Monkey Hadley Common
Monkey Hadley Common or Hadley Wood as we called it, was one of the places I used to go regularly as a child with my friend Richard Plumb.
Today, I walked through it with a friend before having some lunch at Cockfosters.
Surprisingly, despite being probably fifty-five years since I’ve been there, some parts had changed little and I could remember everything well.
There was always fishing in Jack’s Lake and that was probably a lot cleaner.
Ofen we would go through the woods to the East Coast Main Line, where we would do the things that boys did in those days, like putting coins on the track, so the trains would flatten them.
Do kids still do that?
The railway incidentally is much changed with electrification and whereas in the 1950s, you saw perhaps one express to and from the North every half-an-hour or so, the trains are much more frequent now.
The Church Where C And Myself Married
These pictures show Christ Church, Cockfosters, where C and myself got married on September the seventh, 1968.
That day is still the only one, where I have entered the church. And it was locked today. If that sounds strange, C had been a Sunday School teacher in the church and we had met the vicar before the wedding, in the vicarage.
One of the church’s claims to fame, is that it was where the Memorial Service for Elvis Presley was held in the UK.
Cockfosters Tube Station
Cockfosters tube station is the terminus of the Piccadilly Line.
It is not the spectacular architectural design of other stations on the line.
As a child, I only used the station occasionally and that was to use the barbers, where I got my hair cut.
Period Details At Arnos Grove Tube Station
The Grade II* Listed Arnos Grove tube station is one of the architectural gems of the Northern Piccadilly Line. Today, as I journeyed to Cockfosters, I got off and looked around, taking these pictures.
In all the years I lived in North London, I don’t think, I ever used the station as a destination.
London’s transport authorities have certainly looked after it well.
Read This Article If You’re With The Big Six Energy Companies
It surprises me how many people are still with the Big Six energy companies.
Anyone stupid enough to still be, should read this article by Stewart Dalby on the Proactive Investors web site.
His experience of changing from British Gas to Good Energy was much the same as mine when I changed from mPower to OVO. The big company used every trick in and out of the book to stop him changing.
The Big Six energy companies are a total disgrace and Stewart’s headline on his article sums up what you do.
Self-help is the only way to beat the Big Six
But remember the paraphrase of the Cat Steven’s song – The First Cut is the Deepest – The First Change is the Toughest
You may need to be extremely patient to get the change you want.
One thing I would always do, is go direct to the company to which you want to change and not use any intermeiate or comparison site. So if you have trouble changing, at least you can test out your new supplier’s customer services and if they’re any good they probably know how to shove a red-hot poker up the big company’s arse.
But once you’ve done it, you will have all the numbers available to do it again. (OVO sent me a single A4 page!) And I very much doubt that a small supplier would be as difficult to change from, as any of the Big Six.
Crossrail’s Shedule Of Improvements For Western Surface Stations.
I’m always looking for this page, which has a schedule of improvident for the station on the Western surface section of Crossrail.So I’ve put the link here, so I can find it.
The page finishes with this summary of the work.
The scope and timing of any work needed at Twyford and Reading stations has yet to be determined.
New station buildings are proposed at Acton Main Line, West Ealing, Southall and Hayes & Harlington stations with new footbridges providing step-free access to the platforms and new bay platforms at West Ealing and Hayes & Harlington. A new footbridge is being built at West Drayton station to provide step-free access to platforms 2-5.
Platforms will be extended at Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Southall, Hayes & Harlington, West Drayton, Slough and Maidenhead stations. All stations will benefit from new signage, help points, customer information screens and CCTV.
It also gives expected completion dates.
Crossrail’s pages for the North-East and South-East surface sections are not so informative.
My New Cooker Hood Has Arrived
My cooker hood arrived around seven this evening in the most inappropriate and large packaging.
Let’s hope it fits to the wall!
A Flypast Over London
I took these pictures as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flew over the City of London today.
The fourth picture shows the area where I was standing on the walkway across the Barbican.
It is a good place to see any flypast that is going over Buckingham Palace, as the pilots use the three distinctive towers to line up for their trip across London. This Google Map shows Central London.
Flypast Route Over London
The Barbican is illustrated by the red arrow and Buckingham Palace is at the bottom left hand corner.
The procedure used by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight was explained, when one of the pilots was the guest of Test Match Special on BBC Radio.
When asked what you do if there is an engine failure, the pilot stated that there is only the Thames.
I Thought Couriers Like This Had Reformed
I knew that today, I would be getting my new cooker hood delivered. The delivery company confirmed yesterday that it would be coming today and that they would tell me today, in what four hour slot it would come.
The message yesterday was just an automated voice one, with no instructions on where to phone, text or e-mail if there was any problems.
This morning, I got the delivery slot as any time between 15:00 and 19:00. This is very inconvenient as I have an important appointment, I booked some time ago, at 18:00.
It doesn’t matter to me, if I don’t get the hood delivered today, as it won’t be installed until next week or even the week after.
I have no means to contact the couriers to say this time is inconvenient.
Also judging by this courier company’s attitude of we deliver it when we decide and don’t tell you who we are and how to contact us, I suspect it would be a difficult process to get the item redelivered.
So it is wait here until it is delivered and hope that it turns up.
Incidntally, I actually ordered the hood from the John Lewis web site, so for a start they will be getting a complaint to say the least.
But I did think that couriers with these sort of attitudes had reformed.
From Westbourne Park To Old Oak Common – 4th July 2015
I took these pictures a few days ago as my train went along the Great Western Main Line to Southall and West Ealing.
This is a Google Map of the area.
Along The Great Western
Old Oak Common and the various train depots are at the left (West) and Westbourne Park Bus Garage is at the right under the Westway, where it crosses the railway.
The Sainsburys at Ladbroke Grove was built on the site of the old Ladbroke Grove Gas Works. (You can still pick out the two gas holders by the canal.) I found this good page with lots of pictures on a blog maintained by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It says this about the site.
Where the Grand Junction Canal and the main line railway to Paddington diverge from their parallel course there is a teardrop shaped patch of land bounded on the east by Ladbroke Grove. In 1845 the Western Gas Company built a gas works there facing All Souls Cemetery on the other side of the canal. When North Kensington was developed for housing in the second half of the 19th century the Gas Works sat waiting at its northern edge. And there it stayed as London grew around it. In 1936 the Gas and Light Company built a progressive housing development on the Ladbroke Grove edge of the site powered by the wonder of gas, Kensal House, but more of that another day.
Today only a couple of gasometers remain overlooking the cemetery. Most of the site is taken up by a Sainsbury’s super store. But in 1970 although gas production had ceased the owners seem to have been wondering what to do with the gas works, and denying rumours that the whole site would be given over to housing.
It would appear that they are completely remodelling the North side of the railway opposite the North Pole Depot. This Google Map shows the area from Mitre Bridge to the flyover that crosses the railway.
North Pole Depot And The Flyover
The two bridges at the left carry the West London Line and Scrubs Lane (Mitre Bridge) over the railway.The two circular structures at the right are the gas holders in the former Ladbroke Grove Gas Works.
The pictures in the gallery certainly show an impressive retaining wall is being built.
The last few pictures in the gallery were taken as the train ran past the train depots at Old Oak Common TMD, that I talked about in this post.
The Anonymous Widower 