Margaret Thatcher’s death grabbed international headlines in April and put Finchley, the former constituency of Britain’s first female Prime Minister, in the spotlight.

Politicians and supporters flocked to the Finchley Conservative office in Ballards Lane to pay their respects and sign a book of condolence for the Iron Lady, who died at the age of 87.

Thousands of people lined the streets of central London the following week to pay their final respects to Lady Thatcher as her funeral cortege was given a full military procession from Westminster to St Paul’s Cathedral.

Also in the news that month, the Times Series celebrated a victory as a “secret slum” in Edgware town centre was cleaned up a year on from our exclusive report.

The expose prompted Barnet Council to take enforcement action against the site’s owners and the garages were later bulldozed to be replaced by a block of flats.

Shopkeepers in Edgware claimed an alcohol exclusion zone introduced in the town centre had only served to drive drinking underground.

A couple from Hadley Wood said they felt “very lucky” after narrowly escaping the twin bombings at the Boston Marathon.

Mother-of-three Janice Singer was stood yards from where the first bomb went off for more than three hours as she watched her husband Stuart run the race, leaving 30 minutes before the explosion.

Meanwhile, a shopkeeper fed up with increased parking charges in North Finchley was ordered to pay compensation to Barnet Council for vandalising the parking signs.

And Barnet FC said goodbye to Underhill with a win in the club’s final game in High Barnet before it moved to The Hive, on the Harrow side of Edgware.