BBC drama in Blackheath

OK, I admit it. The house from the excellent new BBC drama “What Remains” was driving me nuts. It’s somewhere in Blackheath, but where? I wandered up and down Pond Road, thinking it was near the railway bridge… Close, but no cigar.

I knew I’d seen it before. Then one of the production designers tweeted that it was in Eliot Park.

And here it is, looking considerably less spooky surrounded by leaves and blossom on Google Streetview!

There’s a great post about the production here. Amazingly, the interiors of the house were all shot in a studio.

It’s a good first episode – hopefully the other three parts will live up to the first.  If you’ve ever lived in flats inside a converted Victorian house, it will push many buttons – the way sound travels in unexpected ways, the timers on the lights, the uncared-for communal areas.  It has lots to say about modern life in a city, and online too.  Don’t be put off by Frank Gallagher.  It’s a subtle performance, and the house really feels like the star of the show.

Anyway, there’s a good review of the first episode in the Telegraph, complete with a fantastic new genre “Norwood Noir”, which should clearly be “Blackheath Butchery”… Can’t wait to find out whodunnit. It’s clearly not going to be the teacher.

Blackheath Fun Fair 2011

More photos coming soon here.

12 noon until 10pm Friday-Tuesday inclusive.

£1 Entrance Fee
£3 Dodgems
£2.50 The Terminator
£4 2xtreme (terrifying looking spinning thing seen from miles away)
£2 Waltzer
£2.50 Bounce
£3 Oblivion (another spinning thing)
£2.50 Cage
£2.50 Hook a duck
£2 Ghost train
£2 Ferris wheel
£2 Burger
£2 Candy floss

UPDATE: About a zillion people are googling this blog asking “where is blackheath fun fair?”, so here’s a map. Not sure about the circus location though.. If it’s wrong, let me know in the comments. I’ll try to make a more accurate version later. Come by train (parking is terrible in Blackheath), turn left out of the station and walk up the hill. When you get to the heath, you’ll see the fair.

Blackheath Music Festival – details emerge

onBlackheath, the organisers of what was previously referred to as the Nimby Music Festival, have just released a PDF, with more details of the proposed festival.

The PDF can be found here.

Now Wash Your Hands

Eagle-eyed William spotted Blackheath in the hideous Andrex Puppy advert. Look about 30 seconds in. Then read this wonderful review of such a creepy looking promo. As the nutters on youtube say

“Because some people prefer the old real puppy that was actually cute, not a CGI dog wearing a wrist watch”

The Cactus Pit becomes “Bones 4u”. Arf arf.
The Village Barbers maintains the colour scheme, but becomes “Mutts Cuts”. Which would annoy me if I was the owner! It’s a great barber shop!
El Pirata becomes the “Chihuahua Bar”.

(And the song is called “Little Things”, by Dave Berry from 1965)

The boat that rocked?

Blackheath as a filming location? Several days were spent on scenes for “The Boat that Rocked” last year. It is supposed to be appearing in cinemas soon, and IMDB suggests the beginning of April. It looks like a reasonable idea for a comedy – based on the Radio Caroline pirate ship – maybe like an English Sixties version of Pump up the Volume? Anything that involves a slightly drunk looking Bill Nighy is probably worth the ticket price, even if Richard Curtis’ last few outings haven’t exactly left Blackadder in need of a cunning plan.

I couldn’t spot any Blackheath in the trailer. Will Philip Seymour Hoffman be nipping to a 1960s version of Shepherd Foods for some light refreshment? We shall find out…

A look inside the Hexagonal House

The strange hexagonal house in Blackheath Park has been spotted in a music video. A keen-eyed reader named “Prawntail” wrote:

This house is often used for promo shoots. I attended a shoot here for David Holmes… The lady of the house sits in a lovely summer house in the back garden and watches the ridiculous posturing go on, happy to chat about history of house. Personally I found the interior terribly male. Garden is lovely though.

Many thanks for the tip! You can watch the video by clicking on it, or click on the link here.

The song is called “Sugar Man” and is by “David Holmes presents The Free Association” (C) 2003 Mercury Records Limited.

You might be able to get in on CD from Amazon.