All Blog Posts (174)

Here's a beautiful and interesting blossom tree on Bounds Green Road which bears both pink and white blossoms.…

...I go up Cline Road and at the top there's a factory  called 'Textile Team - Bianca'.  It's a nice building, and I love the door and the whole entrance bit.   !   Am I crazy?   I just think it's got that special design  'something'!

Woops - I'm afraid I chopped the top off!…

Been worried about air quality for years. As a kid in the city where I grew up, the school authorities used to force us to cancel afternoon sports practices due to smog. So it's been awful witnessing the same thing again in Bowes.

A few years ago I had Enfield Council's Sustainability scrutiny look at the existing air quality sensors. They really weren't good enough. So went out a while back (ostensibly as part of a "smart cities" agenda) to doorstep Intel. And wangled about…

Here is what the officer wrote us

Dear Councillor

Thank you for your email dated 19 March 2014 regarding the above.

Following enquiries from both residents and Councillors in previous years, the area Arboricultural Officer surveyed Brownlow Road to identify suitability of the road for new and replacement tree planting, however he reported that there are no suitable sites to accommodate new trees within this road.

On receipt of this latest…

....  on Blake Road, the humble art of cementing  elevated to a higher dimension:…

This Thursday 20 March, starting 7.30pm at Trinity at Bowes Church, Palmerston Rd

See you there!

Dear resident

Following your Bowes ward councillors’ repeated representations to the Deputy Mayor for Transport (Isabel Derdring) and other Transport for London representatives, we have just received TfL officer Nigel Hardy to negotiate solutions to the unacceptable traffic congestion faced by residents of Warwick Road.

TfL is unwilling to reintroduce the right turn from the North Circular Road into Brownlow Road, which is currently banned for all vehicles apart from…

I have just been listening to a programme on Radio 4 Extra which is being repeated because one of the men in it, Alan Coren,  has died recently.  He was a great broadcaster.

The programme  is called The Sage of Cricklewood and together with his friend, Christopher Matthew, they go on a trip across North London with their Freedom bus passes.  The conversation is sparkling as they pass through Camden Town,  Wood Green, in an effort to get to Palmers Green and on to…

Fantastic news for borough although Bowes ward won't get any direct benefit since the scheme is meant to link Enfield Town to Edmonton (the specs being to expand cycle use to deprived populations that have cycled less up until now).

But as a committed cyclist (about 5/6 days a week for last 9 years), I think it's great to generalise usage. If only for air quality reasons...

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…