COUNCIL chief executive Nick Walkley has resigned and Barnet Council’s most vociferous critic Roger Tichborne has accepted a new deputy chief executive role with the council at £325,000 per year.
This morning on Twitter John Burgess, the head of Barnet Unison branch announced he is also stepping down to join a new David Cameron Big Society think tank .
These are just some of the headlines social media followers in the borough have been waking up to this April Fool’s Day, as Barnet’s blogosphere embraces the spirit of the day.
On the Barnet Eye blog Mr Tichborne says: “Thank you for all of your support since the inception of this blog. Much as I would love to continue it, I believe I can serve the population far more effectively in my new job.”
Tory David Miller broke the “story” about Mr Walkley’s resignation on the Not the Barnet Times site.
Among other spoof postings today were New Barnet’s Mr Reasonable, aka John Dix, turning his blog on Barnet Council finances into one on cooking tips sponsored by a major supermarket.
It read: “I am pleased to confirm that, as of tomorrow, my blog will be renamed Mr Reasonable’s Kitchen where I will share my famous tasty and economical recipes.
“In addition, I will also be moving my blog behind a paywall where for a very reasonable £5 a week you will be able to view my finest recipes.
“Tomorrow’s first recipe is one of my all time favourites, Poverty Pie, a delicious potato and onion pie feeding a family of four for less than 30p a portion. Current readers will be able to access my first week’s recipes for free, just type in the code FILTHYLUCRE when prompted.”
The Coalition for a sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood coalition carries a “new image” of the planned redevelopment of the area and quote from the company.
Mrs Angry, another political blogger, announced her retirement from blogging and conversion to the One Barnet approach being adopted by the council, in a posting holding a not so hidden message.
Finally the latest addition to Barnet’s blog scene, Mr Mustard, reports on two “non-job” being created by the council, blogger update manager and blogger liaison.
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