Robin Reliant,
Thanks for answering my Scotch Corner question (above).
I will never call you a dog killer again.:)
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Charlie Brown was the landlord of the Roundabout pub on the other side of the junction to Tom's Cafe.He used to own a pub in the East End known as "Charlie Browns" till bombed out.
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Can I claim partial correctness over Charlie Browns? I recall, as a teenager, a lorry drivers greasy spoon at the roundabout. It was called Charlie Browns. Funny thing is, I don't remember the pub at all. Mind you, I didn't start drinking until 1973.....and still haven't finished. "Time ladies and gennelmen perleeeeaze!"
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I know I'm resurrecting an old thread here but I only just found it while searching for a photo of the demolished pub on Charlie Brown's roundabout which I believe was called "The Roundabout"
I used to be fascinated with it as a child. It had a large pole outside with a carousel on top complete with carved horses. The reason you won't remember it if you didn't start drinking until 1973 was it got pulled down in 1972. I was only 6 and was devastated.
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The famous "two-way" roundabout in the centre of Hemel Hempstead has popularly - and possibly ironically - been known for years as "The Magic Roundabout".
Virtually no-one knows its real name - "The Plough" Roundabout, named after a pub demolished when the new town was being built and the roads reconfigured.
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Scotch Corner question (above).
For a time in late fifties my parents lived near Dunfermline and I in London or not far from it, and I thumbed my way up and down the A1 a good few times. Scotch Corner was by its very nature a place where one lift often ended and you had to wait for another.
I seem to remember that standing in a sleet-laden gale beside the road there at 2 or 3 am in December or January was an experience that quickly palled. The traffic could be a bit thin at that time although there were always a few lorries. I think there was a big hotel or roadhouse beside the Scotch Corner roundabout but it was out of my financial class in those days as most things were and closed anyway in the small hours.
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The hotel became part of the Hilton group.
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Sadly, such quaint old names that grew from local custom will soon be a thing of the past thanks to politically correct local authorities. Our grandchildren will be negotiating Nelson Mandela Roundabout and Low Carbon Emmisions Corner.
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Sadly such quaint old names that grew from local custom will soon be a thing of the past thanks to politically correct local authorities. Our grandchildren will be negotiating Nelson Mandela Roundabout and Low Carbon Emmisions Corner.
Please keep up to speed there. ;-)
Labour Council Hounslow has had Steve Beko Way for many years.
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Nelson Mandela Roundabout
Steve Beko Way
Ha! NOT funny at all, people! Why? Because since 1994, and the democratisation of South Africa, every single road, highway, bridge, public building etc has been named after the Heroes of the Struggle.
Now, I don't have much of a problem with this - renaming the places which were previously named after evil apartheid figures - but when there are six or seven Nelson Mandela Drives/Roads/Lanes/highways within a 25km radius, it does get just a tad confusing!
In addition, a lot of names have been changed to the 'traditional' names, so Durban is now Ethikweni, Bloemfontein is now Manguang, Pretoria is Tswane, Pietersberg is Polokwane etc. The only people making money are those who print atlasses!
Dragging myself back to topic, there are a few 'landmarks' which still turn up in road directions and reports, even though they don't exist any more.
Locals still refer to the Power Station corner, though it was demolished 10 years back, and advise you to turn right at the racecourse (likewise) ...
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I think there was a big hotel or roadhouse beside the Scotch Corner roundabout but it was out of my financial class in those days as most things were......
I once had an illicit weekend there many years ago one November with a girl ( now my wife ). You are right Lud it is pretty bleak and certainly wasn't cheap. Goodness knows why that particular venue was chosen. There really wasn't much to do except...well... be illicit. The cost of the hotel does however pale into insignificance by comparison to the total cost of the excercise in retrospect. ;-)
Still can't drive by there without a sharp stabbing sensation in the wallet region.
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a sharp stabbing sensation in the wallet region.
That's the most graceless rendering of 'syrupy romantic pang' that I've ever seen in my life.
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Well it passes for sentimentality if one is Scottish ! Aye............ :-)
Edited by Shoespy on 29/06/2008 at 17:39
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Scotch Corner Hotel.
Still there and part of a chain Quality, Friendly, or somesuch.
Called in a few weeks ago for the first time, having passed it fairly regularly over the years.
Inside looked like it had recently been done out, car park full of potholes, though.
And the only people in the bar were a group of young males off a coach.
They meant no harm, but I decided to take my lunch in other company.
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I have a faint, just possibly false, memory of once being stood a drink there fairly late one night by an expansive salesman type who had given me a lift. Although the guy had kindly given me a lift and stood me a drink, my memory is that it was a harsh experience because he was a bit tiresome and overbearing as some people are, I didn't drink much in those days, the place was noisy and brightly lit, I was tired and I wanted to get on.
But needs must when the devil drives, innit? Damn sight better than standing in the sleet for two hours.
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Milton Keynes has a fair few names for their roundabout junctions :-)
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>> Scilly Isles just near Sandown race course Esher Surrey >> No idea how the name came about.
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When that collection of traffic islands and roundabouts was first installed, nobody quite new which way to go round it/them, locals christened it "the Silly Isles". For once the local Authority - Esher Council - it was in those days, showed that they were human after all and adopted the name, with a small adjustment to the spelling.
So "The Silly Isles" it was and "The Scilly Isles" it became and has remained so.
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The answer to how Charlie Brown's roundabout got it's name -
tinyurl.com/5ayaao
And Gallows Corner -
tinyurl.com/65msla
Edited by Robin Reliant on 29/06/2008 at 20:26
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Which is what I said higher up except I gave Charlie's pub the wrong name-it was actually called the "Merry-go-Round" and was just across the road from the transport caff-Tom's.
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An interesting list ---- only in the UK.
www.urban75.org/london/london-corners.html
Tibbets corner on the A3
Named after a "Gamekeeper, which may surprise those who have seen the sculpture depicting a Highwayman on the roundabout at Tibbet's Corner. Tibbett was actually responsible for protecting the estates around the top of Putney Hill from poachers, robbers and highwaymen - though hold-ups were common-place in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries for coaches on their way to and from central London."
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High voltage to low voltage pole electrical transformers are usually named after local landmarks - many of which have since disappeared. I was amused to note that the 'Happy Eater' transformer at the side of the A1 near Sandy, Beds retains its name despite the fact that the eatery has now become 'The Happy Lover' Adult Pit Stop - or, at least, it was last time I had to visit the transformer.
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High voltage to low voltage pole electrical transformers are usually named after local landmarks - many of which have since disappeared. I was amused to note that the 'Happy Eater' transformer at the side of the A1 near Sandy Beds retains its name despite the fact that the eatery has now become 'The Happy Lover' Adult Pit Stop - or at least it was last time I had to visit the transformer.
We have our very own little transformer and it doesn't have a name. Do Smiths do a book of transformer names and their meanings? What is the current most popular?
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Testos roundabout on the A19 towards the tunnel. Can't remember what the testos was but I vaguely remember a caravan dealer being there!
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We have our very own little transformer and it doesn't have a name. >>
Cliff, it's not that I'm an anorak, it's because I work with them - honest!
AFAIK, they've all got names - usually on a small embossed plate affixed to the transformer pole, although many are missing because they've been shot off by kids with air-rifles etc. The most common one, I guess, is 'Village' because it was the first or main one in a village but I think my favourite one is 'Maggot Factory' named after a long-defunct local enterprise!
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I heard the explanation of Charlie Brown's being an old sailor's pub on the Danny Baker breakfast show once and wondered how a pub out by the North Circular became a natural haunt for seafarers. That link explains that it was originally in Limehouse which is a far more likely location for a sailor's haunt.
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I heard the explanation of Charlie Brown's being an old sailor's pub on the Danny Baker breakfast show once and wondered how a pub out by the North Circular became a natural haunt for seafarers. >>
Such ignorance.
The River Roding runs alongside Chigwell road.
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And enters the Thames as Barking Creek.
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How about 'Dangerous Corner'?
I'm told that it was the site of a particularly bad stagecoach crash.
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>>drbe
>>So "The Silly Isles" it was and "The Scilly Isles" it became and has remained so.
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Thanks for that gem. It is my local roundabout.
>>UkGuy
>>..never know which lane to be in when coming from Esher to take the back road into Kingston upon Thames.
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And indicating as per highway code is a no no.
Approaching from Hampton Court, it is always a challenge to identify who is taking your route.
For those not familiar with this gem. Esher to Kingston ( second exit) through this roundabout is almost a straight line and at "normal speeds" IMO, to indicate would risk an accident
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