Top Gear - Part Two

For those who read the previous post earlier this week James May did say to me today that conversations are ongoing between himself and Clarkson regarding the potential... ermmm.... 'initation' of Oliver to these shores when he/it arrives next week. The problem is that they don't exactly when he/it is arriving, which is making planning very difficult and that they may just resort to lurking at the docks and playing on Hammond's, not entirely unjustified, paranoia.

If by some outrageous fluke you happen to know somone who works at the relevant docks could you see if they could find out.....

The Big Day is here!!

The big day has arrived, though somewhat damply, and the collective loins of Worcester Park are being girded to enjoy The Worcester Park Traders Association Christmas evening on Central Road, so I'm sure various members of the Brinkster Clan will mark the event by coming home clutching all kinds of cheaply made, though delightfully illuminated, frippery. If you're going to be there I'm sure you'll have a good time and if the weather holds out I might be able to get some good photos, although the weather forecast itself isn't looking too great and if needed we'll plaster ourselves in stormproof clothing and make the best of it.... and I can't think of a more frightening white knuckle ride than the big wheel they've had outside Costcutter previously in howling gale and torrential rain.

For those still wondering whether Bikehut's failed plans for the old M&S were actually serious I can point you in the direction of Sutton's planning web site which divulged the following back in June:
Application A2007/57860/ADV
Area/Ward:A02NONSUCH
Location:177 Central Road Worcester Park KT4 8DR
Proposal:Display of illuminated fascia signs and an illuminated pole mounted forecourt sign.
Applicant:Halford Ltd.

They did mean it. Shame nothing ever came of it.

On a personal note I'd like to thank the person who parked the mini with the "chequered flag" roof in Brinkley Road last night which I spotted on the way up to Costcutter. Much of my early childhood was spent in the passenger seat of my mother's British Racing Green mini, which also sported a chequered roof, and one of my great delights was being able to press the big rubber button by the handbrake to start the engine. [sigh]

Reassurance

For those of you needing reassurance please report to the police unit outside The Munal restaurant between the hours of 1pm and 7pm today. We regret that reassurances cannot be made outside of these hours.......

What is a "Police Reassurance Unit"? What do they want to reassure me about?? Ironically I won't be able to see for myself as I won't be back in Worcester Park until late....... because I'm out with the Police (I'll ask them but I'll bet they won't know either)

Another new blog in town

From my occasional perusals of Google Blogsearch I've spotted another new Worcester Park blog. In TheHamptonsBlog an anonymous resident appears to be marshalling opposition to the proposed fifth phase of the development, and gives the next meeting date of the Development Control Committee (DCC) as 3rd December 2007 in the Europa Gallery at the Sutton Civic Centre from 7.30pm.

"The Residents Association has met with councillors and other local groups and will make a statement to the DCC on 3 December. This will be part of a co-ordinated approach to show DCC members that the entire Worcester Park community is united in its concerns over the impact on local services and amenities is there is further development of the Hamptons"

I've got a prior appointment but good luck to them!

Top Gear

For any Top Gear fans amongst you I was speaking to Richard Hammond yesterday and he says that Oliver should arrive from Africa next week "as long as those other buggers don't get their hands on him". If you don't know who Oliver is you haven't been watching the new series closely enough (or you could have a life...... the other option)

In more mundane news my 20six blog is down again........ losers

Another Worcester Park gallery

If you haven't found it yet worcesterpark now has his own gallery of our fair hamlet here. I'd be fascinated to know what the ladies of Broadway Bargains made of him wandering around the shop taking photos!

As it's there I'll instantly make use of it to show you the two new barbers in town. In the photos below you'll find "Ciaran" and "Kim's". Let's watch them duke it out and see if there's a winner/loser or whether they can learn to get along:

Cheam Common Junior Christmas Fete

Happy Thanksgiving to those of colonial ancestry!! I'm out with the expats tomorrow...

OK, as I promised (Mrs Brinkster) I now have the details to hand of Cheam Common Junior school's Christmas Fete.

Saturday 8th December 2007
12.00 to 3.00
Inflatable Laser Quest arena
Grand draw (1st prize is a PSP)
Krispy Kreme doughnuts
Father Christmas
Carol Singing
etc, etc

AND
(Best of all)

Food cooked and served by The Munal
(which at the time of writing is leading the eateries poll with 19% of the vote)

The laser quest thing will be something like this

Perhaps the rest of you could play a game of hunt the Brinkster???

Ethnocentric football

After my prediction of a lacklustre English performance last night I though I'd give you a different perspective on last night's event's.

Holland's RTL news this morning jubilantly led with the story "Hiddink toch naar EK met Rusland" explaining that Guus Hiddink, well-known Dutch coach, will be taking Russia to the European Championship and gushingly continues:
"Hij profiteerde tijdens de laatste speelronde in groep E van een sensationele nederlaag op Wembley van concurrent Engeland tegen Kroatië, dat al was geplaatst (2-3)."
For those without a grasp of the language of the low countries that means, as we all know, that the reason for Hiddink's success is because of England's total failure last night and that by inference because Russia went through then it's indirectly good news for Holland.

Glad to see that ethnocentrism is alive and well in Europe but it will give myself and friends of the Brinkster clan free reign in plying our trade on Central Road to watch the Holland games uninterrupted. Dedicated readers will remember the Oranje's last foray to the Cazbar during the World Cup!! If any local bars would like to apply for the position of "Official Hostelry of Brinkster's European Cup Campaign 2008" to stave off the financial ruin of there being no England games then please do let me know.

Hoo-bleedin-ray!!

Apologies to anyone who has tried to get to my 20six blog in the last 28 hours but my useless blog provider decided to disappear up its own tailpipe with no warning. Grrrrr

Now that I'm back I can tell you that the 'other' barbers in the old Digital Village shop will be opening on Saturday under the name of "Kims" (according to the posters in the window). You were dying to know weren't you?

The Epsom Guardian has posted an article about charity scam clothing collections, which is a subject I rant on about when a flyer for one of those drops through my door.

Those of you who commute into London may have experience of running the gauntlet of people trying to press free newspapers or leaflets in your hand. For the last couple of days there's been a guy at my station handing out leaflets for "Erotica 07" (which I'm not going to I'd like to point out) and although I could think of many ways to describe said leaflet-giver but I'll settle for "rotund" and "hirsute", which snuffed out any possible glimmer of interest in attending the event even if I'd wanted to. Brrrrr.........

I'm going to go and find somewhere warm to go and watch the England team put on their traditionally lacklustre performance.....

Cracking storm Gromit!

Anybody in the Worcester Park area who wasn't in a subterranean nuclear bunker last night was treated to a spectacular light and sound show courtesy of some seriously inclement weather. I happened to be in New Malden at the time and the place I was in was lit up, and rattled, by both of the significant lightning events. On my return to Worcester Park I was prepared to strap on the outboard motors to get under the railway bridge but they weren't needed as it was only calf-deep (i.e. halfway up the calf on your leg, not deep enough to drown a young cow).

On the "eateries poll" I notice that the Munal has crept into second place behind Caffe Piccolo with Silks, Pizza Express and La Mama in joint third! I might link to it on Facebook as I think there's a restaurant thread on there.

Radio Jackie

As previously posted a couple of the Brinkster Clan made it to the Worcester Park to see Radio Jackie raising money for Children in Need and Darren got in touch to say that the total raised was £1,700, which exceeded their target of £1,000 by quite some margin. Thanks are due to everyone who went down and parted with their cash and particularly to Neil Long and everyone from Radio Jackie who put so much effort into it!!

With the Christmas evening long since penned in the diary Mrs Brinkster has suggested I set aside my editorial impartiality and plug the Cheam Common Junior School Christmas Fair, which will be coming up soon. I don't have the dates on me (I'm not that sad) but one of the highlights will be a large inflatable Laserquest battlezone thing out in the playground, which should be satisfyingly different from the usual school fair stuff. The chance to run around and shoot people always gets me in the mood for the season of peace and goodwill to all. More details when Mrs Brinkster provides them......

Radio Jackie and Central Road stuff

Unusual for me to post on a weekend I know but I took Miss Brinkster down to the Worcester Park to see Radio Jackie last night so I though I'd share the picture (as proof as much as anything else!).



We managed to get there in a lull in the action but there were a fair number of folks around and I hope they were making money.

On the way back we noticed that the people-smuggling "Golden Chef" has disappeared and been replaced by the "Surrey King Cafe". I know worcesterpark has a photo so I'll let him link to it ;)

Further up Central Road the Bakers Oven had closed for refurbishment and they were busily stripping out the old fittings.

Free bus service in Worcester Park

Don't get too excited. I do like to keep up with WP activities and with duty done about the Christmas event make a note of Sunday 10 August 2008 as "August 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of the withdrawal of London's first red bus route operated by low-bridge double-deck buses".

"To mark the anniversary, Red-RF Events is organising a running day on Sunday 10 August 2008. This will feature the routes and buses of the area, concentrating on buses in operation during the life of route 127, from 1941 to 1958. Buses will run free services available to the public and full details will be provided on this site. A commemorative programme will be produced nearer the time, but will not be required for travel."

I'd recommend a brief visit to their site for no better reason than it has a picture of an old red bus by WP station.

As you can see a new mini-poll has appeared on the left about the Christmas event so please do cast your vote.

Central Road Christmas Evening 2007

The details have been announced for the annual event which enables all local residents to unashamedly revel in their Worcester-Parkiness:

Worcester Park Traders Association
30th November 2007 - 6pm to 9pm
Food stalls,
Carousel ride, fun fair, bouncy castles
Choirs, clowns and baloon decorations,
Stiltwalkers, live bands, pipers
Father Christmas will visit at 7.30
Scavenger hunt for children (call at One Stop Party Shop before 6.30pm)

Seeing double

A couple of days ago I noticed that the barbers next to the new sewing machine shop was taking shape with chairs and other paraphenalia going in and the name over the door showing as "Ciaran" (if my recollection is anywhere near correct). Last night I was walking past the defunct Digital Plaza and found the blinds up, the lights on and........... 3 barbers chairs in the middle of the room!?!?! Are we going to be inundated with barbers now as well as charity shops!

Casting my eyes further north there seems to have been a minor proliferation, if there can be such a thing, of Worcester Park restaurant websites. Silks website has been around for a while but I noticed last night that up at the Plough end of Worcester Park the competing Shalimar and Rupali both have websites up now, perhaps indicating an internet escalation of culinary tension in the neighbourhood. Can anyone point me at any more?

Radio Jackie this Saturday and a restaurant poseur

Radio Jackie are going to be at the Worcester Park pub on Saturday from 12 til 12 in aid of Children in Need. There'll be stuff during the day for the kids and stuff in the evening for the adults and they're looking to get "some appearances from people" in addition to the stalls and stuff. What details there are can be found here.

On a different subject it looks like there's a restaurant for sale in WP. The details are here and with an asking price of £1.9M and they describe the location as:
"Thriving Lucrative Dble Fronted 2 Units.1st Unit is Rest of 2000 sq ft with a seating of 100 covers & 2nd Unit is used as Function Room with a seating of 50 Covers. 2 Walk-in Cold Rooms. Extremely Nicely decorated. 2 Self-contained Flats of 3 Beds each on both units. (6 Beds altogether)"

There's no date on the post but Google thinks it was posted in the last week. I've had a couple of thoughts of where it could be but haven't come to any conclusion yet (double fronted restaurant plus function room?) but I'd appreciate your thoughts.

The best laid plans

The local rag dropped through the letterbox last week announcing the impending demolition of "Beds to Go" on Central Road and it's replacement with a new retail unit and flats. The Sutton planning website offers these morsels:
Application No: A2007/58661/FUL
Area/Ward:A02NONSUCH
Location:53 CENTRAL ROAD Worcester Park KT4 8EB
Proposal:Demolition of existing building and erection of a part two, part three storey building with roof accommodation comprising A1 retail use on basement and ground floors, six 1-bedroomed, two 2-bedroomed self contained flats and three 2-bedroomed self contained maisonettes on first, second and third floors together with nine undercroft car parking spaces, cycle and refuse facilities and relocation of common access stairs.
Applicant:Mr Haywood

Just above it I notice that there's a proposal for a new shopfront at number 114, which I believe to be KFC. I'm assuming that this is an update to the existing shop rather than something new coming in as I can't imagine Worcester Park without its Friday evening KFC queues.

On another page there's also this back in February which relates to one of the pair of shops on the corner opposite the North End Tavern:
Application No: A2007/57287/FUL
Area/Ward:A01WORCESTER PARK
Location:194 Cheam Common Road Worcester Park KT4 8QW
Proposal:Retention of existing ground level shop and erection of a three storey rear extension and conversion to provide one 1-bedroomed and two 2-bedroomed self contained flats. Provision of one garage, cycle and refuse stores.
Applicant:Euromarsh Ltd.

Building work is taking place on this one, as you can see if you go past.

Today! Free Smartwater

On the way up to get a paper from Costcutter this morning the local police are giving away Smartwater outside Costcutter until 3pm.



"SmartWater Instant’s unique forensic fingerprint is almost invisible to the naked eye and fluoresces under ultraviolet light. Instant is primarily used to code vehicles (domestic and commercial) and outdoor equipment, although it is suitable for use on most general household items."

I already use the stuff at home and work and if the police find stolen property they routinely check it for Smartwater so they can track the owner. I'd recommend getting some if you can get up there before 3pm.

Update to THAT post

I don't think this is necessarily related to the place I was informed of as it's dated a few months back but a little digging has turned up some more info here thanks to, and I never thought I'd hear myself saying this, Sutton & Cheam Conservatives.

More snake-man

There's been another sighting of 'snake-man' by Angela who sent me an email yesterday (thank you for the kind words!):
"I was coming home from work yesterday and drove up Central Road at about 2.30pm I got to St Philips Avenue and saw a man with a HUGE yellow snake!!! It gave me the heebie geebies all the way home (only 5 minutes)"

The original Worcester Park snake sightings are here and here and the latest sighting certainly ties in nicely with the original snake-man report. Any more info, sightings or photos would be appreciated!

A distinctly Worcester Park affair

Far be it from me to indulge in rumour and speculation but I thought I'd relate this piece of gossip which Mrs Brinkster heard in the hope that one of you may have more info that you could provide. Rumour has it that one of the shops towards the top of Central Road has been closed for providing the kind of services that can't be advertised publicly and producing financial benefits which are off-limits to the tax man (or woman, or person). Don't know if it's true but the teller of the story seemed convinced though the local rags seem uninformed. If you do know anything about it then please post or email it.

In addition to the other, err, additions to the eatery poll I've added "The Cafe Experience" down by Superdrug which I noticed on the way down the hill to the station this morning. I haven't personally experienced it but some of you may have an opinion or two on the place.

Derren Brown

A while ago I waxed lyrical about seeing Derren Brown's show in Dorking and it's just been announced that his 2008 show will be spending four nights at the Epsom Playhouse. Details are here and you can ring 01372 742226 to get tickets now. I'm on the front row!

Huntsmans Hall in the news again

Even though I spotted it in the local free paper I'd failed to notice the significance of this article until it came back up on the blogsearch:

"James Anthony Winpenny, 24, had been drinking in the Huntsman Hall pub in Worcester Park on Sunday, October 28. A witness, who had noticed he was drunk, saw him leave the pub and later crash into a safety barrier and traffic signal in his transit van."

Another claim to 'Fame' for the Huntsmans, although we'll give them some time to see if they can weed out the troublemakers.

On the left you should see a poll for the best eateries in Worcester Park. I've excluded take-aways, pubs and the like and tried to stick with genuine sitting-down-and-eating places. Let me know if there's any not on there that you'd like to have added and I'll cast my adjudicatory eye over your request. (EDIT: Poll inspired by worcesterpark's blog entry here)

Bring on the Luftwaffe

On returning to Worcester Park from New Malden at around 7.30 last night I found all of the lights on Central Road were blacked out and both cars and pedestrians were taking their lives in their hands to try and make their way through the gloom, illuminated only by car headlights and exploding fireworks overhead. Mrs Brinkster said the lights had been off since around 6.45 and then headed out in search of alcohol, returning to say that the lights were out as far as North Cheam and that her quest had only found illumination when she got as far as North Cheam's Tesco Metro.

Safe in the refuge of a candlelit Brinkster Central listening to the bangs, booms and whistles the thing that would top off this pseudo-blitz experience was the thrumming of airplane engines overhead. Fortunately nobody obliged with that or the accompanying suburban devastation (Huntsmans doesn't count) so when the power came back on around 8.30 the world returned to its normal course, although the pubs, restaurants and take-aways must have been cheesed off to lose business.

If the person with the camera on a tripod that I narrowly avoided at the end of Brinkley Road when turning in last night reads this and has any decent photos please do email them to me!

A new blog in town

A short note to point you in the direction of The Parkerilla's new blog, with his opening post on the subject of the Huntsmans Hall.

Meanwhile, last night the darkness of Brinkley Road was pierced by the lights of a handful of pumpkins and a number of nocturnal visitors, some nicer than others, but I had headed off to Sutton for a mate's leaving do in All Bar One by then. There wasn't any trouble in Sutton that I saw but Central Road showed some signs of egging this morning so I assume that someone had decided that it was an excuse to get up to no good.

On a different note it seems like Blogspot/Blogger is having a problem with spam at the minute as if you use the Google Blogsearch link on the left you'll see that most entries come from implausibly named blogs ".blogspot.com". Hope they sort their act out so we can get some decent results.