pinnerterest blog

British Pathe, the world's leading multimedia resource with a history stretching back over a century. The finest and most comprehensive archive of fabulous footage and stunning stills.

British Pathé have just released over 85,000 newsreels onto You Tube. This little gem shows a Mr and Mrs Thompson of Pinner, who kept a pet lion, Rota, in their garden. Apparently he won the lion in a bet.

Also to be found in this treasure trove is a film about another man from Pinner who built a light aircraft in his front garden.

It's time to vote for the nation's crappiest park

The Brown Flag Award® recognises and rewards the worst green spaces in the country. In 2013, a record number of parks have spun in to terminal decline while those special few council favourites have received the prestigious Green Flag or Green Flag Community Award. It’s time for you to show some love to some of the UK’s crappiest parks.

A week or so ago I posted the following tweet expressing my disappointment in Harrow Council regarding the state Pinner Village Gardens has been left in over the summer.

https://twitter.com/pinnerterest/status/371658343896866817

I received the following reply from @harrow_council asking me to fill in a form on their website, which I duly did.

https://twitter.com/harrow_council/status/372277115280175104

I've not had a reply from them in the last week and I don't think anything has been done to improve the state of the park. In contrast to this I went to the Canons Park open day last Sunday and Canons Park looked great. Full of people and beautifully kept. They have a 'friends of...' committee that helps to maintain standards in this historical park and I suspect this is why it's such a pleasant park to be in. Pinner Village Gardens has been a great local park which was kept in a good state and managed well over the last decade that we've been in Pinner. When we've had occasion to speak to the council about it they have usually be quite responsive and reactive, but on this occasion not.

I wonder if the selective maintenance over the summer in Pinner Village Gardens is down to budget cuts. I know times are hard and the council has been looking to find ways of saving money, e.g. their failed plan to remove dog refuse bins from parks and public spaces, but if this is indeed the case then surely this should be communicated in an open fashion to local residents (Harrow's council tax payers) in order to keep us informed about how our local spaces are being managed.