Comments on The WORCESTER PARK Blog: A Novel Idea

The bloke with the bump on his head now works on P...

2009-06-13T20:04:05.394+01:00

The bloke with the bump on his head now works on Platform 8 on Wimbledon Station. I also remember slam door trains around 1988-1989 from Waterloo

I have lived in WP since 2003, and when I first mo...

2009-05-20T10:58:24.242+01:00

I have lived in WP since 2003, and when I first moved to the area I was a regular train commuter - I seem to recall the one of the earlier trains (6:52am or so) was a slam door even then... I actually liked them for the comfy seats, but the seats for three people were a little snug for two!

I seem to remember the 0753 to Waterloo was a slam...

2009-05-11T16:06:00.000+01:00

I seem to remember the 0753 to Waterloo was a slam-door right until the mid '90s.

The only other WP-related literature I can think of is by BS Johnson the experimental novelist (See Jonathon Coe - "Like A Fiery Elephant") who mentions Worcester Park in a not-so complimentary way in "Albert Angelo"...

Nice one with the new 'logo' H G Wells was obvious...

2009-05-06T11:01:00.000+01:00

Nice one with the new 'logo'
H G Wells was obviously here in WP with his time machine. and with the assistance of the then 'pirate ' radio station !!!!!!

Wells lived at no.41, which has been demolished an...

2009-05-05T22:36:00.000+01:00

Wells lived at no.41, which has been demolished and rebuilt long since. He used WP as backdrop for his novel Ann Veronica - well worth a read if you can find a copy. He clearly was not impressed by the place. See David Rymill's excellent "Worcester Park & Cuddington, a walk through the centuries" - available at the Stone Place library. (I am not the author by the way.)

Avenuetop: I believe he lived at 37 The Avenue. Th...

2009-05-05T21:21:00.000+01:00

Avenuetop: I believe he lived at 37 The Avenue. The original building is no longer there - a modern house stands in its place.

Does anyone know which house (probably no longer t...

2009-05-05T17:02:00.000+01:00

Does anyone know which house (probably no longer there) H.G. Wells lived in?

I can vividly remember standing on the cricket pit...

2009-05-01T10:57:00.000+01:00

I can vividly remember standing on the cricket pitch by the station looking on in awe with my best friend as one of the new trains with button operated doors pulled in to the station. When I started working in Clerkenwell in around '83 most trains were slam door and had those compartments in at least some of the carriages.

How about a statue of a 'Martian' from War of The ...

2009-04-30T23:03:00.000+01:00

How about a statue of a 'Martian' from War of The Worlds.To make all the rest of the aliens in WP feel they are not alone.

re the HG Wells short story; it's called Argon...

2009-04-30T22:28:00.000+01:00

re the HG Wells short story; it's called Argonauts of the Air, and here is the adress of the page

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=g-iyBL1iVvAC&pg=PA134&dq=%22hg+wells%22+%22worcester+park%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html

Sorry, I didn't know how to post a hyperlink here!

I used the Worcester Park/Wimbledon (and back agai...

2009-04-30T21:29:00.000+01:00

I used the Worcester Park/Wimbledon (and back again) commute every day in the early to mid eighties and never remembered a slam door train during that time, although that's not to say they didn't run on that line at othe times.

A statue of me, surely?

2009-04-30T20:53:00.000+01:00

A statue of me, surely?

Woking has a nifty statue of a tripod and all WP h...

2009-04-30T20:51:00.000+01:00

Woking has a nifty statue of a tripod and all WP has is..... well, nothing actually.

I insist, nay demand that WP gets a statue. Maybe of Mr. Polly or something.

I knew about the John Major connection and that HG...

2009-04-30T19:40:00.000+01:00

I knew about the John Major connection and that HG Wells had lived in WP for a time. The latter gets a brief mention in one of my chapters, though I didn’t realize he’d ever put Worcester Park in print.

‘Slam door’ trains – that’s a wonderful name. They must have run up toward Wimbledon and Waterloo at least occasionally in ‘89, since I’m otherwise at a loss to explain a specific recollection. Then again, twenty years can do mischief to a person’s memory.

I can’t promise my little book (my first attempt at a novel) will bring any fame to Worcester Park, or that it will even see publication, but I’ll do my best. Thank you for the kind help.

I remember my parents taking me up to London as a ...

2009-04-30T16:48:00.000+01:00

I remember my parents taking me up to London as a kid a few times and occasionally a slam door train would pull into WP station, but not the compartment type as far as I can remember.

Anyone remember the guard at the station with the what seemed to be a permantent enormous bump on his forehead?

This is my first post here! As is fairly well kno...

2009-04-30T08:33:00.000+01:00

This is my first post here! As is fairly well known, HG Wells used to live in The Avenue. Last year I downloaded a short story by him from the internet that mentioned Worcester Park, and coincidentally the Waterloo/Worcester Park line; something to do with Airships. I can’t find the page now but will try to find the link for you if you like.

Can’t tell you much about the old trains on the Worcester Park line, but if you want to know about the Malden Manor/Chessington line in the 70s feel free to ask! (Sorry – outside the scope of this blog!)