please empty your brain below
Early DG

Bruce Wayne | 24.08.18 - 5:48 a.m. | #

Pointless boating fact: the Nestles factory was known to the boatmen as Hayes Cocoa, for cocoa crumb was what they delivered there. And not at all far away is the site of the Kearley and Tonge jam factory, known as the jam 'ole, and still celebrated as the destination of the last regular long-distance commercial canal traffic, which ended in November 1970.

Nestles was always Nestles (no apostrophe, no accent) when I was a kid. Remember the Milky Bar advert? It's only later it went all posh.

Sarah | Homepage | 24.08.18 - 6:59 a.m. | #

At the risk of provoking The Men Who Like Barges, the 1964 film 'The Bargee' is worth a look. Not spectacular as far as films go, but as a period piece it is fascinating, (unwittingly) capturing the end of the end of the barges-as-freight-network rather well. Plus it has Ronnie Barker, Eric Sykes and Harry H. Corbett - there are worse ways to while away 90 minutes.

Burntweenie | 24.08.18 - 7:20 a.m. | #

I wondered why you no longer get the smell of roasting coffee when traveling along the Parkway (A312).

John | 24.08.18 - 7:41 a.m. | #

@Burntweenie - I've happened to catch that movie a couple of times (it seems to be on monthly repeat on Talking Pictures TV) and after enjoying it the first time round spend the second with Google Earth trying to spot where the locations were and what they were like now!

dg writes: This webpage answers those two questions perfectly. And Bulls Bridge was indeed one of the locations.

TomH | 24.08.18 - 8:03 a.m. | #

The old Nestle site and Fairey Corner are the before and after, as this was named after the long gone Fairey Aviation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Aviation_Company

Still Anon | 24.08.18 - 8:07 a.m. | #

Any more info on the piper? Was it a half-set of Uillean pipes (Irish) or a set of half-long pipes (Scottish/Borders)?

Paul Robert Draper | 24.08.18 - 8:41 a.m. | #

Really enjoying this series of posts, DG. Was curious to see where the line cut through outside the M25, as I grew up in Langley, Berkshire, and it passes less than 20 meters away from where my parents currently live, and close to a watersports centre on the Jubilee River in Slough that I'm a director for. Will have to have a wander and document it for myself!

Ian C | 24.08.18 - 8:49 a.m. | #

@Burntweenie - and the Women who like Boats!

The Bargee is indeed an ... interesting ... film - and the Men Who Are Much More Obsessed With Canals Than Me are always happy to point out the geographical impossibilities and continuity errors in it.

The term 'bargee' was considered an insult by the men who worked the narrow boats. In London, incidentally, narrow boats were also sometimes known as 'monkey boats'.

Sarah | Homepage | 24.08.18 - 9:11 a.m. | #

That Crowne Plaza is a particularly bad example of the Heathrow hotels and not all of them are that badly located or overpriced. Indeed many of them are now either walking distance from the airport or within the free transport zone.
And reluctant as I am to disagree with DG, personally I always look forward to the night in the airport hotel as a chance to break up the long coach journey to/from my family in the Westcountry and the 12 hour flight to/from home.

cjw714 | 24.08.18 - 9:11 a.m. | #

I'd forgotten about the "1950s Moderne Style canteen" I somehow managed to have lunch there more than 40 years ago. I was impressed by how cheap it was.

I flicked through the housing plan. Can someone please explain what a "1.3 km public trim trail" is. Apparantly it's one of the benefits of the development.

ap | 24.08.18 - 10:02 a.m. | #

To doesn't or does release the Rottweiler is the question? ("doesn't does dare")

dg writes: Fixed, thanks.

other dg | 24.08.18 - 10:04 a.m. | #

@ap, if a "Trim Trail" is anything like the "Trim Track" that used to be in a park near me it will be a path to jog around with different apparatus next to it, such as monkey bars or pull up bars etc., at intervals so you can have a complete workout as you go.

Barry | 24.08.18 - 10:28 a.m. | #

As I live in south London, and the holidays I go on tend to start with a sparrowfart departure from Luton or Stansted, I invariably stay at the airport the night before.

Jonathan Wadman | 24.08.18 - 11:00 a.m. | #

I'm amazed the Nestle factory lasted so long, passing it on the train it looked incredibly old fashioned, and more like a chemical plant rather than a food factory making chocolate and instant coffee!

It did add character to the area though, as did the nearby Sugar Puffs factory, another one to recently close

Mikey C | 24.08.18 - 12:57 p.m. | #

Heathrow is pretty inaccessible to South East London and almost impossible for an early flight so it’s cab or hotel. Or far better, Gatwick.

Anonymous | 24.08.18 - 2:36 p.m. | #

The original cocoa factory was built by the German born bodybuilder Eugen Sandow . During the First World War the entire area around the factory, some 200 acres, was turned into National Filling Factory No.7 where a workforce of 10,000 women filled god knows how many thousands of high explosive shells with ammonium nitrate and TNT.

I'll bet that doesn't turn up in the new sales prospectus.

HoosierSands | Homepage | 24.08.18 - 9:16 p.m. | #

I find the entrance to Nestle very reassuring and life affirming in just how hungry nature is to take over in the absence of regular human activity.

NickW | Homepage | 24.08.18 - 9:32 p.m. | #

U missed one of London's few canal aqueducts! Slap bang on 51½°N.

Rog (1LondonBlog) | Homepage | 24.08.18 - 11:20 p.m. | #











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