Frank's Pages

I am now finally retired as a Plumbing and Heating Engineer and gym instructor at North Herts Leisure Centre, but have kept my part-time job as a Coronation Flag seller. The rest of the time, I have six Saturdays and one Sunday, with cycling and motorcycling, I'm keeping myself busy. I’m at that awkward time in life, between birth and death. 

As I had some free web space with Google, I felt I should use it to cover some claim to fame that I have. After many seconds of searching my memory bank, I came up with zero, which must mean I still have my 15 minutes of fame. I was then left to where I live, and what would keep you on the edge of your seat? Please remember that stealing ideas from one person is plagiarism, but to steal from many is research, so bearing this in mind........

I now live in The First Garden City, Letchworth, which doesn't have a cathedral but does have a few claims of fame. One which was little known (first written in 1990 when there wasn't a lot of information about it and no sign) is recorded as having the first 'intersection for gyratory movement' in Britain, called Sollershott Circus. It was constructed in the spring of 1910 at the southern end of The Broadway, intersecting with Sollershott East and West and was part of the First Garden City design. For the first twenty-odd years after it was built, there was no indication as to which was the right way to go round, as it was more intended to help pedestrians than motorists. With cars getting faster and more numerous, too many people were getting stuck in the middle of the road as they tried to cross it was reported. Then in 1921, Parker wrote a letter suggesting a sign be erected saying Keep Left which was finally added in 1932. The roundabout today is part of the Grade II registered park and gardens at Letchworth, a protected monument that was not marked as being the first, which I find quite strange in 2004. Personally, I feel Letchworth should claim to have the first roundabout in the world, as this is held by the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, which was built in 1907 and is a monument. The way the French drive bears no resemblance to a roundabout. Have you ever tried driving around the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, great fun NOT. 

In 2013, the Letchworth roundabout became a star, it was in the film "The World's End"; they didn't go around; they drove over it and caused havoc around the Letchworth town centre or New Haven, as it was named in the film. A short synopsis of the film. Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from twenty years earlier, unwittingly become humanity's only hope for survival.  The end shows what we know as Letchworth's (on the boundary) only pub from the old days, The Wilbury, then known as the Gardeners Arms, was engulfed in flames, if only. The pub today has reverted to its original name, The Wilbury, but has lost some of its charm from yesterday.

I have listed the pubs and locations of the Golden Mile

The roundabout had some changes before being in the film. It had to be stripped back of Vegetation for a stunt in the forthcoming film, The World's End. Blank Pictures Ltd, on behalf of producers Big Talk and Working Title, provided £2,500 for its replanting of original flowers and shrubs, such as geraniums and foxgloves. The plants were all selected because they were popular when the roundabout was built.

Regarding the drinking of beer in Letchworth:

When I first came to Letchworth back in 1972, I drove up on the part-built A1M that started after Hatfield. From Apex corner to Hatfield was the old A1 with no street lighting. I was driving a Morris Minor Traveller with the old foot dip switch that belonged to the family who had offered to put me up. We were the only car on a pitch black motorway. Letchworth was so quiet that on the first night, I couldn't get any sleep. I found Letchworth was a town with no pubs apart from the one on the Grange Estate named the Pelican and the newly built Carousel on the Jackmans Estate, a Watney Mann House serving the then Watneys Red Barrel. Both of these pubs had been allowed due to the Men from the London overspill that had taken place in the 1950s on the Grange and the mid-1960s and 1970s on the Jackmans Estate, they felt the people of London would never leave the smoke of London for a new start without a pub. Oh, the irony.

Records show that before the 50s, the people of Letchworth did have a pub on their boundary called the Wilbury Hotel, which had two bars. This was opposite an old Roman fort. Today, the Carousel is no longer like Watneys Red Barrel, the very first draft beer; in fact, Watneys claim it was developed in 1931. Red Barrel was originally developed as an export beer that could be transported for long distances by sea. The only reason it was widely drunk, it was the only draft beer on sale at the time. It was so bad that even Monty Python made jokes about it. 

Letchworth also had a pub on the Grange named The Pelican. This was the place to be on a Thursday night with DJ Vic Harris. As time went on, the pub was rebranded to Ebenezers. This was like kicking a man when he's down, as he believed drink was a problem of the working classes.  Today, that pub has also gone and been replaced with a Tesco corner shop. Ebenezer would be happy apart from the fact that they have an off-licence, so still selling beer.

From what I can see, the people of Letchworth had tried to change the rules six times that I can find (a bit like our Brexit 2019). In 1957, some 2,644 residents of Letchworth voted in favour of a licensed hotel with a licensed bar for residents serving. In truth, it was not the first public bar. Back in 1907, the Skittles Inn opened in Nevells Road as a pub with no beer, selling only soft drinks. Today, Ebenezer Howard would be turning in his grave due to the number of alcoholic drinks that are consumed within his beloved Garden City, even in the old Skittles, now called the settlement. I could go on, but I'm too drunk to bother, hick. 

In 2019, consultations were ongoing where the local council are seeking to expand Letchworth Garden City by building on the greenbelt land. This was totally against the original principles of Ebenezer's Garden City.

The year is 2021, and we are in Lockdown due to COVID-19, and Brexit has happened. IMHO, the Government are making a big cockup on both and giving out money without a competitive tender. I wouldn't mind if all the recipients weren't  Conservative party members/friends. David Cameron, who had us living on the poverty line for years, made some £7.2 million with his Greensill shares, it's reported. The big question is whether the Sh1t will hit the fan for the Prime Minister, along with Sanjeev Gupta and Lex Greensill? Only time will tell.