News, comment and features

A new film with footage of Palmers Green is now out - and Talkies hasn't yet shown it. The film is a little wobbly - understandably, since the cameraman, Paul Smith, was filming while riding a bike from Enfield Town to Harringay along one of the proposed new improved cycle routes included in the "Mini-Holland/Cycle Enfield" scheme, to get a better idea of whether or not the proposed new cycle lanes are needed. His verdict?  "A route with great potential for cyclists if the Enfield council has.......

Enfield Council's plan to leave parks unlocked overnight will be discussed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday.  The meeting will be held in the Civic Centre at 7.30pm on 29th October. The proposal to cease locking parks for a trial period of one year is an economy measure -  a saving of £22.000 is anticipated.  The paper being considered on Wednesday envisages that vehicle entrances would still be locked overnight.  It also states that if a known specific.......

In March 2014 Enfield Council carried out a public consultation, using a vehicle parked in Green Lanes, with the aim of discovering what residents of Palmers Green thought about the town centre and what improvements they would like to see to the "public realm". A hundred people attended the consultation sessions, filling in a questionnaire, annotating a map and using a "Planning for Real" model of Palmers Green town centre to focus their thoughts. A report based on the consultation exercise.......

At the initial meeting of the Park Avenue and New River Crescent Neighbourhood Watch earlier this year one of the main topics discussed was alleged criminal and other anti-social behaviour in the mews/service roads/back alleys behind Green Lanes - specifically those on either side of Park Avenue.  People living nearby expressed frustration with their attempts to get action from the Council or Police. Recently similar concerns were raised on the Bowes & Bounds Connected website by.......

Customers eating breakfast at Heritage Tea and Coffee in Southgate were surprised to find themselves in the company of a famous TV chef this week - except that "Gordon Ramsey" turned out to be lookalike Martin Jordan.  "Gordon" was visiting the cafe, along with the Deputy Mayor of Enfield, Patricia Ekechi, to present its owner, Colin Johnson, with an award for Enfield's Best Breakfast 2015.  His cafe had won the most recommendations from members of the public taking part in the.......

Talkies - the pop-up cinema with a difference - is expanding its reach to take in Winchmore Hill and is looking for volunteers in N21 to help choose films and find venues. Talkies Community Cinema showed its first film two years ago this month and has been attracting large audiences ever since.  Its events in Palmers Green (at the Fox, Baskervilles and the Intimate) and in Southgate (at St Monica's Parish Centre and at Christ Church) have frequently sold out.  it has also been showing.......

For the past couple of years every Friday evening has seen St Monica's Parish Centre on Cannon Hill transformed into "St Harmonica's Blues Club" - three hours of excellent music, swift service of very reasonably priced drinks, and a great sociable atmosphere.  Starting this month, the same venue will be open on Sunday evenings too for "Unplugged Sundays at St Monica's". The Sunday night gigs have been set up by Sharon Crowe and Colin Hook, the music loving team who run the Parish Centre.......

If you travel to Bowes Park station, walk up the stairs from the platform and turn right (towards Bounds Green), the first building you encounter when leaving the station is Shaftesbury Hall, a former chapel now known locally as the "Tin Tabernacle".  It's a rare survivor of a type of metal self-assembly church that sprang up the Victorian era, but is now in a state of disrepair.  Shaftesbury Hall aka the Tin TabernacleSince 1974 the Tin Tabernacle has belonged to North London.......

In the centenary year of the outbreak of World War One, the Friends of Broomfield Park are hoping that money will be made available for the restoration of the Park's Garden of Remembrance, which has fallen into serious disrepair. Remembrance Garden pond with fountain (1930s)The bid for money is a joint project by the Friends and Enfield Council.  At the request of the Friends the Council last month applied to the War Memorials Trust for a grant of up to £30,000 to restore the.......

Enfield Carers Centre is raising money for a Young Adult Carers Project to help 3000 young people in Enfield looking after someone in their family with an illness or disability. Help us raise funds by hosting a breakfast during 17-19th October. Invite your friends and family to enjoy a delicious breakfast and make a donation. Why not have a special theme to make your breakfast fun? Contact us and we can supply you with placemats, recipes, invitations and other publicity material for free!.......

The haunting Greek musical style Rembetika (the "Greek Blues") will be the theme of a trilogy of events - two concerts and a film - which will be raising money for the Leukaemia Cancer Society, starting this month.  And appropriately enough, given the large Greek-speaking presence in our area, the first two events in the Trilogy of the Greek Blues will be taking place locally. The Trilogy begins with Rembetika and Beyond - A Journey into the Greek Blues, a concert at the Millfield Theatre.......

Free Will Week 6-10 October 2014 North London Hospice is offering you the chance to make or amend a will for free, as long as you include a gift to North London Hospice. To take advantage of this offer you must: • Include a gift to North London Hospice in your Will • Complete a pledge form for North London Hospice records Contact Jennifer Sheehy, Legacy Campaign Manager on jsheehy@northlondonhospice.co.uk for an information pack. Your gift will ensure North London.......