The Mill Hill Music festival diary - Day 3

If you've already read the festival diary this week in previous blogs, skip this first paragraph, it's just the explanation. For those of you who don't know, I am on the organising committee of the Mill Hill Music Festival, which is taking place this week. For the duration of the festival, this blog becomes my festival diary. The festival is run by a group of volunteer helpers on a not for profit basis. The purpose is to promote live music in Mill Hill. 

So those of you who've checked our festival program may be a bit surprised to find we're doing stuff today, especially as there are no gigs in the programme 
http://www.millhillmusicfest.co.uk/main.php/programme

Actually today has been pretty hectic ! Try running a business and organising a festival! Today has been spent on the phone. We've had to coordinate the collection of drapes, the collection of lighting rigs, the guest lists for bands, the exact timings of soundchecks etc. We've also had to arrange last minute rehearsals for some of the artists. As I speak writing this in the reception of Mill Hill Music Complex (it's 8:30 pm, I got up at 7am), Stewart Curtis's K-Groove are rehearsing for their gig on Thursday night. 

We've also had last minute ticket sales, a plethora of enquiries and a whole stack of other logistical queries. On top of that we've had to do a load of last minute maintenance on our large PA which we'll be using between Thursday and Saturday at Allianz Park for Stewart Curtis K-Groove, The Bateman Brothers tribute to Louis Armstrong and The Polecats/Loaded Dice. 

We've also had Boz Boorer of the Polecats in doing a video shoot for another project "Happy Martyr". All in all a busy day. I had a nice bowl of fruit at 7:30, a humus salad at 1pm and now I'm starving. On top of that, my good lady, who is Festival treasurer, is having a night off the Festival by doing a gig with her band, The BBC Elstree Concert Band at the Ark Theatre in Borehamwood http://www.bbcelstreeconcertband.co.uk/ - Sadly I'm to busy to support her tonight. 

And I'm the one who had the easy day. Dan & Gerry have spent the day running around actually doing the collections and the hard work !

So there you go ! Who'd be a musician !

The Mill Hill Music Festival diary - Day 2

For those of you who don't know, I am on the organising committee of the Mill Hill Music Festival, which is taking place this week. For the duration of the festival, this blog becomes my festival diary. The festival is run by a group of volunteer helpers on a not for profit basis. The purpose is to promote live music in Mill Hill.

So here we are at the end of day 2 (as far as the festival is concerned). Yesterday we had two events, the Holbrooke String Quartet at St Pauls and The Alan Warner All Stars at the Adam and Eve. Due to my inability to bi-locate, I was unable to attend the Holbrooke Quartet. My good lady (also a committee member) attended this event and said it went really well. The band were excellent and the music was well received.

My day. Well it started with my boy attending a trial for Watling Youth FC at the London Academy. My son has played for the team for the last six years. Recently new coaches have been appointed and the club is being restructured. I enjoyed the three hour session and it was great to see a group of around 20 boys being put through their paces. The facilities at the London Academy are excellent. It is great to see how one of Barnets formerly more run down schools has been transformed. After the session, I went to work at Mill Hill Music Complex, Saturday afternoon is a busy time. We have drama and singing, which brings lots of young people into the studios. It is pretty full on. I was also preparing for the week, as I'll be busy with the Music Festival. I had to pack up our lighting kit and then take it to the Adam & Eve for 6pm. I arrived to find the pub nearly empty. The management have not seen a festival night before and were a  tad apprehensive as to how the evening would go. Due to the weather, the plan for Alan Warner to play outside was dropped and space cleared indoors. I set up the lights and had a beer whilst waiting for the band - the calm before the storm.

Around 7pm Alan Warner and the boys arrived. Alan is an old friend of mine. He is perhaps the best guitarist I know. As a founder member of the Foundations, he has been around a long time, but still loves music and guitars. It is always a joy to hear him play.

By 8.30 pm when Al kicked off his first set, the pub was heaving with people. Many had driven miles to see Alan in action. His set was the usual eclectic mix of his favourite songs. For me the highlight of the first set was "Sweet Home Alabama". Many bands cover the song, but few do it justice. Alan certainly does.

At pub gigs, the pub covers the band cost. The festival hold a raffle to cover our costs. It was clear how the crowd react to the band by the monet raised. The raffle was a big success, thanks to the hard work of Jenni Bond, who takes responsibility. My job was simple, provide the lights,MC the show and make sure things ran smoothly. They did. By the end of the evening, the pub was rocking. Al blasted out all manner of hits, another highlight being Sultans of Swing, and a whole selection of excellent blues numbers. A great way to start the festival. We got home around 1am.

We had an early start today at the Rising Sun. At 10am I had to collect 10 white chairs from the studio and then help Gerry & Dan build Gazebos, ably assisted by Jenni & Clare. Due to the weather we also leant the pub a gazebo. All was built in time for the crowds. The weather started to threaten, with a very mild drizzle for the first half of the set, lightening up later. The Vo De O Do orchestra play 1920's jazz and ragtime. The band were very well received, as people munched through a tasty fathers day lunch. By the end, the crowd were up dancing. The pub was packed and thrilled with the response.

The band finished at around 4pm and we then broke down the gazebos etc, home for 5pm. A quick cuppa and now I'm off to Mass at 6pm and then out to play football at 7.30pm. We'll wrap up with a fathers day chinese at around 9pm. It will be nice to actually see the kids !

Life is never dull in Mill Hill during festival week.

Day 1 - The Mill Hill Music Festival

Today is day 1 of the Mill Hill Music Festival. Over the next 8 days, Mill Hill will come alive with an amazing series of concerts at venues all around the town. As part of the festival organising committee, it will be a busy week. My role is to provide the sound systems and logistical backup for the festival. The festival takes place every two years and this is the tenth festival. For the duration of the festival, this blog will become the festival diary. I will record how the festival is going and try an give some idea as to what being part of the team is like. Lets start with a little background. The committee started planning the festival back in September 2012. The first question we always have to answer is whether we actually want the hassle of running the festival. It is a major commitment. The next question, a major problem this year, was whether there were enough suitable venues. Over the last few years, Mill Hill has lost a number of key venue including St Josephs College on Lawrence St (venue for the Irish night), Hartley Hall (Mill Hill Amatuer Dramatic Society), Holcombe House (keynote Jazz night), The Mill (Festival Party Night), The Rose & Crown (Later Events). On top of that, due to exams in the week we chose, the school venues were unavailable.

Having lost so many venues, the challenge was to find some new ones. We were lucky that two excellent venues have opened. We have the stunning, recently rebuilt Trinity Church. We are also lucky to have the new Saracens stadium at Allianz Park. So having identified the venues, we then set about trying to line up an exciting and varied program. I think we've done a great job. This weekend we see three concerts. Today we have the opening concert, featuring the Holbrooke String Quartet at St Pauls church on the Ridgway. Doors open at 7.30pm and there are a few tickets left for the event. Tickets cost £12 and this includes a complimentary glass of wine or soft drink.

At 8pm, down the road at the Adam & Eve pub, we have a great night of blues, rock, pop and soul from The Alan Warner All Stars. Alan is a founder member of the Foundations and a co writer of their mega hit Build me up buttercup. Even better, the gig is free. Weather permitting there will also be a barbeque. This was a very popular night at the last festival, so get there early !

Tomorrow we have the Vo-de-o-do Orchestra at the Rising Sun pub. They are a ten piece Jazz band, playing the hits of the 1920's and the gig is free. Mill Hill has some lovely areas and I'd recommend that the Rising Sun is best sampled after a nice walk across Totteridge Valley, taking in Darlands Lake.

The other events this week are

Tuesday 18th - Opera up Close - Trinity Church - Sold out
Weds 19th - Tina May at the Mill Hill Jazz Club at Mill Hill Golf Club - tickets £15
Thursday 20th - Stewart Curtis K-Groove - Klezmer music - Allianz Park - £10
Friday 21st - The Bateman Brothers Tribute to Louis Armstrong - Jazz - Allianz Park - £15
Saturday 22nd - The Polecats with Loaded Dice - Rock and Roll/Rockabilly - Allianz Park - £15 (£12 in advance)

Try and come along and support the festival if you can. All of the nights promise to be rather special.

http://www.millhillmusicfest.co.uk/main.php/programme

Guest Blog - Your Choice Legal Action - By John Sullivan

By John Sullivan,

I have instructed Irwin Mitchell solicitors on behalf of my daughter to challenge Your Choice Barnet’s consultation process and decision (if the decision today was to implement the proposals).

Irwin Mitchell have sent a letter before action to Your Choice Barnet and await a response on Monday 17 June. If the challenge is successful it may result in staff members being able to stay in their current posts without any changes. I am aware that some members of staff have already shown interest in taking voluntary redundancy and would want them to be aware of the possibility that they could keep their current jobs, if this challenge is successful.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Sullivan is a parent carer and a regular guest blogger at The Barnet Eye. Guest Blogs are always welcome

The Friday Public Safety Announcement (Friday Joke Cancelled)

Is this the right way to choose a Leader of Barnet Council

Since 2002, we've had a Conservative administration. Every four years there is a Council election where we choose 63 councillors. Most people in Barnet naively think that the person who leads the party at the election is the person who we've chosen and so will continue to lead the party. Sadly in Barnet (Pop 320,000), things don't work like that.

This is what has happened
2002 - Tories Elected - Victor Lyon Elected -  replaced by Brian Salinger 2005
2006 - Brian Salinger elected - replaced by Mike Freer 24 hours later. Freer steps down in 2009 to be replaced by Lynne Hillan.
2010 - Lynne Hillan Elected, passes away 2011, replaced by Richard Cornelius.

Many people in Barnet are unaware of the way the Leader is chosen.  This is done on a vote of the 36 Conservative councillors. So the Leader of Barnet Council can be changed at whim by a mere 19 people ( a majority of the Conservative Group) in a secret vote, the day after an election (as happened in 2006) - not democracy in my book. What makes me uneasy about the process is the fact that under the Barnet Council cabinet system, jobs within the 11 person cabinet are at the gift of the leader and these come with substancially enhanced allowances, as do the roles of chair of various committees.The cabinet has almost total power, to the exclusion of the other 52 councillors.

Any process within local government where people with a possible vested interest in a decision have a key role in the decision making, is to my mind not a good way to do business. I am in agreement with the current Leader of the Council, Richard Cornelius, that the Cabinet system is flawed. Richard is keen to return to the committee system, where all 63 councillors have a role and a part to play. As committees would elect their own chair, this would ensure a degree of independence. Barnet has seen some awful decisions since the Cabinet system was introduced (under Labour). The council has repeatedly ended up in court, facing all manner of legal actions from residents, unions and even suppliers. No one can claim that the system is delivering.

For the record, I don't think that the process is corrupt and anyone who thought any of the present or past leadership "bought the office" is being rather silly. There are clear factions within the Barnet Tories and the jobs tend to roll out accordingly. I do not believe the system has been abused, but clearly there is significant room for improvement. Whilst there is no way that the Conservative group can be dictated to on how a leader is elected, we can ask that the cabinet system is scrapped, so that all councillors have a degree of say in the structure and it is transparent.

Whilst I disagree with many of the policy decisions that Richard Cornelius has made, I still believe him to be a decent and honest chap. I sincerely hope that he recognises the flaws in the system and carries through his promise to bring back the committee system. If he does he will be doing a big service to Barnet. I also believe it will make the job of Leader easier as it will ensure that "big personalities" in the cabinet have to take regard of all of their colleagues.

What has gone wrong with planning in Barnet?

Ten years ago, I put in a planning application for a loft conversion. This was turned down due to the fact that t "the scale of the design would affect the street scene". The council said they had a responsibility to protect the character of the road. As I ponder the developments springing up all over Barnet, I wonder why it is that the little guy always seems to get clobbered when he wants to do some minor change, whilst millionaire developers can knock down churches, pubs, garages, schools,  gaden centres etc.

In Mill Hill Broadway, we've recently lost a church hall. This is being replaced with a four storey concrete monolith, towering over and dominating two adjacent churches. What has happened to the street scene rules?

Just asking

London braces itself for the Carnival against Capitalism

Today sees the "Carnival against Capitalism" where various anti capitalist groups are targetting up to 100 premises across London for demonstrations and possible protests. The protests are a response to the G8 summit (and the Bildeburg group meeting) taking place in the UK.

Londoners generally have a relaxed view towards protests. We are very used to them. For many city workers, it is simply an issue of hoping that the protests cause no hassle and don't disrupt journeys. As for protestors, the aim is to get as much exposure as possible.

The Barnet Eye is a believer in protest, however we are of the view that you need to be specific about what you protest against and have a specific aim. We are sympathetic to some of the aims of this group of protestors, however we feel that the brush is too broad in a message of simple "anti capitalism". There are things wrong with unregulated greed and rampant privateering in the public sector. We'd prefer to see specific issues targetted, such as tax dodging corporations, corporations who attack public services and firms involved in dodgy practices. Just to attack the concept of Capitalism per se, seems to us to be a very blunt tool to deal with a whole range of specific problems. We'd prefer to see more focussed protests against specific organisations, where there is scope to raise public awareness and influence buying patterns.

We hope that the protests are peaceful. That is the bottom line

A message from Richard Cornelius AKA Dr Evil on the signing of the One Barnet DRS contract

Richard Cornelius today announced, regarding the timing of the signing of the DRS contract with Capita.

"I do not feel that we could in any way sign a contract without an exit clause should the court order a re-run of part of the the decision making process."

A very sensible decision for once from our Dear Leader !

The title of Brian Colemans autobiography?

Word reaches the Barnet Eye that rumours are being circulated regarding the forthcoming autobiography of Brian Coleman. Sources close to Mr Coleman (he personally only sends me abusive emails) are suggesting that the working title is a rip off of a famous piece of art by Tracy Emin. They have suggested that it will be called "Everyone I've ever slept with". Whether or not this is a wind up by Mr Coleman to put the wind up certain former friends, we can only speculate. He does seem to be delighting in upsetting his former buddies at the moment. Given that his own prose is turgidity in extremis, one may suggest that it would be the only way to shift a few copies. Mr Coleman received extensive press coverage when it was reported that he'd slept with an Arsenal FC striker. It seems to me that there is an endless market for tittle tattle, so if that list has a few people on it of note, perhaps he will get a bit of notoriety and flog a few copies. Given that he has previously questioned his own employability, I suppose we shouldn't begrudge him a living. After all he's spent the last decade or so as a high profile politician for a party which detests scroungers. It would be most unbecoming for him to fall into such a lifestyle.

Of course it is quite likely that this rumour is purely a little bit of merry making by his friends. Having read his blog avidly, I don't think he'll shift too many copies with revelations such as this one about his former mentor Lady Thatcher

When Prime Minister she gave the best part of a Friday or Saturday about  every three weeks to local matters and events, she missed the Finchley Carnival only once and that was for the World Economic Summit at Versailles, there was virtually no local organisation she was not part of as President or Patron and she never attended any event without ensuring she had spoken to everybody in the room and nipped into the kitchen to lend a hand with the washing up as well  . "You can never have enough tea towels " I once heard her remark at a Finchley Conservative Bazaar , somehow I cannot image David Cameron making that remark with total naturalness.

For a former QE boys pupil, Mr Coleman is remarkably averse to using punctuation. I would suggest that his ghost writer will have a job on his hands. When Mr Coleman finally does release his book, I suggest he gets in touch. I have a friend who runs the countries largest company for pulping unsold books.

The Barnet Eye urgently emailed Councillor Coleman for clarification, but thus far have received no reply.