Bromley Area News and Gossip

when was that?

 

About 1977 maybe? I was a bromley punk at the time so I went along to boo hiss at prince Charles who opened it officially.

Prior to this we'd had running battles with the police almost every saturday along bromley highstreet and we'd often nip through where the gardens were built and escape to Shortlands...

 

We'd all meet at Napoleon record shop in station square and it would always kick off from there. Good memories

 

You mean Bonapartes in Market Square?

 

Haha! Yes, I knew 'Napoleons' didn't sound right Over forty years ago now but good times there used to be a shoe shop half way down the high street on the left, it had a flat above it that was opened as a youth drop in called the Bromley Y Project. That was about the same time. Plus the Croydon greyhound on a Sunday night. And my local was the star and garter....

 

Anyone know what is happening with the HG Wells Centre....just noticed according to this it is shut down
Bromley Labour Club, Bromley


Would be a real shame to loes the building to developers, especially at a time of Labour Party renewal

ETA Just saw this in the link i posted (facepalm)
The club closed its doors for the last time on July 22nd 2017. The premises will be demolished to make way for the continuing redevelopment of the Bromley South area.

Very sad news.

 

Yes, very sad. Lots of local groups used to play there and they had a cheap bar. I even saw Crass there in the 80s.

 

Very sad. Saw some good local bands and had a party there. Was also where the locals used to store their Mercury.

 

Mercury?

 

Yeah, they would do it periodically.

 

So there's a Lidl opening on the High St, where BHS was. But as it's in a pedestrian zone it won't have any parking. Considering most Lidl shoppers drive there for a big shop, I don't think it will do well.

 

And a mini-IKEA too

 

Really? I think that will suffer from lack of parking even more than Lidl. People don't want to lug their flat-pack furniture to the nearest car park.

 

They're opening a few of these mini Ikeas but the emphasis is on planning the kitchen etc rather than actually buying stuff to take home. It's not a bad idea from my point of view - we've had a few Ikea kitchens and it's a PITA to make appointments and then trek out to Croydon to do the whole planning shebang when we already know which kitchen we want. Who knows how they will work out though?

 

Beckenham Palace Park's new/historically restored lake is on its way, ready for natural swimming by summer

 

3.5m is deep. Will it really be 'wild' swimming, or fenced off and supervised

Eta looks good anyway. Kids love a paddle.

 

I prefer unnatural swimming

 

I expect Hampstead heath style.. I very much doubt supervised tbh, purely on expense

 

I just can't wait. I saw a great video of it's progress yesterday. Due to open in May. Hotly anticipated in the outdoor swimming community!

 

Arts Lab, the Beckenham music nights Bowie was involved in, rebooted in the mansion... Hoping to go and show support
1st February...I think that's a Friday?

Anyone fancy it?

 

Looks good, but I don't think I can make it.

In other news I have just found out that both Julie Andrews and Sparks lived in Beckenham (not in the same house!)

 

Who is Sparks?

Going to check out the newish record shop in the mansion this week, cigarette records. Two record shops in Beckenham now! Bizarre really considering who lives here

 

AKA Ron and Russell Mael

 

great map of whats basically Bromley in 1789 -
MAPCO Map And Plan Collection Online : Map Of North West Kent 1789 By William Faden
can zoom in on little areas so very clear - such as

 

Made it down to Cigarette Records in the mansion at Beckenham Place Park - absolutely excellent second hand record shop. Everything you want from a second hand shop, including a dog! Stock some new bits too



"working class daddy lizard" made me chuckle...unfortunately the tune wasnt all that

 

was thinking today, whats that tune This Town Aint Big ENough for the Both of Us?

Turns out its Sparks! remembered your post. such a mad tune....dont suppose youve got a couple of Sparks tracks tips?

 

I'm no Sparks expert. They have an enormous back catalogue and I don't know most of it. They had some huge hits around the same time as This Town, The Number One Song in Heaven is pretty good. Proper Moroder-style disco synths.



From their more recent stuff I like Good Morning.



They also teamed up with Franz Ferdinand to form FFS (geddit?) and some of that is worth checking out too.

 

So Feargal Sharkey was in Bromley today, following the river Ravensbourne. Wish I'd bumped into him.