Welcome

This week we check out where you can pick up a bargain in Finchley. And look at the story of the 500-year-old oak that was felled.

🛍️ Finchley's Charity Shop Treasure Trail

The thriftiest mile in North London might just be ours. The stretch of High Road and Ballards Lane between North and East Finchley is packed with charity shops - and because this is a corner of London where good things get donated, the pickings are genuinely brilliant. Designer labels, near-new high-street pieces, £1 books and the odd antique gem are all waiting for whoever digs first.

Here's where to point your tote bag this week.

1: The Bothy (781 High Rd, N12 8JY).

The connoisseur's choice. This independent shop - proceeds go to children's charity Terapia - has a carefully curated window that tells you straight away there's treasure inside, plus some lovely homeware. If you're after second-hand designer, start here.

2: All Aboard (124 High Rd, N2 9ED).

Down in East Finchley, All Aboard is the one for label-spotters - racks have turned up Mango, H&M and plenty more, and if you time it right, whole rails get discounted to a few pounds.

3: Age UK (716 High Rd, N12 9QD).

The bargain-hunter's favourite. Ultra-cheap prices, clothes helpfully arranged by colour, and a shelf of relaxing reads. You'll walk out with three things for the price of one on the high street.

4: North London Hospice (987 High Rd, N12 8QR).

The eclectic one - you never know what'll surface, from homeware to the occasional antique trinket. Every purchase funds local end-of-life care.

5: The Green Room (7 The Grand Arcade, Tally Ho Corner, N12 0EH). Tucked inside the Grand Arcade, this little independent leans more antique shop than charity shop, with a standout selection of picture frames, homeware and pretty second-hand jewellery.

And if you're really committed, the British Heart Foundation (718 High Rd), Cancer Research (775 High Rd), Mind (343 Ballards Ln) and the RSPCA (736 High Rd) are all within an easy stroll - the RSPCA's open seven days a week if a Sunday mooch is more your thing.

A tip for spotting the vintage gold: go early in the week when fresh donations hit the floor, check the fabric (real velvet, silk and wool age beautifully), and don't skip the homeware shelves - that's where the £1 frames and retro glassware hide. Happy hunting🛍️

Events

ARTS

Monday 15th June

​Refugee Week 2026 Art Exhibition | Mon, Jun. 15 | 10:00 am to 8:00 pm | The Quad, Middlesex University, The Burroughs, Hendon, NW4 4BT | Free | Celebrate Refugee Week 2026 at this art exhibition showcasing the contributions, creativity, resilience and courage of refugees seeking sanctuary in Barnet.

Saturday 20th June

​HNCP Open House Charity Event: Hedgehog Talk, Art, Pottery and More | Sat, Jun. 20 | 11:00 am to 4:00 pm | 30 Bertram St, N19 5DQ | Free | Highgate Newtown Community Partners hosts a free, fun-packed Open House as part of this year's Highgate Festival, with a hedgehog talk, art, pottery and more.

Sunday 21st June

​Hampstead Summer Festival Art Fair | Sun, Jun. 21 | 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm | 10 Keats Grove, NW3 2RR | Free | The Hampstead Summer Festival Art Fair in the Garden will be opened by a surprise celebrity. Enjoy the art exhibition and craft stalls, a wine bar, food, and a puppet show inside at 2:30.

COMMUNITY

Monday 15th June

​Finchley Church End Town Centre Past, Present and Future | Mon, Jun. 15 | 10:30 am to 12:00 pm | St Mary-at-Finchley, 26 Hendon Lane, N3 1TR | Free | A short walk through Finchley Church End town centre, stopping at six points to explore heritage features, hear stories about influential Finchley residents and discuss future developments. Starts at St Mary-at-Finchley on Hendon Lane and finishes by the entrance to Victoria Park.

Saturday 20th June

​Okinawa Day | Sat, Jun. 20 | 11:00 am to 5:00 pm | The Blue Market, Bermondsey, London, SE16 3UQ | Free | Okinawa Day, running since 2009, brings musicians, dancers and performers from the UK, Europe and Japan together to showcase Okinawan culture in London.

MUSIC

Sunday 21st June

​A Midsummer Musical Evening | Sun, Jun. 21 | 7:00 pm | Rayne Theatre, Chickenshed, Chase Side, Southgate, N14 4PE | £15 | A midsummer evening of music with Chickenshed's Community Choir, sharing their unique arrangements of songs you will know and love.

​London Jewish Male Choir Centenary Celebration | Sun, Jun. 21 | 7:30 pm | artsdepot, 5 Nether Street, Tally Ho Corner, North Finchley, N12 0GA | £20 | The UK's oldest Jewish choir celebrates its centenary at the iconic artsdepot. Established in the East End in 1926, the London Jewish Male Choir is a living legacy, and this concert is the high point of a year-long celebration.

SPORTS

Sunday 21st June

​Father's Day Indoor Bowling in Finchley | Sun, Jun. 21 | 10:30 am | Glebelands Indoor Bowls Club, Summers Ln, N12 0PD | £6 | Celebrate the dads, stepdads and grandads in your life with a family-friendly Father's Day bowling session suitable for all ages. Two hours of bowling with all equipment provided, so just wear clean, flat-soled shoes. Complimentary cups of tea included.

SUSTAINABILITY

Tuesday 23rd June

​Camden Solar Showcase at WAC Arts | Tue, Jun. 23 | 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm | Old Town Hall, 213 Haverstock Hill, Belsize Park, NW3 4QP | Free | Curious about solar PV for your home or business? Join Camden Council's Solar Showcase at WAC Arts during London Climate Action Week.

THEATRE

Friday 19th June

​Unless Water is Safer than the Land | Fri, Jun. 19 | 7:30 pm | Phoenix Cinema, 52 High Rd, N2 9PJ | £20 | Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley celebrates Refugee Week with a fundraiser for local charities working with refugees. A night of films, poetry, performance and talks, raising awareness and challenging the rhetoric surrounding refugees and people seeking sanctuary in the UK today.

Events - Book Ahead

Wednesday 1st July

​Summer Wine Tasting | Wed, Jul. 1 | 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm | The Windsor Castle Pub, East Finchley | £35 | Join wine expert James Eaton for a summer wine tasting. Swirl, sniff and sip four high-quality European wines, with nibbles to match. Gather your friends, family or colleagues.

Thursday 2nd July

​Thrive Club at Chipping Barnet Library | Thu, Jul. 2 | 10:30 am to 12:30 pm | Chipping Barnet Library, 3 Stapylton Road, Barnet, EN5 4QT | Free | Walfinch Home Care has teamed up with the Loving Life Project to host a free weekly event for all. Enjoy chair yoga and fun activities such as bingo, games and singing, with refreshments provided.

​Ageing Well with Right at Home - Art for the Mind at Edgware Library | Thu, Jul. 2 | 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm | Edgware Library, Hale Lane, Edgware, HA8 8NN | Free | A creative wellbeing cafe supporting memory, connection and joyful ageing through art. Experiment with materials and techniques such as printmaking, felt making and collage

Local Lowdown

Felling

• There is a hopeful end to a sorry saga. After Toby Carvery's owners felled a beloved 500-year-old oak in Enfield's Whitewebbs Park, sparking national outrage, the company has apologised and agreed to fund 1,000 new trees. Enfield Council says the matter is now closed. Small comfort, but a greener legacy.

Swimming

• Happy 100th to a Hampstead institution. Swimmers marked a century of women-only swimming at the Kenwood Ladies' Pond in style, with exactly 100 of them slipping into the spring-fed water to form the number 100 for a drone photo. The pond, they say, means resilience, community and respite.

Nurturing

• A Barnet nursery is the toast of the early-years world. Bright Little Stars has won a national Family Engagement Award from the National Day Nurseries Association, praised for putting families at the heart of everything it does. Manager Karma called it an honour shared with the nursery's wonderful families.

Opening

• Guess who's coming to Brent Cross? The mall has teased a “highly requested” new store with a cryptic post of swimsuit and wave emojis, sending shoppers into a guessing frenzy. Favourites for the large upper-mall unit include Primark, Uniqlo and Sephora. All will be revealed soon, in its 50th year.

Dining

• Fancy a trip to the best restaurant in the country? Bouchon Racine, a 40-cover French bistro above a Farringdon pub, has been named UK Restaurant of the Year, beating The Ritz into second. Judges called it a temple to great gastronomy serving hearty, traditional French fare. Worth leaving Finchley for.

The Finchleyite: Jerry Springer

You'd never guess one of America's most famous talk-show hosts began life on a North London Tube platform. But Jerry Springer was born on 13 February 1944 at Highgate station - one stop from East Finchley - while it sheltered locals from the bombing.

His parents were German-Jewish refugees, brought to Britain by World Jewish Relief weeks before war broke out in 1939. 27 of his relatives later died in the Holocaust. The family settled in East Finchley before emigrating to New York in 1949, when Jerry was five.

He went on to become Mayor of Cincinnati, an Emmy-winning news anchor and, of course, ringmaster of the famously chaotic The Jerry Springer Show. He died in 2023, aged 79.

Editors' Note - From Tessa

I know we live in Finchley, but the Davis Family's official nationalities are Scottish, Irish, and Australian.

We were very excited for Scotland to win their opening match in the World Cup.

No Scotland No Party. Let's go!

Also, let us know about local events or local news. We curate our content to keep it a 5-minute read, so can't include everything we're sent.

You can now get a guaranteed (paid) listing for local events or local lowdown/news items.

​And email us with any projects or ideas you'd like us to write about.

Tessa Davis Sasha Frieze