians are on site and have been working through the night to repair the burst and to ensure your supply is restored as quickly as possible.
At this time it is unlikely that supplies will be restored until this afternoon
During this time, we ask you not to use any electrical appliances, that require a water supply, like washing machines or dishwashers and to conserve water from storage tanks during the time your water supply is interrupted
We would like to thank our customers for their patience whilst we carry out this repair
This message will be updated at 8:00am October 7th

Reuters

"The climate's unhealthy, flies and rats thrive
And sooner or later the end will arrive"

 35 years ago, if we wanted to learn what was happening in the middle of the desert in Syria, we'd have to wait for the man from Reuters to file his report. How times change. Now it seems any old Tom, Dick or Harry can simply behead an aid worker and post the video up of it on Youtube and and become an internet sensation. I do wonder if Tim Berners-Lee quite realised what a monster he was creating when he invented the World Wide Web?

As a blogger, I suppose I'm part of the whole thing. When I started writing blogs back in 2008, in Barnet we had little coverage or debate of issues. I've no idea whether this blog created the Barnet blogsphere or whether it would have happened anyway, but we certainly have a vibrante informal media scene in this Borough. Last night, I was at the Chandos Arms in Colindale. I'd organised a benefit gig to raise money for MacMillan Cancer relief. The place was packed. We had a stonking set by Lee Thompson and the Silencerz. What was amazing was just how many people came down as a result of this blog. The pub was packed and a tidy sum raised. This wasn't the first time this blog has organised a well received event. We've made two films about the political scene in Barnet, A Tale of Two Barnets and Barnet - The Billion Pound Gamble. Both films played to a packed cinema. Both were made on a shoestring. I believe both made a significant contribution to raising awareness in Barnet of important issues. I believe both films played a significant part in changing the Councils mind on some very important issues.

As a result of the campiagns the films supported, we've reopened Friern Barnet Library, we've seen a reduction in parking charges, we've seen the huge hike in CPZ permits reversed, we've seen a return of pay and display machines. The architect of the disasterous parking policies of Barnet Council, Brian Coleman, was turfed out of both the GLA and the council. I believe all of these things have been for the good. It does however disturb me that an organisation such as ISIS can use the same power for such unremitting evil. I find it beyond comprehension that anyone could behead a man who was delivering aid and relief for children and post it on the Internet. I truly hope and believe that this is the moment when the Islamic community has to take a long hard look in the mirror and say "not in our name". Of course Mr Henning is not the first innocent person to die for no reason. As a Roman Catholic, one has to face up to the fact that the Church was responsible for many atrocities as bad, if not worse, during the Spanish Inquisition. One has to wonder how that would have played out in the Internet age. It is not just religions that go bad. Take Pol Pot in Cambodia, where millions were killed for a perverted political ideology.

The grounds for hope I have is that I believe that 99% of people of all or no religion are decent people. It is a sick minority who have the evil to carry out such callous acts. Sadly it seems that the rest of us can sometimes be easily influenced and let these things happen. Take NAZI Germany. The regime concealed the worst of their crimes from their own population, and used a huge propaganda machine to justify their sick actions. When the war was lost, the Allies forced local people to visit concentration camps on their doorstep. The news agencies shot millions of pictures and films of the scene, so there could be no denial. When the local Germans came face to face with what they'd allowed happen, many were traumatised. Most denied knowledge of what was going on. At the end of the day, when faced with what they were part of, stripped from the support of Goebbels lie machine, they had to face up to a very harsh truth. I believe that for many decent muslims, the killing of Henning is just such a moment. This is the moment where they have to stand up and be counted. This is the moment where the whole community has to reject the barbarism of ISIS.

The days when we relied on the man from Reuters for the news is gone forever. We have a new world where any of us, with a mobile phone camera and a twitter account can be the story, if we are in the right place at the right time. I believe we have a responsibility to use that power wisely.

The Daily Mail Great British Bakeoff Hatchet job on Richard Burr or why it's time to dump the Mail

One of the very first blogs I wrote on this site, back in 2008 ( http://barneteye.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/why-does-daily-mail-hate-women.html ), was to express my disgust at the Daily Mail for writing an article slagging off singer Kate Nash. Kate and her family are good friends of mine, I sold Kate her first guitar and she even supported the False Dots at the Mill Hill Sports Club before her meteoric rise to fame. You may ask what terrible crime Kate had unleashed on the country to deserve the bile of the Mail? Well as a pretty 21 year old girl, she had a photo with a visible spot. I was disgusted. Many girls have issues with their appearance and articles like that can be so destructive. I had hoped (in vain) that this would be the last time the Mail monstered someone I like for the most ridiculous of reasons. How wrong I was. Yesterday on Twitter, I became aware that they've attacked local builder and master baker Richard Burr.

Great British Bake Off star Richard Burr and his wife Sarah are friends.. Their daughters are students of Jumpup Ballet school http://www.millhillmusiccomplex.co.uk/lessons-tuition/ballet-classes-for-kids-north-london/ which is located at Mill Hill Music Complex (my business) and the whole family are lovely.

So you can imagine my total disgust at the fact that the Daily Mail has done a hatchet job on Richard. It seems that in the Daily Mail's twisted world,  if you are a builder, you shouldn't have gone to a grammar school and you certainly shouldn't run a successful firm. He's accused of being "middle class" and a manager rather than someone who gets his hands dirty. Of course this is all complete rubbish. Like many successful builders, he does some jobs and gets subcontractors to do others.

Anyway, I believe that we should look after our friends and we ask anyone silly enough to buy this horrible rag to consider buying another paper. Apparently the reason the Telegraph wrote a nice article is because they doorknocked all the neighbours, who told them how nice Richard, Sarah and the kids are. There are enough complete B*****tds out there without needing to monster nice people.

I exchanged a few messages with Richards wife Sarah and she is worried that the Mail has started a feeding frenzy in the press. As I mentioned above, the family have young children and it can't be nice to have a national paper poking around for dirt. Neighbours and local shops have been door knocked and  what should be a joyous time has been soured. Is it really the job of National Papers to monster people simply for working hard and being nice? If you read the Daily Mail ask yourself this. Do I really want to buy a paper who stands for the monstoring of people for nothing worse than being intelligent, working hard and living in a nice house? Isn't it about time that we stopped buying rags when they carry on like this?

David Camerons Campaign Rap !!!!!

This is brilliant (contains strong language).

The Tweets of the week - 4/10/2014

Here it is, again .......

1. Perhaps the most enigmatic tweet of the week from The Perfect White. I have no clue what this is about?

The Perfect White ‏@Perfekcija 4h4 hours ago

@barnetsociety I am somewhat perplexed by a Barnet Lifeboat Crew! Barnet in green Herts with not a sniff of salt in the air?Tell me more.

2. Mark Amies shares a love of the old K Garage in Mill Hill with me. I was a kid when this was put up. To me it was the greatest building in the world. I loved the glass car lift. Just a shame it isn't a proper garage with petrol pumps. My Dad promised me that if he won the pools he'd get me a full scale model made of it. Sadly he never did.

Mark Amies ‏@Superfast72 21h21 hours ago

One of my favourites- motor showrooms on Watford Way, Hendon. @BritBrutalism

 

3. The Times series reports a truly horrible piece of news. It seems our local MP Matthew Offord has gone blind. One hopes that there is some treatment available. 

Times Series ‏@times_series Sep 29

MP Matthew Offord remains 'upbeat' after going blind in one eye: Hendon MP Matthew Offord is determined to sta... http://bit.ly/YFRN7a 

4. Truly fascinating article about Burnt Oak tweeted by Municiple dreams. For those interested in local history a must read. Especilially interesting for me given that my Grandparents were one of the first residents of Burnt Oak estate when it was built. It is a scandal that councils have given up on the concept of providing decent quality, affordable social housing

 

Municipal Dreams ‏@MunicipalDreams 4h4 hours ago

This week's new post was on the Watling Estate, Burnt Oak: 'the raw, red tentacles of that housing octopus, the LCC': http://wp.me/p2CnX7-Ng

5. Interesting picture from Jaymes Hatstand of an old diesel engine roaring through Hadleigh Wood with a mixed load of freight. I back onto the Midland Mainline railway and this picture reminded me that you never see wagons on the railway lines anymore. These old freight trains would have a gurads van at the end. My brother told me that all the guard had to do was drink tea all day and look at the countryside. It was my perfect job! Sadly by the time I was old enough, Guards vans were a thing of the past

Jaymz Hatstand ‏@jaymz_hatstand 4 Feb 2012

D5901 on an up freight at Hadleigh Wood #ClassicTraction from Deltics Super Profile http://twitpic.com/8fnrmb

TwitPic

By Jaymz Hatstand @jaymz_hatstand

6. One of the thousands of tweets in memory of the lovely Lyndsey De Paul. Simon Albury sums it up for us all.

Simon Albury ‏@simonbg12 Oct 2

Lynsey de Paul RIP A strong and charming Cricklewood woman - as she never forgot. "Won't Somebody Dance with Me"


7. Mr Mustard speculates on when Totteridge traders get their deliveries?

Mr Mustard-Blogger ‏@_MrMustard Aug 26

do the shops in Totteridge Lane have all their deliveries overnight? I don't think so, so why this odd restriction? 

  8. Mill Hills fave baker is on the front of the Radio Times !

Radio Times @RadioTimes  ·  Oct 2

Bake Off's @RichardPBurr is a @RadioTimes cover star! http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-10-02/bake-offs-richard-voted-radio-times-cover-star … #GBBO

 

9. Seems like Donald Lyven has been visiting Liz at the Palace !

  Donald Lyven ‏@barnet_rebel 6h6 hours ago

1. 1. @Barneteye Took this photo last week of two mistle thrushes in the back garden of Buckingham Palace....

1. 
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

    
   

10. Nothing to do with Barnet, but if you were stuck with ideas of what to buy me for my birthday, I'd quite like one of these !

WexCars26 ‏@WexCars26 12h12 hours ago

FOR SALE: 1959 Mercedes-Benz 190SL Convertible http://bit.ly/1okn7iK 

The Friday Joke - 3/10/2014

A group of kindergärtners were trying very hard to become accustomed to the first grade.
The biggest hurdle they faced was that the teacher insisted on NO baby talk!

You need to use 'Big People' words,
she was always reminding them.

She asked John what he had done over the weekend? 
 
'I went to visit my Nana'.

No, you went to visit your GRANDMOTHER.

Use 'Big People' words!' 
 
She then asked Mitchell what he had done
'I took a ride on a choo-choo'. 
 
She said. 'No, you took a ride on a TRAIN.

You must remember to use 'Big People' words'.

She then asked little Alex what he had done?
'I read a book' he replied.

That's WONDERFUL!' the teacher said.

'What book did you read?'


Alex thought real hard about it,

then puffed out his chest with great pride,

and said,

'Winnie the SH1T'

Barnet Council News : Barnet Council planning to outsource refuse collection and charge you by the kilo?

Word reaches the Barnet Eye that there is  a "Special Briefing" tonight at 7pm for members of the environment committee. A quick browse of the Council website shows that this is not listed as an official meeting (check here http://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=695&Year=0 ).

The Barnet Eye is always very suspicious of anything where it appears that there is any hint of lack of transparency and secret meetings are top of the list. Our sources inform us that the reason for the meeting is that members need to be brought onside with regards to a "plan to address serious budget issues" and there are rumours that this involves yet more council work being parcelled out to Capita.

The Barnet Eye can only speculate as to what this is but we suspect that it may be  something to do with refuse & waste collection as this clearly falls within the remit of the Environment committee. We have been expecting this, given that the council have just released this decision (taken you will note by officers and not councillors) http://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=5444 which clearly is designed to reshape the management of waste services for outsourcing.

According to the paper the objectives of the restructure are as follows

1. Introduction
1.1 Aims and objectives of the Waste and Recycling
The proposed structure is designed to enable the service activities within the Waste and Recycling
Service to provide and uphold an efficient, streamlined and exemplary service to serve existing and future residents and  across the Borough whilst achieving service efficiencies and financial and performance targets. 

The restructure relates to office based and supervisory staff within the Waste and Recycling service
and will;
• Redesign and develop a strategic and performance focused team that complements service delivery, enhancing the service’s ability to optimise performance and budgets;
• Enable an improved commercial approach to maximise business opportunities.

Anyone familiar with "councilspeak" will know that this is simply jargon for outsourcing. Whenever you see the phrase "Enable an improved commercial approach to maximise business opportunities." in relation to Barnet Council and an in house service, it always means "We intend to outsource this". Think about it. How can you maximise "business opportunities" in waste collection?

The answer is simple. You outsource it and then the company who takes over can do what they like. Your rubbish collection becomes a "business opportunity". The way you get charged for it becomes part of an "Improved commercial approach".

Now of course I have no idea how this might work, but the only way I can see that you can "improve the commercial approach" is to either charge you by the kilo of rubbish or to charge you by the number of collections you have. It would save the council a fortune if they cuut collections to every fortnight, but if they say "you can keep the weekly collection for another £20 a month" then they can claim they are giving you a choice and improving services. Lets face it, they are keen on selling things as a choice, when there is none. Barnet Council actually outsourced refuse collection before in the 1980's. It was a disaster with cowboy operators providing shoddy service and dustcarts bashing into peoples cars and driving off all over the Borough. It was so bad that the Tories lost control of the council. When Labour and the Lib Dems inhoused the service back in the 1990's many Tories privately said this was the best thing to do. It appears they've forgotten this lesson.

Of course all of this is speculation, as we don't get invited to these secret meetings. Furthermore as this restructure isn't even signed off by elected councillors, they can wash their hands of the whole thing.

It stinks, doesn't it?

Senior Citizens can eat out for a fiver in Edgware

Interesting press release on the Council website , which I thought my Edgware based senior readers may be interested in

http://www.barnet.gov.uk/news/article/598/edgware_silver_service_scheme_%E2%80%93_seniors_dine_for_5_every_tuesday

Altogether Better Edgware and Stonegrove* in conjunction with Edgware Town Team are pleased to announce the launch of Edgware Silver Service. From Tuesday 16 September 2014, and every Tuesday after that, selected cafés and restaurants in Edgware will be offering a set lunch or buffet for senior customers (aged 60 +) who may be accompanied by a guest or carer, all for £5 or less.

The main aim of this initiative is to reduce loneliness, social isolation and improve the wellbeing of older people. The Edgware Silver Service provides an oppotunity for older people to  socialise with friends and family as well as bulid new relationships within the local community.  This will also help to increase footfall in the area in general, making Edgware a great place to visit.
The scheme is being welcomed by business owners in Edgware. Participating outlets will display the Edgware Silver Service symbol in their windows and the menu they are offering as part of the scheme will be clearly marked. Most restaurants are offering either 2 or 3 course meals or buffet dining with Edgware Silver Service menu prices all at £5 or less, per person – a good quality lunch out with no frills.

Edgware Silver Service will in the first instance be available on Tuesdays only. Times will vary according to the outlet and users should check the offer times of their venue of choice in advance.
*Altogether Better Edgware and Stonegrove (A-BESt) is a community-led programme intended to connect local people, groups, programmes and businesses in the Edgware and Stonegrove area.
Altogether Better is also aimed at reducing social isolation and helping people build confidence in themselves and their area.

The Altogether Better initiative is jointly funded by Barnet Council and the NHS, and supported by the Barnet Senior’s Assembly as part of the council’s Ageing Well programme.Local restaurants currently signed up to the scheme are Me Love Sushi, Izgara, Greenman, BBQ Express, Loving Hut.