What it is, who writes it, why it exists, and what to do if you have something to tell me.
Harpenden is a town that generates opinions in inverse proportion to its apparent size. It is, to the uninitiated, a pleasant Hertfordshire market town with good schools, a Waitrose, and a train service to St Pancras that is broadly functional on the days when it is not entirely suspended. To those who live here, it is a place about which one has views — about planning, parking, the appropriate density of coffee shops, and the direction of travel of the High Street.
This site exists because I had those views and nowhere particularly good to put them. It is not the Harpenden Gazette. It is not a residents' association newsletter. It is not affiliated with the council, the parish, or any of the vendors mentioned. It is one person's attempt to document life in AL5 with some measure of honesty, occasional humour, and a reasonably reliable restaurant spreadsheet.
One person's attempt to document life in AL5 with some measure of honesty, occasional humour, and a reasonably reliable restaurant spreadsheet.
I am a resident of Harpenden. I have lived here long enough to have opinions about planning applications, and I have attended at least one planning committee meeting voluntarily. I am not a professional journalist, though I have written things before that people have read without complaint. I am not a food critic, though I have eaten in most of the places mentioned. I am not a politician, though I follow local politics with the mixture of fascination and despair that it tends to invite.
I write anonymously not because I have anything to hide, but because anonymity is useful in a small town. It allows me to write about the planning application on my road, the pub that has declined, and the councillor who said something remarkable at the last meeting without making every subsequent conversation at the school gates about whether I am the person who wrote it. You probably know who I am. Please don't tell anyone.
News and factual reporting on this site aims to be accurate. When I'm wrong about something — and I will be — I will correct it. Corrections appear in the original article and are noted clearly.
Satire and opinion are clearly labelled. The satirical pieces are fictional accounts of real-ish situations, designed to illuminate rather than defame. The opinion pieces are mine. They may not be yours. That is fine. If you disagree, the contact form is below.
Restaurant and venue reviews are honest. No establishment has paid for a review or been given editorial oversight. The recommendations are the ones I actually use. The criticisms are the ones I actually have.
Things that are happening in the town. Not always the things that make the official channels, but the things people are actually talking about.
Planning applications, council decisions, residents' associations, and the endless negotiation between what people want and what gets built.
An honest guide to where to eat and drink in Harpenden. Updated as things open, close, improve, or decline. No stars borrowed from anywhere else.
What's on, where, and whether it's worth going. Community events, arts, sport, food markets, and the occasional council meeting worth attending.
Opinions held strongly and expressed plainly, on topics ranging from parking to planning to the general direction of travel. Clearly labelled.
Things I've found useful about living here. The best parking spot, the quietest café table, the walk nobody tells you about.
Tips, corrections, event listings, restaurant recommendations, complaints about my parking opinions, interesting local history — all welcome. I read everything. I reply to most things. I publish selected tips (with permission) as the source.