Blogs - Newsroom and Reader Blogs from the Times Series

Dennis Signy OBE is bravely entering the blogosphere — he describes himself as a 'dinosaur' when it comes to technology.
He was a former wartime cub reporter on the Hendon and Finchley Times at £4-a-week and became group editor for 17 years in the late Sixties. He served in Intelligence Corps as a Sergeant in Forties and learned to drive up the Khyber Pass.
He was a football writer in national newspapers for five decades, is author of several football books and former general manager of Brentford FC, former chief executive of Queen's Park Rangers FC and former chairman of the Football Writers Association.

Bombed out as a hero

MR Chalk, the rather austere headmaster of Finchley County School at the start of the second world war, once observed that my form 2B was the worst that he had encountered in 27 years as a teacher and he particularly singled me out as a no-hoper academic.

Stars and Stripes on Parade

It was always a source of amusement to me that 14894617 former Sergeant Signy was elected a member of the officers' Mess at Inglis Barracks at Mill Hill and passed the port and brandy to vastly superior ranks on regimental occasions.

Sock it to 'em Barnet

Modesty has always precluded me having a personalised car number plate. Believe that and you'll believe anything.

Recollections of a murder without motive

Sixty years ago this weekend Leopold and Esther Goodman, a well - off middle - aged Jewish couple, were found beaten to death in their home in Edgware.

Editors go to the Tower of London

Years and years ago the then Labour leader of Barnet Council, one Robbie Robinson, photographer Rod Brewster and I, in my guise as investigative editor of the Times series, crouched on a roof at Heathrow and watched the old town clerk of the borough return from a holiday in his villa in Spain and be driven back to Hendon in the Mayoral car.

Who does Nick Clegg play for?

Wild horses won't drag from me the exclusive quote on what might have befallen Rio Ferdinand in the Manchester United dressing room on Sunday if Michael Owen had not scored a 95th minute winner against Manchester City.

The day the Queen Mother smiled at me

A Spitfire and a Hurricane will fly past as RAF Bentley Priory, the home of Fighter Command in the second world war, opens its doors in Stanmore to the public this weekend.

The man they cannot mug

One of my favourite comedians of the glory, glory days of music hall was a fellow named Billy Russell, whose billing proclaimed "On behalf of the working classes". I'm beginning to think I should devise a (not-so-humorous) 2009 follow up version "On behalf of the Barnet council taxpayer".

The new boot room at Barnet

What happened to news sense? I have just returned from a delectable weekend break on the English Riviera to discover sports page headlines about a cricket match south of the Thames rather than li'l ol' Barnet FC's sterling 1-0 victory against Torquay United that elevated the lads to a nosebleed sixth place in the League 2 table.

Sir Bobby Robson's 'Doris Day'

Sir Bobby Robson, whose death at the age of 76 has produced columns of deserved tributes, was a Fulham player in a team embracing several colourful characters when I met him some 50 years ago.