Part Three, Residents Forum: A farce - and in your face

Residents Forums in Broken Barnet: the residents fight back


A local resident, let's call him Ray, stood up now to speak with real feeling about the use of parks for events, and the scandalous fact that charges were not waived for the abandoned Finchley Carnival. As he had already commented, the discretionary level of charges was potentially discriminatory: why should a community festival, providing as it does a range of events for local disabled and elderly residents, be at a disadvantage in such a process, and at the mercy of Councillor Coleman's 'discretion'? These are OUR parks, he said, to thunderous applause, and OUR events, not Brian Coleman's - we all have the same rights and the same rules should apply.

A former Labour councillor stood up to speak. He congratulated Mr Richardson for his skilful answer, which said absolutely nothing at all, and by the way, the Forums were supposed to be for members of the public to see the questions, and debate the answers, or at least they were when they were first introduced, fourteen years ago (and by Labour, reminded Mrs Angry) ... When interrupted by Cllr Thompstone, he responded angrily - What happened to the principle of free speech which has always been held in such high regard in this country? How dare you sir?

You said you wanted to ask a question, snapped Thompstone.

The question, remarked Mrs Angry helpfully, whilst scribbling away, is - how dare you behave in this way?

Mr Smith stood up in fury and shouted: These whole proceedings are disrespectful to the entire community, this is just a stupid farce!

Mr Richardson, who had listened to the comments of Mrs Angry and the Carnival organiser in regard to the inequality of treatment given to Friern Show and Finchley Carnival, suggested he would investigate the matter, and respond in writing.

When you investigate the matter, asked Mrs Angry, there is another issue I would like you to consider ... Is there not a potential conflict of interest in the fact that the Cabinet member for the Environment is also the chair of directors of the show which allegedly had its charges waived?

Ah. Silence, and an inscrutable expression of the face of Mr Richardson. Well, we look forward to the written reply to that one, don't we, citizens?

Mr Silverman decided then to mention the banner which was confiscated by Coleman's Tory vicar chum at the Friern Show, and the fact that his group were wrongly barred from a community event. Oops. Councillor Thompstone was off and yelling at the OAP now: 'YOU PEOPLE ...

You dare to call us 'You people', gasped Mr Silverman. Thompstone blew his top.

IF YOU SAY YOUR BANNER HAS BEEN STOLEN GO TO THE POLICE! GO TO THE POLICE! IT'S THEFT! GO TO THE POLICE!

Mr Silverman has been to the police.

We then had some questions from a resident and mother of small children who was speaking about local concerns regarding some dangerous crossings in East Finchley near a local school. She was told that, as you might expect in Broken Barnet, pre emptive safety measures are not allowed - nothing would be done because no one had been recorded as being seriously hurt or killed yet. The good news was that if someone was prepared to sacrifice a small child, or elderly resident, the resulting statistical data might engender some interest from the council. Shove that child in the road, or push granny under the bus: what are you waiting for, woman?

Ok: next question, from Mrs Angry:

Can you confirm that councillors still qualify for free parking permits that ensure they do not have to use any payment system when parking in the borough? If so, can you confirm that this generous gesture for our elected representatives will continue?

Now for some reason, this question had been published, so accepted, yet the answer said merely that it was a policy issue and therefore 'not within the remit of the Forum'.

Mr Smith, who had been seething with fury all throughout the meeting, stormed right up to the desk to protest in no uncertain terms, to the clearly trembling Tory councillors about the ludicrous constraints of the new Forum, and his personal sense of general dissatisfaction with the way in which the evening was proceeding. Thompstone, like a hopelessly ineffectual physics teacher struggling with a disruptive schoolboy, ordered him to sit down.

Send him to stand in the corridor, suggested Mrs Angry, thinking back to her schooldays, and beginning to lose her composure, as Mr Smith complied with Mr Thompstone's request, but not in a way he might have expected. He fetched a chair and dragged it in front of Thompstone's table, and sat down right there, less than two feet away from him, folded his arms and remained there for the rest of the evening. Just imagine how funny it was, watching Thompstone trying to pretend Mr Smith was not there, glaring at him. Mrs Angry, it must be reported, was unable to write notes at this point, as she was beside herself with helpless laughter.

Up stood LibDem councillor Jack Cohen, in gentlemanly defence of Mrs Angry's unanswered question. Mr Cohen is a good sort, and reads this blog with careful scrutiny, often taking Mrs Angry to task for grave errors, such as (so he claims) confusing the title of Bunuel films, or worse still, as he pointed out before last night's meeting, blaming a loose rivet for the loss of the Titanic (an obvious but useful analogy for the One Barnet disaster) when of course everyone knows it was the wrong size of rivet that was to blame. An eye for detail, see. Jack: what can I say? So ashamed: must try harder.

Councillor Cohen stated his opinion that Mrs Angry's question should not be rejected on the grounds that it alluded to 'policy'. If you took that line then every action of the council would be 'policy'.

How exactly, asked Mrs Angry, do you define 'policy'?

Well, said Councillor Cohen, it - ... he came to a sudden halt, surprising himself ... Actually, he muttered, rather perplexed - what is it?

And herein lies the sacred mystery of the new Residents Forums, citizens. We may not utter criticism of 'policy'. We may not refer to 'policy'. We may not even discuss 'policy'. It is taboo: forbidden, dangerous. It has a potency so strong that even looking at a question addressed to a matter of policy could have catastrophic consequences, like gazing at the sun.

But what is it?

Policy is divine law, in our borough. It is the word of One Barnet. To challenge policy is to challenge the natural laws of the universe, and the wisdom of our rulers. It is a sin, and sin must be cut out of the heart of the citizen, here in Broken Barnet. Some of the citizens who come to the Forums are free thinkers, and heretics, agents of the devil, and must not be allowed to spread their blasphemous message. Watch out, citizens: Councillor Thompstone is building a bonfire.

Mrs Angry asked if the councillors did not feel it was unacceptable, in a time of a 'ruthless drive for efficiency' and 'better services for less money' that residents must continue to subsidise the free parking arrangements which only Tory councillors make use of?

Oh dear, at last Councillor Old put his head over the trench. He wanted me to know that he only ever used his permit when making site visits. Good man, said Mrs Angry. He never used it otherwise. Highly commendable, Councillor Olds, well done. What about the rest of your Tory colleagues? He had utmost faith in them. Oh, said Mrs Angry, turning to the residents: and do we all have utmost faith in our Tory councillors, not to abuse their permits? NO! was the instant and unanimous reply.

Mrs Angry, you are being very rude, said the Chair, Councillor Old is talking, and you are ignoring him. Yes, said Mrs Angry, as insolently as possible, I am ignoring him -and I'm not going to listen to him, just as you have not been listening to to residents all evening.

Next came two questions about contracted out services, a water issue, and then street lighting - a favourite subject of Mrs Angry, who had many happy months needling the LBBarnet over the completely unneccessary and wasteful (half finished) replacement of lamps in her street. Thompstone leapt on lighting as a subject to use as good PR for outsourcing: look - penalty clauses, confirming the highest standard of performance. Er yeah, not quite the whole story, though, is it? Remember the schedules which were mysteriously not updated, the extra money paid to the contractors this year etc etc? Never mind, the resident was urged to speak to a certain officer with any concerns (as it happens, this was Mrs Angry's friendly officer who spent weeks re-arranging the new Guantanomo Bay levels of lighting outside her bedroom window, into something more, you know, romantic and enticing ... and he even got the workmen to leave a present for her cat. See: One Barnet: not all bad. Don't quote me.)

Nearly forgot to write about one of the most shameful episodes of last night's meeting: some residents had come to protest about yet another action by, oh God help me, yet again, himself, Brian Coleman, who despite funding being allocated years ago, had dumped plans to restore a bus stop needed desperately by elderly and disabled citizens living near Sunny Way in Finchley. Ray spoke again, passionately and touchingly: his late grandmother had campaigned tirelessly for the restoration, reliant on it due to her ill health. Another resident, Mr B, an elderly man using an oxygen cylinder which he has to carry everywhere, stood and with great effort tried to explain to the dunderhead Tory councillors why this decision was having such an impact on his life, and the life of other residents. This stop is in a Labour ward, in an area with some social housing, where more people are reliant on public transport. Mr B became very upset by the intransigent manner of the Chair, who was reluctant to let him or anyone else speak. When he did address the Forum, despite the fact that Mr B was struggling to speak, due to his illness, and the emotion he clearly felt, little deference was extended for his condition - why the hell was he having to stand up in the first place, when the councillors sit down throughout on their complacent backsides - and refuse to listen anyway?

Thank God, nearly the end. One last question. Was the resident here, asked Councillor Thompstone - A Mr Smith?

Yes, said Mr Smith, still sitting two foot away from Councillor Thompstone, with arms folded, he was here.

Oh, how we laughed. Except for Councillor Thompstone.

I'm not speaking to you, said Thompstone, until you apologise.

What for?

For your behaviour.

Ok: Mr Smith stood up, and the room went silent as he leant right over, right into Thompstone's face.

I APOLOGISE, he yelled, unapologetically, IF I INADVERTENTLY CAUSED YOU ANY OFFENCE BY THE FRUSTRATION I HAVE FELT THIS EVENING, ALRIGHT?

But when Mrs Angry looked at his question, she sat up in her seat: it was about the Dollis Valley Green Walk, and Councillor Coleman's sneaky attempt to impose a cycle lane on the walk, without any consultation with residents: he asked specifically about the stretch alongside the brook between Dollis Park and Waverley Grove.

The answer said 'There are no plans to introduce a cycle path. There are footpath resurfacing improvement works programmed to take place on 19th September.'

This is in direct contradiction of what has been reported. Mrs Angry has seen the DPR signed by Brian Coleman, and the schedule, and the reference in online details telling us: 'an additional £250,000 has been secured from TfL for cycle and footpath improvements' : she is puzzled by the fact that the Highways manager seems to know nothing about any cycle plan. In fact there seems to be complete secrecy and confusion about the whole issue. You cannot just shove a cycle track onto a walk, or even more peculiarly, only parts of it, and expect this to be a satisfactory arrangement.

Neither of the Tory councillors on the panel has anything to say, even though, Mrs Angry understands, Councillor Old is aware of the issue, from the Chair of a local open space association. Neil Richardson, the Highways manager claimed he knew nothing of any cycling plans.

Councillor Kath Mc Guirk pointed out to Mr Richardson that there had been a story in the local Times only a couple of weeks ago: at this, Councillor Thompstone smiled patronisingly and made a dismissive remark about reporters. Kath commented tartly that Mr Beckett, the gentleman in question, who wrote the article (well, we must assume he is a gentleman, although of course he does write for the Grauniad) is in fact a highly respected journalist and writer.

At the full council meeting this week, Councillor Coleman actually made a remark about 'cycle paths and other clutter': what on earth is he doing, one must ask, sanctioning one in the Green Valley walk?

At last, the meeting came to an end. Councillor Thompstone sank in his seat and breathed out slowly, as people moved off.

Mr Smith was absolutely right: then whole proceedings were an utter farce, especially when you consider this definition of the term, so neatly describing the events of last night, and indeed telling us a good deal about the circumstances we live in, here in Broken Barnet:

Many farces move at a frantic pace toward the climax, in which the initial problem is resolved one way or another, often through a deus ex machina twist of the plot. The convention of poetic justice is not always observed: The protagonist may get away with what he or she has been trying to hide at all costs, even if it is a criminal act.

Farce in general is highly tolerant of transgressive behaviour, and tends to depict human beings as vain, irrational, venal, infantile, and neurotic. Generally, there is a happy ending.

Mrs Angry hopes there will be a happy ending, in this case, don't you, citizens?

The end of the pier show: a farce in several acts by the Tory councillors of Broken Barnet

Mrs Angry, always happy to advise Councillor Cornelius


* Now updated: see below.

Another full council meeting, tonight, and another three hours and twenty minutes of rib tickling entertainment in the council chamber.

Mrs Angry is too tired to write tonight but will tell you all about it tomorrow.

You will be thrilled to know, however, that after months of pointless opposition, our camera shy Tory councillors have voted to 'allow' the grateful citizens of Broken Barnet to film their pathetic behaviour in council meetings, and wasn't that nice? See how easy it is, Tory councillors, to do the right thing, after so much idiotic obstruction - and all it took was, well: what? The defiance and determination of a handful of bloggers - oh, and a public humiliation by Eric Pickles.

A certain Tory Cabinet member, who turned up late for an important council meeting last night, after apparently attending a much more interesting engagement, tweeted that the bloggers will get bored with filming after a couple of meetings. Ha: I've got news for you, friend: we are all already deeply bored with the infantile behaviour that masquerades as the democratic process and is displayed so predictably in all council meetings in this borough, but we report them so that the residents of this borough see exactly what you get up to, and we will continue to do so for as long as is necessary. Like Mr Pickles said, Robert: here to stay.

More to follow.
*Here's more then. Continued.

So back to the beginning: full council meeting bla bla bla up the stairs ... Mrs Angry made her way to the council chamber and found herself standing at the table with the agendas next to Cllr Andrew Harper, who gave Mrs Angry what used to be called an old fashioned look. Uh oh, thought Mrs Angry: payback time.

Of course, sadly, no more jokes can be made about Andrew's portfolio, which has visibly diminished in size, after up and coming councillor Daniel 'John' Thomas pushed him out of the way and took over as deputy leader. Now Mr Harper was complaining about not being able to find a copy of the questions and answers. Well, said Mrs Angry, waspishly: perhaps you should have read them before you came to the meeting. I did, he said, triumphantly - I did - ... on the internet. Councillor Harper has evidently been on one of those Big Society volunteer silver surfer courses in the library - oh, what? Hampstead Garden Suburb Library - closing? Never. Whatever next.

Mrs Angry took her place in the public gallery, rather disappointed that, after her endorsement by Eric Pickles, she had not been allocated a place next to the Mayor, and asked to make a ceremonial entrance with the mace-bearing footmen in white gloves, and Councillor Coleman walking backwards in front of her, bowing. Oh well. The Chief Executive looked in, holding a banana, for some reason, but hid it and ran away when he saw Mrs Angry. It was very small. But no more Mr Nice Guy. This is war, Mrs Angry: a fight to the death. Who will win, I wonder?

Tributes were made to a former Tory leader of the council who had recently died. Brian Coleman managed to start his contribution with a petty remark, taking issue with the Labour leader for some point he thought she had been wrong about.

We then had to watch some young and very embarrassed school kids be dragged in front of everyone for some reason, something to do with the youth games. Good. A council meeting is the place for this sort of thing, now that we have banned any meaningful debate. Next: a mention of a birthday card for Prince Phillip. Lovely. Nearly half an hour had gone by: any council business? No: now a polite lecture from the new Mayor. Councillors must be courteous. The public must try to restrain themselves from being carried away by the excitement that they will inevitably feel when attending council meetings. Ok, making a note of that. Calm down, Mrs Angry.

At last questions and answers. Questions and some answers. Whenever any reference is made to anything connected to audit or MetPro, Mrs Angry noted the Tory councillors, as one, suddenly struck dumb, and suddenly finding something fascinating to examine on the floor of the chamber.

Oh dear, someone mentions the meeting the night before, in which library issues were discussed, but where was the Cabinet member responsible, Councillor Robert Rams? You weren't there, shouts a Labour councillor. I was, he claims. Eventually, yells someone else. Where was Robert Rams? A drinks party at the GLA? No. That is not true. He was unavoidably detained. Cabinet members are quite often unavoidably detained, Mrs Angry has noticed. It was most unfortunate, for example, that the new Leader, Mr Cornelius and so many Cabinet members were unable to get to the MetPro audit meeting, being stuck in a lift somewhere, or at a drinks party at the GLA, or at home watching tv. No wonder they don't want performance appraisal or their attendance figures published for the scrutiny of residents.

After Q & A, the meeting debated the implications of the Winterbourne View scandal. There was a lot of hand wringing and councillors telling us how dreadful this was, as if we did not understand, until they had explained it to us. It was an opportunity for them to look concerned, and caring, and over an issue that they think has no direct association with Barnet.

Mrs Angry would like to direct the attention of the Tory councillors of Barnet to the homes they currently use for the placement of elderly mentally infirm residents, including the one in which Mrs Angry's father was incarcerated, and which the CQC has allowed to reopen to new residents, on a basis of minimal improvement, after a Safeguarding Adults investigation instigated by a neighbouring council. Are the councillors sure that they are familiar with the standards of care in these homes? And what about the terrible case of Jesse Moores, a young man with special needs who died while in the care of this authority - or the recent horrifying report about the care of elderly patients in the Royal Free?

Alison Cornelius, yes, wife of the leader, talked in a small voice about man's inhumanity to man. This is the first time I have heard her speak. Husband Richard looked on proudly. Mrs Angry almost felt her knee jerk anti Tory hostility fade slightly, just for one brief shining moment.Then she pulled herself together.

Libdem councillor Jack Cohen made a touching speech, invoking the words of Primo Levi, and reminding Mrs Angry how refreshing it is to find a councillor who has some intelligence, and some sense of a world of possibilities beyond the boundaries of google and starbucks.

Labour councillor Andrew McNeil talked about procurement and safeguarding: the dangers of outsourcing social care. Unfortunately Mrs Angry must report that she noted one Tory Cabinet member who ought to know better yawning rudely and looking bored at this point, which is pretty typical of their standard of behaviour, to be honest.

Item 3.2: parking - aha - normal hostilities were resumed. Up stands Labour's Boudicca, Kath Mc Guirk. She is a street fighter, like all SMOGs (St Michael's Old Girls) ahem, including Mrs Angry, of course. We were trained in unarmed combat by the Sisters of the Poor Child Jesus, you know. And we know how to deal with the likes of Brian Coleman. Mother Fidelis, Sister Clare Dominic: they didn't take any prisoners, did they Kath?

Kath rubbished Coleman's report. She addressed the mewling, shambling Tory back benchers: You do have a mind, she explained to them, patiently: You can speak out ... they gulped and stared at each other in a state of panic: speak out? While Brian was in the building? Councillor McGuirk spoke about the effect of the parking charge hikes and changes on the elderly: as if Coleman could care less. He made a joke about ha ha rose tinted specs, and rubbished Kath;s rubbishing of his report. Facts, let's have some facts: ongoing chaos? There was NONE. All is sweetness and light in the demi paradise of Broken Barnet.

It was a wicked lie to say that parking meters were always out of order. 81% were working. Oh good: only 1 in five now out of order at any given time, and funnily enough all in the same most popular areas, I believe ... but the Tories blame this all on vandalism. Hmm: I do often see enraged housewives in Finchley taking an axe to parking ticket machines, pretending it is a Tory Cabinet member, in order to avoid paying for the privilege of parking. Or is that just me?

And then Brian told us we could not have new parking signs because the cost, the COST, he yelled at us, would be ONE MILLION POUNDS. Evidently this quote was procured, probably by Captain Craig Cooper, under new orders from Grant Thornton, from the same company tendering for the job of painting the lines, at a cost of THOUSANDS OF POUNDS on that road where 'arrogant popinjay' Councillor Coleman's biggest fan lives.

Where were we going to get sort of money from? From ICELAND? yelled a wag in the public gallery. YOU GET FREE PARKING DON'T YOU, yelled another. GIVE UP YOUR FREE PERMIT!

Aha: Councillor David Longstaff, the Actor, the roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd: can't remember what he was ranting about, and frankly I don't care. For an actor he displayed a surprising inability to play to the audience: snappy, sulky, got rattled by the audible amusement -from the public and opposition, and completely lost it to the point that he actually resorted to yelling 'WHATEVER' like one of Mrs Angry's offspring, and then said, oh: I'm going to finish and sat down. Thank God, shouted someone. Oh, hang on: that was me.

Councillor Lord Palmer stood up to make an important correction: the devastating MetPro audit was an internal report and NOT from the external auditors. He talked about the lack of an assurance rating - one of many - for the cashless parking scheme so beloved by Councillor Coleman.

Housing next. By some terrible twist of fate, responsibility for this has been given to Councillor Tom Davey, whose views on social issues make Thatcherism look like namby pamby liberalism: but first we had a speech from another charmer, Rowan Turner, who likes shouting, like all the worst Tories, and berating, like all the worst Tories. This is particularly irritating when it comes from the younger members, some of whom still live at home with their mums and have no real life experience on which to base their right wing world views.

Mr Turner has an interest in gypsies, for some reason, Mrs Angry has noticed, which is odd when you consider that any gypsy or traveller is chased out of this borough as soon as they set foot here. Mr Turner asked a question once about the sites which were supposed to be provided in all London boroughs: a plan dropped by Boris in the run up to the election because of course the Daily Mail reading public must have their bigotry respected. At this meeting, Turner made a snide remark about gypsies objecting to the word, you mustn't use it, you know, he said, archly. Him being an expert, of course. As a matter of fact, you objectionable little oik, traveller is the term preferred by Irish and Scottish travellers, who are not Romany/Romani in origin, and the word gypsy is generally preferred by Romany people. If that's alright with you, Mr Turner. It's not meant to be a term of abuse, and if that is what it is in your vocabulary, perhaps you need to adjust your attitude.

Susette Palmer told councillors to stop being childish, and to grow up. Constantly rubbishing everyone else is uneccessary and un British. This set Rowan Turner off again on his ironic PC posturing. Un British?

A very nice man behind me in the public gallery, who had not been to a council meeting before, spoke to me during the break about the experience. He was visibly shocked by the immaturity and pantomime antics of our elected representatives: and who could blame him? More of a farce than a pantomime: a predictable formula of slapstick humour, fateful misunderstandings and disastrous consequences.

Tom Davey stood up. Straight into an offensive statement: he referred to the 'nonsense' of affordable housing. Ho ho: all housing was, guess what - yes, affordable only - ha ha - some was more affordable than others. Oh, how they would laugh, all those shiftless homeless people at Barbara Langstone House, or in temporary accommodation all around the borough at the mercy of unscrupulous landlords, or even, the feckless fools, sleeping in a shop doorway somewhere. They would agree with the wordly wise Cllr Davey when he announced that social housing was a bad thing because 'it traps people' .... Labour like it though, he said, because Labour feeds on the fear of the unknown ... I thought I saw new Leader Cornelius cringing slightly at this point, but that can't be right, can it, because Mr Cornelius himself told us recently that many people thrive on a background of poverty ...

You want more offensive remarks? Davey is your man. He turned to the subject of all these millionaire union and Labour leaders who live in subsidised housing. Well, a couple who earn around the same as Councillor Coleman who was now beside himself with laughter, rolling about, chortling: Councillor Coleman, you know - the man with a six figure income who has been living for years in a fixed rent flat owned by a local Methodist church, a registered charity. Councillor Coleman, who lives in a glasshouse, throwing stones.

Davey continues. These dreadful people who have no aspiration to be like him and make something of their lives, in a job working for say, a tobacco company, are also hogging social housing with unoccupied bedrooms. Yes, citizens: if you pull back the curtains one day to find a pale faced, sneering Tory councillor at the top of a ladder, throwing his fag ends on your lawn and looking through the window to see who is in your bed, you know who it is likely to be.

Try throwing some more old people out of their homes, suggested someone in the gallery. Oh, that was me again. Ssh, Mrs Angry: you are sitting next to the Barnet Bugle, who is a diehard Tory, and is offended by your heckling. Mrs Angry found an old sweet covered in fluff, at the bottom of her handbag and gave it to him as an apology. Having seduced him with confectionary, and possibly because he had been sitting next to her for three hours and could resist no longer, Mr Hope decided to show Mrs Angry his extendable tripod, intended for use later in the evening. Mrs Angry was impressed.

The next item related to safeguarding. As we know from MetPro, the London Borough of Barnet takes safeguarding very seriously, except when it comes to carrying out CRB checks of illegally operating security staff working with children at risk and vulnerable adults. Mr Harper waffeld on about the council's marvellous record on this vital issue. Labour's Anne Hutton spoke and asked that the safeguarding regulations applying to contracted out services be adhered to. At this point, Mrs Angry noted Brian Coleman laughing with the cluster of Tory councillors sitting around him. It is an unwritten rule that Tory councillors - the men who dominate the party anyway, must snigger and talk when a female councillor speaks, especially a Labour one, or an older one, and Mrs Angry has even, at other meetings, seen Tory councillors laughing at female councillors from ethnic minorities who pronounce words in a way they think is comical. Truly pathetic.

At last we came to the grand finale of the evening's entertainment: item 4.4, a report from the Head of Governance, and oh: look a motion on the issue of the filming of council meetings.

A late amendment had been submitted by Tory Councillor Joan Scannell that residents should be 'allowed' to film discreetly from the public gallery. Please note that yet again, it is a female Tory councillor who has shown a rare display of common sense and honour, amongst the snivelling cowards of the Tory group. If you recall, it was one brave woman, Councillor Kate Salinger, who resisted the order to vote for the shameful allowances last year, and was tornto shreds as a result, and now another female Tory brought to an end months of embarrassing, idiotic publicity for Barnet's refusal to abide by the new guidelines from central government.

I've never heard Joan Scannell speak before, and had wondered if she was capable. She gave an interesting little preamble, about her ninety eight year old mother, and the development of new technology, from crystal sets, to computers, SatNavs and digital cameras of all kinds "and secret lapel cameras", Mrs Angry yelled, helpfully, thinking back nostalgically to MetPro and the budget meeting in March. 'Yes, where's my appearance fee!' demanded veteran campaigner and top hatted republican Mr David Shepherd, sitting behind Mrs Angry.

Mrs Angry notes with amusement that this face saving amendment emerged after she helpfully suggested to her friend the Director of Corporate Governance that he add Appendix B, guidance from Mr Pickles, as expressed to the CIPFA conference, to his report. Or perhaps Mr Cornelius has been won over by her recent words of advice?

According to a report in the local Times, the Tory group were given a free vote and allowed to vote 'with their consciences', which puzzled Mrs Angry, as the mentality of the Tory group is frankly sociopathic in tendency: manipulative, self obsessed, lacking compassion, unable to sustain meaningful relationships - and entirely lacking in conscience. In this case, however, they obviously knew when they were beaten, and voted for the amendment.

I wish I could say the same for the Labour group, some of whom didn't seem to know what they were doing. Mrs Angry is on your case, comrades: watch out.

By this time, ex Tory councillor and Tory blogger Mr Daniel Hope, from the Barnet Bugle, was demonstrating the full extent of his tripod, and was filming the councillors talking about filming the councillors. And there it was, captured for posterity, another u turn by the Tories, and another victory for the bloggers of Broken Barnet.

That was easy, wasn't it?