Tag: People and personalities

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Top spot for drivers and vehicles from Barnet Classic Car Club in London’s New Year’s Day Parade  

Four entries from Barnet Classic Car Club had a prime spot in London’s New Year’s Day parade – gaining praise in the live television coverage on Sky News for adding some royal glamour to the event.

A look-alike King and Queen in the front of Derrick Haggerty’s 1955 Ford Popular were a surprise attraction.

Sky’s commentary team joined in the fun, complimenting the club for parading a wonderful collection of classic and vintage cars:

“We didn’t know the King was going to be here…and the Queen as well…no one told us. But we much appreciate your presence your majesties.”

Derek’s Ford Popular has been in his family since it was purchased in 1973 as a non-runner for £50 – and after £5 and a couple of new king pins it was back on the road.

This was the 40th anniversary of London’s New Year’s Day Parade and despite the freezing weather it was watched by crowds of well over 700,000.

More than 8,000 performers took part in the spectacular procession from Piccadilly to Whitehall treating revellers to marching bands, acrobats and eye-catching floats.

Dancers twirled away in their daffodil costumes and a cavalcade of open-top Mokes made their way through the West End.

Barnet Classic Car Club, representing the Borough of Barnet, was invited to participate by the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Danny Rich – see above with club member Howard Pryor and Howard’s pet dog Bertie.

Councillor Tony Vourou – above with a Pearly Queen – co-ordinated the club’s entry to the parade.

The club’s four entries – which had 34th place in the parade – were a 1974 Rover P6 owned and driven by club member Peter Snow; a 1955 Ford Popular owned and driven by Derrick Haggerty; a 1952 Morris Minor Convertible owned and driven by club member Paul Reed; and a 1939 Morris Commercial driven by club member Howard Pryor.

Originally built as a utility fire engine, the Morris Commercial was converted in 1947 to an ambulance and was kindly loaned by the Whitewebbs Museum of Transport in Whitewebbs Lane, Enfield.

Entries from Barnet Classic Car Club have a prime spot in London's spectacular New Year's Day Parade and get a special mention of Sky TV

Before setting off on the parade club members lined up for a photograph – from left to right, Derrick Haggerty, Peter Snow, James Beeton, Howard Pryor and Paul Reed.

The club was delighted to have been invited to take part in the parade which drew record crowds approaching 700,000 or more, much more than the 500,000 that had been anticipated.

Sky News had agreed a last-minute deal with the parade and broadcast it in its entirety linking up with 1,100 tv stations around the world and a potential global audience including up to 27 million in the USA.

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Angry residents, community groups and primary school headteacher demand a rethink on Barnet Council’s new CPZ in Underhill   

High Barnet’s latest controlled parking zone took effect in Underhill in the week before Christmas sparking a furious response from residents as well as staff and parents at Whitings Hill Primary School.

Despite the opposition of 85 per cent of householders, Barnet Council imposed the CPZ on an experimental basis for 18 months on 16 roads north of Mays Lane on either side of Chesterfield Road.

Increasing demand for on-street free parking by staff, patients and visitors at Barnet Hospital has resulted in an ever-widening CPZ with the latest extension to Underhill provoking widespread community protests.

In response to criticism during Barnet Question Time that the imposition of the new Underhill South zone – to be designated the US zone – had been left in the hands of highways staff rather than councillors, the leader of Barnet Council, Councillor Barry Rawlings, gave a public assurance that the operation of the scheme would be reviewed after six months.

He said residents’ responses to the parking controls would be considered and after an assessment of the effectiveness of the CPZ, councillors would decide whether any changes should be made to the zone or whether it should be kept or abandoned.

Councillor Rawlings’ undertakings were welcomed by two community leaders who are continuing to mount a co-ordinated campaign against the CPZ, Gina Theodorou, chair of the Quinta Green Residents Association and Jon Woolfson, founder of the Underhill Residents’ Group.

They briefed residents on how they should co-ordinate their response in the coming weeks – see above, from left to right, Gina Theodorou, Jon Woolfson, Richard Hockings, Victor Benson, Deepa Samani, headteacher at Whitings Hill Primary School, and Alison Kley, school business manager.

Mrs Samani – see above right with Mrs Kley – said the introduction of the CPZ was already having a devastating impact on the school and leading to great deal of anxiety among the staff at a time of severe teacher shortages.

“The school has only 23 parking spaces for our staff of 82 and half our teachers, especially those on low salaries, have been relying on free on-street car parking in nearby roads which has now all been withdrawn,” said Mrs Samani.

“They simply cannot afford the £6 to £7 a day cost of CPZ parking. Whitings Hill will lose teachers unless the council thinks again.”

Mrs Samani said that the school might have no option but to sacrifice all the green space in front of the building to make way for an enlarged car park.

“There has been no proper consultation about this. Highways staff told us the teachers could either pay up for parking or leave their cars much further away where there is free parking. That’s just not practical.”

Business manager Mrs Kley feared that the withdrawal of all the free parking around the school and the introduction of CPZ charging would endanger use of their swimming pool by local mothers and children.

“We depend on income from lettings for mothers and babies and other community users to help finance maintenance of the swimming pool, and we fear a big drop in revenue.”

Whitings Hill School was already included in the existing Barnet Hospital CPZ (BH) but now roads to the south and west of the school have been included in the new US zone removing all on street parking within the immediate vicinity.

Mrs Samani deplored the lack of proper consultation with the school and failure to consider exemptions for essential staff.

“Pushing staff further away into neighbouring uncontrolled roads, or asking them to pay, effectively pushes the problem caused by the much larger Barnet Hospital CPZ onto local residents and vulnerable families.”

Yet another extension of CPZ around Barnet Hospital provokes furious response from Underhill residents, community group and local primary school.

 What so upset the two leading community organisers, Gina Theodorou and Jon Woolfson – see above with residents Richard Hockings and Warlito Naval – was the failure to respect local wishes and then for councillors to absolve themselves of responsibility by leaving it to highways staff to take the final decision.

“The introduction of the Underhill South CPZ has been largely officer-led under delegated authority which has resulted in a lack of transparency about who decided what, and why,” said Ms Theodorou.

“When schemes fail or cause harm, accountability becomes blurred and residents are left with nowhere to turn.

“The result is a growing feeling that the council operates on a ‘we know best’ basis, rather than genuinely listening to local evidence or lived experience.”

Mr Woolfson said a survey had shown that 85 per cent of residents in the area opposed the proposed CPZ extension and more than 70 per cent reported having no parking problems.

Originally the council proposed the zone should extend to a total of 29 roads to the north and south of Mays Lane but after a groundswell of opposition this was cut back to the 16 roads where a council survey had indicated “extremely high levels of parking stress” caused by the demand for free off-street parking by Barnet Hospital staff, patients and visitors.

The roads included in the US zone are Chesterfield Road, Dexter Road, Dormer Close, Edwyn Close, Greenland Road, Howard Way, Jarvis Close, Juniper Close, Matlock Close, Niton Close, Nupton Drive, Sampson Avenue, Sellwood Drive, Shelford Road, St Anna Road and Stanhope Road.

Richard Hockings said his street Alan Drive was just outside the designated area of the US zone, but it was included in the original scheme and he and his neighbours feared they would inevitably be the next in line for any further extension.

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Education charity looking for another vacant retail unit after sudden closure of High Barnet’s free book shop

High Barnet’s popular and well supported free bookshop has had to close unexpectedly because a new tenant is ready to move into their premises at The Spires shopping centre.

Volunteers who immediately had to remove for storage their stock of donated books are hoping that another vacant unit might be offered for their use.

“Since we first opened a shop in The Spires last year there has always been lots of interest.

“Local people have been so generous in donating unwanted books,” said volunteer Pippa Priestley seen above with helper, Mark Tagholm.  

Global Educational Trust, which operates free books shops across the country, takes advantage of the generosity of landlords who let them move into empty retail outlets on a temporary basis.

Up to three unwanted books can be taken on any one visit and the stock is replenished with donated books which might otherwise have been pulped or gone to landfill.

Trust administrator Rohail Suleman, above right, said they were so grateful when shopping centres were prepared to make available vacant outlets which could re-purposed on a temporary basis for a free book shop.

“We quite understand the pressure on landlords so we know we might have to move out at very short notice.

“We are hoping that we might be offered another vacant unit in The Spires or perhaps nearby and we will re-open the shop as soon as possible.”

The trust opened its first shop in The Spires in May last year and has built up a team of around 20 volunteers who take it in turns to help.

After a short closure it moved for a brief time to what is now Café Du Nord and then in August it was relocated again and re-opened in a unit vacated by EE Phones, a prime outlet opposite Waitrose supermarket which is now about to become a cake shop.

Global Education Trust looking for vacant retail unit for High Barnet's free book shop after unexpected closure of its space at The Spires shopping centre.

Volunteers responded to an emergency call to assist in packing up once again – see above, from left to right, Rick Osman and Eduardo Caprario.

Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson – who has been campaigning to boost Barnet High Street – has assured the free book shop’s volunteers that he would be ready to assist in finding another vacant unit either in The Spires or close by in the town centre.

“Hopefully Dan can help the trust get into another empty shop so we can re-open as soon as possible,” said Pippa Priestley.

“We have been really pleased with the response we have had in recent months, especially in donations of unwanted books, and we know how much the chance to browse and perhaps find a book is appreciated, especially by children.”

Currently the trust has 15 free book shops up and running across the country.

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Arkley’s two leading football teams met up for a local derby which put the village on the map and revived memories of past encounters  

Arkley has a new claim to fame – its top two football clubs are now in the same division and when they play each other their home matches are thought to be the closest local derby among leading English football leagues.

Until this season Liverpool and Everton held that honour because of what previously was the close proximity of their stadiums.

Local football fans believe that Arkley village may now have become the setting for perhaps the hottest local derby in the top eight tiers of English football.

The two clubs are based less than a mile apart.

Hadley FC’s stadium and clubhouse is in Brickfield Lane, next to Arkley village hall, and London Lions FC are a ten-minute walk away in Rowley Lane.

London Lions won promotion this season to the Southern League Division One Central and their first away fixture to Hadley ended in a 2-1 victory after they snatched the winning goal a minute from the end.

Hadley, hit recently by a bad run of injuries, had been hoping for a win and were in high spirits during the warmup – see above, from left to right, Hermes Gbio, Hedley Ogbebor, Jordan Edwards and Hadley goalkeeper coach Tim Teixeira.

London Lions under their skipper for the day Adam Lipman – see above with long-time Lions supporter Paul Woolfson – were disappointed when Hadley were deservedly 1-0 up at the end of the first half after striker Lenny Asamoah had made no mistake from close range.

Zan Appleson-Fidler equalised for the Lions in the 60th minute and a minute from time Daniel Creese clinched the match for the visitors from six yards.

Veteran London Lions fan Neville Zeller (87) – above right with Darren Zeller – is no stranger to the local football scene. He has been a supporter of the club since he was 15.

The last time the two teams met was in 2014 when Hadley ran out 4-0 winners in a Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division match.

A decade ago, the two clubs were both ground sharing – Hadley at Potters Bar Town and London Lions at Hemel Hempstead Town but after ground improvements both returned to Barnet.

Hadley FC president Tristan Smith – above – is hoping for a better result when the two teams meet again at the London Lions’ stadium in Rowley Lane on 28 March.

Arkley became the permanent home of Hadley FC – which was established in 1882 and is the oldest football club playing in Barnet – after the club secured a long-term lease on the sports ground at Brickfield Lane in 2016 – where the regular chant is now “Come on You Bricks.”

Since 2016 the club has spent £1.3 million in improvements to its ground and facilities, including the installation of an all-weather training pitch.

The latest addition are new changing rooms which have been in use since the start of the season, and which were funded with the help of grants from the Football Foundation and Barnet Council.

Despite having been hampered since early November by having up to 13 players unavailable through injuries, club director Oliver Deed – far right above with club chairman Steve Gray and first team coach Mick Hore – is hopeful Hadley might make it to the playoffs for promotion.

“We reached the first round of the FA Trophy, as we did last season, and although we are mid table, we have still got a chance of reaching the playoffs in 2026. It’ll but tough, but we are hopeful.”

Arkley's two top football teams Hadley FC and London Lions FC clash in local derby which gives village a new claim to fame.

For club members perhaps the next phase in the club’s development programme might be improvements to the bar and seating area in their clubhouse at Hadley Pavilion.   

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Borehamwood Brass players join choirs and orchestra for Christmas carol service held by Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School

An orchestra, two choirs and a brass ensemble filled the chancel of Barnet parish church for the Christmas carol service held by Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School.

Father Sam Rossiter, team vicar of St John the Baptist, thanked the school’s musicians and choristers for a “magnificent evening” of music.

He said Barnet was blessed by the musicality of QE Girls’, and their service of Nine Lessons and Carols was a reminder of the “power of music to bring joy to everyone.”

Rehearsals for the service by the school and chamber choirs began in September and for the first time four members of Borehamwood Brass joined the orchestra.

This year’s service was also the first to be conducted by QE Girls’ recently-appointed director of music, Cosima Rodriguez-Broadbent – see above, from left to right, with Simon Mansell (tuba) and Nathan Mansell (trombone).

They were supported by two trumpeters, Isaac Holt and Stone Tung. A high spot for the brass section was when they accompanied the choirs on their rendition of Ding Dong Merrily on High.  

 Ms Rodriguez-Broadbent said the challenge of a service like Nine Lessons and Carols was that it was a packed programme of readings and carols that needed to be properly rehearsed.

Queen Elizabeth's Girls' School Chirstmas carol concert praised by team vicar Father Sam Rossiter at Barnet Parish Church

Father Sam (far right) congratulated Cosima on the arrangement she had chosen for The Holly and the Ivy.

“Your version really enthused me,” he said.

See above, from left to right, music teacher Madeleine Tabacchiera, Cosima Rodriguez-Broadbent, Jonathan Gregory (organist) and Father Sam Rossiter.

Guests attending the service included the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Danny Rich.    

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Totteridge Academy pupils hope ideas for a maze and sensory garden at community farm will help promote festive fundraising appeal

Sensory garden and maze designed by pupils at Totteridge Academy for the school's onsite community farm.

Students at Totteridge Academy have designed a sensory maze garden to be developed at GROW, the school’s on-site community farm and the aim is to have it planted and ready for opening by the spring.

Four groups of year seven pupils each prepared a design for a garden, and their ideas have been incorporated into an overall plan.

Meeting the estimated cost of the project of £5,000 will be the target of GROW’s annual festive prize campaign.

The garden will be situated between a newly planted pocket forest and the farm’s pollinator garden and apiary.

Lucy Hollis, the farm’s managing director – above far right – joined pupils Rory and Ben in checking out their design with the help of Grow staff member Tara Rudd who handles marketing for the farm.

The challenge for the students had been to come up with ideas for increasing the farm’s biodiversity and sensory planting to enhance the wellbeing and enjoyment of visitors to the farm.

Rory and Ben, who are both 12, said they had recommended the planting to encourage pollination by bees and insects and to attract birds.

Their garden will be planted around a dome of willow trees and all the pupils who took part hope a water feature will prove a great attraction.

They realised the importance of choosing plants and flowers with strong scents and leaves of different textures which will be interesting to the touch.

One of the priorities was to ensure that the garden would be accessible to wheelchairs as they wanted to make sure that everyone could enjoy going round the maze.

GROW cultivates seasonal food for use in the school and for sale to the local community and creates school and community projects and opportunities for volunteering and the chance to learn more about farming and cultivation.

For more information on the fund raising campaign:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VIt5GVwmzxDVanJL1sAaCJaZvuuDUrIe/view?usp=sharing

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High Barnet’s Christmas tree adds some festive spirit to the High Street ahead of the town’s annual Christmas Fayre on Sunday    

Switching on the lights of the Christmas tree beside the parish church set the scene for festive events to be held during the annual Barnet Christmas Fayre on Sunday December 7.

Father Christmas and characters from The Bull Theatre’s Christmas pantomime Alice in Wonderland and the Stolen Christmas List joined in the ceremony.

Firefighters from Barnet Fire Station stepped in to erect and install this year’s Christmas tree when help was needed at the last minute.

Nick Staton of Statons estate agents – who has sponsored the tree for the last decade – was joined for the event by the team Vicar Father Sam Rossiter.

The fayre will be opened at 12noon on Sunday by the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Danny Rich, who will cut a ribbon on the High Street close to Barnet Church.

Together with elves and other characters from the Bull Theatre, he will proceed to the marque on the Christmas Courtyard in the piazza outside Barnet College where he will welcome everyone and start the event.

Stalls will line the High Street; there will be the traditional fun fair close to the junction with St Albans Road; craft stalls in the Tudor Hall and more stalls on the Christmas Courtyard, through the Spires Shopping Centre and in Wesley Hall.

There is a full programme of events and entertainment: children’s activities and dancing by local groups in the Christmas Courtyard; live music, singing and choirs plus teas, mulled wine and refreshments at the parish church; live music, tea and cakes at the Wesley Hall; live music, choirs and performances at The Spires Shopping Centre, plus street entertainers outside Waitrose.

The Bull Theatre will be joining in the festivities, hoping to create a magical festive experience for families.

Santa’s Grotto will be open from 12.30pm to 4pm, with free entry and optional

donations towards the Christmas Fayre.

Visitors can enter through the front gate, follow the path along the side of the building, and come in through the open Studio/Café door (step-free access available).

There will be two performances of Leon’s Magic Show at 1.30pm and 3pm

(tickets £5). Two of Santa’s elves will join him on stage as they work towards

 earning their magician’s assistant badge, adding an extra touch of festive fun.

Bob Burstow, who helped to organise the installation of the tree, said it had been a close shave getting the tree up in time – and that is why the local firefighters were asked to help.

“We are so grateful because each December we get a Christmas tree supplied from Crews Hill by Tyler Bone, who runs a stall at Barnet Market.

“Unfortunately, this year’s delivery was a bit tight so when the tree arrived all our volunteer installers were at work – and that is when white watch from the fire station stepped in.”

Nick Staton said he was delighted to sponsor the cost of the tree. “We have been helping provide a tree for a decade or more and it is a great way of celebrating the community spirit of High Barnet and promoting the Christmas Fayre.” 

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Refurbished Scout hut at Underhill is to be new base for Barnet’s Rainbow Centre and its wide range of activities

What was formerly the Underhill headquarters of 1st Barnet Scouts is being transformed into a new home for the Rainbow Centre, ending years of uncertainty over the future of this long-established Dollis Valley community hub.

For well over a decade the centre has been running a weekly food bank, hosting martial arts classes and providing a children’s lunch club during school holidays.

Finding new premises for the centre had become a priority because its existing building in Dollis Valley Drive is about to be demolished to make way for the next phase of the Dollis Valley regeneration scheme.

Relocating the centre to a new base nearby at Underhill – at the former Priory Grove Scout hut – was finally agreed by Barnet Council after a sustained campaign by the Rainbow Centre’s volunteers and supporters.

Initially it seemed likely that the hub would move into a former cricket pavilion in Barnet Lane – vacant since the departure of Barnet Football Club from its Underhill stadium – but this was ruled out on grounds of the cost of refurbishment.

The centre is due to start operating from its new base as from Tuesday 16 December and the weekly food bank – which assists up to 70 families a week – will be provided for the first time at the new location on Thursday 18 December.

An official opening is planned for early in the New Year once the centre is fully operational and organisers hope to welcome the Mayor of Barnet to take part in the ceremony.

Finding a new base in Priory Grove has been an “incredibly long journey” for Steve Verrall, director of the charity Barnet Community Projects and Patricia Gay, a director of the Rainbow Centre’s users’ group – seen above in 2023 when they were told they might be moving into the dis-used sports pavilion in Barnet Lane.

“We are very grateful that Barnet Council has finally found us a new home,” said Mr Verrall.

“The former Scout hut is slightly smaller than the existing centre, but it is a much better building, and we are very optimistic about the future.”

New home for Dollis Valley Rainbow Centre is former headquarters of 1st. Barnet Scout group in Priory Grove Underhill

The Rainbow Centre must be out of its Dollis Valley Drive site by Monday 15 December.

“While our address is changing, please be assured that all of our events, activities and services will remain the same.

“We will continue to be the same vibrant hub for our community, just from a new location.

“The next chapter for the Rainbow Centre is about to begin, and we are so excited to share it with you.”

In recognition of her long association as a volunteer at the Rainbow Centre, Patricia Gay was rewarded earlier this year with a Barnet Council “Inspiration All” award.

Trish – as she is known to one and all – started volunteering at the Rainbow Centre after she retired from her work as a secretary in the City of London. She grew up on the Dollis Valley estate and became head girl at Ravenscroft School (now Totteridge Academy).

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Three hot soups – butternut squash, lentil and Haleem – were on offer at High Barnet open evening for anyone in need of a tasty meal

Butternut squash soup was just one of the tasty choices on offer at an open evening when the High Barnet Islamic Centre welcomed low incomes families, homeless and lonely people to enjoy a hot meal and some company.

Local foodbanks had given their support in helping to provide supplies for what the centre hopes will become a regular soup kitchen available to the community.

As an alternative to Zeenatch Auleear’s offer of a dish of butternut squash soup – see above – there was a lentil soup and Haleem, a traditional South Asian winter soup.

Since the centre, which is in Bath Place, just off Barnet High Street, opened last year it has been extending its outreach programme of community events.

Events co-ordinator Anjim Iqbal (far right) welcomed a delegation from Barnet Council including Underhill Councillors Tim Roberts and Zahra Beg who both praised the centre’s latest initiative.

Councillor Roberts said the hospitality offered by the centre was very impressive.

“Opening a soup kitchen at the start of winter is just the right moment as it is a time when people might well be cold and hungry and looking for somewhere warm and safe to go and for something to eat.

“The centre has lots of space for events like this and it is absolutely central, just off the High Street.”

In addition to a hot meal and other refreshments, there was other help on hand.

High Barnet Islamic Centre welcomes those in need to a soup kitchen as it extends its outreach programme.

Everyday items such as combs and a range of health and sanitary products were laid out on a stall where Muskaan Iqbal and Aisha Fazil were ready to offer help and support.

“People on low incomes often cannot afford to buy what they need so it is important to be able to offer them everyday health and sanitary items,” said Muskaan.

Other items that were available to anyone in need were clothes and sleeping bags.

Anjim Iqbal said their initiative in launching the soup kitchen had been supported by the Food Bank Aid hub in Chaplin Square, Finchley; the Southgate Mosque and Food Bank; and the North Finchley Community Grocery.

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Fun-packed day promised for Barnet Christmas Fayre with a magic show a highlight at The Bull Theatre

Stall holders, traders and community groups are all booked in for this year’s Barnet Christmas Fayre on Sunday 7 December, the traditional and popular curtain raiser to the town’s Christmas festivities.

Organisers are promising a fun-packed day…and are hoping for better weather than for the opening last December by the then Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Tony Vourou.

Special events include a full programme of singing and dancing in the courtyard at Barnet College and a children’s magic show at The Bull Theatre by Leon the Magician. (1.30pm and 3pm, tickets £5)

Leon – Leon Thomson of Barnet – was the youngest member of the Magic Circle when he joined at the age of 18. His recent shows at The Bull Theatre were a sell-out.

He will be assisted for his Christmas Fayre show by two elves who are both pupils at the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School, Nathaniel Morgan-Bennett (12) and Laurel Sumberg (13).

Nathaniel currently is currently playing Simba in The Lion King and Laurel was voted the second-best Matilda in the recent West End production.

Plans well advanced for Barnet Christmas Fayre on Sunday 7 December. Magic show a highlight.

Adding colour and fun to the day will be cast members from The Bull Theatre’s Christmas show, Alice in Wonderland and the Stolen Christmas List.

There will be performances for local schools as from December 1 with public shows on December 6, 13, 14, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27 and 28 at 11am and 1.30pm. (Tickets £10).

A Christmas Fayre organising committee at The Bull Theatre – led by Susi Earnshaw, Ros Staines, Carly Pryke and Laura Davitt – have taken on responsibility for the fayre from the Barnet Borough Arts Council.

“We have been encouraged by all the support we are getting from Barnet traders and community groups, and we know how important the fayre is to the town,” said Ms Earnshaw, theatre manager at The Bull Theatre.

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Ceremony of Remembrance and a two-minute silence at Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School on Armistice Day

Pupils at Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School, Barnet, held their own Remembrance Day ceremony on Armistice Day as part of an initiative to remind a younger generation of wartime sacrifices.

At a short service on the lawn outside the school, two pupils who are Air Cadets laid flowers beside two British Legion “Time to Reflect” silhouettes.

The last post was sounded on a French horn by Kayla before a two-minute silence to mark the end of World War One.

Inside pupils watched the transmission of the British Legion remembrance virtual assembly for schools across the country during which Prince William described to young people the importance of wearing a red poppy.

Headteacher Mrs Violet Walker welcomed pupils to the ceremony which she said reflected the courage of men and women who gave their lives and those who returned and carried the weight of war.

Before pupils read out two remembrance poems – For the Fallen (Laurence Binyon) and In Flanders Fields (John McCrae) – Mrs Walker explained that they symbolised gratitude and respect for those who stood firm in the face of unimaginable suffering.

She said it was the responsibility of future generations to ensure the stories, sacrifices and hopes for a better future for the world were never forgotten.

Kayla (15) who performed the Last Post on her French horn, is a member of the school orchestra.

She spent the evening before studying the piece. It was “very special” being asked to play at the ceremony – her first performance of The Last Post.

Queen Elizabeth's Girls' School, Barnet, hold Remembrance ceremony on Armistice Day as Prince William reminds young people about importance on the red poppy

A remembrance service at the school – a first for QE Girls-– was the idea of associate assistant head teacher Mrs Amanda Campbell who wanted pupils to have their own experience of Remembrance Day and Armistice Day.

Mrs Campbell hopes the school ceremony will become an annual event.

See Above, from left to right: Air Cadet Lacey, who laid flowers; Alexandra, who read the first poem; Kayla (French horn); Amber, who read the second poem; Mrs Amanda Campbell; and Air Cadet Ria, who also laid flowers.

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Green around High Barnet war memorial packed for annual Remembrance Sunday Service  

High Barnet’s Remembrance Sunday service at the war memorial at the parish church was exceptionally well attended.

The first wreath was laid on behalf of the King by the Deputy Lieutenant for the London Borough of Barnet, Martin Russell.

The green alongside Church Passage was packed for the ceremony and Mr Russell expressed his pleasure at the strength of support shown for the service.

Reservists from 240 Transport Squadron of the Royal Logistics Corps led the ceremonial march through the High Street from the Army Reserve Centre in St Albans Road.

Captain Chandra Pun – a former major in the Gurkhas – laid the wreath on behalf of the armed services.

Other local dignitaries who stepped forward with wreaths included Councillor David Longstaff, representing the Mayor of Barnet; Councillor Emma Whysall, representing the Labour group; and Olly Gough, a prospective Labour candidate for Barnet Council, who laid a wreath on behalf of the Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson, who was attending the Remembrance Sunday service in East Barnet.

The last post was sounded by bugler Jonny Tillett, a 14-year-old pupil at Mill Hill School – the first time he had performed at a Remembrance Sunday Service.

Sergeant Charlie Forster, who assisted in conducting the ceremony, complimented Jonny on his performance.

Father Sam Rossiter, team vicar at the parish church, led the service.

For the first time the full parish and evensong choir – plus the choristers – were in attendance under the church’s director of music Patrick Korczak.

Parish administrator Tony Long said a total of 31 organisations had asked to lay wreaths during the service, including Barnet police, Queen Elizabeth’s Girls School, Totteridge Academy, cadet corps, guides and others from a wide range of organisations.

Exceptionally well attended Remembrance Sunday service at Barnet Parish church

Another first on the day was a wreath on behalf of the Barnet Society which was laid by the chair John Hay – and which in itself was another first.

The wreath was made up of poppies left over from a production of Snow White, which Pinewood studios donated to Ursula Stone, founder of the much-acclaimed Flower Bank project in New Barnet, which re-purposes surplus flowers.

Among the others who stepped forward to lay wreaths were Kevin Callaghan, proprietor of the new Corner Cafe in St Albans Road, and representatives of the licensees and staff of the Sebright Arms, Monken Holt and Old Fold Manor Golf Club.

Among the stalls selling British Legion poppies in the lead up to Remembrance Sunday was one at the Spires installed by East Barnet British Legion whose branch secretary Lisa Partridge welcomed the support of Barnet Pearly Queen Evie Waldren.

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Safeguards agreed by Barnet Council add greater protection for Quinta Village Green and could help to restore derelict youth club

Quinta village green and derelict Quinta youth club one step closer to being brought under residents' control after Barnet Council agrees asset of community value protection.

Quinta Village Green and the abandoned former Quinta Youth Club are one step closer to being brought under the control of a group of residents living in and around Mays Lane, Barnet, who have been campaigning for years to safeguard their open space and reopen a derelict clubhouse.

Barnet Council has agreed to list the whole site as an asset of community value, a safeguard which the Quinta Village Green Association hopes will be the first step towards establishing new facilities for the community.

ACV status for the green and clubhouse gives the community the right to apply for a potential community asset transfer which would allow a residents’ organisation to manage and operate the land and building for the benefit of the community.

An application is now being made to register the association as a community interest company which could develop and maintain community facilities on a non-for-profit basis.

Councillor Barry Rawlings, leader of Barnet Council, agreed to list the green and clubhouse as an ACV after meeting representatives of the village green association.

They outlined their vision for reviving the youth club building and enhancing the village green as a community-led hub.

Gina Theodorou, chair of the association, said the membership was thrilled that the importance of the green and club had been recognised and that the council had shared their vision that this was a place where people could come together.

“We can now start planning for a sustainable future with the hope that ACV status will ultimately lead to a full community asset transfer, ensuring the site remains protected and accessible for generations to come.”

She thanked Councillors Rawlings and Councillor Zahra Beg (Underhill) and Paul Frost from Barnet Council for their support.

The site was registered as a village green in 2010 following a public inquiry. Residents had argued that it should be preserved as an open space for community use and maintained by the council.

Local volunteers built the clubhouse in the 1960s and it served first as a youth club and community hub, later becoming a nursery and meeting place.

It has been vacant since 2006 when it was boarded up but in recent years residents have become increasingly concerned about continuing vandalism and anti-social behaviour around the building.

Planning approval was given in 2021 for use of the clubhouse to be changed from community use to become a store for the library service for schools in the Borough of Barnet but the proposed refurbishment did not take place, and the building has fallen further into disrepair.

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Former public house The Jester – the haunted house of New Barnet – is finally levelled by demolition contractors

After a seven-year campaign New Barnet community activist Ros Howarth finally says farewell to the last remnants of the abandoned public house The Jester which was left wrecked after a fire in 2018.

Demolition contractors have spent several days levelling the derelict pub which had remained an eyesore after protracted disputes over its future and then a series of contested planning applications.

Approval was given in May last year for the site – at the junction of Northfield Road and Grove Road – to be redeveloped with a three-storey children’s nursery and three houses.

Built in 1958 as a result of a petition from residents, The Jester became a well frequented pub and restaurant.

The fire seven years ago – photograph above by Oliver Jennings – was said at the time to have been a heart-breaking blow for the community.

Ros Howarth and other campaigners fought tirelessly for the construction of a replacement public house or some other community building to benefit the locality.

“It’s a bitter-sweet moment,” she said.

“Everyone around here has been delighted to see it being demolished but we are disappointed. We wanted a new community pub or cafe.

“Instead, approval has been given for a private children’s nursery with up to 100 places.

“We already have three council-run nurseries within walking distance, and we don’t think there will be the demand for a private nursery.”

The final go ahead for the demolition of what had been dubbed New Barnet’s haunted house was a relief for Barnet Councillors.

East Barnet Councillor Simon Radford – above far right, with Councillor Phil Cohen and Councillor Edith David – said he and his colleagues shared the disappointment of nearby residents that the owners of the site had not opted to construct a new community pub.

“While we won’t be getting pub, we will have a children’s nursery which is certainly better than the haunted house which has stood there for the last seven years.”

Councillor Radford paid tribute to the resolve shown by the community.

“Ros Howarth has been a tremendous advocate for their campaign to get a replacement for the pub, and they demonstrated there was a viable alternative.”

Ros Howarth – founder of the Justice for Jester Facebook page – said she doubted whether a private nursery with up to 100 places would be viable.

Construction work is due to last for 18 months with the development completed by the spring of 2027.

The fear of nearby residents was that the new building – see developer’s image above – might at some stage be converted into flats.

Even if there was sufficient demand for a nursery, they were concerned that the site lacked sufficient car park spaces for 27 members of staff and visiting parents.

Parking was already a problem in surrounding roads, and an added problem was that Northfield Road was the main approach road for the nearby Jewish Community Secondary School which was served by a dozen or more coaches every day.

“All the new nursery school will have is a few dropping off places, so we think that with the amount of local traffic this isn’t going to be the safest place for small children.”  

The Jester public house, wrecked and abandoned after a fire in 2018 is finally demolished to make way for a new children's nursery in New Barnet

A start was made on demolishing the pub after the fire in 2018, but Barnet Council stepped in to halt the work – and that was the start of what seemed to be a never-ending saga of changes in ownership, court cases, appeals and futile planning applications.

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A dozen full English breakfasts served in the first couple of hours at the Corner Cafe – a new business in a popular venue

After being closed for three months over the summer the former Dory’s Cafe has re-opened as the Corner Cafe at the junction of St Albans Road and Barnet High Street.

It is new beginning for Kevin Callaghan, proprietor of the former Hole in the Wall Cafe which is about to be demolished during clearance of the Meadow Works site on the Great North Road at Pricklers Hill.

Fortuitously just as Dory’s cafe was closing down at the end of July – after 71 years in business – Mr Callaghan was on the lookout for new premises for the Hole in the Wall.

Said to be the town’s oldest cafe, the Hole in the Wall was tucked away behind hoardings and was one of the last small firms to vacate the Meadow Works site before work starts on the construction of a new self-storage depot.

All change in High Barnet: Dory's Cafe, popular High Barnet institution re-opens as Corner Cafe as the Hole in the Wall Cafe finds a new home

Moving up the Great North Road to High Barnet – and re-opening in the former premises of another local institution – has presented Mr Callaghan with the challenge of living up the popularity of Dory’s.

He and his staff had the weekend to transfer the business ready for a Monday morning start.

“Everything had been left spick and span by Angela and Guiliano so we started cooking straightaway.

“We did a dozen full English breakfasts in our first couple of hours, so we know what some of our customers appreciate.

“Everyone has given us a warm welcome.

“It’s really nice to be up in High Barnet in the town centre.

“I think it’s going to be very lively for us.”

The Hole in the Wall’s position on the Great North Road on the approach to High Barnet had led it become a well-used pit stop for lorry drivers and motorists heading out of London.

Developers Compound Real Estate have promised Mr Callaghan a new home for the Hole in the Wall as part of what it says will be a development comprising a new state-of-the-art self-storage facility and co-working spaces.

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Food and hospitality on offer at the High Barnet Islamic Centre for an afternoon visit by refugees and asylum seekers

High Barnet Islamic Centre, which opened last year, extended its outreach programme of community events with volunteers welcoming over 30 asylum seekers and refugees with a full spread of snacks and refreshments.

The group travelled to the centre by coach from a nearby hotel for an afternoon of hospitality organised in conjunction with HAWA, a Hertfordshire-wide multicultural women’s group which provides a range of care services.

Extra warm clothing was offered to those who needed it including hats and scarves.

Anjim Iqbal (far right), events co-ordinator for the High Barnet centre – seen with volunteers Siham Bedjaoui and Zeenath Auleear — said laying on a high tea was just one of the initiatives which she and her volunteers hope will help strengthen inter-community relations.

Holding a monthly soup kitchen for homeless and needy families is their next project and again the aim is to reach out to the local community.

“We have already been promised support from local sponsors. They are helping us to source bread to go with soup of the day,” said Anjim.

At an open day in October, the centre welcomed a group of councillors led by Barnet Council leader Barry Rawlings and Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson, newly appointed as the Exchequer Secretary at the Treasury.

Mr Rawlings stressed the importance of the Borough of Barnet strengthening multi-faith relations and establishing strong links across its various communities and faiths, an objective fully endorsed by the constituency MP.

Mr Tomlinson congratulated the centre on opening its door to the community and for proposing an initiative like a monthly soup kitchen where there would be a warm welcome, refreshments and company.

“I have been to the High Barnet Islamic Centre a couple of times since it opened, and I have been really impressed to find a community which is so outward facing and welcoming.

“It is so heartening to see the Muslim community, like other religious communities in Barnet, uniting in their efforts to bring people together and create a strong community.”

High Barnet Islamic Centre,, which opened last year, welcomed group of refugees and asylum seekers for an afternoon of refreshments and hospitality.

Since the centre, which is in Bath Place, just off Barnet High Street, opened in May last year, it has held a range of multi-cultural events such as bazaars and open days.

Darul Noor charity, which was previously based at the Rainbow Centre on the Dollis Valley estate, moved to the centre after raising £1.8 million to purchase the building from the Template Foundation.

An application has been submitted to Barnet Council for retrospective planning permission to regularise its use as a public hall and for public worship and religious instruction.

In 1995 the Template Foundation secured planning approval to use the building for education and training – permission which the centre’s consultants Absolute Town Planning say should be regularised to match the needs of the Islamic Centre.

“Unlike many planning applications nothing is proposed either physically or by way of use.  The application simply seeks to regulate what has been happening at the site for some time.”

Objections to the application have been submitted to the council on the grounds that regularising use of the building as an Islamic centre for prayer would “cause harm to residential amenities in the area and increase noise and also increase pedestrian and vehicular traffic.”

Before being used by the Template Foundation, the building had been part of small commercial complex, and it was said to be “unsuited to attracting large numbers of people”.

Supportive comments included praise for the centre’s outreach work. It had established itself as a “well managed and trusted community asset and reflects values of co-operation and respect shared across the borough.”

In backing the application, Steve Verrall, director of Barnet Community Projects, said that when Friday prayers and Ramadan were held in the Rainbow Centre at Dollis Valley, they had always been well organised.

These premises were no longer big enough and the new centre in Bath Place had already proved to be an “asset to the borough”.

Local Muslims living in and around High Barnet, who had previously attended Friday prayers in North Finchley, said they welcomed the opening of a centre in High Barnet.   

They considered the objections had been based on “misunderstandings and out-of-date assumptions”. A change of use, they said, would have no visual impact on the Monken Hadley Conservation Area.

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Barnet trained-solicitor who became a top government lawyer advising Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during the Falklands War

Barnet Parish Church was host to family, friends and neighbours – as well as numerous eminent lawyers – for a service of thanksgiving to celebrate the life of former Treasury Solicitor Sir Gerald Hosker who gave Margaret Thatcher critical legal advice at key points during her Premiership.

There could hardly have been a more fitting location for his fellow churchgoers and the wider community to commemorate the achievements of a Barnet-trained solicitor who went on to serve as the government’s top lawyer.

A few steps away from the front door of St John the Baptist is the Wood Street office of the Barnet solicitors’ practice where he was employed for five years as an articled clerk.

Sir Gerald, who died last year at the age of 91, was born in Finchley and became a lifelong resident of Barnet.

Renowned for his discretion, he took one secret to the grave.

Only after his death 11 months ago did his wife and family discover that during his National Service, he became a spy for MI5.

Sir Gerald’s career-making moment was the day he worked under Mrs Thatcher’s watchful eye as he put the final touches to a legal document authorising the seizure of Argentinian assets during the Falklands War – a move which the Prime Minister announced during an emergency Saturday sitting of the House of Commons.

After signing the document in 10 Downing Street, and before heading off for the debate, the Prime Minister expressed her relief: “Oh Gerald, this is the only piece of good news I’ve got.”

Father Sam Rossiter, the Barnet team vicar — above, with Helen and Jonathan Hosker — conducted the service of thanksgiving. It was attended by former Civil Service colleagues including Lord (Robin) Butler, cabinet secretary during Mrs Thatcher’s Premiership.

Sir Gerald was born in Finchley in 1933 and after the family were evacuated to Berkhamsted during the Second World War he went to Berkhamsted School and then the Law Society’s College of Law.

He became an articled clerk at Derrick Bridges & Co in Wood Street in 1951 and was admitted as a solicitor by the Law Society in 1956.

It was at this point, said his daughter Helen Hosker, that her father’s life story became rather “vague”.

In fact, he had been recruited by the security service MI5 and enrolled as a partner in a firm of solicitors which had attracted suspicion because of its links to the USSR.

Only recently she had challenged her father about the fact that he had been in an “exempt profession” during his national service, but it was not until one of Sir Gerald’s former colleagues, Geoffrey Claydon, prepared information for use in an obituary for The Times, that the truth was revealed.

Geoffrey, who died this year, had himself been recruited by military intelligence. The two men kept in close contact, never revealing publicly their shared secret.

Helen said her father had apparently been trained in the spying skills of the 1950s – lip reading, reading upside down, reading blotting paper, searching wastepaper bins and steaming open envelopes.

Such was his discretion that his wife, Lady Rachel Hosker (above) had no idea of his double life the day they were married in 1956 at St Mary the Virgin Church, Monken Hadley. “She had no inkling he was ever a spy.”

Sir Gerald joined the Treasury Solicitor’s Department in 1960 after working briefly for Clifford Turner & Co and after a series of promotions became under- secretary in 1982.

When the Falklands Islands were seized later that year, he was in the right place at the right time to assist Mrs Thatcher,

Helen recalled that on the Friday evening before the Saturday sitting at the House of Commons, police officers arrived at their home in Barnet telling him to report for work early next morning as 10 Downing Street had been unable to locate the Treasury Solicitor, the deputy Treasury solicitor or the Attorney General.

Rachel drove her husband to Downing Street where he found Mrs Thatcher sitting in a large chair. In anticipation of her request, he had already prepared draft legal advice on seizing Argentinian assets in the UK.

Mrs Thatcher signed the document, and while he watched the debate in the House, Helen’s mother was “in Foyles bookshop buying me some medical books.”

The following Monday Sir Geoffrey Howe, Chancellor of the Exchequer, sent him a note thanking him “for the major part he had played”.

After his promotion to deputy Treasury solicitor in 1984, he became solicitor to the Department of Trade and Industry in 1987 and was finally appointed Treasury Solicitor in 1992, a promotion which he had tried to achieve once before.

On the nomination of the Lord Chancellor, he became an honorary QC in 1991 — above with Rachel after the ceremony. This was followed by a knighthood in 1995.

In his tribute, Jonathan Hosker recalled that his father spent countless hours travelling to and from Whitehall sitting on the Northern Line, regularly falling asleep either going to work or on the way home.

One day he had woken up at High Barnet to find that the only other passenger still in the carriage had passed away.

For some reason, his father suffered from always feeling the cold – something which proved useful to the civil service before the arrival of mobile phones. One day after Sir Gerald had left an office in Whitehall, his staff wanted to contact him urgently.

“A message was sent to another office to say he was walking towards Victoria Station. How shall we recognise him? It was a lovely sunny evening and apparently the advice was, don’t worry, you’ll notice him, he will be the only man dressed in an overcoat, waist coat and hat”.

Service at Barnet Parish church to commemorate life of Barnet trained solicitor Sir Gerald Hosker who advised Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Falklands War

In his tribute, Father Sam Rossitter said he had built a deep relationship with Gerald and Rachel when giving Holy communion at their home in the years he was housebound.

“It is always a precious time for a priest to spend time with people whose faith inspires your own. He was a Godly man.”

Sir Gerald became a committed evangelical Christian in the 1950s after attending a Billy Graham mission in London, when he “committed his life to Jesus.”

In his entry in Who’s Who, he listed his recreations as “the study of biblical prophecy and swimming.”

After retiring from the post of Treasury Solicitor in 1995, he conducted a Several inquiries on behalf of Customs and Excise and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Other local interests included serving as a trustee at Lyonsdown School, New Barnet, where Helen and Jonathan went to school, and becoming  a trustee of the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon – a project which he had worked on himself early in his career when dealing with government conveyancing.

For some years he was a point of contact for his local Neighbourhood Watch.

On occasion he would be visited at home by Barnet police community support officers who liked nothing more than to have a chat with such a distinguished government lawyer, not realising perhaps that they were also in the presence of a former spy.   

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Developers Hill Residential preparing to start construction work on estate of 115 new homes on Whalebones farmland off Wood Street, Barnet

Access for contractors’ heavy equipment has been established at the site of the former Whalebones smallholding and farmland off Wood Street, Barnet, where Hill Residential are to build 115 new homes.

Site offices have been installed ready for preparatory groundwork and the construction of a new community building to provide a replacement studio for the Barnet Guild of Artists.

Hill Residential of Waltham Abbey recently completed the purchase of the Whalebones land from the Gwyneth Cowing Will Trust following the granting of planning permission.

Demolition of the farm buildings which make up the smallholding – and an adjoining timber-framed artists’ studio bequeathed by Miss Cowing – is expected to start once the replacement studio has been completed.

The new community building will be constructed on farmland which faces on to Wellhouse Lane, opposite the bus terminus at Barnet Hospital.

Trustees for Miss Cowing, who died in 1987, and who was the granddaughter of the founder of the Barnet Press, first applied ten years ago for planning permission to build houses on the fields around the now privately-owned Whalebones House.

A protracted campaign to prevent the development ended in October last year when the Mayor of London gave the final go ahead after Barnet Council had voted narrowly in favour.

Objectors to the scheme, who included the Barnet Society and the former Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers, claimed the new housing estate would destroy a significant wildlife habitat and result in the loss of the last remaining   farmland between Arkley and High Barnet.

Most of the new houses will be built in the largest of the fields which is opposite the Arkley public house, and which is between the new Elmbank development and the woods surrounding Whalebones House.

In an interview for Built Environment News, The Hill Group’s founder and group chief executive, Andy Hill, confirmed that the purchase of the Whalebones farmland had been completed.

He reiterated previous undertakings that half the 12-acre site will be retained as a publicly accessible open space.

“Whalebones Park is a site of outstanding beauty, and we are proud to be entrusted with its future.

“Our plans respect the heritage of the Grade II listed Whalebones House and the character of Barnet, while delivering a sustainable new neighbourhood.”

Planning approval has been given for 115 houses and apartments in buildings ranging from two to five storeys in height. (Image, Hill Residential).

“Spacious, modern family homes” would be available for private sale and affordable homes would be provided in partnership with the affordable housing charity Sovereign Network Group.

SNG’s regional managing director Matthew Bird told BE News that its partnership in the development of Whalebones Park would demonstrate how affordable homes can be integrated into high quality sustainable development.

“Our 54 homes at Whalebones will provide much-needed opportunities for local people to access affordable rent and shared ownership in Barnet, supported by the wider benefits of new open space and community facilities.”  

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Record entries for Barnet Guild of Artists’ annual exhibition – and praise for High Barnet having so many classic views waiting to be painted

Local views painted by members of the Barnet Guild of Artists caught the eye of art critic Estelle Lovatt and former guild chair Nichola Hunt on the opening night of the guild’s annual exhibition at the Wesley Hall in Stapylton Road.

“Whenever I visit a local exhibition, I’m always keen to see which local scenes are on display,” said Ms Lovatt (above, right) who is a freelance critic for the BBC and other broadcasters and lectures at the Hampstead School of Art.

“High Barnet is so fortunate in having so many classic views to choose from and it is a delight to see how each artist has squared up to the challenge.”

She and Ms Hunt stopped at the panel displaying two oils by Chris Baker – Autumn Colour in Wood Street and Winter Walks on Hadley Green.

The guild’s 77th annual exhibition, featuring paintings, prints and calligraphy, is open daily until Saturday 1 November – from 10am to 8pm and from 10am to 12 noon on Saturday. Entry is free.

Ms Lovatt, who lives in North Finchley and knows High Barnet well, said she was all for encouraging local artists to try their hand at painting familiar local views such as Barnet parish church or Hadley Green.

“I think it is all about appreciating our local surroundings and what better way to engage with our locality than painting some of our favourite local views.”

Record entries for Barnet Guild of Artists' annual exhibition and praise from art critic for High Barnet's classic views just waiting to be painted.

Ms Hunt, a long-standing former chair of the guild, who was on a return visit to Barnet, opened the exhibition and enjoyed a re-union with two other former guild chairs – (above, from left to right) Nichola Hunt, Councillor David Longstaff, Gillian Griffiths and the guild’s membership secretary Helen Leake.

In welcoming guests on the opening night, Ms Hunt praised the guild’s revival in the post covid years.

“We have been going since 1948 when a group of local artists put on an exhibition at Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School and decided to form a guild.

“We were so fortunate that among the group was Gwyneth Cowing who bequeathed a studio for the guild at Whalebones which has been a haven for local artists.

“Recently the guild has been going from strength to strength. We now have 132 members and there are more entries for the exhibition than for many years – 162 painting, prints and calligraphy.”

Helen Leake said the guild was waiting to receive new legal documents from the Gwyneth Cowing Will Trust for the freehold of a new artists’ studio to be provided in a proposed community building for the Whalebones redevelopment.

Demolition and clearance of the Whalebones smallholding and fields off Wood Street, has moved a step closer with developers having completed the purchase of the 12-acre site for the construction of an estate of 115 new homes.

Housebuilders Hill Residential of Waltham Abbey and the Gwyneth Cowing Will Trust were jointly granted planning permission last year to develop farmland which adjoins Whalebones House, former home of the Cowing family.

Councillor David Longstaff, a former guild chair, said the offer of the freehold for the new studio was a far better than the leasehold previously proposed.

“Gaining the freehold will give the guild much greater security and a wider range of options over the future use of the studio such as a chance to develop art classes for local children and arrange community events.”

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After staging Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, High Barnet drama group to explore Charles Dickens’ rich literary association with Barnet and Finchley

Artistic director Siobhan Dunne takes the applause at the final performance of Macbeth at The Bull Theatre…and already she is planning the next production by the Blue Door Company, High Barnet’s highly acclaimed drama group.

Charles Dickens Comes to Barnet is to be the story line for another of Blue Door’s locally inspired plays which build on the town’s rich history and literary connections.

Writing and scripting for the new play is due to start in November ready for a premier performance at The Bull Theatre in April next year.

After a run of highly popular productions which have explored the impact of the Battle of Barnet, the importance of Barnet Fair and most recently the year that Dr David Livingstone lived at a cottage on Hadley Green, the new drama will explore Dickens’ connections with both Finchley and Barnet and bring to life local links to immortal Dickens’ characters such as Oliver Twist and Mrs Gamp.

Packed audiences at The Bull Theatre for the group’s imaginative and daring production of Macbeth demonstrated the strength and versability of High Barnet’s community theatre company which brings together total beginners alongside members with decades of performance experience, backed up by dedicated local professional artists.

On the closing night, Francesco Giacon, who played Macbeth, led the thanks to Ms Dunne for her inspirational leadership and declared:

“We encounter ye with our hearts’ thanks” – based on the line from the play when Macbeth greets his guests at the banquet and says to the first murderer, “See, they encounter thee with their hearts’ thanks.”

In response, Ms Dunne reflected the pride of the Blue Door Theatre Company in having pulled off their own original presentation of a Shakespeare classic. 

“We recognise it has been a real privilege to perform Macbeth here in Barnet.”

“We manage two shows a year and we have so many people to thank for helping us to keep community theatre alive in the town.”

Ms Dunne appealed to the audience – and the residents of Barnet and beyond – to recognise the challenge they faced in keeping the lights on at a venue which was 40 years’ old, and which was in need of an upgrade.  

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to raise a minimum of £10,000 towards the cost of updating theatrical equipment and protecting the future of The Bull Theatre.

www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-bull-theatre

 Blue Door’s production of Macbeth was another milestone for Blue Door. It was the first time Ms Dunne had led a full theatrical company in staging Shakespeare’s play about the destructive consequences of unchecked ambition and power.

With the help of their production team, Blue Door delivered a stunning performance which conjured up a supernatural atmosphere full of music, sound and eye-catching projections.

Composer Nick Godwin created an original music score for the chorus and musicians who won a special round of applause (see above) – Helen Brown (violin), Nick Godwin (guitar, bouzouki, bodhran, mandolin) and Ned Wilkins (bass ukelele).

In her programme introduction to The Tragedie of Macbeth, Ms Dunne reveals that their next production will explore the relationship that Charles Dickens had with Barnet and Finchley called – Between the Lines.   

Work on writing the script will start in November – a joint task for Claire Fisher, who played Lady Macbeth, and whose play Mary Livingstone, I Presume was staged earlier this year, and Sarah Munford, who was one of the three witches in Macbeth and who has been a regular cast member in productions by Blue Door and its sister company The Bull Players.

Rehearsals are due to start in January ready for the play to be staged next April.

Dickens paid many visits to Finchley and Barnet and the time he spent in the locality proved a great inspiration when writing his novels.

On a number of occasions, he was said to have taken his wife to dine at The Red Lion during the 1830s.

At the time he was writing Oliver Twist and Oliver is said to have met the Artful Dodger in Barnet High Street on the steps of what was the former Victoria Bakery.

It was there that Oliver “sat, with bleeding feet and covered with dust, upon a doorstep” after he had “limped slowly into the little town of Barnet”.

While crouching in the High Street, Oliver wondered at the “great number of public houses (every other house in Barnet was a tavern large or small), gazing listlessly at the coaches as they passed through”.

Highly acclaimed production of Macbeth at Bull Theatre, Barnet, to be followed next year by a drama with storyline about how Charles Dickens Came to Barnet

Ms Dunne – with Claire Fisher (above left) – said the Dickens’ play will definitely reflect the historic importance of the licensed trade in Barnet; so, expect references to The Mitre and The Bull as well as The Red Lion.    

There is also a strong chance that Dickens visited the former Barnet Union Workhouse – although this is disputed by some historians – and that this was the workhouse depicted in Oliver Twist.

A friend had urged Dickens to visit the workhouse after hearing one of its young inmates “ask for more”.

Barnet gets its own mention in Dickens’s Dictionary of London (1879): “A pretty and still tolerably rural suburb, but on the north side of London and on clay…The best part of Barnet, from a residential point of view, is the ring of villas round the common”.

Finchley also has strong connections with Dickens’ work. In 1843 he lived at Cobley’s Farm on Bow Lane while writing Martin Chuzzlewit and used to visit the Green Man in East Finchley.

It is recorded that during his walks in the lanes around Finchley with the writer John Forster that Dickens conceived the immortal character Mrs Gamp. 

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Campaign by St John Ambulance to increase public confidence in responding to cardiac arrests by using CPR techniques and defibrillators

Despite the widening public provision of defibrillators, the Barnet branch of St John Ambulance is keen to do more to increase people’s confidence in responding to cardiac arrests by embarking on cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation treatment.

To help improve survival rates, members staged a Restart a Heart event at The Spires shopping centre where St John Ambulance nurse Emma Ball (above) gave a demonstration.

Currently less than one in 12 survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and the aim of the Barnet first aiders is to encourage community support and interest in first aid and to recognise that defibrillation can more than double the chances of survival.

Emergency responder Winnie Bacon (above right) of the Barnet St John community engagement team helped to organise the event so that volunteers could train people in key first aid skills.

“We want to familiarise people with defibrillators and so that one day, perhaps, they can save a life by having the confidence to step in if there is an emergency.”

Ruth McQuillin (left) insisted that the instructions inside defibrillators – and there is one on the wall at the entrance to The Spires – are clear and simple.

“There are diagrams showing where pads should be applied to the chest and a defibrillator gives spoken instructions on what to do.”

Alongside the demonstration was an exhibition showing the history of the St John Ambulance branch in Barnet which has a membership of 60 volunteers.

The display was compiled by archivist Stephen Krause (left), who joined the branch in Barnet 47 years ago.

He is a member of the St John Fellowship and chairman of the St John Ambulance Historical Society.

Barnet’s branch dates back to 1903 and, says Mr Krause, is one of the oldest in the borough.

“Alfred Mosley, an entrepreneur, sponsored a hospital in South Africa during the Boer War and he was so impressed by the dedication and skill of the St John volunteers that he decided to pay for a branch to be set up in Barnet.

“At the time there were lots of accidents in workplaces, especially on the railways and in mining, which St John volunteers attended.

“The Barnet branch has always had a high profile, and we’ve become very well known.

“For 38 years we provided first aiders at Barnet Football Club matches at the old Underhill stadium.”

Winnie Bacon joined the Barnet branch in December 2020 to help with covid injections after St John Ambulance secured a contract with the NHS.

“Today you can see St John Ambulance volunteers at all sorts of events, such as the London Marathon and here in Barnet at events like East Barnet Festival and the Barnet Christmas Festival.”

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Replacing a foodbank with a community grocery offering food at low prices is North Finchley’s contribution to easing hardship and helping keep families fed  

A community grocery store where needy residents and families can purchase a shopping basket of items for a minimum payment has opened in North Finchley as part of a growing initiative to provide affordable food.

On its opening day the North Finchley Community Grocery signed up over 100 people anxious to take advantage of the chance to do a supermarket shop at much lower prices.

Based at St Barnabas Church, 913 High Road, the community grocery is only the second opened in London in partnership with The Message Trust which aims to bridge the gap between a reliance on food banks and people lacking enough money to shop at supermarkets.

Already there are 32 community grocery stores across the country and two more are to open shortly all manned by volunteers from churches and other organisations.

Much of their stock is supplied from a warehouse in Manchester from where The Message Trust distributes food which has been supplied – or donated – to the charity because it is close to or just past its best before date.  

North Finchley store manager Claire Franks (above) showed how it was possible to fill a shopping basket with essential items including milk, bread, potatoes, tinned tomatoes, pasta, cereals, lettuce and a cleansing product for a minimum payment of £5.

Unlike food banks where recipients often need a community referral, the North Finchley store is open to anyone in need. All that is required is payment of a £5 membership fee.

There is a sliding scale of charges starting with a £5 shop – which saves an average of £20 on 12 items – up to £7.50 for 18 items; £10.00 for 24 items; and £12.50 for 30 items.

Multiple shops can be made each week, Monday to Friday, from 9.30am to 4.30pm.

Alongside the store is the Hope North London Cafe and the aim, when possible, will be to offer other support and advice.

Jill Mallen (above), who is national training manager for Message, said the charity opened its first community grocery store in Wythenshawe, Manchester, during the covid lockdown.

They are now being established across the country in partnership with churches which provide the support and volunteer staff.

Most of those opened so far – including nine in the north-east of England and another nine in the north-west – are in deprived areas.

Now the push is on to establish community groceries in London and the south-east where there are known pockets of hardship.

A store is already operating in Ilford, and after North Finchley a third is to be established in Gurnell Grove, Ealing.

While North Finchley might give the appearance of being a comfortable middle-class neighbourhood, volunteer Vivien Metliss (above) said there were pockets of real hardship around North London.

As a helper at the previous weekly foodbank at St Barnabas – which has now been replaced by the community grocery – she had seen at first hand the hidden desperation within the locality among needy families and asylum seekers.

“Our weekly foodbank used to be open for just two hours a week, but we were overwhelmed with the demand.

“We were getting as many as 400 people turning up and it was hard to cope which is why we are delighted now to be working with The Message Trust.

“A community grocery offers the chance for people to stock up with food at a really low price and in a much more dignified manner. 

“Our store is just like a farm shop or going into a small supermarket store and it’s open five days a week.”

Vivien was on the desk enrolling new members. On the first day she signed up over 100.

“People can come into the church, off the street, and all they have to do is enrol. Then they can pay £5 and upwards for a basket of shopping.

“We have learned a lot from our experience of running the food bank. We hope access to a community store will help people in need get better at managing their finances.”

Community grocery opens in North Finchley providing low-priced food for needy families and push to close the gap between foodbanks and costly shops at supermarkets.

Store volunteer Clara Ng (above), who moved to North Finchley three years ago from Hong Kong and who attends services at St Barnabas, had appreciated her first day’s training.

“I do want to help in the community, so a chance to do sessions here at the store is an opportunity to meet other people and make a real contribution.”     

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Full English breakfasts are on the march up the Great North Road as Hole in the Wall Cafe plans to transfer to Dory’s Cafe in High Barnet

Kevin Callaghan, proprietor of the Hole in the Wall Cafe – said to be Barnet’s oldest cafe – is temporarily transferring his business to the premises of the former Dory’s Cafe, another local institution, which ceased trading in the summer. 

The Hole in the Wall, established in 1935 and hidden behind hoardings on the Great North Road, is to be demolished along with other buildings on the Meadow Works industrial estate at Pricklers Hill.

The closure of Dory’s Cafe in August was the end of an era.

Opened in 1954, it had been run by three generations of the same family and its closure followed the retirement of its proprietors Guiliano Cardosi and Angela Casali.

Mr Callaghan has secured a lease on the former Dory’s Cafe – to be renamed Corner Cafe – and he will transfer the business on a date to be announced once all the legalities are complete.

The existing Meadow Works complex of industrial and commercial premises is to be replaced with a new self-storage depot which will include new premises for the Hole in the Wall Cafe along with co-working spaces.

Mr Callaghan and his staff have earned a well-deserved reputation for their full English breakfasts and lunch menu.

Over the decades the Hole in the Wall, where Mr Callaghan first started working 20 years ago, has become a well-used pit stop for lorry drivers and motorists heading out of London.

The closure of Dory’s Cafe prompted tributes across social media and a flood of memories of full English breakfasts, tasty snacks and friendly welcome – a reputation to be proud of.

Mr Callaghan is delighted that the Hole in the Wall will have a new home once the Meadow Works industrial estate gets a new lease of life.

Proprietor of Barnet's oldest cafe The Hole in the Wall is moving up the Great North Road to former Dory's Cafe in High Barnet while new premises are built.

Developers Compound Real Estate say they are awaiting planning permission but do have approval in principle for a new state-of-the-art self-storage facility and co-working spaces, fronting on to the Great North Road, which will be available to support local small businesses and entrepreneurs.

A cluster of ageing and dilapidated light industrial buildings will be demolished to make way for the new development.

One of the last to move out is a furniture maker which has been based at Meadow Works for the last nine years.

Proprietor Sebastian said that he was disappointed to be leaving as it had been difficult to find new premises and rents were high.

“We have managed to find another workshop in Waltham Abbey but that just shows how few affordable workspaces there are around Barnet. It’s not easy for small businesses in woodworking and carpentry.”     

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Sad farewells with house building to start soon on farmland at Whalebones, off Wood Street, the last countryside between Arkley and High Barnet

Demolition and clearance of the Whalebones smallholding and fields off Wood Street, High Barnet, has moved a step closer with developers having completed the purchase of the site for the construction of an estate of 115 new homes.

Housebuilders Hill Residential of Waltham Abbey and the Gwyneth Cowing Will Trust were jointly granted planning permission last year to develop farmland which adjoins Whalebones House, former home of the Cowing family.

With ownership having been transferred from the Cowing trustees, the handover has required the relocation of two long-standing tenants of Whalebones – the Barnet Guild of Artists and the Barnet and District Beekeepers’ Association.

A replacement studio for the artists’ guild is to be provided in a new community building to be constructed in Wellhouse Lane but the beekeepers’ association, which has been based at Whalebones for the last 60 years, has moved to a temporary site at a farm in Arkley. 

Trustees for the late Miss Gwyneth Cowing, granddaughter of the founder of the Barnet Press, who died in 1987, first applied ten years ago for planning permission to build houses on fields at Whalebones,

A protracted campaign to save a significant wildlife habitat and the last remaining farmland between Arkley and High Barnet ended in October last year when the Mayor of London gave the final go ahead after Barnet Council had voted narrowly in favour of the scheme.

Most of the new houses – see image above from the Hill Group – will be built in the largest of the fields which is opposite the Arkley public house, and which is between the new Elmbank development and the woods around the now privately owned Whalebones House.

In an interview for Built Environment News, The Hill Group’s founder and group chief executive, Andy Hill, confirmed that the purchase of the Whalebones farmland had been completed.

He reiterated previous undertakings that half the site will be retained as “publicly accessible open space”.

“Whalebones Park is a site of outstanding beauty, and we are proud to be entrusted with its future.

“Our plans respect the heritage of the Grade II listed Whalebones House and the character of Barnet, while delivering a sustainable new neighbourhood.”

Space will be provided close to Well Cottage for a small holding for an agricultural tenant. The former tenant farmer at Whalebones, Peter Mason, who had been there since the 1960s and who had once reared cattle and horses at Whalebones, died last year.

Planning approval has been given for 115 houses and apartments in buildings ranging from two to five storeys in height.

“Spacious, modern family homes” would be available for private sale and affordable homes would be provided in partnership with the affordable housing charity Sovereign Network Group.

SNG’s regional managing director Matthew Bird told BE News that its partnership in the development of Whalebones Park would demonstrate how affordable homes can be integrated into high quality sustainable development.

“Our 54 homes at Whalebones will provide much-needed opportunities for local people to access affordable rent and shared ownership in Barnet, supported by the wider benefits of new open space and community facilities.”  

Alongside the purchase of the farmland by The Hill Group, the former stable block has also changed hands and has been acquired by the owners of Whalebones House.

In recent days there have been some emotional farewells because over the decades the stable block, with its much-loved ornate and welcoming interior, had been home not only for the beekeepers but also for groups of Barnet Girl Guides and Brownies.

Miss Cowing’s generosity in providing a meeting place for local organisations – and paying for the construction of the timber-framed artists’ studio – left a legacy of philanthropy which the trustees of the estate said they had been anxious to preserve and respect.

Unlike the Guild of Artists which is signing a lease for use of a new community building in Wellhouse Lane, the beekeepers’ association decided it was not in a position to secure charitable status and take on added responsibilities.

Instead, the beekeepers have found temporary storage place for their equipment at an apiary on a farm in Arkley but will miss the use of the stable block for meetings, lectures, training courses, honey extraction and storage.

Moving out was a sad moment for long serving members of the association who gathered for a final group photo in a room which, for them, held so many memories – from left to right, president Geoffrye Hood, apiary manager Wilf Wood, association secretary Ann Songhurst, and Shri Kam.

The association, which currently has 107 members, has apiaries at various sites around High Barnet including Cat Hill, Arkley, and also Mill Hill. 

Four hives of bees kept at Whalebones were moved from the site earlier this year.

One of the greatest disappointments for the association will be the loss of a purpose-built facility for honey extraction which was fitted out with the latest equipment with help of a grant from the Millennium Commission which distributed funds to mark the turn of the millennium.

Geoffrey Hood said their facilities had been of great importance in the association’s education programme and every year since 2013 he had helped to train ten to 15 newcomers to beekeeping.

“We tend to start new beekeepers off with a hive at one of our apiaries and then they usually find their own sites.”

Developers Hill Residential completed purchase of farmland at Whalebones off Wood Street, High Barnet, site of 115 new homes

The Barnet and District Beekeepers’ Association had its very own postcode. Wilf Wood said a former president Rodger Hedgecoe arranged with the Post Office that letters should be addressed to EN5 4BZ.

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Community events at High Barnet Islamic Centre to include a monthly soup kitchen with a warm welcome and refreshments   

After a busy first year organising social events, volunteers at the High Barnet Islamic Centre are planning their next initiative to reach out to the local community – a monthly soup kitchen for homeless people and needy families.

Underhill Councillor Zahra Beg (left) was one of a group of Barnet councillors who gave their support to the work of the centre in strengthening inter-faith relations within the local community.

Councillor Beg – seen at the centre’s open day above left with Ruby Choudhury and Hui An Zainab – said she believed there was demand within the locality for initiatives like soup kitchens where needy people could get together for refreshments and company.

“Unfortunately, there is a cost-of-living crisis and there are homeless people who would love nothing more than a chance to get together, have something to eat and enjoy socialising.”

Anjim Iqbal, the Islamic centre’s events co-ordinator – seen above with the chair of trustees Shujaulhaq Siddiqui – said that once she was given the go ahead the monthly soup kitchen could be up and running within weeks.

“We have the volunteers all lined up to prepare the food. Local businesses have promised us the supplies we need.

“From what we understand there is a lot of demand for the chance for people to sit in the warmth and have some food, even if it just soup and bread and some other refreshments.

Since the centre, which is in Bath Place, just off Barnet High Street, opened in May last year, it has run a range of inter-community and multi-cultural events such as bazaars and open days.

A group of councillors, led by Barnet Council leader Barry Rawlings, were welcomed at the open day and brought up to date on the centre’s work in establishing links across local communities and faiths.

“We must stand together and one of the strengths of the London Borough of Barnet is that we have a multi-faith community which works together,” said Councillor Rawlings (above, third from left).

“But we must work at it all the time and stand up to people who try to create division.

“Barnet is a tolerant place. We celebrate our different faiths, and we all know we are much stronger together.”

Dan Tomlinson, MP for Chipping Barnet and Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, joined the councillors at the open day. (above, second from right).

He congratulated the centre on opening its door to the community and proposing an initiative like a monthly soup kitchen where there would be a warm welcome, refreshments and company.

“I have been to the High Barnet Islamic Centre a couple of times since it opened last year, and I have been really impressed to find a community which is so outward facing and welcoming.

“It is so heartening to see the Muslim community, like the other religious communities in Barnet, uniting in their efforts to bring people together and create a strong community.”

High Barnet Islamic Centre to expand its programme of community events with a monthly soup kitchen for homeless and needy people.

High Barnet Islamic Centre is one of several which have been established across the borough with similar centres at Mays Lane, Underhill, and with others at East Barnet, North Finchley, Edgware and West Hendon.

It opened in May last year after the Darul Noor charity, previously based at the Rainbow Centre on the Dollis Valley estate, raised £1.8 million to purchase the Bath Place centre from the Template Foundation.

Trustee chair Shujaulhaq Siddiqui said the centre was expanding its activities and the opening a monthly soup kitchen would add to a programme of events which included a youth club, table tennis and classes for children.

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Family open day at Barnet fire station — exciting for children and for mums and dads to understand challenges faced by rescue services  

Youngsters queued up to sit in the cab of a fire engine and try on a firefighter’s helmet when Barnet Fire Station held its family open day – and it was also an opportunity for parents to learn about other challenges facing the emergency services.

Advances in fire prevention have led to a marked reduction in the number of fires but there is no fall off in rescue callouts to assist ambulance crews and paramedics and to help at other emergencies.

Firefighters of today must be skilled in cutting out injured passengers from crashed cars or gaining entry to houses where the occupants might have collapsed inside.

Barnet’s crews often assist at the aftermath of high-speed crashes on roads such as the M25 and A1.

Long-serving Barnet firefighter Nick Russ showed Barnet Vale Councillor Richard Barnes the heavy-duty metal cutter needed to cut through the bodywork of a crashed car, take off the roof and free injured passengers.

“Since I started as a firefighter 25 years ago, the number of callouts to fires has gone way down because fire precaution procedures are so much better.

“But we now have new challenges at serious road crashes or when people who are injured and who might have collapsed and are locked inside their own homes.

“We have the kit to gain entry to a house or flat and it is a task we do for ambulance crews and paramedics.”

Barnet fire station holds family open day with youngsters queuing up to sit in fire engine can and mums and dads learning about challenges for rescue services.

Councillor Barnes congratulated the fire station staff for welcoming local families to the station and allowing children to try on a firefighter’s helmet and sit inside the cab of the big pump fire engine.

“Only the other day I was speaking to one of the Barnet firefighters who told me he visited Barnet fire station with his grandfather – and now he works there!

“That illustrates the importance of us all getting to know why it is so important to have a local fire station that can deal not only with fires but also assist at terrible car crashes and rescue people in emergencies.”

Barnet fire station has a complement of 28 firefighters who are split into four watches of seven – so on anyone day there would be seven fighters on duty. Firefighter Nick Russ said he and his colleagues were delighted to have the chance to answer questions about what they did and allow children to climb into the fire engine and try out the equipment.

“The thrill of sitting in a fire engine never dies for some people. Only the other day the Chipping Barnet MP Dan Tomlinson came along to see us and asked if he could climb into the cab.

“He said that as a child he had always wanted to get inside a fire engine but never had the chance.”   

The family day was in aid of Macmillan cancer charity – one of the charities which the Barnet station supports, together with the charity for injured firefighters.

During the summer, a fire engine from Barnet can often be seen visiting schools or at a fete, all part of the outreach from the station.

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An “apple and pear celebration” in New Barnet – and a chance to turn crates of surplus fruit and windfalls into apple juice

An abundant crop provided an ideal opportunity for the chance to turn surplus fruit into apple juice at an autumn open day in New Barnet organised by the campaign group Incredible Edible.

Each crate of apples produced around a litre of juice – and that required plenty of volunteers to cut up and then prepare the apples ready for pressing.

Wendy Alcock, founder of a Barnet-wide campaign to encourage home cultivation in gardens and on unused land, said apples and other fruit had all benefited from a wet winter and warm spring and summer.

“What better way could there be of using up surplus fruit and windfalls than turning them into apple juice”, said Wendy seen above at the cutting up table, with from left to right, Janet Smith, Wendy Alcock, Elaine Jackson, Sue R and Sue Taylor.

What had been billed as an “Apple and Pear Celebration” was held in the community garden established by Incredible Edible on former spare land beside St John’s United Reformed Church in Mowbray Road.

Campaigning group Incredible Edible organises apple juicing day at New Barnet to take advantage of bumper crop of apples and pears

After cutting the apples into pieces the next task was to crush them in what is known as scratter, a crusher which was in the capable hands of Dave Ford (left), assisted by Daniella Levene, founder of the group Community Harvesters.

Daniella and Wendy were both delighted with the abundance of fruit this year, including apples, pears, plums and peaches.

So far this autumn Community Harvesters have collected around 750 kilos of apples and pears for distribution to local foodbanks.

The apples have been slightly smaller than some years, due to the drought, but there had been plenty of sweet fruit.

Incredible Edible organised a morning of activities for children all based around apples, including cutting out apples for printing shapes in different colours.

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Fine summer results in excellent flavour for Barnet honey but beekeepers’ association faces difficult times after move from Whalebones  

Honey of exceptional quality collected this summer has been a bonus for members of the Barnet and District Beekeepers’ Association during what has been a year of uncertainty for a well-established society.

Senior judge Fiona Dickson-Wood (above, left) was full of praise for exhibits at the association’s 111th annual show at the Hadley Memorial Hall when she was welcomed by show secretary, Linda Perry.

She congratulated the entry from Adam Armstrong whose honey won best in show for its clarity, depth and flavour. 

Adam also won the prize for the best mead. Such was its quality, that he was encouraged to exhibit nationally as well at his local show. 

Entries were lower than expected although beekeepers have been the beneficiaries of a good spring and fine summer weather which has produced honey with high density and velocity.

Overall, 2025 has been a troubling year for the association which is on the point of leaving its longstanding headquarters on the Whalebones estate in Wood Street and is having to move its equipment to temporary storage at a farm in Arkley.

For decades the stable block at Whalebones had been home for the beekeepers’ association.

It was left for their use by the late Miss Gwyneth Cowing who built an adjoining timber-framed studio used by members of the Barnet Guild of Artists.

However, last year the Miss Gwyneth Cowing Will Trust and Hill Residential were granted planning permission for build 114 houses at the farm and fields adjoining Whalebones House (which had been the Cowing family home, and which is now in private ownership).

A new studio for the artists is to be built by the trustees and a lease for its use is about to be signed by the artists’ guild. It has acquired charitable status to meet its enhanced responsibilities.

Miss Cowing’s trustees’ original proposal was that the artists and beekeepers would share the new building to be constructed in Wellhouse Lane, next to Well Cottage, and directly opposite the bus terminus outside Barnet Hospital.

But after lengthy discussion members of the beekeepers’ association have decided that the potential financial liabilities of signing a lease – and the need to establish charitable status – were too onerous for such a small organisation.

Instead, the beekeepers have been offered temporary storage space in a container at a farm in Akley while the association looks for a more permanent base.

Once the beekeepers have moved out of the stable block the building will be transferred to the private owners of Whalebones House.

If all goes to plan, the guild will move to its replacement studio towards the end of 2026.

Once the new building is up and running, work is expected to start preparing the Whalebones fields for redevelopment.

Preparatory work will include demolition of the artists’ studio and the adjoining agricultural buildings which made up Whalebones farm, a small holding run by a former tenant farmer, Peter Mason, who died last year.

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Open day held at St Mary’s Monken Hadley to encourage future generations of church organists

Young trainee organists had a chance to try their hand at the keyboard of the 135-year-old church organ at Monken Hadley during an open day held as part of the 2025 “Play The Organ Year”.

Jonathan Gregory (above, far right), a retired professional choirmaster and organist, who is director of music at St Mary the Virgin, Monken Hadley, organised the event which concluded with a Bach recital.

Over the years he has introduced generations of boys and girls to the organ and is keen to encourage the organists of the future.

He learned to play himself at the age of 14 and is no stranger to organ music: his father was an organist and so were his two brothers.

St Mary’s church organ, which dates from 1890, was built in Hull by Forster and Andrews and is said to be a fine organ for playing Baroque music.

It was installed at Monken Hadley in 1999 after having been restored following a fire at a church in York.

Noah Morley (above), who learned to play the organ at Queen Elizabeth’s Boys School, is gaining further experience at local churches, including Barnet parish church of St John the Baptist, where he has played at services several times a month.

Noah (16) was delighted to have the chance to take part in the Monken Hadley open day.

“Some people think that playing the organ is old fashioned, or perhaps rather exotic, so it is great to have an open day like this with presentations and demonstrations.”

Yuna Arao (14) was equally enthusiastic about the chance of get hands-on experience playing on such a majestic church organ.

Demonstrations and visual displays were provided by Duncan Paulson who helps to organise musical activities at St Mary’s and who often plays at the church. 

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Leading pioneer in renewable energy – and fellow of Women’s Engineering Society – is guest of honour on return visit to QE Girls’ School  

An award-winning engineer in the development of offshore wind technologies, visiting professor Emily Spearman – who grew up in High Barnet – returned to Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School to present prizes at the annual celebration of excellence.

Securing an A in GCSE mathematics at QE Girls in 1996 had been the springboard for Emily’s career – a career that included her nomination last year as one of “100 women brilliant in renewable energy.”  

She was delighted to congratulate Ejona Hasani – above, left – on winning the school’s 2025 trustees’ prize for outstanding achievements in maths.

Ejona – also an Abbott prize winner – is taking up a place at Warwick University to study economics.

Recalling her five years studying at QE Girls, where she remembered rushing through the corridors from one class to the next, Emily said was a chance to reflect on what school life had taught her – lessons she was keen to pass on to the pupils of today.

She had a strong sense of purpose; she knew what she liked and didn’t; she found English and history hard work; but was always curious and she gained an A in maths GCSE which secured her a place at Woodhouse sixth form college and then Nottingham University.

“One of the teachers in the maths department at QE (Mrs Sheena Duncan) recognised my potential.  She believed in me and recognised in me what others hadn’t. Through her support I have been able to achieve what I have.”

Pupils always had to fight for themselves, find sponsors and advocates, as everything achieved was a springboard to the next achievement.

“QE Girls was my springboard to college and university.”

Emily, who became an environmental officer for her university, found herself at the age of 21 as the only woman on an oil rig off Aberdeen, assisting in research and the collection of deep-sea data.

Other assignments included making environmental assessments on major construction projects across the world and, after eight years, she returned to academic life gaining an MBA in global energy at Warwick University.

Currently she is a senior leader of a BP offshore wind company, where she is working on offshore technologies such as drones and robots, and a visiting professor in energy and power at Loughborough University.

Emily’s return for the prize giving was a chance to meet up with Nigel Royden (above, left), her history teacher at QE Girls in the early 1990s, who taught at the school for 36 years, and who was presented with a long service award on his retirement.

Members of the Spearman family are no strangers to QE Girls: her father Jeffrey was chair of the school governors when the school hall was rebuilt after being destroyed in an arson attack in 1991 and her sister Jessica was also subsequently a chair of the school trustees.

Former QE Girls' School pupil, now leading pioneer in renewable energy,, presented awards at annual celebration of excellence.

Head teacher Violet Walker (far right) welcomed the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Danny Rich.

As guests mingled after the presentation, Emily – at the suggestion of the Barnet Society – agreed that given her role in the development of renewable energy –and as a judge in climate change awards – perhaps she would like schools to do more to encourage a greater interest in the subject.

One idea would be for an annual prize for the pupil devising the most imaginative strategy for tackling climate change – a suggestion Mrs Walker agreed was a possible innovation.