News from The Barnet Society

Keen photographers in the Borough of Barnet are being invited to submit entries to a European photographic competition which is being organised by Barnet's twin town Le Raincy, a suburb of Paris.

Dollis Valley Greenwalk, one of Barnet's precious green open spaces, is about to get some extra care and attention from volunteers anxious to enhance its biodiversity and ensure its future wellbeing.

Protecting the historic townscape around Barnet parish church, Hadley Green and Monken Hadley requires the constant monitoring of planning applications - a task that is becoming no easier thanks to cuts made by Barnet Council.

A star baker from Channel 4 did a roaring trade selling home-made cakes and pastries at New Barnet's first zero-waste market. Isabelle Jones, of Whetstone, who is on a year out after completing her A-levels, was declared a winner last year during an episode of The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice.

Dorina Cardosi, a welcoming face for so many years behind the counter at Dory's cafe, Barnet, has died at the age of 86. Seen here with her husband Tony, she had worked at the café since she was a teenager.

A Help for Heroes fundraiser which hopes to attract the support of local cyclists is being organised by Andy Perrin, a wounded Army veteran who lives off Mays Lane Barnet.

A property development company specialising in office-to-residential conversions has bought the Spires shopping centre and its five-acre site between Barnet High Street and Stapylton Road for £28 million.

Barnet Council has given the go ahead for the forecourts of four businesses in Leicester Road, New Barnet, to become the site of a ground-breaking zero waste market selling produce assembled and made from surplus food, flowers, and other recycled materials.

A hunt is on for women, children and former staff who might be able to unlock memories of one of the less publicised roles of 33 Lyonsdown Road, New Barnet, the listed Victorian villa that is under the threat of demolition.

Violinist Charlie Lovell-Jones who is to perform at the opening concert of the inaugural High Barnet Chamber Music Festival in July visited the parish church to familiarise himself with the setting and acoustics.

Electric go-karts and a bouncy castle were just two of the attractions at a free fun evening to attract new recruits to the 1st Barnet Boys' Brigade and Girls' Association.

New Barnet's distinctive - but badly discoloured - war memorial is one of six within the borough which is to be cleaned and restored by Barnet Council. A grant of £28,000 towards the cost of conservation work has been made by the War Memorial Trust Charity and the council is to contribute a further £23,000.

After having missed out for so long on the thrill of attending live performances a treat is in store with the return this summer of five open-air shows by Theatre in the Park at Oakhill Park, East Barnet.

The future of 33 Lyonsdown Road New Barnet hangs in the balance as the last the property guardians have left the villa. This locally listed building has been threatened with demolition by its owners, Abbeytown Ltd, who unsuccessfully applied to build a five-storey block of flats on the site.

Community action to clean and oil the extra long bench in Church Passage has spurred Barnet Council to act: its street scene department has carried out a power wash of a section of the paving to remove grease and grime left by accumulated food stains.

Celebrations to mark this year's 550th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet will gain added impetus next month with the release by the Royal Mail of eight commemorative stamps illustrating scenes from the Wars of the Roses.

The  Spring edition of the Barnet Society newsletter is now available to non-members. Distributed in paper form by a team of volunteers to all our members, it's a vital insight into life in and around Chipping Barnet. It is also a wealth of interesting and thoughtful local content.

April is the most important month in the history of High Barnet station -- the first steam train pulled out on 1 April 1872 and the first tube train left for Charing Cross on 14 April 1940 after the much-delayed extension of Northern Line electrification.  The 150th anniversary next year of its official opening will recall

A memorial service at Hadley Highstone marked the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Barnet -- starting a year of commemorative events which all being well will include a return in September of the highly successful Barnet Medieval Festival.

A band of volunteers spent the afternoon scrubbing down High Barnet's most popular street art fixture -- the long teak bench that extends for much of the length of Church Passage and provides a welcome resting place for one and all.