Barnet sculptor John Somerville, who has captured the image of countless rock stars and writers, is facing what he says is a daunting challenge.
Millie to live on in bronze
Tag: People and personalities
No shortage of demand for donated food
Chipping Barnet foodbank is currently experiencing a spike in demand following the introduction of universal credit which is resulting in some social security claimants finding themselves caught out by the loss of previous benefits.
Plans for memorial to Millie, High Barnet’s feline celebrity
Well over £1,200 has been donated already by well-wishers towards the cost of a memorial to the 17-year-old tabby Millie who made friends with countless admirers at the Spires shopping centre.
Continue reading Plans for memorial to Millie, High Barnet’s feline celebrity
Samaritans reaching out to prevent suicidal thoughts
From its new call centre at Bowes Park, volunteers from the North London Samaritans are stepping up their efforts to reach out to help anyone troubled by personal or emotional problems and to advise those most at risk of suicide.
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Campaigning to save traditional public houses
Gary Murphy, landlord at one of High Barnet’s highly-rated real ale pubs, the Mitre, is preparing for the next round of an ongoing campaign to force the pub owners to give publicans of tied houses a fairer deal on rents and the price and choice of beers.
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Barnet Band celebrates its transformation from brass to wind
Barnet Band, originally the High Barnet Foresters’ Brass Band, which started performing in 1889 – with just 15 instruments that had cost £42 – is about to reach its 130th anniversary.
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Sociable feline stars on social media
High Barnet’s most precocious feline – Millie, the 17-year-old tabby that has made a name for herself at the Spires shopping centre – is clocking up ever more online fans.
Barnet’s FA Cup run excites former fans
Barnet’s shock 1-0 defeat of Sheffield United – to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup – has re-awakened tales of other memorable matches from the years Barnet played at the Underhill stadium before the club moved to Edgware in 2013.
Keep Barnet Clean Campaign
“Don’t be mean, keep Barnet clean” is the message on posters which have been appearing outside parks and on street signs around Barnet in a do-it-yourself campaign by local youngsters.
Farewell to Tam the Milkman – end of an era
Customers and friends have been paying tribute to High Barnet’s popular milkman, Tam Hughes, whose franchise with Milk and More was terminated at short notice after he had been delivering milk for over 30 years. A collection to say “thank you” has already raised £220 among former customers in Byng Road and Wentworth Road.
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Accolade for High Street campaigner
Gail Laser, founder of Love Barnet, has won national recognition for the decade she has spent working tirelessly to improve trading conditions in Barnet High Street.
Looking for answers – The Great War casualties
St Mark’s Church, Barnet Vale, is launching an appeal to find out more about the families and relatives of the 29 men whose names are commemorated on a First World War plaque about which little is known.
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Tributes after death of feline celebrity
Paula Gabb says her much-celebrated cat Millie – known locally as Barnet’s “library cat” and latterly “Waitrose” cat – has died “peacefully” after being poorly for some time with a thyroid problem.
Raydean Road houses – a tribute to modernism
A row of square, flat-roofed houses in Raydean Road are among the buildings in and around Barnet that are highlighted on a website that celebrates modernist and art deco architecture in the London suburbs that became known as Metro-land.
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“What’s a selfie?” – asked Fred, 94, next birthday
Before Selfies is the title of a collection of photographs taken during the lifetime of Fred Jarvis, Barnet’s oldest and most famous trade union leader.
Continue reading “What’s a selfie?” – asked Fred, 94, next birthday
Death of popular organiser of Barnet art exhibitions
Fred Howett, a long-standing member of the Barnet Guild of Artists, who helped to organise regular and numerous local exhibitions of members’ art work, has died at the age of 74.
Continue reading Death of popular organiser of Barnet art exhibitions
High Barnet’s hedge-layers in action
A double-brush Hertfordshire hedge – re-laid in a way passed on by a Romany gipsy who lived at Welham Green – is the latest addition to the Barnet Environment Centre in Byng Road.
Keeping the High Street tidy
Keeping the High Street in High Barnet spick and span gives veteran road sweeper Douglas Shrubb so much satisfaction that he has opted to continue working rather than take retirement.
Millie the cat: online sensation
Millie the Waitrose cat, already dubbed High Barnet’s most sociable feline, has been inundated with good will messages after shoppers at the Spires were told she had recently had a pre-Christmas tummy upset after being given too much unwanted food.
A fun day for Barnet children
A damp Sunday afternoon did little to dampen the excitement for countless children who enjoyed the traditional fun fair that has become such a popular attraction at Barnet’s annual Christmas Fayre.
Hairdo sing-along for Barnet centenarian
A sing song going through favourites of yester-year is a highlight at a Barnet hairdressing salon when 102-year-old Greta Nellie Druce pays her weekly visit to have her hair done.
Last butcher’s shop closes
End of an era. Butcher’s Hook, the last remaining butcher’s shop in High Street, Barnet, has ceased trading and the premises are for sale or to let.
Toast to Barnet’s top trade unionist
Neil Kinnock led the tributes at a party to celebrate the 93rd birthday party for Fred Jarvis, Barnet’s most celebrated trade unionist – and a New Barnet resident for over 60 years.
Childhood memories of 1930s Barnet
Roads running between High Barnet and New Barnet merge together almost seamlessly today, but in the 1930s, when farmland still separated the two towns, the footpath up to the shops in the High Street was through fields filled with cows.
Barnet loses another link with past
The Barnet Press, once one of the most respected weekly newspapers in North London, has ceased publication after steadily losing circulation and struggling financially.
Wood Street’s miniature railway
Generations of Barnet children have enjoyed a trip on the miniature railway that circles the Wood Street garden of Ian Johnson, a well-known retired doctor and skilled model engineer, famed his collection of model steam engines.
Accolade for Normandy Avenue garden
A 120ft garden at a traditional Edwardian semi-detached house in Normandy Avenue, Barnet, has secured recognition from the National Garden Scheme – a long-held ambition for the owners.
Barnet’s link to the The Crown
Providing period cars featured in the hit television series, The Crown – being filmed at Elstree Film Studios, Borehamwood – is just one of the many commissions for a Barnet supplier of vehicles for film and television productions.
Wanted: Advice on protecting Barnet’s whalebones
Preserving two massive jaw bones from a ninety-foot-long blue whale is just one of the challenges facing the new owners of Barnet’s historic Whalebones House, one of the town’s oldest residences surrounded by woods and fields that are now threatened with redevelopment.
Continue reading Wanted: Advice on protecting Barnet’s whalebones
Barnet’s royal pastry chef
Celebrations for the Queen’s Sapphire Jubilee, marking her 65 years on the throne, brought back fond memories for former Buckingham Palace pastry chef, George O’Connor, who lives in sheltered housing in Barnet.
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