I've just returned from the private viewing of the Harry Beck exhibition at the Church Farmhouse museum in Hendon. Harry Beck designed the modern tube map, a design classic, copied around the world.
Due to the Tory Council chopping it's budget, sadly this is the last exhibition at this iconic museum, the oldest standing building in Barnet. Well that's what we'd been told but today at the meeting it was announced that there will be one more exhibition squeezed in. This is the one we've all been waiting for :-
Urban Terrorism in Barnet - Simple Ways to Make Bombs at Home
Yes the Church Farmhouse museum is staging an exhibition dedicated to the struggle against the cuts ! For the youngsters there will be the chance to make Molotov Cocktails and practise using them in the beautiful gardens of the Museum. The local womens institute are holding workshops in how to conceal handguns in your bloomers and hand grenades in your handbag. The Rotary club have chipped in, making a film on how to sabotage a Gatso camera and best of all the Catholic Womens League are holding a cake making contest to find the best cake with a concealed weapon in, so your loved ones can break out of Barnet nick.
Local Police boss, Neil Basu stated at "Well as the Council are going around vandalising the Borough and wrecking local services, it would violate our equal opportunities policy of we stopped residents doing the same. We did consider sending a PCSO down to the class to make sure the Molotov Cocktails for Kids conformed to the Health and Safety guidelines for Urban Terrorism classes, but we decided that nicking old ladies for parking on yellow lines was a higher priority"
Leader of Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan added "Barnet believes in Big Society. We believe that the public should be fully involved in the process of cuts and if we can get them to blow up a few libraries, that will save us a fortune">
Local MP, Matthew Offord, who attended the private viewing, along with esteemed and well respected councillor John Hart added "Harry Beck changed the design of the tube map forever, with the new exhibition we're rather hoping that the whole place might get burned down and that will free up space for a nice new Tescos on the site".
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, you probably guessed by now. There is no "Urban Terrorism in Barnet" exhibition as I described at the Church Farmhouse Museum as such. Sadly though, I beleive that the closure in itself amounts to an act of Urban Terrorism by a bunch of right wing extremists. Whilst 52 people were killed in horrific circumstances during the 7/7 bombings (some from Barnet), I believe that the agenda of cuts will kill far more people in Barnet as they are implemented. They won't die as a result of bombs, but as the elderly suffer falls, injury and worst of all stress due to decisions such as warden cuts, the toll will slowly and silently mount up. The situation with the Catalyst Care homes is an example. This week it was announced that Legionella was found in the water. I spoke to a friend who runs an air conditioning company. He told me that the conditions in which Legionella thrives are well known as are the regular maintenance procedures to prevent it. It is his view that there has been systemic failure for this to break out at 2 local care homes.
I'm rather glad we don't suffer from Urban Terrorism and I'm rather glad that we don't solve our problems by making bombs. What does disturb me is the fact that our elected officials are not listening. The one item of what I wrote above which was true was the fact that Matthew Offord MP and Councillor John Hart were at the private view. I sincerely hope that these two come out publicly in favour of Church Farm Museum and persuade their colleagues to preserve it for future generations.
Church Farm Museum was described by a senior councillor recently as "a nice to have". If he believes that history, culture and identity are merely "nice to have's" lord help us all. I don't know about you, but I care about where I live and I want know about the history of the Borough. There is a word for not knowing something - Ignorance.
Due to the Tory Council chopping it's budget, sadly this is the last exhibition at this iconic museum, the oldest standing building in Barnet. Well that's what we'd been told but today at the meeting it was announced that there will be one more exhibition squeezed in. This is the one we've all been waiting for :-
Urban Terrorism in Barnet - Simple Ways to Make Bombs at Home
Yes the Church Farmhouse museum is staging an exhibition dedicated to the struggle against the cuts ! For the youngsters there will be the chance to make Molotov Cocktails and practise using them in the beautiful gardens of the Museum. The local womens institute are holding workshops in how to conceal handguns in your bloomers and hand grenades in your handbag. The Rotary club have chipped in, making a film on how to sabotage a Gatso camera and best of all the Catholic Womens League are holding a cake making contest to find the best cake with a concealed weapon in, so your loved ones can break out of Barnet nick.
Local Police boss, Neil Basu stated at "Well as the Council are going around vandalising the Borough and wrecking local services, it would violate our equal opportunities policy of we stopped residents doing the same. We did consider sending a PCSO down to the class to make sure the Molotov Cocktails for Kids conformed to the Health and Safety guidelines for Urban Terrorism classes, but we decided that nicking old ladies for parking on yellow lines was a higher priority"
Leader of Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan added "Barnet believes in Big Society. We believe that the public should be fully involved in the process of cuts and if we can get them to blow up a few libraries, that will save us a fortune">
Local MP, Matthew Offord, who attended the private viewing, along with esteemed and well respected councillor John Hart added "Harry Beck changed the design of the tube map forever, with the new exhibition we're rather hoping that the whole place might get burned down and that will free up space for a nice new Tescos on the site".
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, you probably guessed by now. There is no "Urban Terrorism in Barnet" exhibition as I described at the Church Farmhouse Museum as such. Sadly though, I beleive that the closure in itself amounts to an act of Urban Terrorism by a bunch of right wing extremists. Whilst 52 people were killed in horrific circumstances during the 7/7 bombings (some from Barnet), I believe that the agenda of cuts will kill far more people in Barnet as they are implemented. They won't die as a result of bombs, but as the elderly suffer falls, injury and worst of all stress due to decisions such as warden cuts, the toll will slowly and silently mount up. The situation with the Catalyst Care homes is an example. This week it was announced that Legionella was found in the water. I spoke to a friend who runs an air conditioning company. He told me that the conditions in which Legionella thrives are well known as are the regular maintenance procedures to prevent it. It is his view that there has been systemic failure for this to break out at 2 local care homes.
I'm rather glad we don't suffer from Urban Terrorism and I'm rather glad that we don't solve our problems by making bombs. What does disturb me is the fact that our elected officials are not listening. The one item of what I wrote above which was true was the fact that Matthew Offord MP and Councillor John Hart were at the private view. I sincerely hope that these two come out publicly in favour of Church Farm Museum and persuade their colleagues to preserve it for future generations.
Church Farm Museum was described by a senior councillor recently as "a nice to have". If he believes that history, culture and identity are merely "nice to have's" lord help us all. I don't know about you, but I care about where I live and I want know about the history of the Borough. There is a word for not knowing something - Ignorance.
5 comments:
I thought you were going to say that Manuel Offord was serving the soup course to everyone. (The Wardorf Salad was off.)
Let us hope he can lobby in favour of the museum, though.
Interested to see the door fo the pottin shed has been unlocked and that Cllr Hart has been allowed out - and that Matthew Offord was there too: was there a St John Ambulance team in attendance? Has Mr Offord publicly expressed any support for the museum? I do hope so.
Regarding Barnet Council and Terrorism:
Although Manuel Offord wants to lobby the Archbishop of Canterbury to "protect Christians more" (see earlier Roger-The-Blog post) then he ought to publicly welcome the continuing overthrow of the Western-backed vicious regimes in the Middle East by their peoples.
I think it highly unlikely there will be any further Islamic terrorism against Coptic Christians in Egypt, for instance. And maybe Nigerians will fight harder against the corruption of the state, which might stop Islamic-Christian bloodshed there.
(Nothing like a bit of geo-politics for a Sunday, is there?)
But it's so much easier to screw over the masses if you ensure they have no access to education of culture lest they want to better themselves.
The good thing is that it is impossible to operate a modern economy without mass education.
(It is no longer "Why does my coachman need to be able to read.")
So old-style dictators are all likely doomed.
Post a Comment