Not the former England footballer but the former department store next to Finchley Road tube. John Barnes was a rambling, old fashioned store with a wonderful food hall in the basement. It was the hub of the Viennese Jewish community who’d fled the Nazis and settled around West Hampstead and Swiss Cottage. As a child, I was fascinated by these gentle, cultured but often sorrowful people. Some lived in the elegant 1930s apartment block above the store which, as you approached on the top of the No.13 bus, looked just like an ocean liner. Jewish musicians would then clamber on with their cellos and trombones to go and play at Wigmore Hall and it all seemed terribly exotic. The ground floor of John Barnes is now a Waitrose and those old residents have died off. But still, whenever I go there, this tune will start playing in my head.
I’ve always loved John Barnes.

- Auntie Jean -...19th Apr 2014
- I'm not suppo...18th Apr 2014
- Manchester is...17th Apr 2014
- Why are Russi...15th Apr 2014
- The ultimate ...14th Apr 2014
- Today is Palm...13th Apr 2014
- 25 years of T...12th Apr 2014
- Whatever happ...11th Apr 2014
- What do you g...10th Apr 2014
- It is, of cou...9th Apr 2014
- This morning ...8th Apr 2014
- I wonder if "...7th Apr 2014
- We can all re...6th Apr 2014
- Ever wondered...5th Apr 2014
- Two things to...4th Apr 2014 prev next