Little bomb people, Cricklewood Festival, Congestion Charging

After a short absence from its laptop, the Herald re-emerges a stronger, fuller Herald with a longer article and whiskers.

Little Bomb People

Some little twits had a tantrum yesterday and created a little news story the rest of the media has picked up on. The Herald has only a few comments about these idiots:

• I am proud to be a Londoner today and I'm proud to be surrounded by Londoners.
• Some stupid reporter called Tim should be sacked from the BBC. He is making sensationalist news articles including phrases like "Will Londoners ever recover their peace of mind?" This man has obviously not been in London because it's full of people who are going about their daily business unfazed. Nobody looks at all scared and everyone, as far as I can see, has peace of mind. Idiots like Tim, who place the sensationalism that they think "sells" over the far better story of London's resilience, do not deserve to report. In fact, London today is full of grubby people selling the Big Issue, Londoners eating their Bacon Butties outside because they thought they saw a glimmer of sunshine and wondering if they should remove their shirts in order to catch it if it comes again, tourists flipping through guidebooks and poor service in the shops - the London we all love.
• The streets are fortuitously lined with wartime memorabilia to celebrate VJ day - a helpful reminder that this city has already seen it all and these little twits won't bother London too much.
• The Emergency Services are stars.

Cricklewood Festival

In the aftermath of this tragedy, Londoners will be wanting to get on with life and there is really no better place to do it than Cricklewood. So we are pleased to report that this Sunday brings us the Cricklewood Festival.

The Cricklewood Festival is a fun event for all the family, as indicated by the presence of Microsoft Clipart balloons on the front cover of the yellow flyers. One of these balloons even has a smiley sun on it wearing sunglasses!

The Festival is of course Barnet Council's answer to Brent's Gladstonbury Festival. Each Borough fought so hard and so passionately to have Cricklewood in its own boundaries that they ultimately had to compromise and split Cricklewood down the middle with the boundary being the Broadway itself. Since then, both Councils regularly compete for Cricklewood's loyalty - appropriately so. Judging by the brochure, Brent is winning - at least in Festival terms. Although, perhaps, as the Willesden Herald points out, this is due to the Council having nothing to do with the Brent event.

It looks a fabulous day - The Steady Boys are playing "a mixture of your favourite covers". Frank Lacy will be there - apparently he has "worked with many bands" - and the legendary Gerry Langley who used to play with Van Morrison in the 60s before Van Morrison became famous. This line-up, which I know you are thinking couldn't possibly be topped, is rounded out by none other than the Barnet College Musical Group! Be there smartly on 12.00pm to catch them.

This entertainment extravaganza is on at the Clitterhouse (no comment) Training Fields Sunday at 12.00pm. If there is absolutely nothing interesting on and I have no chores to do and I don't feel like sleeping, the Cricklewood Herald might be there to cover the event.

Congestion Charging

The extension of our very own Red Ken's congestion charge is up for comment. There are only 7 days left to let our man Ken know what you think. Write to the Council or pop in for coffee of an evening - Ken always likes visitors. The new zone does not extend quite to Cricklewood yet but, as a popular tourism and traffic area, residents and businesses in Cricklewood should consider the implications that the policy may have on them.

For the most part, the residents of Cricklewood are understood to maintain an indifferent yet concerned posture in relation to the Congestion Charge. While the current proposals do not encroach on the target audience of this journal, there are commonalities of interest:

• in reducing pollution and congestion;


• in considering the unique position of popular destinations; and


• through the operation of basic human decency which demands empathy towards our fellows in Kensington, even if they are not fortunate enough to live in Cricklewood.

Those who share the view that congestion charging should be extended usually do so in the belief that it will reduce traffic. It is hard not to gaze with heavy heart at the congested Broadway and wonder, whistfully, whether charging people a fiver might not discourage a few. This is to be expected from the generally innocent heart of a concerned Cricklewood resident. However, as we have had the painful duty to point out on other occasions, not everyone in the world has the pure soul of Cricklewood in them.

To explain, one must understand that there are a number of exemptions and discounts which apply to the congestion charge including disabled drivers, breakdown vehicles etc. Specifically, there is a 90% discount for residents living within the congestion charging zone. So if you live in Kensington, you will be able to drive throughout London all day for a cost less than bus fare.

The extension may not therefore reduce the number of people in Central London. It may in fact open Central London to a whole swathe of new residents now able to access the discount. These people may not use this exemption simply to travel in and out of their own houses. They may abuse it in order to go into Central London in the way that they could not before. I know that my readers in Cricklewood will be struggling with the logic here and I would encourage them to read it a few times through to be sure that they understand the point. Bear in mind that not everyone in the world is as ethical as people from Cricklewood.

It is a complex debate and a difficult trade-off between reducing traffic in Kensington and opening the floodgates to Piccadilly. The Cricklewood Herald merely encourages everybody to have their say before July 15.