Category Archives: Barking

E I E I O

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Strange thing happened on the way to the multiplex..so I get up this morning and check out my local Newham Showcase site and it says the Goddard film Alphaville is playing. When I get to the place the guy on the desk says no way. And I laugh ’cause it seemed pretty ‘leftfield’ for them. But it’s still on the site. Anyhow saw ‘Fracture’ instead which had some fun lines in it..

For example the line about the posh lawyers all having middle names taken from their mother’s maiden names, and who played squash. Actually my middle name is my father’s mother’s maiden name so that makes me uber posh. And I don’t squash (anymore) I gym baby. In fact last time I was down the gym some kid in the park started singing ‘Old MacDonald Had A Farm’ at me, which was unusual (E I E I O).

Alphaville, une

Somewhat unexpectedly – an international design competition for Barking Riverside

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Well after the laughter when I mention in polite company that I live in Barking something ‘cool and trendy’ to tell at dinner parties.

Details: A design competition is to be held to help create a new inspiring urban district.

An international competition for a new sustainable community has marked its deadline for interested parties as April 26, 2007. A new community is planned for Barking Riverside, London, in the midst of the Thames Gateway.

It is the aim of the competition to create one of the most important and inspiring new sustainable communities in London. It could end up housing more than 26,000 people, and it already has parkland, access to the river, improved transport connections and a close proximity to the Barking town centre. As a riverside location, Barking Riverside aspires to deliver a blend of high-density design and will offer a variety of tenures and affordable homes. This will be set in a green environment, including both parkland and open space, and will be designed for the benefit of the entire
community. Access to the riverside is a priority, and there are plans to open up 2 kilometres of riverfront to walkways and cycle paths.

The design competition aims to produce a new sustainable community where people want to settle and stay, thus creating a new, inspiring urban district. Two independent design teams will be selected to work with Barking
Riverside Ltd. on two (Eastern and Western) stages of sub-framework plans.

These plans will be the first two of four and they will be set within the context of the approved master plan and the Urban Design Guidelines, and will total the first 4,000 homes to be built on the site. For more information on the competition, please visit www.barkingriverside.co.uk.

DIY dude

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Went to my local HSS hire shop today, which was a good move as they knew the right power drill to cut through the concrete walls – I feel a proper geezer. Then when I returned with the drill someone had kindly left a note on my bike which I had I thought amusingly locked to the next-door church, which read ‘Idiot Bike’. Thanks, really.

Steal this book

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Some guys broke into the flat last night, thanks to the new security gate they only got away with two light items, a flat screen (good choice) and a Playstation 2 (thanks for getting rid of that). They left

It’s a strange fact that..

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It’s a strange fact that it takes around an hour on the tube to get from one place to another in London, and the same time to bake a potato.

PS: Barking Police rang the day after I used the Met Police minor crime reporting online, impressive, for the loss of my bike saddle. Oh well, I silently cursed Barking for the theft – and I see they’ve sold West Ham to some Icelanders!

Arson in Barking

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Just received a letter from our MP Margaret Hodge concerning a series of arson attacks on The Clarksons estate. I am suprised the authorities don’t just do something clever like figure out who’s doing it. I’ll help (after all I once burned my leg and had to go to hospital, and my birthday’s on Bonfire Night so I know a thing or two about playing with fire) by keeping an eye out.

Anti-war poster in Barking

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Took this shot recently in the centre of Barking. Follows on this week’s news of US attempts to scale down a prescence in Iraq, and President Bush’s reference to the Vietnam War.

Why History Matters

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The first question on the National Trust blog day form, is ‘Why History Matters To You’? Kind of a difficult question, which I like. So let me try an answer that in my own style.

Firstly, history gives a sense that whatever people are going nuts about now is probably something people have gone nuts about some other time and place.

Secondly, that each age has a different view of what makes history.

Thirdly, people get worked up about history. Currently in the graveyard of St Margaret’s Church in Barking (where Captain and Elizabeth Cook were married incidentally) someone has inked in the fading words of an 18th century grave. The church has responded with hanging a notice over the grave to say essentially that this is a serious matter which has been referred back to the Bishop of Chelmsford.

Blowing bubbles

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OK, I’m not saying I had anything to do with it – but who else from close to West Ham has in the last couple of months been to both Brazil and Argentina; who has got tickets to the friendly on Sunday; who runs a series of articles on Kaka (he’s Brazilian I know but its close enough). And who’s Brazialian girlfriend criticised the description of the flags outside the Sala club in Charing Cross Road by some journalist as the place to watch Brazil play during the World Cup as it also sported an Argentinan flag? And who’s mate Michael who’s a Hammers fan was with I when he first met Shirley? Who’s the Hammers lucky charm? And who’s going to win on Sunday?

Anyhow, here’s what the club say happened:

Terence Brown says that the arrival of Argentinian World Cup stars Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano signify a momentous day in the history of West Ham United Football Club.

The Hammers Chairman has presided over some major transfers during his time at the Upton Park helm, but none quite as high profile as today’s double signing, and he admits that the Club will now be in a position to step up to the next level.

“It is a momentous day for the football club,” he says. “It is without doubt the biggest deal in our history and one that we are all very excited about.

“I must give a mention to Paul Aldridge and Scott Duxbury, who worked through the night to ensure that the transfers went through. I am very grateful for their hard work behind the scenes.

“The sheer quality of the two players we have signed makes it a very exciting deal, and these are not players coming to the end of their careers – they are young players who are on their way up. They are also great lads – both have shown a keen interest in the Club and knew all about our success last season.

“Javier even asked for the number six shirt at one point during the negotiations, as he knew it was the number that Bobby Moore had worn for us all those years ago!

“I am looking forward to the contribution that both players will provide, and I am sure our supporters are just as excited. It’s wonderful that the fans have something like this to celebrate after the difficult times that they have experienced in recent years, and I hope they enjoy watching the talent that will be on show.

“We are now in a position to take the next step up as a Football Club, and these signings will put us in the spotlight on a worldwide scale. I’m sure we can all look forward to some good times ahead.”

The abridged history of Barking

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I went on a cycle round round historic Barking on Wednesday to discover that Elizabeth Fry the prison reformer is burried next to the Sikh Temple (the Quakers sold it to the Sikh’s in 1971); and came across the pilgramage holy rood stone in the surviving curfew tower from Barking Abbey (recently renovated by a team from Danbury in Essex); or the many sites where Barking was bombed such as Blake’s Corner where Boots now stands. Indeed there was a veteran cyclist, who’d lived in Barking in the war, and had survived a V1 bomb (‘Doodlebug’) just 250 yards from him. Records show that 37 V1s and 21 V2s hit the borough.

All I had to offer as anedecotal input was, in mentioning there used to be a R White’s lemonade factory in the centre, that I once met the son of the guy who performed the famous R White’s TV commercial (note for the technically minded: Ross MacManus – father of Elvis Costello – who sang the “Secret Lemonade Drinker” song – & it was television presenter Bob Holness that composed the tune). But then again I’ve also met by chance the daughter of the guy who did the English dubbed voice for the character of Monkey in the cult TV series of that name. Funny the things who come across without trying too hard.