I’m not a huge football fan. I normally go to a couple of Barnet matches during a season and that’s about it. However my eldest daughter has suddenly acquired an interest in Spurs and with the help of a friend who is a season ticket holder we have obtained two tickets for this afternoons match against Hull City. The only other time I’ve been to a premiership match was also a Spurs match. It was years ago against Crystal Palace (probably well before the premiership). The Company I was working …

Firstly, happy new year! We seem to be in the longest freeze that I can remember. It has certainly caused me to cut my car usage. Barnet’s main roads are not too bad but the side roads and the pavements are very icy. I walked up to Barnet yesterday for my surgery at Chipping Barnet Library. I usually walk up the path from Mays Lane past the tennis courts and into the Old Court House park. To my surprise the path had been gritted the whole way up which is …

There are plans to build a new play area in Tudor Park using funds from the playbuilder programme. You can view the proposed scheme and make make comments by following the link below.
http://www.barnet.gov.uk/index/council-democracy/consultations/playbuilder-consultation.htm

At the last Council meeting we discussed the 10:10 campaign. This is a campaign that individuals or organisations can sign up to that commits to try and cut their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. The motion for the Council to join the campaign was defeated by the Conservative majority and a much weaker piece of waffle passed in its place. I have therefore decided to join the 10:10 campaign as an individual and try and cut my and my families carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. My first action …

For a while now I’ve been concerned about the cost both environmentally and monetary of the Council’s courier service. The courier service delivers committee papers including agenda’s and minutes and any other post that comes directly to the Town Hall to councillors home addresses. At the last council meeting I asked about the cost and was told that the cost of just delivering to Councillors for the last financial year was £26,600. Now given that all the committee papers are available electronically and that most other post that I receive …

Tonight’s Council meeting decended into farce. The Tories elected the new leader of the Council Lynn Hillan. They then spent too long celebrating in the break so that there was no one there to move the administration policy item and so it was not taken. When they did all return they voted down the opposition policy item which was about signing up for the 10:10 campaign (A cross party non political campaign to aim to reduce Carbon emissions by 10% in 2010). Then having elected a new Cabinet, one of …

Well there’s a first time for everything. I was told by a friend who really is a bit of a train spotter that Sir Nigel Gresley was coming through New Barnet this afternoon so I took the opportunity to go down and take a picture. There were a few hardy souls waiting and it wasn’t long before the train steamed through at quite a pace. I wonder if someone will be taking pictures of the trains that currently use the line in 50 years time and feeling slightly nostalgic.

Whilst I’m on the subject of parks. The Friends of Ravenscroft Gardens in High Barnet are holding a Festive celebration on the Sunday 13th December 5pm – 7pm. There will be Carol singing, musicians and even Santa may turn up. Given the huge success of the Victorian day earlier in the year I’m hoping this event will be just as much fun.

Highlands Gardens is a beautiful little park in Leicester Road New Barnet. It’s a park that over the years has been sadly neglected. There is a small friends group that have managed to raise enough money to re-instate the pumps for the water features and is working on getting the ponds relined so that there is enough water to operate the waterfalls that make this park so special.
A few weeks ago Barnet Council installed new signage. A cause for celebration? Well take a look at the photo. As far as …

My colleague Cllr Jack Cohen has posted the following on his Hendon Times blog.
The tories are in a real mess over this as they desperately avoid trying to admit what the Future shape programme is actually about.