Welcome to our celebration of 25 years of the Barnet & Potters Bar Times. In recent months I spoke with Dennis Signy, who was group editor of the Barnet Borough Times 25 years ago.

We talked about ‘the good old days’ in 1985, when reporters had to go out and find the news, instead of much of it dropping into their laps via email.

I certainly remember when I was a trainee reporter, spending hours doing my research in a library — there was simply no such thing as a quick ‘google’ on the internet to get a bit of background information.

I remember once standing outside a factory fire, interviewing workers who had just been evacuated from the building, and all the time wondering how on earth I could let my editor know about this breaking story? I didn’t have a mobile phone (although they had been invented by then) and I couldn’t find a phonebox anywhere.

In the end, I just had to race back to the office and ask the editor to ‘hold the front page’ as I wrote the story as fast as I could to make the newspaper’s deadline.

Today, reporters working for the Times Series have the best of both worlds. They are not tied to their desks, but instead, are out working on their patches, equipped with laptops and mobile phones.

They are free to be out in their community, meeting and talking to real people, just like the old days — but can also race to the scene of a breaking news story, call the newsdesk at the office, and make sure the story is uploaded immediately to our websites. Just last week, regular breaking news updates kept our residents informed during the cold snap.

Things have certainly changed in the past 25 years, and embracing new technology has helped us bring you the news as it happens. However, our ethos remains the same — not to sensationalise and trivialise, but to be a proper grassroots community newspaper that tells the truth with stories that matter to the community.

The Barnet & Potters Bar Times would not be a success without our readers letting us know what matters to them, and so for that, I thank you, and hope you will continue to keep us informed.

In return, I hope the Barnet & Potters Bar Times continues to keep you informed with everything that matters to you in your borough. Thank you for reading over the past 25 years, and here’s to the next 25!