Addington Road crossing

Please take a look at the West Wickham South Residents Association facebook page for the response from the local council to a letter sent from a concerned resident about the dangers of crossing Addington Road.

Bye bye bike and kebab shop

Unsurprisingly, the Cafe next to the Thai restaurant looks to have closed. I was never sure whether it was a builders cafe (of which we already have the excellent Omega cafe) or a restaurant. I think the fact that it probably wanted to be a kebab shop meant it wasn't sure what it should be either. I'm not convinced a kebab shop would have worked either (and certainly wasn't desirable).

Shame to see the bike shop close down - looks like it's back to trips to Halfords or the excellent BigFoot bikes in Hayes.

Horses and 20mph

I've long been an advocate for 20mph zones especially in areas with lots of kids. For me Coney Hall is an example of an area that would benefit from reduced speeds.

Lets face it, most people coming into Coney Hall are going home or visiting someone. Would a 10mph reduction make that much of a difference to your journey? So you might get to where you are going 2 minutes later. But then if you did hit a kid or a cyclist at that speed the chances are they would survive. No brainer in my book.

Then it struck me that we are lucky enough to still have horses being ridden around our area but I've never seen any signs warning motorists to watch out for horse riders. Maybe that might be a small and cost effective way to help reduce speed.

I've written to the council before citing examples of other areas and councils adopting 20mph zones but Bromley don't yet seem receptive to the idea. So perhaps the horses can be the spur (no pun intended) for my new approach.

I figure it's only a matter of time before they make the change to 20mph. I just don't want us to be like Bounds Green where 20mph zones are enacted only after a girl is left brain damaged after being hit outside her school.

Meantime - please drive carefully in our wonderfull neighbourhood.

Kebab shop?

So is it a kebab shop or a restaurant? I've not tried it out yet but I'm curious to find out.

Unfortunately, Cafe Fiennes seems to have closed (despite promises they would be back). Maybe a greengrocers or a nice local coffee shop would be a nice replacement.

The new Indian Inaga(?) seems to be doing really well. I've heard some great local reviews. And the same can be said for Joan's Beauty Salon.

As for Focus going into administration, rumour is it will be a Wickes next...?

New road surface in Kingsway

Good to see the road re-surfacing in Coney Hall and Kingsway Parade but can't help but wonder how much that cost at a time when councils are making major cutbacks.

My understanding was that today's modern cars can withstand all but the worse potholes (at least that's what the adverts tell us). That being the case would the money have been better spent on keeping our lollipop men/women rather than helping our cars to go even faster and smoother on our suburban roads. My preference would have been to make sure our children are safe on the roads.

More local shops

I was reading an article in the Evening Standard recently about the number of local shops that are closing down. Lee shopping centre was an example of an area that has seen a drastic increase in boarded up and shuttered shops creating a dead zone for local shoppers.
Here in Coney Hall we really are fortunate to have so many good local shops. A top quality butchers, a friendly flower shop, our own curtain shop, Thai, Indian and Italian restaurants, a great local pub, cafes and car shops. We really are spoilt.
We can now add a Beauty Salon and a new Letting agency to the list.
Walking down to Kingsway parade on a Saturday morning gives you an opportunity to meet with friends and neighbours whilst you get your morning paper and milk.
I would encourage all of us to buy locally whenever possible to ensure that we keep the shutters away from Coney Hall particularly in a time of recession.
So whether it's a new bike, blinds for your bathroom, a tanning session, a bouquet of flowers or a turkey for xmas - keep our money local by investing in Coney Halls economy.
Happy xmas!

Halloween etiquette

I'm sitting here typing this between regularly answering the front door to trick or treaters.

I mustn't grumble as I've decorated the porch with skeletons, ghost and ghouls making it clear I'm happy to answer the door to the pesky little tykes. In fact all the kids so far have been fantastic, most of the vampires and goblins wishing me a great night rather than threatening me with flour and eggs. The only danger I have been in is of running out of goodies.

But obviously not every one is so keen on having to answer the door 20 times in the space of 2 hours. For alot of people Hallowed Eve is one of the nights that they dread. Fortunately, we seem to be lucky with the kids and teens we have round here with everyone entering into the correct spirit of things.

But we should try and make clear to friends and neighbours that unless your house is decorated with a pumpkin or attired with ghosts and goblins it might be best to give that house a miss on your scary rounds.

Happy Halloween!