Rog T's Food Blog #12 - Whatever happened to cheap dine outs?

 I was walking down Mill Hill Broadway recently and I happened to notice that one of the cafe's was charging £12.50 for a sausage sandwich. I was gobsmacked. I was even more surprised to see that the cafe was reasonably busy. Now of course, people are perfectly entitled to spend their money on what they want and maybe it is the best sausage butty in the world, but it really isn't for me. In Mill Hill recently, there was a kefuffle about a proposed McDonalds. One of the big objections by certain snobbier residents was that it would 'encourage young people to eat junk food'. You've really got to wonder about people who are fine with a £12.50 sausage sandwich, but not a £2.99 Big Mac! Now I don't mind spending a decent amount of cash on great food. Myself and 'er indoors regularly eat out. What we've noticed is that since lockdown, the price has gone through the roof. We've also noticed that restaurants we've frequented for years are getting less and less busy. It must be pointed out we still have a decent little cafe that you do not require a bank loan to frequent. Each to their own, but to me a sausage butty is best when it is done plain and simple. A fancy description does not warrant an £8 surcharge!

The fact that we are not billionaires means that we've become more and more choosy about the price of where we book. We are eating out a lot more in restaurants like Rossella in Kentish Town, which are reasonably priced. A Brushcetta and Penne Arrabiata are less than £20. As an OAP I can jump on a train there for free, and it is almost next door to the Southampton Arms, which is one of my favourite pubs. It fits my definition of a good noght out for dinner. There are quite a few places that also offer good deals if you arrive early. In West Hampstead, the Wet Fish Cafe offers a 20% discount on the bill if you arrive before 6pm. The food is wonderful and so is well worth checking out. There are always bargains to be had, many restaurants near theatres have great set meal deals, which seem to constantly change. Usually you have to be in and out early, but it is worth the effort. 

What is getting ever harder to find are decent cheap cafe's that do a lunch. You can still find reasonable places. The Little Portland Cafe on Little Portland St, around the corner from Oxford St, does a fine full English for around the price of a Mill Hill sausage butty. Sadly such establishments get ever harder to find. 

I was talking to the owner of one such establishment and it seems the answer has much to do with the pandemic and Brexit. It is getting ever harder for cafe's to find the staff. There used to be an unending supply of cheap labour for cafe's from Europe. That has long gone and it has translated into higher costs. Many establishments took a battering during lockdown and regular customers got out of the habit of going out for breakfast and lunch. My advice is that if you are lucky enough to have a local, family run cafe or restaurant, that does good value food and doesn't charge an arm and a leg, cherish it and spend your cash there. The one restaurant in Mill Hill, that for me is always great value is the Mill Hill Tandoori. I eat out there more than is probably good for me, simply because if you don't use it, you lose it. 

And now for something completely the same! Normal blogging services resumed

 For the last nine days, this blog has been my personal Mill Hill Music Festival Diary. There are three reasons I do this. The first is I think it might be interesting to a few of you! The second is that it is useful to record what I was up to, as it makes planning for the next festival easier. The third reason is that it stops me getting distracted if I say "Right the blog is the festival diary". If ever you've wondered why I devote so much time to my blog, it's because I actually enjoy doing it and I think it is good for my mental health. It's not that I have mental health issues to any great extent ( we all have challenges sometimes) and I think it keeps me in a good frame of mind. When the blog started, a high proportion of the content was about the politics of the London Borough of Barnet. These days, I don't spend much time at all on this. The reason? The previous Tory administration was rubbish. The current Labour one would is almost as bad. If Reform got in, things would be terrible and my friends in the Lib Dems don't seem particularly motivated to score in what could be an open goal. I am not a politician, I am a musician and politics has been a distraction, one which has taken a lot of time. I am proud of much of what the blogs of Barnet achieved but I can only really get involved with things that warrant my time. Opposing One Barnet was one such thing, but I've no bandwidth for the day to day things that people constantly badger me to get involved in. This doesn't mean tomorrow won't see see a political blog, but there wil be less of them than there were ten years ago. 

Barnet has a lot of great people, who worked tirelessly to keep the forces of stupidity at bay. I feel a debt to all of them to continue to offer support when asked. I just can't lead and spend my life digging through papers as I once did. Ten years ago, we had a Tory government and a Tory Council. Now we have a Labour Government and a Labour Council and I can't really see any difference. As such, I have to ask myself if it is worth devoting thousands of hours a week to just moaning about something where there is not much prospect of anything useful happening. 

That doesn't mean there will be less blogging, in fact there may be a bit more, but mostly on subjects that interest me and excite me now. Anyway, how was your week. I had a wonderful week at the Mill Hill Music Festival. I now have a busy week of watching gigs other people have organised and getting ready for The False Dots next show!

Mill Hill Music Festival Diary - Day 7 The BBC Elstree Concert Band at Hartley Hall

 It's done. It's over. It's nearly 1pm on Sunday as I write this. Looking back on the week, it has been exhillarating, inspiring, exciting and absolute bloody knackering. I am off in a minute to pick up the van, remove the staging etc from Hartley Hall and pack it up back at the studios storeoom. That will be that for me. Clare will produce a final budget and we'll have a helpers drink in the Autumn. That will be it, until next June when we will decide whether we will do it again in 2027!

So last night? Another sell out night and an amazing band. A fine selection of film music, including 633 Squadron, The music of Carry On! and the Lion King. We had a visit from Councillor Danny Rich, the Mayor of Barnet, who thoroughly enjoyed the festival and meeting some of the wondeful folk who attend our events. 

Great to see @mayorofbarnet Cllr Danny Rich supporting the festival last night. Here he is with a festival regular @calvincasino at @BBCECB film gala night pic.twitter.com/ylm6ThtPk1

— Mill Hill Music Fest (@millhillfest) June 8, 2025

The Mill Hill Music Festival gets no financial support from Barnet Council, we are entirely funded by ticket sales, bar takings and the odd donation from generous supporters. None of our committee or helpers are paid. We do pay bands and the freelance technicians who make their living in music. We believe it is important to recognise the efforts of musicians and make them feel appreciated. The Mayor rightly paid tribute to our volunteers and volunteers across Barnet. 

Here's a flavour of what you saw if you were there and what you missed if you weren't.

What a finale! A sell out crowd for @BBCECB at Hartley Hall. Thanks to our helpers, venues and everyone who came and made it so special pic.twitter.com/PDR4oW1vye

— Mill Hill Music Fest (@millhillfest) June 8, 2025

After the fun of Friday night, we had to collect the van at 9.30am from the Golf club and drive to Hartley Hall. We unloaded all of staging as we use it for the Elstree band. Then it was back home for breakfast. My sister was staying and we had a full English, of the finest bacon, sausage, egg and black pudding from Boucherie Gerard, which as I am sure you can imagine, was delicious. We then walked the dogs and before we knew it, back to the studio to get some of the instruments needed for the show that we store. We then built the platform for the brass section, checked microphones etc. 

The band had a rehearsal before the doors open, and after a short speech from the Mayor, we kicked off at 7.30pm prompt. After the band finished, we packed everything down ready for collection this morning. We then  adjourned to Mill Hill Services Club for a post festival bevvie, which went down very well.

The club shut at 11pm and we all toodled home in high spirits. 

And that is that for #MHMF2025. Normall blogging will now resume!

Mill Hill Music Festival Diary Day 6 - The Silencerz and Booze Brothers at The Mill Hill Golf Club

 So on to the penultimate night of the festival. The Party night with The Silencerz and The Booze Brothers. This night is usually the most complex to stage, as we have it outside and we need to build stages, gazebos, a marquee for the band etc, put up fencing and then  rig sound and lights. However, due to the weather, we went inside to the Molly suite. This meant that we only had to put up a stage and set up the PA sysem and lights. This meant a later start. We'd normally start at 11am. As it was, we loadedin at 3pm and set up the stage. Vince the soundman arived at 3.30pm and the bands around 5.30pm. The soundcheck was relatively smooth and we opened the doors bang on schedule at 7.30pm. The Booze brothers kicked off with an excllent set. The band features former festival organiser and great mate of us all, Paul Amsterdam. Paul is the guy who got me involved with the festival. It was Paul who first got Jazz and pop music into the festival. He needed a hand with the PA systems, and I came on board in 1999, not thinking we'd still be doing it 26 years later! Itw as great to see him and catch up.

The Silencerz did what the Silencerz always do, getting people on their feet dancing! It was a wonderful night. 

As a festival organiser, the even better news is we've now broken even! All identified costs have been covered. A few will sneak out of the woodwork, but to break even is a real achievement. We get no funding from the council or the arts counci The festival is self sufficient in funding. We have to putt on popular events. All events covered their costs and some made a surplus that goes to cover the promotion costs. We do some Facebook advertising, and dropped over 12,000 leaflets to Mill Hill houses, as well as dishing them out at key locations. This year, we also invested in some new banners. over the years, we've reinvested in things like a stage, lighting and other equipment such as trolleys. We have reached the point where we have more or less everything we need. We also have enough in the kitty to be able to hire in top quality sound engineers such as Vince Cooper last night and Stuart Waterman on Friday. I used to do the sound for all of the gigs, but getting Vince or Stuart in means I am better able to oversee the logistics on the night and deal with issues and liaise with bands and venues etc. If you are running the desk, sorting out drinks and a meal for bands, dealing with non PA tech issues etc is easier. It means we can all focus on what we are supposed to be doing.

After the band finished, we had to break down the stage etc. The bar shut at midnight and  I was home by 1.30am. A great night, but I have to admit I am tired, especially as we had to collect the van and unload it first thing. One more even to go, then that's a wrap for another two years. If you are coming to the BBC Elstree Concert band later, please say hello. 

Mill Hill Music Festival Day 5 - Jazz Dynamos

 Only two days left, where did the time go? It seems like about a year ago that we were watching Recycled at The Adam and Eve last Saturday! I know I'm biased but it has been brilliant so far. Thanks to the thirsty hordes of Mill Hill, the bar takings have nearly tipped the festival into a break even position! We are only showing a £50 defecit on this years festival. We get a few expenses etc after, so if you are coming on Saturday night, please have a few glasses of wine to help us pay the electric bill!

Last night we were blessed to have the amazing Jazz Dynamos at Hartley Hall. The band reinterpret the hits of the 70's, 80's and 90's with Jazz arrangements. I suspect that we'd have had  the punters dancing in the aisles if we'd taken the chairs out for the finale! My personal favourite number was "Take Me I'm Yours" by Squeeze, one of my favourite bands. Have a listen

So how was my day yesterday? Well it was a worrying start. We had to take our dog to the vet, as she had a large lump on her side. We feared it was a tumour. Happily, the vet examined it and said it was most likely not and had responded to anti inflammatory tablets prescribed at the last visit. That was great news and she was treated with a special dog stew (chicken, potatoes and carrots) to celebrate!

We got back and there was some admin to do. I then went to the gym, and back to the studio to load up the gear for the gig, with our chief live sound engineer Stuart Waterman. At around 5pm we arrived at the Hartley Hall. There was a kids ballet class, so we drew the curtain and set up on the stage. At 5.30 the band arrived and at 6pm we could start the soundcheck, it was all systems go. Stuart is a brilliant tech and we were ready on time at 7pm. 

The show was a sell out and a brilliant success. The only problem was Stuart had another gig to be at, so we had to get the gear packed up by 10.00pm, wirth the gig finishing at 9.30pm. We managed to get the PA broken down and  his van loaded within 28 minutes, which is a record, even for us!

We then helped the band get their gear out. I was home by 10.30pm, for a nice cup of tea and a cheese sandwich. I weighed myself this morning and my weightw as down to 102 kg! That is the lowest it's been since 2018, so if you want to get fit, you know what to do, join our committee!

The Mill Hill Music Festival Diary Day 4 - Cellophonics at St Pauls Church

Fancy being part of the team who organises a music festival? What do you need to do? Well there are several things. First of all have a love of music. Secondly, have something to offer the team. We meet monthly for a year before the festival to sort out the programme, book halls, agree the website and publicity text, get artists and work out budgets. Then you have to give up a week of your life for the actual festival. Most of all, you need to love music. Think you could do that, get in touch (https://millhillmusicfest.co.uk/contact/)

Last night we passed the half way point, the fourth of our seven events. It was our classical music night at St Pauls with the amazing Cellophonics band. They are a cello quartet, made up of some of the UK's finest cello players. Of all the events we host, the classical event is perhaps the most niche. Usually we get an audience of 50-70. Our ethos is to run as a not for profit festival and put on the best music we can, across the spectrum. When we plan the budget, we work on a break even basis. So each event we work aound these parameters. Most years, events attract around the same sort of crowd. This year, we saw a massive upturn in interest for the classical night. We had around 120 people. It is actually a great valuye night, as we gave a free glass of rather good wine, which would cost a tenner a glass in a posh winebar in London! Mill Hill Wines do a fine job supplying the best wines at a very reasonable price! The show last night was quite amazing. The highlight was a world premier for a new composition, Soliloquy by Simon Baggs, introduced by the composer himself!. The band got a standing ovation and the audience were highly appreciative. 

My day? Well we had to get supplies from the Cash and carry. I went down and covered the desk at the studio, whilst my studio manager and an assistant drove up. When they were back, I did a quick trip to the gym, then up to St Pauls at 6pm to deliver supplies. My main job was as doorman and directing people around the hall. After the sbow, we loaded the glasses and leftover supplies up, along with the rubbish and we all went home. 

It was a stunning success. Onto the Jazz night with The Jazz Dynamo's.

The MIll Hill Music Festival Diary - Day 3 - Uncovered Opera

 So having had a brilliant week of free events at The Adam and Eve at the weekend, last night we started our ticketed events. We hosted Uncovered Opera performing a selection of classic Arias. It may, or may not, surprise you to learn that Opera isn't my thing. Having said that, as a musician, I appreciate people on top of their game and it's fair to say that last nights company were brilliant. I started idly wondering what an operatic version of We All Love a Party by The False Dots would sound like? I've never thought of such a thing previously, but I suspect it would work rather well! That is what great musicians do to you! Maybe the next False Dots album will be full of Arias, although I can't see myself hitting those notes. The Hall was packed. I think we were five tickets off a completely sold out show, which was brilliant. There was a standing ovation at the end and the crowd were highly complimentary of our efforts (not that I did too much for this show).

So what did I do? Well I work on a Tuesday, so the usual routine, breakfast, take the dogs for a walk, go to work. We had a major IT issue at the studio. Our booking system stopped working on Monday morning and I spent two days working with our suppliers to get it back on its feet. It is 95% of the way there, but that was a really unwanted distraction in the festival week. At 2.45pm, I clocked off and returned home. We loaded all of the drinks up, collected wine and glasses at Mill Hill Wines and then unloaded at Hartley Hall. I did a few technical checks on microphones etc, collected a swinging sign from the studio, dropped it off and went to the gym for an hour. As I was about to come home, I got a call. Could I reprint the ticket list in alpgabetic order by surname. Clare had neglected to do this, so it would be difficult finding the payment details. I also had to pick up some bottled water. 

All of this was done and I arrived, with the reprinted list at 7pm, as the doors opened. I acted as doorman, directing punters to seats and urging them to spend their readies at the bar (sales were good, so the strategy worked!). At half time, I had a chat with some of the many friends who'd come. At 9.30 the show finished. We cleared the chairs, tidied the hall and went home. Onwards and upwards (literally, it's at St Pauls, up the hill on the Ridgeway) for Cellophonics. 

The Mill Hill Music Festival Diary - Day 2 - Razzmajazz at The Adam and Eve

 The second of our two free to enter opening events took place yesterday at The Adam and Eve pub. Traditionally we like to have an evening party on the Saturday and then a Jazz lunch on the Saturday to get everyone into the Festival mood. These events are always well attended and we see a bounce in ticket sales as people realise that the festsival is upon us. The BBC Elstree Concert band film music concert next Saturday is now officially sold out. If you didn't get your tickets, you've missed the boat. The Jazz Dynamo's are ten tickets from selling out and The Silencerz are fifteen from the limit we set to ensure that if the weather is inclement and we need to go inside into the golf club function room, we are within the limit. If the weather looks good we can go outside and there is no limit. At the moment the forecast is for rain, but I am a man of great faith! Whatever, it will be a great night. We will make a full announcement nearer the time. There are around 25 tickets left for the Opera tomorrow night and the cello recital on Wednesday at St Pauls, so if you want tickets, I'd really suggest that you get them.

This year, the sales have been slower than usual, but as ever we see a big rush in the last week. This patter seems more pronounced every year. I will be surprised if we don't have a sell out crowd for all events with on the night walk ins, but if the event is announced as sold out, then you have missed out! When I talk to other friends who organise gigs and festivals, it's a pattern we are seeing time and time again. It makes it more and more difficult for small promoters to organise events. There are massive up front costs, such as leaflets etc. We spent yesterday going through the budget and trying to work out where we are. Given that we've sold over 100 tickets since Friday, it will give you sime idea of the scale of the late rush and why it plays havoc with our budgets.  Such mundane things as ordering wristbands for the golf club and  getting supplie for the bar at the Hartley Hall are dictated by ticket sales. If we sell out two weeks in advance it is easy, if the event is not sold out and 30 people turn up on the night, less so. At one of last years events at Hartley Hall, we had to send a help to Tesco's to get more wine in the interval. It is not ideal, but at least the bar made a bit more money!

As with most years, we aim to break even. The festival is run on a Not for Profit basis, but some years we make a small profit, which we put towards the following years festival and some years we make a small loss, which is generally covered by the good years. The aim is always to have enough reserves to meet the upfront costs (Leaflets, insurance, tickets etc) before we sell a ticket, so we can stage the festival. The Party night at Mill Hill Golf club usually determines whether there is a surpluss or a shortfall. If the concert is outside, as it was last year, and well attended, we do OK. If we go inside due to rain, it is harder to break even. We've been lucky in recent years. The free events, such as at the Adam and Eve we will take a loss on. The pub covers the band costs, but the other costs are met by the festival funds. Leaflets are a huge expense but are a necessity. People only come if they know its on. The free events do generate a huge amount of interest, and mean everyone can take part.

Due to other commitments, I was unable to attend the concert yesterday. My role was a minor one, picking the stage up from the Adam and Eve when the concert finished at around 5pm. However my chief live engineer Stuart Waterman took the reigns and did a sterling job! Stuart does the sound for about fifteen different festivals every year in London, who hire PA systems from us, so he knows his onions. 

I then went home, had dinner and we went off to the Roundhouse to watch The Waterboys with friends. That was an excellent concert. As someone who loves music, it is no burden to go to a gig on my night off the festivities. 

When I saw my fellow festival organisers, it was agreed that the first two nights have been a wonderful start to the week. Tomorrow night we have the Opera, with Uncovered Opera. These singers are really amazing. If you've never been to Opera before, why not buy a ticket before they sell out. The opportunity to see artists of this calibre in Mill Hill does not come along very often (well once every two years with the MHMF!)

SUMMER EVENING OPERA GALA PRESENTED BY UNCOVERED OPERA

Click below for

More Info 

Tickets: £18 Cash bar.

The MIll Hill Music festival diary - Day 1 - Recycled at the Adam and Eve Pub

 Long time regular readers will know that during the Mill Hill Music Festival, normal blogging activities are suspended and I write a festival diary. Yesterday was day one of the festival. We always start the festival with a free event, to get people in the party mood. As I usually do, before I write this blog, I have a look at previous years diaries. I had a look at the day one diary from the last festival, in 2023 (the festival is bi-annual). How times change! Last festival, we had Whelligan on the opening night. This time we had Recycled, one of London's best party bands. The common feature between the two bands is trumpeter Tom Hammond. Since Whelligan played, Tom joined our band, The False Dots. As a result, he's quite well known now in Mill Hill circles. Tom is also well known at Hadley FC, where he organises the "Hadley Hurl", a half time competition, where fans try and get a tennis ball as close as possible to the centre circle, for a cash prize. Last time I asked him, Tom was in seven different bands, all of which are rather different. We booked Recycled as we thought it would work well at the Adam and Eve and we weren't wrong. 

So how was my day? Well it was a bit of a strange one in truth. I got up early and went to the gym. I felt the need to blow the cobwebs away. A half hour on the cycle, a sauna and a soak in the Jacuzzi to set me up for the day. On return, I made my way to the Sacred Heart church, for a memorial mass for the mother of one of my best friends. It was a moving service, Fr John gave a wonderful homily. We then gathered in the hall after to swap reminiscences. Everyone had a bit of a drink, which sadly I couldn't participate in, as I had some driving to do.

We drifted away at around 3.30pm. At 5pm, I drove to the studio, loaded the stage, the lights and the PA system and made my way to the Adam and Eve. We set up the stage, dressed the pub and waited for the band to arrive. And waited. And waited. Eventually we got a message. They had got stuck on the M4 following an accident. The road was gridlocked. They would be with us ASAP. The support band turned up. They started to set up, the realised a key bit of equipment was missing, so they had to nip home to get it. I was starting to panic. Would we have a gig. I started playing the playlist. At around 7.30, the band arrived. We set up quickly, did a quick soundcheck and then got the support band on, starting at around 8.45pm. The support was a duo called Subverse, featuring Maddy and Al Pascal (a local music tutor). Their set was well received.

Subverse live at @AdamAndEveNW7 right now on our opening night pic.twitter.com/KyVOjyf98I

— Mill Hill Music Fest (@millhillfest) May 31, 2025

Recyled started at around 9.45 and played until 11pm. They got a wonderful reception, with the whole pub joining in, singing along and dancing. As we have another gig today, we left the stage set up, although we broke down the PA. 

What a great start to #mhmf16 at the @AdamAndEveNW7 last night with Recycled pic.twitter.com/TnuQqFhP37

— Mill Hill Music Fest (@millhillfest) June 1, 2025

The pub insisted on a hard stop at 11pm, so all music stopped and the bar shut. It was a great evening. I was home by midnight and had a nice glass of wine in the garden to chill. 

The Saturday List #486 - Ten things that really offend me because I am so woke!

 Yep, I'm easily offended, here are the top ten things that get my goat!

1) People pushing in queues.

2) Cars and cyclists ignoring red lights when you are about to cross

3) People who don't clear up their dogs poo, especially if they put it in a bag, then leave the bag

4) People who are very nice to me because I am the boss, but rude to my staff, because they think they are just plebs

5) People who put their bags or feet on seats of crowded trains, then get the hump when you ask them to move them

6) People who think I will get upset when they express ridiculous political views and can't accept I just feel sorry for them for being stupid

7) People who post non relevant rubbish on posts of social media, especially spammers

8) People who play shite music loudly in their car outside my house, with the windows open, at 3am

9) People who assume I must agree with their stupidity and then get offended when I don't

10) People who assume I like Queen and late period Pink Floyd because I am a muso