News from The Barnet Society

Labour has kept control of Barnet Council following a post-election pact with the Conservatives to ensure administration of the authority and services to residents continue without interruption.

Barnet’s newly-elected Green Party councillor, Charli Thompson – who lives in High Barnet – says her priority will be to tackle issues surrounding adult social care and disabilities rather than get involved in party political infighting.

A chance to see live cartooning, sit for a caricature or enter a raffle for a set of signed copies of the latest books are some of the highlights planned for the grand opening of an expanded bookshop at the North London Hospice shop in Barnet High Street.

Spectators and enthusiasts lined up to see the annual parade along the High Street ahead of the 13th annual show held by the Barnet Classic Car Club.

David Bone broke off from selling fruit and vegetables to accept a Civic Award for Lifetime Achievement in recognition of 65 years of service at the twice weekly Barnet Market.

An historic whalebones arch beside Wood Street, High Barnet, has had to be encased in scaffolding after the owners of Whalebones House feared it might collapse and cause an injury to passersby.

Violet Walker led her final commemoration day service as head teacher of Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ ahead of her retirement at the end of the summer term.

After a split election result, future political control of Barnet Council will hang in the balance until the newly elected councillors meet for the first time at Hendon Town Hall on Tuesday 19 May.

A dramatic backdrop at the RAF Museum at Hendon provided the setting for a marathon election count which upended local politics as the Labour Party haemorrhaged seats and Barnet Council slipped to no overall control. Labour and the Conservatives finished with 31 seats each.

Pride of place at this year Barnet Classic Car Club’s annual show in the top car park at The Spires shopping centre on Sunday 17 May will be some of the much-cherished vehicles which the club’s committee members have carefully maintained over the years – from run-arounds to the high-end motors of yesteryear.

Painting and caring for the Battle of Barnet banners which are displayed along the High Street each summer is an historic legacy for the town which volunteers at Barnet Museum hope might gain international recognition.

Barnet Market stalwart David Bone, who has been selling fruit and vegetables since he started as a boy at the age of seven helping on his father’s stall, has been awarded a 2026 Borough of Barnet Civic Award for Lifetime Achievement.

A road closure most parents might welcome would be when the street outside their homes is transformed into a safe play space for small children free of traffic.

Steel piling has been used to strengthen the retaining wall along the side of Jack’s Lake in Monken Hadley Common after the bank sprang a leak which was posing a danger to the long-term future of one of Barnet’s most popular beauty spots.

When Charles Dickens was forced the spend the night at the Red Lion in Barnet he faced some harsh truths – a challenging story line delivered with style and conviction by the cast of Between the Lines, which had its first night at The Bull Theatre in a run of sell-out performances.

A blue plaque has been installed outside a house in Calvert Road to draw attention to an ongoing dispute between residents and Barnet Council over the painting of double yellow line parking restrictions at the junction with Sebright Road.

A job club is being established at the Hope Corner Community Centre in Mays Lane, Barnet, offering three sessions a week aimed at giving advice on employment and training and a chance to learn new skills.

A six-year fund-raising campaign for a new community hall at Monken Hadley is not far short of its £1.3 million target with the hope it might be possible finally to start to demolish the existing unsafe Church House by the end of the year.

A service of commemoration and laying of wreaths marked the 555th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet – a service researched and devised by the recently appointed rector of Monken Hadley parish church, the Reverend Francesco Aresco.

Stopping outside a house in a quiet residential street near Oakleigh Park, East Barnet, was mission accomplished for London Ambulance administrative officer David Sleep who is a lover of history and a great supporter of English Heritage blue plaques honouring the lives of famous people.