Great People Everywhere, Or: How I learned to stop worrying and love Grahame Park Estate

Today is the final day of an exhibition at the RAF Museum put together by young people from Grahame Park estate. The exhibition is called the Grahame Park Estate Story. It's housed in the Aeronauts Interactive hall. The space rather dwarfs the exhibition, which is a shame, but the organisers are looking for new venues to host it now that its run at the RAF Museum has come to an end.

For more information, contact ba4y@catch-22.org.uk / tel. 020 8205 8341.

As you might imagine I am a bit namby-pamby about war (though not an out-and-out pacifist - remind me to tell you some time about the workers' bomb). And I loathe flying. Still, I can't help marvel at the aeronautic inventions and the sheer size of some of the monsters of the skies that human ingenuity has invented (cast aside thoughts that most of those on display were designed for the purpose of killing fellow humans).

Grahame Park estate was built on an old aerodrome. The history of development in this area is very much tied up with the history and development of aviation, both civilian and military. (I live in old RAF married quarters, of all places.)

One of the impressive, fairly new features of the RAF Museum is the complete reconstruction of the pioneering aviation factory established by Claude Grahame-White (which is where Grahame Park gets its name) in the early 20th century (he bought the site for his Grahame-White Aviation Co. in 1911, which makes this year another significant Barnet centenary).

Claude Grahame-White

A set of photos from my visit to the RAF Museum is available here.

I didn't take many photos of planes - certainly not of the most recent warplanes. However, there are a couple of pics of, to my untutored eye, improbable looking flying machines from the Grahame-White factory. Plus a couple of nice old bikes, for Mr Mustard's delectation (after the week he's had)... And a few that relate to the history of the area. Plus, naturally, the pictures I took of the Grahame Park exhibition.

Factory of Grahame-White Aviation Co. reconstructed at RAF Museum

(A curious aside: I've often wondered at the rapid popularity of Belmont Children's Farm - now set to close since the owners lost their retrospective planning application. The Farm seems to have been masters at favourable PR: newspapers love pics of newborn lambs, etc. Someone also seems to have nailed an advert for the Farm to the wall in a corner of the Aeronauts Interactive hall, a prime spot for catching the attention of young visitors. I wonder whether the Museum ever noticed, and how long it will remain there now the Farm is closing?!)

Advert for Belmont Children's Farm nailed to the wall in the RAF Museum

Barnet Tories' three big ideas examined, Or: How big is your bin?

The Barnet Tories' manifesto is basically what they put in their recent full-page newspaper ad:

1. Barnet's first Council Tax freeze in the borough's 45-year history

2. Conservatives will never allow development on the Green Belt

3. Conservatives will continue to collect rubbish on a weekly basis

On 1, please see my post below.

On 2, please read what Roger Tichborne has written about Belmont Children's Farm and what David Miller has written about council leader Lynne Hillan's election material for Brunswick Park ward. Hillan says:

We have seen what overdevelopment has done in many areas of London. High-rise blocks of flats, over crowded estates and the demolishing of our family houses is not allowed in Brunswick Park.

Whereas, it's perfectly alright for wards such as Colindale.

On 3, this really doesn't sound like much to boast about. We have a weekly rubbish collection at the moment. Around the country, we hear, some councils have tried to bring in fortnightly collections and often backed down due to their unpopularity.

But this guarantee is not very reassuring to Barnet residents and voters. Much more to the point is what Barnet Tories' easyCouncil idea will mean for rubbish collection.

What we really want to hear from Barnet Tories is: what sort of rubbish collection service will we get for our council tax and what will we have to pay extra for?

You might not think there is any wiggle room here for the Tories, a weekly collection is a weekly collection, no? Yes, but how big is your bin? Seriously. Tories say they might offer discounts for people who only put out small amounts of rubbish. They might offer smaller bins for people interested in this. It would not be difficult for them, inverting the principle, to start charging people more for using the standard sized bin.

This would penalise the worse-off and people who, for reasons beyond their control, create more rubbish. I help to look after an ill, elderly woman and providing for her needs produces much more waste than the average.

Perhaps easyCouncil will actually end up being more like Starbucks, with bins coming in tall, grande and venti sizes, according to your taste and pocket.