Your KT4..

July's edition of Worcester Park Life magazine is out now with even more content than before (and more local advertisers coming on board, which is great to see).

Those of you who don't receive a copy through your letterbox can pick one up at Waitrose, CAZBAR, Mr Ink, John James One Stop Party Shop and other distribution points in Worcester Park.

And of course you'll be turning to page 40 for the monthly musings from the Worcester Park Blogger - so a warm welcome to Worcester Park Life readers finding this blog for the first time.

Why not add your comments to the talking points in July's edition of the magazine:

• A Rubbish Argument
• Central Rude?
• For The Flower Man

Boxing Clever?

If you've ventured onto Central Road this weekend you'll no doubt have noticed these box junctions that have appeared by some of the feeder roads.

If early indications are anything to go by, this latest answer to the gridlock is going to be roundly ignored.

As I observed for a few minutes yesterday at the double-box junction conundrum that has appeared opposite Iceland and the Halifax, most drivers seemed oblivious to the new yellow markings and carried on obstructing them as normal.

The occasional driver seemed to heed then, whilst others took advantage of the central gap between the two boxes and drew to a halt in the middle of the road instead.

Looks like Monday's rush hour is going to be interesting.

I, for one, understand the basics of box junctions (don't enter until your exit is clear, unless you are waiting to turn right and are prevented from doing so by oncoming traffic) but quite how these are going to work is beyond me.

Are they meant to help traffic get off the feeder roads and onto Central Road? Or are they meant to prevent traffic coming off the feeder roads from blocking Central Road when making a right turn?

I am most confused.

PUBLIC ENQUIRY: The Hamptons

I was so desperately hoping to move this blog away from The Hamptons - we managed it briefly with a run of meat-related jokes and brief excitement over a brothel in Worcester Park, but matters must now return to our New England friends as a 'Public Enquiry' has been announced into the issue of further expansion of The Hamptons.

Back in December last year, St James Homes (developers of The Hamptons) had their planning permission for the final phase of The Hamptons rejected.

The reasons for refusal were:

• The effect on road traffic and parking


• Noise pollution from the wind turbines


• Further strain on local services (schools, doctors' surgeries etc).

As expected, St James have now lodged an appeal against the rejection of their planning application. The fight is on - it is up to the people of Worcester Park once again to voice their opinions and ensure that the eminently sensible decision of the local planners is not allowed to be overturned.

By way of reminder, what we are fighting against here is the building of:

• Thirty two 3-bedroomed and twenty six 4-bedroomed terraced houses


• Eight 3-bedroomed and twenty 4-bedroomed semi-detached houses


• Eight 4-bedroomed and two 5-bedroomed detached houses


• Twenty nine 1-bedroomed, fifty seven 2-bedroomed and two 2/3-bedroomed flat


• Garages, surface and basement car parking, cycle and refuse facilities

Or, in other words, 184 more dwellings.

As fun as the jibes about The Hamptons residents have been, and as much as we have all enjoyed the war of words between the two camps this is about a very serious threat to the infrastructure and local services of Worcester Park.

If you think we can handle yet more traffic on Central Road then by all means allow this to go through unnopposed.

If you are happy that the local schools and doctors surgeries can cope with 184 more dwellings then you can put your feet up and relax.

To all those who share my horror at the prospect of yet more development in the area, I propose that 'Round 2' against St James has now well and truly begun!

Are you ready for the fight? Click on the scanned letter at the top of this blog posting for more details on how you can add your voice to the appeal.

Location Location Location

Whilst millions of us were watching Nadal make Murray mince out of England's favourite Scotsman on Centre Court, only a handful were watching Location Location Location on Channel 4.

Thankfully one of that handful has been in touch to point out that this was the episode featuring Worcester Park - filmed back in the good old days when our houses were earning more than we were.

Kirsty described WP as having "Good train links, good schools and a fantastic high street" whilst Phil said "As an area it's quite exciting".

Quite exciting? Quite?? It's terribly exciting. He clearly doesn't read this blog.

Those of you who missed it have 7 days (and counting) to catch it here. But be warned, it does contain a brief shot of The Huntsmans Hall and footage of New Malden which some viewers may find distressing.

In the meantime a once serious posting of mine has degenerated into an exchange of terrible meat/butcher related jokes - such as:

"I went into the butchers and asked if he kept dripping. He said yes it's really embarrassing!!"

Feel free to add your own meat jokes here.

Scissor Sisters

I did quite well on my ongoing 'shop local' mission over the weekend.

I popped in to Kim's, the new(ish) barbers in Central Road. The whole thing happened so fast I had to check my reflection in the window on the way out just to make sure that I had actually had my hair cut. Super fast scissorship, Kim.

Then to accompany an impromptu BBQ I called in for some tabbouleh (Lebanese salad to you and me) and other assorted oddments from Ryan Gate. The normally fail safe tactics of pointing to the menu never quite seems to work there and communication invetiably breaks down resulting in me leaving confused and clutching some random items from the menu at a equally unfathomable prices. Perhaps I was supposed to haggle? Still, all part of the lucky dip of shopping Ryan Gate style.

Then it all went horribly wrong on Sunday. I did something that I am deeply ashamed of. I know I shouldn't have, but the temptation was there and in a moment of weakness I succumbed. I now feel dirty, used and thoroughly disgusted with myself.

Yes, I went into KFC. But I didn't inhale. I stood patiently in the queue, dodging the screaming toddlers running amok. The stench of dripping fat was overwhelming - and that was just from the obese woman in front of me.

After two minutes in the queue, as the disfunctional family unit ahead of me waddled off clutching their Bargain Buckets and another serving of brown greasy battery-chicken-remains was dredged from the depths of the deep fat frier I came to my senses and legged it back into the fresh air of Worcester Park.

Am I forgiven?

Mirror Mirror on the ball....

At last a more informed report on The Hamptons curfew - courtesy of the Daily Mirror. Finally someone has cottoned on to the fact that this is really about good old fashioned snobbery and class divisions:

"It's like a prison and it's not fair. I can't even play with my friends on the field behind our house. It's so frustrating, especially when we see posh kids out playing." sniffed one of the poor kids.

For a slightly more predicatable right-wing demolition of the curfew story, check out the podcast of this morning's breakfast show from Nick Ferrari on LBC 97.3 here.

Hamptons Caught

The BBC News Channel have filmed a report on The Hamptons curfew - if you don't mind sitting through 20 minutes of Konnie Huq's moronic squealing then you can watch the news item about Worcester Park here.

If you do mind sitting through 20 minutes of Konnie Huq's moronic squealing then fast forward 9 minutes 30 seconds into the programme, which is when the piece on The Hamptons starts.

Trading Places?

Being informed, educated and erudite in all matters, I'm sure you are aware that Worcester Park straddles the London boroughs of Sutton and Kingston, the railway bridge by the station being the boundary line between the two.

All of which goes to explain the problem of litter and pigeon mess building up underneath said bridge. Instead of picking up the litter, Sutton Council workers simply sweep it two metres further west so it becomes Kingston Council's problem. Sutton Council workers have also been spotted running under the bridge in the dead of night and flapping wildly, causing the startled pigeons to flap over to Kingston Council's side of the bridge and defecate out of fright.

Actually, I made that up. But it does feel sometimes that Worcester Park is the town that Sutton Council would rather forget and would quite happily sweep a few hundred yards to the west and out of the Borough altogether.

Which (but for the higher council tax in Kingston) might actually be a good thing - at least for the traders of Worcester Park who get a fat lot of support from Sutton Council.

A few weeks ago I was quite critical of the Worcester Park Traders' Association for doing, well, very little to speak up for the traders of Worcester Park as they battle tirelessly against increasing rents, crippling traffic and the unstoppable scourge of empty retail units and charity shops along Central Road.

Terry Dobbs Chairman of the Worcester Park Traders Association (pictured) got in touch recently to give his right of reply:

"We are as active as funds and councils allow us to be.

Until last year I represented the traders on the Worcester Park Forum - then the Council in their wisdom decided that the Traders were not important enough to be there, deciding that friends of parks and a local playground were more deserving."

Despite efforts from the other members and 2 Councillors, this remains the case."

Yes, you did read that correctly - the Worcester Park traders are no longer represented on the Worcester Park Forum (Sutton Council's local area committee and a forum for discussion of all issues relevant to the area). The residents are included. So are representatives of local churches and other community groups - and quite rightly so, as they are all important pieces in the jigsaw of our local community.

But under what lunacy did they take it upon themselves to exclude the voice the traders of Worcester Park - the lifeblood of our local area?

In the meantime, I'm quite sure you'll be do your bit to support the traders of Worcester Park even if Sutton Council doesn't.

Sofa so bad

In these tough economic times, I'm sure we are all on the lookout for a bargain. So how about a free three-piece suite?

One Worcester Park resident is offering a wonderful sofa free of charge to a good home on eBay- and boy do they give it their best sales pitch:

"The suite itself was brought by a family member who ran a pub in the 60's - she had the Beatles coming in for lunch when they played at the Wimbledon Appollo and brought the suite for that.

It has since stayed in the family and has been recovered four times. It's in great condition and is very high quality. "

Sadly it all falls apart (the sales pitch and, quite possibly, the sofa) when you scroll down to the picture of this masterpiece:



If that's a recovered sofa, I'd be curious to know exactly what is was recovering from. Still, if the fancy still takes you and you'd like a free sofa then you'll find the eBay listing here.

Failing that, I reckon it would make the perfect addition to the abandoned Drury & Cole shop/museum on Central Road:



Anyone want to give me a hand carrying it there?

Ceasefire!

As most of the 78 comments in the increasingly heated argument over The Hamptons are anonymous it's difficult to tell whether it's a mass argument raging across Worcester Park or simply two blog readers with plenty of time on their hands trading tit-for-tat insults.

Thank goodness though for 'Captain America' who has provided the much-needed voice of reason here:

"As fun as this has been, all good things must come to an end therefore I would like to propose a truce amongst the residents of Worcester Park?

This may require some of you to accept that Hamptons residents are not personally the sole reason for increased congestion, etc (thank council planning for that), so I expect many childish comments in return, but I thought it would be worth a try."

Aye aye Captain.

So may I be the first (well, second) to propose a truce here? Let residents across Worcester Park unite in a group hug on Malden Green (opposite the station) as we learn to love one another in the true spirit of community.

Or if that would offend your masculinity, a good tight manly hug combined with a blokey slap on the back just in case anyone looking should mistake it for a sign of affection.

Either way, ladies and gentlemen, can we call a ceasefire!!!!??

Media Frenzy?

The Sutton Guardian's piece on the curfew imposed on social housing tenants in The Hamptons has made the national media - and so I found myself on the phone to a researcher from BBC Radio 5 Live this morning after a hurried e-mail asking for somebody to appear on the Midday News and talk about the furore.

Sadly (I am burning my licence fee right now in protest) they didn't put me on the programme in the end - but there is an interview with a representative from Thames Valley Housing Association. You can listen to the interview here (it's about 20 mins in).

Anti-social housing?

With no sign of an end to the mud-slinging (57 heated comments and counting) I fear that fuel has been added to the fire by the front page of today's Sutton Guardian which reports on the 9pm curfew imposed on the residents of The Hamptons social housing.

Ironic, when you consider that the debate raging on this blog really boils down to class-warfare and snobbery at the residents of this new development. But it's OK, apparently, so long as the less well-off kids are safely indoors by 21:00.

Ironically, when the Sutton Guardian contacted me about this earlier in the week I replied that I hadn't heard of such a curfew order and doubted it would exist, as The Hamptons is hardly a hot-spot of local crime. Just goes to show that I don't quite know everything that goes on in KT4 (scary, I know).

If you read the article carefully you will note that the curfew is now quite a curfew - it's not legally binding but is just a 'statement of intent' to set the ground rules for acceptable behaviour.

Now I could write more about the ethics of this or the sheer class and age discrimination that this agreement smacks of - but fortunately Adrian Short has already done this in an excellently argued blog posting which he's e-mailed me to tell me about. You can it read it here (I urge you to do so).

A Rubbish Argument

I just don't get it. This whole debacle over Sutton Council's recently-introduced £35 per bag per year fee for collecting garden waste. I just don't get it!

The reasoning behind Sutton Council's imposition of the fee is simple - to cut down the number of gas-guzzling lorries trundling around the borough picking up garden waste that could quite easily be composted at home (in a compost bin available free of charge from the Council).

I seem to be alone in my confusion over why this has become such an issue - the Sutton Guardian has led with front-page condemnation of these new charges and their readers have been just as vociferous in their condemnation of the charges:

"What are [old ladies] supposed to do with their garden waste if they can't afford the outrageous £35 per bag per year charge? They can't walk that to the dump" rants one reader on the newspaper's forum.

As one who has contendly composted all of my garden waste for the past four years and never once had recourse to the council's garden waste bags, the wrath and rage of local residents is a mystery to me.

If you have a garden, you can have a compost bin. If you are fit enough to do cut the grass and rake up leaves then you are fit enough to put them into said compost bin.

Granted, I only have a small garden and so generate only a small amount of garden waste. But then if my garden was double the size then I'd have plenty of space for the extra compost bin. Clever, huh?

As militant Sutton residents leave their garden waste at the kerbside in 'open defiance' of the new scheme or clog the roads around the local refuse centre, I am left bewildered.

If you can't be bothered to compost your own waste and want the luxury of kerbside collections then that's your perogative - but it's only fair that you alone should foot the bill for this service.

Meantime, neither myself nor my compost bin can understand what the fuss is all about.

Perhaps you can explain?

May or May Not?

As a heated debate rumbles along elsewhere in this blog about 'The Hamptons -v- Everyone else in Worcester Park', those who are not afraid to let their children mingle with their New England-style neighbours may wish to head along to for a Fun Day this coming Sunday (15th June).

Weather permitting we are promised free children's activities, free refreshments and plenty of fun things to do (all as part of 'Love Parks Week', apparently).

It all takes place in Mayflower Park in The Hamptons development from 2pm to 5pm. No passports or visas or innoculations are required for entry to The Hamptons.

This is not a blog post

I've decided you've had things a little too easy of late when it comes to getting your fix of The Worcester Park Blog.

So I'm not putting my latest article online for your enjoyment - instead you will have to venture into Worcester Park and grab your free copy of 'Worcester Park Life' - the brand new magazine dedicated to all things KT4.

You'll find the first monthly column from the Worcester Park Blog and plenty more besides in the inaugral edition of the magazine which you can pick up from:

• CAZBAR


• Worcester Park Library


• Police Office


• John James


• Mr Ink


• One Stop Party Shop

Oh, and there's money-off vouchers for Worcester Park shops in there as well, which can't be bad.

Central Rude?

There is much speculation on this blog and elsewhere that a branch of the adult shop 'Pillow Talk' is looking to open in Worcester Park selling lingerie, adult toys and all manner of naughtiness. In KT4? Surely not.

Rumours have it that it is looking to open in place of the defunct 'TV & Video Clinic' - but is smut and titillation really about to arrive in Central Road?

Crucially, Pillow Talk are licensed premises (the kind that would make Ann Summers blush with embarassment). A search with Sutton Council has revealed no current licence applications from Pillow Talk - nor are there any postings of licence application outside the proposed premises or in the local press (as required by law).

Furthermore, a 'Shop To Let' notice went up recently in the window of the former TV Clinic, so it looks as if no taker has been found for that outlet - besides with most of their existing shops in larger towns, Worcester Park would seem a strange choice of location to sustain a shop like Pillow Talk.

However, what did make me chuckle during my online research into 'Pillow Talk' was this letter of objection to the licence renewal of one of their existing stores. You can feel the fear of 'Outraged of Reigate' as he writes:

"My Family and I object to its re-licensing on the grounds:-

1 This kind of sex shop could encourage a Soho type “Red Light District” where prostitution and drugs could end up, London is trying hard to move its bad Soho image into Redhill town, and so bring crime to this area.

2. Redhill could be “downgraded” to a cheap dirty smutty area which could encourage wrong types as in 1, to move in “gradually and without thought” to other peoples wishes.

3. The sex shop gives the impression that it offers a service but this should be kept to mail order catalogues in the privacy of ones home. What the shop actually does is, it degrades Redhill, as a Town. It also degrades women younger women and these young girls who may think that they are simply sex objects as portrayed in some Soho nightclubs.

6. I have a daughter who is now married. This type of shop actually is offensive to the women. Is this the type of environment we want our younger daughters to live in? What would they be thinking about such shops? How would they view themselves as girls, young ladies/women?

7. Redhill’s future is bright and is improving. Let Redhill compete with such places as Crawley mall where their shop types are very good and it is all under cover (by the way there are too many mobile phone shops in Redhill Belfry) let’s see something else apart from mobile phone shops and Pillow Talk Sex Shop. UPGRADE REDHILL, Redhill must change for the better or it will go on a decline and end up like London Soho. It’s RedHILL not RedLIGHT District.

So, that's that. I for one shall be writing an immediate pre-emptive letter of objection to Sutton Council as I for one wouldn't want the wrong types moving in to Worcester Park moving in gradually and without thought to others' wishes.

It's time we all took a stand before Worcester Park, like Redhill, becomes over-run with prostitution, drugs and mobile phone shops.

For the flower man

With an irony that I like to hope would have made him smile, some flowers have been left outside Eves Florist (next to Cuppaholic) in memory of Joe Bright, who passed away last weekend.

I and thousands of other commuters would hurry past him each morning as we dashed to begin the daily grind of city life, and would pass him again as we struggled home wearily in the late afternoon.

There was always, I thought, something enviably peaceful and simple about his life in this tiny corner (literally) of Worcester Park - a fixture on the local scene for 40 years.

One of the bunches of flowers left outside the door to his shop sums up the sentiments of many, I am sure. The card inside is addressed simply to Joe 'The Flower Man' and signed 'from a Worcester Park Resident'.

Charity Begins At Once

As Worcester Park emits a collective groan of despondency at the inevitable arrival of Yet Another Bloody Charity Shop, this e-mail from Grant did make me chuckle:

"I had to let you know that as I was coming home from work tonight I passed the British Heart Foundation Charity Shop.

The place hasn’t finished being refurbished yet, let alone been opened but someone had left a carrier bag of clothes outside it.

This place makes me laugh. Carry on Worcester Park!!!!!!"

Ahh, the people of KT4. They're just all heart....

Virgin on the ridiculous

I and thousands of others in Worcester Park, New Malden, Sutton and Morden have just emerged from electronic oblivion thanks to a 27-hour outage on Virgin Media.

No digital TV and Internet for over a day? It's a miracle any of us survived intact. I for one shall be on the phone to the Bearded One's minions to ask for a day's credit. And I might mention why, as a former Telewest customer of 4 years' standing, I get punished for my loyalty by paying 50% more than brand new customers.

I might also ask that next time they come up with a better excuse than a builder digging through a cable.

Rant over.

Stroperty Ladder

OK, OK, blog readers. I get the message- you don't like estate agents.

Judging by recent comments you have posted here it is clear that there is little love lost between the people of Worcester Park and their friendly local estate agencies.

There is a fine line between fair comment and libel, so I'm afraid I had to remove half a dozen of your choicer comments - and until I can afford decent lawyers will continue to do so.

Meanwhile, if I may change the tone somewhat The Brinkster has posted some sad news today about the sudden death of a popular Worcester Park trader who will be greatly missed. Great shame.

How Now, Brown Owl?

The 4th Worcester Park & Old Malden Brownie Pack are celebrating their 60th Birthday this year.

They are holding a party in July to celebrate and are looking for as many old Brownies as possible who attended the pack over the years.

Sue Grout is their current Brown Owl, a role that she has held for about 30 years.

If you have been a member of 4th Worcester Park & Old Malden Brownie Pack any time in the past 60 years then they would be delighted to hear from you and welcome you to their celebrations in July. E-mail Rachel - squirrel.4thworcesterpark@yahoo.co.uk

Home James?

In what I suspect is a sign of the economic times to come (either that or a new concept in minimalism) 'Samuel James', the estate agency on Central Road is now just an empty shell but for a few desks and a couple of PCs. Their website has also disappeared without trace, and their main phone number is now dead.

So offered with vacant possession is this compact but desirable mid-terrace property with easy access to shops and amenities and stunning views of Barclays Bank...

Kerb your enthusiasm

I do wonder (occasionally) what use people have found for the blue bins provided to them by Sutton Council for glass recycling. You see these bins have been with us since April, but kerbside collections don't start until the beginning of June.

You will, of course, have known that collections weren't going to start until June if you'd read the clearly worded leaflet that arrived with your new bin (or read this blog).

Yet it appears that mass confusion has arisen with hapless residents putting their blue bins out too early, only to find that they aren't being collected - although I haven't quite noticed Worcester Park degenerating into crunching mass of overflowing kerbside glass as some doom merchants would have us believe.

Incredibly, some residents are blaming Sutton Council for mishandling the issuing of the bins and are no doubt wasting perfeclty good recycled paper by writing to the Surrey Comet to complain.

Unusually, I'm with Sutton Council on this one. Presumably you must have had a stab at reading the leaflet that came with it, which is how you knew that it was a bin for your glass and not a free Sutton Council branded patio planter.

So if you managed read that bit, what part of collections starting from 2nd June didn't you get?

Incidentally, for those still struggling to read the explanatory leaflet that came with it, I believe Sutton Council offer free evening classes that might assist.

You must be choking?

Hurry hurry hurry - you have just three days left to choose the scab that you would like to see flicked off the skin of Worcester Park forever (i.e. the Monthly Poll on your right).

I've had an email from a blog reader suggesting that Rumours Wine Bar be added as one of the choices. Unfortunately this is not ITV, so things can't be fiddled once once voting is underway. Besides, I've never really thought of Rumours as that much of a blot on our suburban landscape.

Personally I think it's great that the we have an al-fresco drinking experience in Worcester Park so locals can sit out in the evening sun and pretend to be at a pavement cafe in the Costa Brava whilst gulping down lungfuls of carbon monoxide from the traffic thundering along Central Road.

Well, it is on the High Emissions Zone side of Worcester Park after all.

Now get voting whilst you still can.

Papa Don't Teach

I ventured into Papa John's the other evening - not for a moment because I'd swallowed their advertising guff about better ingredients making better pizza, but because blogging duty dictates that I should try (almost) everything locally at least once.

Besides, Mrs WP was hungry and starting to whine and knaw at the furniture.

So off I went and browsed through the disappointing menu of just 12 varieties of pizza - opting for a medium pizza at at £13.99.

Only after I had coughed up (the cash, not the pizza) did I spy that under the Early Week Special 'any pizza, any size' should be £9.99. I politely asked if I could pay the £9.99 for an extra large, rather than the £13.99 they had charged me for a medium.

All hell broke loose and within moments virtually all of the 13 staff working there (that's one specialist in each variety of pizza plus one supervisor, I'm assuming) seemed to be in active discussion of my request. Clearly a request of this complexity had not been addressed at the Papa John's Training Academy.

A committee was convened, which after several minutes and much annoyance to the growing queue behind me had granted my request and I sat for ten minutes (under a sign telling me that CCTV is in operation in all areas of Choices Video) whilst my masterpiece was prepared.

Who says there's no entertainment in Worcester Park?

Worcester Park Finds Its Voice!

A few days ago, I leaped onto my electronic soap box to bemoan the fact that there is nobody standing up and promoting the Worcester Park traders, nobody beating the drum for the hard working local businesses that are the lifeblood of our locality - in short, nobody (bar my humble self) acting as the voice of Worcester Park.

Well now it appears that Worcester Park is indeed about to find its voice. Those adventurous souls who have traveled to New Malden may be familiar with 'Village Voice', a hugely popular local magazine for the KT3 area, packed with local features, articles and information and a unique platform for businesses of all sizes to promote themselves to a truly local audience.

The great news is that the concept is being rolled out to the KT4 area, with Worcester Park getting its very own magazine in just a few weeks' time. I met up with the Jenny Stuart, the driving force behind the publication, as she pounded the streets of Worcester Park getting more local advertisers on board ahead of the launch of the first magazine next month.

Take a peak at the New Malden magazine's website and you will get an idea of what is in store for our own town. The working title for the magazine is the 'Worcester Park Whisper', and you can see the website under development at ourkt4.com.

The really exciting news (OK, well exciting for myself anyway) is that The Worcester Park Blog will be making the bold leap onto the printed page, with a monthly column in the magazine.

In the meantime, if you are a local business large or small then don't miss the chance to reach your local audience in the very first edition of the Worcester Park magazine - you have until the middle of next week to sign up (and as a special launch offer you can get one month's advertising free if you sign up for three months or more).

To find out more, visit ourkt4.com, call 020 8605 1380 or email jenny@maldenmedia.co.uk

Make plans for this weekend

The Bank Holiday weekend is almost upon us and if the combined evils of B&Q and IKEA aren't conspiring to destroy every moment of your much cherished free time then why not brave the great outdoors and help out the OpenMapping project as they seek to map out Worcester Park tomorrow (Saturday 24th May).

OpenStreetMap is the Wikipedia of the map world. The data and the map images are available to everyone to use for free, so long as you credit the community when using them. Just like Wikipedia. anyone can add to them, so you can make the maps you want without the hassle or expense.

Details of the project are at: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/WikiProject_Sutton_England/Mapping_party

If you're interested in volunteering your free time, you can go out paired with a more experienced mapper to capture street data, or to add in detail like amenities to areas that already have basic road coverage. By the end of the weekend they hope to have as much of the area completed as possible, focusing on the following data:

Basic street information

• Key amenities like post offices/boxes, local shops, cycle and car club parking, bus stops, community centres etc.
• Land use areas like residential, industrial, retail, allotments, parks, recreation grounds, etc.

They will also run two workshops for beginners at 11am and 2pm at the Worcester Park Library, Stone Place, Windsor Road, Worcester Park, Surrey, KT4 8ES in the meeting room upstairs (with free wifi and desk space for laptops from 10am).

No experience is necessary, so turn up, join in and help put Worcester Park on the map!

Clinically Dead

The long-running saga of the 'TV & Video Clinic' is almost at an end - a 'Notice To Dispose' has been posted in the window of the shop, so if you have a claim on any of the TVs lying unloved on the shelves (or fancy blagging your way to that ten-year-old Toshiba telly) then you have until 28th May to make your application in writing to 85 Central Road and lay claim to what is rightfully yours.

I'm toying with the idea of writing in and asking if I can have that brick that's in the window. Well, there's nothing else worth having.

I predict a riot?

Well, actually I don't - but I'm hoping that a nosy neighbour reading this blog can shed some light on the police activity at the top of Lindsay Road about 6 o'clock this evening.

There were two police cars and a police van parked up, and about seven police officers with shields gathered outside one of the houses.

Any idea what this was about, ladies and gents?

Worcester Park & The Chamber of Secrets

It's time to get on my Worcester Park soap box, so please bear with me on this one.

I got hold of a local 'Guide Book & Directory' published by the 'Worcester Park & District Chamber Of Trade' back in November 1957.

I shall share with you some its many gems in due course, but it started me thinking about the future of Worcester Park's shops and what is being done to promote local traders in the face of ever-growing competition from the big shopping centres, the all-conquering supermarkets and so forth.

The Worcester Park & District Chamber of Trade was, I assumed, a defunct organisation - until I spotted in the window of Nationwide on Central Road a window sticker for the very same organisation. So what is it up to these days? Well, very little on the surface of things - a cursory web search reveals a mention of it in a Sutton Council list of local organisations in March 2007, but nothing else.

Then there is the Worcester Park Traders' Association. I only know that they exist because of the Christmas fair that appears in Central Road for one evening a year (passing by a good many Worcester Park residents thanks to scant local publicity for it). Aside from that, nothing - and again a web search for their activities proves fruitless (except for the Chairman appearing in a Surrey Comet news article about the Low Emissions Zone - an article inspired by a posting on this blog).

It would, therefore, appear, that there are two organisations in existence to act as a voice for Worcester Park traders.

So why are these voices never heard?

Blogging about Worcester Park has certainly opened my eyes to the variety of local independent shops that give Central Road its character and appeal, and without in any way being on an 'only shop locally' mission, I do now make a conscious effort to support the local traders every now and then, instead of enslaving myself to the corporate giants.

Besides, when there is a perfectly decent local butcher and greengrocer within yards of the entrance to Waitrose, a one minute walk to support your local independent traders isn't asking a huge amount.

Without wishing to blow my blogging trumpet too loudly, I know of a number of local establishments who have had people visit them and spend their hard-earned cash directly as a result of reading what myself or my commenters have written about them on this very blog.

If The Worcester Park Blog (with a reach of a few thousand people every month) can play a small role in drumming up support for local businesses, then imagine what a concerted and coordinated publicity effort from our silent friends at The Worcester Park Chamber Of Trade and The Worcester Park Traders' Association could do.

I have no doubt that they both do very valid work behind the scenes to represent the interests of local traders. Yet equally I have no doubt that if they were to stand up and shout loudly and proudly about the quality and variety of local businesses in Worcester Park and do something to promote the idea of shopping locally then this would give a much-needed boost to many of our local traders. It is, after all, these traders that are the lifeblood of Worcester Park.

I will continue to do what I can, in my own small way, to fly the flag for local traders in Worcester Park.

If only others would join me.

(P.S. I was going to e-mail both these organisations to give them their 'right to reply' to this blog piece in advance, but I couldn't find any contact details or web presence for them. Which really does prove my point.)