All Blog Posts (165)

The meeting at the Bowls Club this Friday is the result of discussions we've been having with a local resident justifiably concerned about rise in burglaries in the area. Subsequently the MP was invited, the police too. Here is the problem

1) Police numbers may be up from their 2012 lows but they remain - certainly in Bowes/Southgate Green - well below the numbers we had been able to achieve beforehand. But don't mention the cuts.

2) The recent rise in police…

Most economists are VERY concerned that the current "recovery" is anything but sustainable. It seems to be built on the basis of an asset bubble (property, shares) but business lending is lower and lower, limiting companies' working capital (jobs!) and investment in fixed assets

So our Administration is trying to do something about it. 

Monday 10 March, from 10am-2pm at Dugdale Centre: Access to Finance event

PLEASE COME

The programme is…

Huge event today at GLA City Hall run by our Administration (Del Goddard as Lead for Regen, also Doug Taylor) with speakers including Rosie Boycott, people from Capel Manor, reps from Growing Communities, school teachers, etc. etc.

It's too long to write about extensively this late at night. Can do if friends are interested. For the moment, a couple of websites give an idea of what we're doing.

Garden Enfield: …

Bikeworks, a social enterprise, are teaming up with Haringey Council to provide lucky residents the opportunity to take part in a new cycling course, aimed at equipping people with the tools to enjoy their daily commute. Spaces are currently available from now until March 2014. IT'S ALL FREE!!!

Participants will receive:

• A FREE recycled bike from the Bikeworks Re-Use Centre

• FREE lights and lock, brand new

• A FREE six…

1. We've been arguing as cllrs that Warwick should get pinch points that actually pinch. Looks like that is happening. Good.

Small Story of a Big Road

by Chris Joseph

This illustrated short book by Chris Joseph is dedicated "For the People who live with the North Circular Road"

The short 16 page booklet features a collection of illustrations…

Sunday 16 February 2014, 

2 - 5pm at Chances, 

399 High Rd N17 6QN

Bring seeds to swap – vegetables, herbs, fruit, flowers.

Find out about local gardening projects and events,…

This week I found the most amazing Victorian map of London online. Virtually every sheet of the  Ordnance Survey's 1893-6 "Five Feet to the Mile" scale series has been painstakingly layered on top of a modern Google map. 

The detail at this scale is really amazing, you can see the layouts of individual buildings and even recognisable trees. The online version is superior to the original printed sheets as you easily zoom in, search, and move around the map. …

I've just been down to the Sunshine Garden Centre and noticed that they have a little art exhibition in one of their indoor spaces.  There are some lovely pieces of art work by some pupils from North Harringey Primary School. Worth checking out if you are down there this weekend.

There are two lovely big paintings - one of Alexandra Palace and the other looks like another part of the local area,  and some smaller art projects.  Really good!

Article just came out in the Independent: 

http://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/10962297.New_project_to_improve_air_quality_launched/?ref=var_0

We're really excited because it's the Bowes Labour councillors who first went out and brought Intel back to the borough for these new sensors. No surprise, given how particularly bad air quality can be along the…

Today I went on an organised  tour around London's Alexandra Palace -  'back stage'.  

The most interesting place for me  was the old Victorian theatre which is jaw-droppingly stunning.  It is not open to the public normally, and few people are even aware that it exists.

The deep, rich colours of the peeling paintwork give it a romantic feel.  There is talk of 'sensitive' restoration if the lottery bid is successful.   …

I am a big fan of the Guardian Data blog – indeed it has supplied stories for this website in the past - so I was delighted to see a fascinating link to historical data published on the Guardian site…

Pete found this story and wrote about it on his website: 

In 1933 Mr Norbury, an amateur photographer and chicken keeper, invented the world’s first security camera in London. His invention was largely ignored at the time, only now can we see him as the true father of camera surveillance. …

Jane, a friend of mine with a keen eye for detail, snapped this alarm in the doorway of EBH Electrical at 112 Myddleton Road recently. She told me that SHO is the old telephone code for Shoreditch. 

Look,…

This is a seven minute video posted on Harringay Online.

Totally cool cantata in honour of the New River! Enjoy.

http://www.harringayonline.com/forum/topics/new-river-cantata-the-film

It’s funny how so much stuff on our streets just gets ignored – lamp posts, telegraph poles – those funny phone cabinets that you sometime see people tinkering inside even the bright red pillar boxes.

It’s around this time of year – the last posting day for…

A much missed and nationally known company once had its head quarters in Myddleton Road.

Today 120 Myddleton Road is home to Barnet Brake & Clutch Services, Motor Factors.

But in the 1940s and 50s it served as the base for a company who were a household name…

Last Saturday I played my first public gig with North London Brass!  It was at Parliament Hill Fields Lido where the Outdoor Swimming Society was holding it's annual winter dip in the outdoor pool.   It was a privilege to be present at a great celebration of true British eccentricity.  And that includes the…

In the runup to the 2014 Council elections, we're holding an open session at the Enfield Civic Centre tonight from 7pm to 10pm