Screened out

Here’s a sneak preview of the crime screens coming to Blackheath on Monday. Photo by @Nicole_Nation in Lewisham. That is some seriously tacky looking screenage. I really hope the police aren’t paying promogroup for those terrible looking screens. Nice to see private enterprise working hand in hand with the police.

Big screen and big brother

On Monday the police are planning to bring a large video screen to Blackheath, in order to project images of suspected looters from around the area. I’d love to know how many convictions will result from this. All it will do is make people feel as though they live in a police state. Maybe we could all stand in front of the screens and hurl abuse too?

Blackheath Funfair fenced in by GPS

Here’s a GPS trace of the Blackheath Funfair fencing. It’s the first time I can remember them fencing the funfair off, and several people have tweeted asking whether this is legal. I have no idea, but I suspect that the police would view it as not worth the bother, even if it isn’t… Much like the council’s attitude towards Foxtons and their illegal lighting.

Anyway, at least you’ve got a record of the first encroachment. So that when the funfair decides to declare the Independent People’s Republic of Fairgroundia, you can say that you remember where it began.

GPS trail made using the Trails app.

Blackheath Fun Fair

It’s on again, including Bank Holiday Monday (today). Dodgems very good. Ghost train not scary. See the Enclosure map via GPS here. I’ve just been this afternoon. They weren’t charging for entrance (last time they did). Times change, I guess.

Pop music for old people

Podcast interview with Tom Waites, one of the organisers of the proposed pop festival here.

You can subscribe to the whole “In The Meantime” Podcast about Greenwich here (iTunes link).

Desperately needs compressing, normalising, and the interviewer to be nearer the mic or about 6 dB louder, but apart from that, it’s great to have a local podcast.

Flying the friendly skies of Blackheath

Another amazing example of aerial photography over Blackheath. If the previous one didn’t make you feel sick, this one definitely will.

Check it out on their youtube page to watch in HD.

Blackheath from above

Great photo of Blackheath Village from a model aircraft, taken by James Good on August 6th

He runs a site called virtualaerodrome.com – I’ve featured images by him before!

Met the managers

I went to meet the managers. A nice bloke from National Rail wrote down my problem with the sliding door on a piece of paper, and said he’d tell someone. The person I spoke to from SouthEastern trains said that they don’t have a Passengers Panel. They suggested filling out the web-form on their site, or writing a letter. On paper. In 2011!

Fixmytransport.com need an email address to send things to – they can’t work with webforms yet. They mentioned Passenger Focus and London Travel Watch as possible alternatives, and gave me the email address of the head of communications – sarah (dot) boundy (at) southeasternrailway.co.uk

Dear Sarah,

Please could you find a way to allow fixmytransport.com to contact SouthEastern Railways directly?

It’s a great site, designed by the people who make the democracy-based writetothem.org theyworkforyou.com and fixmystreet.com

The reason I’m asking is because there are more than 30 people at Blackheath Station who would really like SouthEastern to reopen the sliding blue door on the ramp up from the Kent-bound platform!

See below:

http://www.fixmytransport.com/campaigns/lets-get-southeastern-to-re-open-the-sliding-blue-

Many thanks,

Blackheath Bugle

Meet South Eastern face to face tomorrow morning

As pointed out on the newly formed myblackheath blog (hopefully not run by estate agents), SouthEastern Trains are holding a Meet The Managers morning at Charing Cross station on Thursday (tomorrow) from 8am-10am. This is a monthly event whereby the SouthEastern managers stand around explaining that very few things are their fault, most things are either due to the government’s reduction of state subsidy, or Network Transport’s problems.

Please try and speak to them tomorrow if you can… A few things to consider:

* SouthEastern are owned by Govia. Govia is owned by Go-Ahead Group and Keolis. These two companies made a profit of £23.5m and £93m (€106m) respectively last year. These figures are both up from 2009. For bittersweet irony check this out: Keolis is majority owned by France’s nationalised state transport provider, SNCF. So France is allowed to have a nationalised rail system, but takes profit from our privatised system.

* Network Rail own Blackheath station, but it is managed and run by SouthEastern (see how nothing is one organisation’s fault?)

* If they wanted to open the bloody door, they could! Please sign up to the request to open the sliding door!

* They don’t like speaking to bloggers or press at these events. They also don’t like tape recorders. Go as an individual. Here’s an idea: wear your iphone headphones around your neck, and hit record before you wander up…

* Ask them how fixmytransport.com should contact southEastern. So far they don’t seem to be responding to any messages!

Here’s how it went when I met them last year.

From kites to photos…

The old sports shop has become a Fergus Noone wedding photography shop (there’s another one in Greenwich)… Maybe they could stock a couple of kite models just in case? Or start specialising in kite aerial photography? The perfect hobby for the heath!

Photo shows the sign writer in action here (snapped from a fast-moving 202 bus.. No really).. Tip off from @BBCarpentry