Great News! The DLR is being extended to Stratford International, which means that when the new section of track is opened, trains will run from Woolwich Arsenal to Stratford International - DIRECT! This will be very handy for catching up with friends who refuse to see the light and move to Plumstead. It'll also make getting to Stansted a lot easier, and then there's those Olympic Games that I heard someone talking about...
Opening in 'late 2010'!
Oh - make that 'Spring 2011'!
Wait, what's that? Okay - 'Summer 2011'!!
Yep, they've obviously hit a few problems along the way which have delayed the project. But it will be worth the wait, with a dramatically reduced travelling time to Stratford, right? Um, think again! According to TFL, it currently takes 22 minutes to get to Stratford from Woolwich (via the Jubilee line in Canning Town). Once completed, the new DLR route will get you there in.... 21 minutes. Wahoo! Still, at least you can avoid having to change trains....
Thursday 7 April 2011
Monday 28 March 2011
Going Dutch!
It's all very odd, but every now and then (like earlier this evening) Plumstead Common becomes completely overrun with Dutch teenagers. They just seem to arrive in a convoy of coaches, stand around for a bit and then go to the Co-op. Presumably our local supermarket is not what draws these kids over from the continent. I thought perhaps there's a sporting event - but then I've never seen any evidence of this and the groups are always mixed. There are no tracksuits in sight - never mind a football. What's going on? It all just seems so terribly random...
Monday 21 March 2011
Watch Thy Neighbour
Some drama in the street the other day!
I was just approaching my house when slightly ahead of me a police car braked and out leapt two coppers who then proceeded to arrest a young guy from over the road. All very unexpected! It's really quite a quiet little street and you certainly wouldn't expect a scene from Miami Vice taking place here (and that's quite aside from the weather).
Anyway, being English, I couldn't possibly stand there and gawp - how unbecoming! So I rushed upstairs, left the lights off, opened my window and peered through the net curtains instead. Sadly, this nosey neighbour was too slow to catch the juicy bits. All I got was "Tell your Mum he's being arrested for something he did on Saturday night." The mind boggles.
I shall be keeping an eye on the Naughty House from now on.
I was just approaching my house when slightly ahead of me a police car braked and out leapt two coppers who then proceeded to arrest a young guy from over the road. All very unexpected! It's really quite a quiet little street and you certainly wouldn't expect a scene from Miami Vice taking place here (and that's quite aside from the weather).
Anyway, being English, I couldn't possibly stand there and gawp - how unbecoming! So I rushed upstairs, left the lights off, opened my window and peered through the net curtains instead. Sadly, this nosey neighbour was too slow to catch the juicy bits. All I got was "Tell your Mum he's being arrested for something he did on Saturday night." The mind boggles.
I shall be keeping an eye on the Naughty House from now on.
Tuesday 8 March 2011
Plumstead Persecuted
I have some friends who live in the East End and continually go on about how rubbish Plumstead is. This bugs me to the extreme - the cheek of it! There is absolutely no way I would trade in my little part of South East London for the East End. I've tried it before and hated it.
Sure, Plumstead has its problems (especially down by the high street) but it is a kind of paradise to what awaits you north of the river.
Here we have trees and wide-open green spaces, cute little streets and nice little houses that - to the most part - are well maintained. Over there it seems so awfully grey and grotty in comparison. There's litter everywhere and every other house has an unwanted sofa or bed dumped in the front 'garden'. People just don't seem to care about the place and it really shows. The crime rate is much higher and (at least in my experience) it is generally far less neighbourly.
The one thing that East London does have over Plumstead is better transport links to the rest of the city. This cannot be denied, but even so, Plumstead is hardly the in middle of nowhere as it only takes 30 minutes to get to the centre of the city by train.
How very dare they!
Sure, Plumstead has its problems (especially down by the high street) but it is a kind of paradise to what awaits you north of the river.
Here we have trees and wide-open green spaces, cute little streets and nice little houses that - to the most part - are well maintained. Over there it seems so awfully grey and grotty in comparison. There's litter everywhere and every other house has an unwanted sofa or bed dumped in the front 'garden'. People just don't seem to care about the place and it really shows. The crime rate is much higher and (at least in my experience) it is generally far less neighbourly.
The one thing that East London does have over Plumstead is better transport links to the rest of the city. This cannot be denied, but even so, Plumstead is hardly the in middle of nowhere as it only takes 30 minutes to get to the centre of the city by train.
How very dare they!
Saturday 19 February 2011
Supermarkets
I thought I'd brave the drizzle and venture out to the Co-op on the Common this afternoon. Once you've managed to bypass the Big Issue seller and then the obligatory charity fundraiser that hangs around by the entrance, it's actually a pretty decent store for its size. The shelves are always well stocked, the place is clean and the staff seem friendly. It's really only the queues - which somehow always spontaneously appear at the checkout just as you are ready to pay - that let it down. Anyway, it was the usual scene - a few vaguely familiar looking faces and the high proportion of tracksuited people that is the norm for Plumstead - when suddenly there was a bit of a kerfuffle and then some thug got frogmarched to the back of the store for shoplifting. The entertainment value made up for the fact they were out of my favourite wine.
In other supermarket-related news, I see that the Somerfield by Woolwich Arsenal has finally closed down. About time really, it always felt like you were shopping in the communist block whenever you went in. It is going to become a Wilkinsons, apparently - though the pharmacy will stay. Wilkos will be handy for cheap Christmas decorations and the odd tin of paint, but I'll miss being able to nip in to buy dinner before catching the bus home!
In other supermarket-related news, I see that the Somerfield by Woolwich Arsenal has finally closed down. About time really, it always felt like you were shopping in the communist block whenever you went in. It is going to become a Wilkinsons, apparently - though the pharmacy will stay. Wilkos will be handy for cheap Christmas decorations and the odd tin of paint, but I'll miss being able to nip in to buy dinner before catching the bus home!
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