Archive
-
Date
Kiwi costs highest for UK markets
I HEARD recently New Zealand wines are, on average, the most expensive in the UK. That's quite a statement for a country that only started to export wines in the late 1970's. New Zealand's wine industry developed as a result of the drop in demand for
-
Date
Butterflies are back and not a minute before time
THE last years of the 20th Century saw a renaissance in interest in butterflies, both at the popular level of the general public and NGO's (non-governmental bodies) such as the British Butterfly Conservation Society and the Wildlife Trust Partnerships
-
Date
For Full Story
Beowulf Mayfield reviews Jazz Melodica this week. NO live review this week - I've spent the past week locked away with a new CD by the Top Brass Jazz Orchestra, directed by Watford-based Bob Wheal. The album, Jazz Melodica, was recorded at Watford Grammar
-
Date
Parmstock 2000 - you'll wish you could have been there
SUNCREAM and wellies should be packed for the third open-air festival in Watford in as many weeks. After Woodstock, Waynestock and chicken stock, it's now the turn of Parmstock 2000 - a day of bands, boogieing and barbecued food. And it's all happening
-
Date
Bee in their bonnet over website plagiarism
The brains buzzing behind a Barnet Football Club website are this week claiming foul play after a deliberately bogus story was picked up by rival sites. The fans at www.netbees.co.uk had long suspected their stories were being 'borrowed' word for word
-
Date
Mayor rejects inquiry
by LAURA BENJAMIN The new London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, has decided not to call for a public inquiry into the Tally Ho arts centre plans. Members of the Greater London Assembly's planning committee recommended on Tuesday that Mr Livingstone ask the Secretary
-
Date
Portillo is in town ,, but not in the leadership race
Former Enfield-Southgate MP Michael Portillo spoke about his spectacular political downfall ,, and comeback ,, during a visit to Barnet this week. The Shadow Chancellor was guest of honour at the newly-formed Hendon Conservative's inaugural social function
-
Date
Head teachers dispute Government report
by MATTHEW NIXSON education correspondent 'Lies, damn lies and statistics' was the cry in Barnet this week with the publication of Government figures on education spending. Labour councillors trumpeted statistics putting Barnet seventh out of 150 local
-
Date
Deal can work out
Council leader Alan Williams believes a move to Cricklewood could still solve Barnet Football Club's ground problems. A multi-million pound groundshare with Hendon FC remains the number one option, he told supporters on Frid. 'We are absolutely committed
-
Date
For Full Story
Reader Phyllis Booth (ne Padley) has lent us this superb picture of the Adelaide pub in Adelaide Street, St Albans, probably taken in the 1920's. Mrs Booth lived above the pub with her sisters Edna and Stella, and their parents Louise (Lou) and Christopher
-
Date
Doomed to even more congestion
FAILURE to solve Watford's thorny traffic problems through the park and ride initiative was met with grave disappointment from Watford Council this week. Watford's dream of congestion-free roads around the town centre was rendered a damp squib after Hertsmere
-
Date
Love means far more than passion
I WANT to reflect on a word that isn't used much today - passion. In our minds it is closely linked with the word love and I wonder whether sometimes it isn't an even better word. Love is everywhere. It is such a universal word. We use it for deep feelings
-
Date
South Oxhey sex attacks 'worse than people feared'
ANGER and shock have been the dominant reactions to the revelation last week that a gang of sex attackers has carried out a reign of terror in South Oxhey. It now appears the rapes and sexual assaults have been going on longer than the nine months the
-
Date
Cockroach infestation at nursing home
STUDENT nurses living in accommodation at Watford General Hospital are facing a rent increase, despite sharing their homes with cockroaches and having to go without electricity, gas and hot water. Nurses living in Willow House, one of several blocks of
-
Date
Park and ride will not 'rape' Green Belt
BITTER disappointment has gripped Watford Council after its hopes of securing a site in Bushey to host a park and ride car park were scuppered this week. On Tuesday, Hertsmere Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council refused to give their support
-
Date
Drop curfew, say cafe owners
RESTAURANT and bar owners in The Parade in Watford are meeting with council officers on Wednesday to call for the curfew on al fresco dining to be dropped. Currently people cannot eat outdoors after 8pm, but owners feel this does not fit with the continental
-
Date
More housing money needed
THE difficulty of finding affordable accommodation in Hertfordshire was highlighted by county councillors at a meeting on Tuesday, when they called for changes in the Government's planning system. Councillors at the environment committee called for more
-
Date
Rain, no sun, but a great rainbow
HEAVY rain and wind kept thousands of people away from Watford's biggest event in its music and arts calendar. Despite its name, the only colour to dominate the sky above the Rainbow Festival, held at Cassiobury Park, on Sunday, July 9, was grey. The
-
Date
Pilot defends aerodrome
A PILOT has vehemently defended the actions of other aviators using Elstree Aerodrome, after Radlett residents hurled criticism at a new trial flight path. The aerodrome in Hog Lane introduced a trial flight path in June to try to quash residents' complaints
-
Date
Top mother singled out for award
THE image of a single mother was given a positive boost this week, after a Radlett woman was presented with an award for her achievements inside and outside of parenthood. Ms Paula Lee, 41, has been named south east regional winner of Single Mum of the
-
Date
Inspector approves building 130 homes on sports ground
PROTESTERS opposed to building on a sports ground in Croxley Green have vowed to 'breathe down the neck' of developers to ensure minimum disruption. The comment by the chairman of the Old Merchant Taylors' Site Action Group (OMTSAG), Mr Oliver Hammond
-
Date
Survey leads to fears of threat to education
THE proposed abolition of Hertfordshire's area cost adjustment by Secretary of State for Education David Blunkett has led Harpenden MP Peter Lilley to urge that ministers think again. Mr Lilley was highly critical of a government consultation paper which
-
Date
Artistic pupil wins award
Sandringham THE artistic vision of one St Albans schoolgirl was rewarded at the Schools Library Service (SLS) open day. Year 8 pupil Ellen Baldwin from Sandringham School in The Ridgeway, came runner-up in a countywide competition that challenged pupils
-
Date
Parents win U-turn on school admissions
PARENT power has won the day as a 7,000-name petition forced Hertfordshire County Councillors into a U-turn over new primary schools admission rules. The controversial rules, introduced last year, gave children living close to their chosen primary school
-
Date
Call to save Roman relics from ploughing
URGENT action is needed to stop Roman remains in the Gorhambury Estate, where part of the Roman town of Verulamium once stood, from being lost forever. St Albans district councillors were told on Wednesday that Roman relics buried across the estate's
-
Date
Soft and sweet, currants are so berry nice
WHEN we talk of soft fruit we usually mean the kind that are thought of as either berries or currants and are synonymous with summer. Generally, these are fairly easy to grow in our climate, don't take up too much space, look decorative and taste delicious
-
Date
For Full Story
Warner Village, Woodside Leisure Park (01923 682222) The Patriot (15); Thomas and the Magic Railroad (U); Mission Impossible 2 (15); Final Destination (15); Chicken Run (U); Three to Tango (12); Big Momma's House (12); Gladiator (15); Essex Boys (18);
-
Date
Travellers facing clampdown
by LAURA BENJAMIN In an attempt to dissuade travellers from coming to the borough, councillors are looking at ways to make Barnet's open spaces inaccessible to caravans. A group of unlawful campers has descended on at least five places around Barnet in
-
Date
Tories hit out at poor condition of meters
by JENI CONNIBEER Barnet's Tories are on the warpath over the state of the borough's parking meters, highways and footpaths. Councillor Liz Mammatt claims Chipping Barnet's parking meters are past it and break down all the time while Councillor Anthony
-
Date
Ron's hooked on crime
by Jeni Connibeer He may once have earned his place on the Costa Del Crooked but the old cardigan-clad man in the dock at Hendon Magistrates Court looked more like Peter Stringfellow than a notorious criminal. It was, in fact, former jailbird Ronnie Knight
-
Date
Casualty is cracking as beds crisis grows
by JENI CONNIBEER Casualty waiting times reached crisis point at Barnet General Hospital on Monday One woman who waited five hours for treatment, then left without being seen, said staff members were describing the centre as a ghetto 'There were people
-
Date
Barnet considers phone ban
by MATTHEW NIXSON and ISABEL COE Councillors will vote to endorse a ban on controversial mobile phone transmitters from council-owned buildings and land. The proposal ,, already in place ,, follows the publication of the recent Stewart Report into mobile
-
Date
Landlord body shock
A landlord from Southgate said he got a 'terrible shock' when he found one of his tenants decomposing as he called round for the rent. Michael Carolan, of Minchenden Crescent, told Hornsey Coroners Court that Patrick Joseph Wade, 45, a labourer shared
-
Date
Headteachers angry over school branding
by MATTHEW NIXSON education correspondent Six of Barnet's leading headteachers have weighed into the row over extra places at so-called popular schools. They say branding schools 'popular' or 'unpopular' depending on GCSE results is 'nonsense' and wholly
-
Date
Last hope for the 'village green'
by MATTHEW NIXSON Campaigning residents have launched a last-ditch appeal to save Stanhope open space by having it designated a village green. They say the site in Chesterfield Road, Barnet, has been a community asset for years and any development will
-
Date
Hazardous flats
will have smoke alarms installed by MATTHEW NIXSON Flats across Dollis Valley in Barnet are to have smoke detectors installed after the Barnet & Potters Bar Times highlighted alarming shortcomings in fire safety last week. Hundreds of families across
-
Date
$
The wait is all over now Claim free rides .5 price ride Ticket to Ride Voucher Big day: Carnival queen Carly with princesses Juliette and Anna , will lead the procession on Saturday afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed for the weather to be fine for this
-
Date
sa krusty
This mask of Krusty the Klown is one of many on show in the Museum of St Albans exhibition now on, called Masks: Mystery, Masquerade and Mischief. Picture: ANDY WRIGHT Today July 14 Friday night live music; sounds from funk to indie, hip hop and dance
-
Date
Car crash chaos
HAVING driven a car half a mile on the wrong side of the road in Chorleywood, with two of its wheels on the pavement, a man collided with an oncoming vehicle - injuring its two elderly passengers - on Monday. Police are appealing for witnesses to the
-
Date
Wiggenhall Road closure
MOTORISTS who use Wiggenhall Road, West Watford, will face four weeks of frustration from next week, as engineers conduct gas mains replacement work - culminating in a five-day closure. The work is due to start on Sunday, July 23, between Farraline Road
-
Date
Council rejects 'diabolical' plan
AN application for a multicoloured block of flats made of yellow, blue and terracotta brickwork was thrown out by Watford councillors on Wednesday after being described as 'diabolical'. Developers Acorn Estates and Lindon homes had proposed the development
-
Date
Hornets see off amateur club's poaching claim
THE Hornets had their first victory of the new season in London's High Court on Thursday. The club saw off Aylesbury Town FC, which had sought damages from Watford FC for recruiting a star striker without paying a penny. Aylesbury wanted £150,000 compensation
-
Date
Tributes flood in for Lord Robert Runcie
ROBERT RUNCIE faced death 'with the bravery of a Scots Guard and the calm of a deeply religious man', his daughter said this week. Lord Runcie, 78, who was Bishop of St Albans, serving the diocese covering south west Hertfordshire, from 1970 until 1980
-
Date
Tories make stand to scrap Green Route
CONSERVATIVE councillors in Watford are due to launch an attempt to have the Green Route in St Albans Road and Clarendon Road scrapped. The Conservative councillors have tabled a motion for Wednesday's council meeting calling for work planned for this
-
Date
Parent power rules after petition effects admission changes
PARENT power won the day this week after county councillors took heed of a 7,000-strong petition seeking the reversal of new nursery and primary admission rules which looked set to divide families. The rules, which were introduced last year, gave children
-
Date
Mother fights for son's goal
A MOTHER from South Oxhey believes her son has been let down by an education system which, she claimed this week, has failed to meet his academic needs. Miss Sharon Folich's 11-year-old son, Cory McNally, is said to be a talented young footballer, and
-
Date
Treasures lost as family escapes television fire
A FAMILY from Abbots Langley lost treasured possessions when a television caught fire and ruined a bedroom at the top of their house on Saturday. Owners Richard and Jeanette Rodwell called the fire service to Wadham Road at 2.15pm when the ten-year-old
-
Date
Runcie 'had a very special relationship with St Albans'
ROBERT RUNCIE faced death 'with the bravery of a Scots Guard and the calm of a deeply religious man', his daughter said this week. The 78-year-old died at home in St Albans on Tuesday, surrounded by his family, after a six-year battle with prostate cancer
-
Date
Doctor's surgery on the move
A DOCTOR'S surgery in Redbourn with 2,500 registered patients is to close. Patients have been informed in a letter that the branch surgery of The Elms Medical Practice in Crouch Hall Lane will shut within the next 18 months in order for the practice to
-
Date
Health groups merger talks on
THE St Albans and Harpenden primary care groups (PCGs) could be set to merge, barely a year after doctors pressed for separate bodies. Health chiefs are meeting today (Friday) to launch plans to merge the two grassroots groups, made up of GPs, nurses,
-
Date
Water praised
DRINKING water quality in the St Albans and Harpenden area - contaminated by the cryptosporidium bug three years ago - is the best it has ever been, say government inspectors. The Drinking Water Inspectorate's report on the area supplied by Three Valleys
-
Date
Council chief to retire
THE future of St Albans District Council's chief executive has finally been resolved. The long-running saga ended this week with the news that Edward Hackford is leaving the authority after 11 years as the council's supremo. The 61-year-old, who has completed
-
Date
Council receives five such applications this week
A 50-FOOT high mobile phone mast looks likely to be built next to a junior school in St Albans. Mobile phone giant One-2-One wants to build the mast by the entrance to Safeway supermarket in Hatfield Road - yards from Fleetville JM School. The company's
-
Date
Reward for return of £18,000 bronze bust
POLICE are mystified by the theft of an £18,000 bronze bust from the grounds of St Albans School. In what police say was a calculated and well-executed overnight raid, thieves made off with the bolted-down bust of Sir Nicholas Bacon, a prime benefactor
