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Minor Strangeness (IHTM)

MorningAngel said:
Where’s that?
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It's Camberley, Surrey.
Apparently Claude Duval's (or du Vall) old stomping ground was around the Surrey/Hants border, where he would hold up stage coaches heading to and from London. He rented a house in nearby Wokingham and was famous for using threat alone to rob travellers, without actually resorting to violence.
 
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Trevp666 said:
Yes it is really 'a thing'. The product of our modern society in which we will happily provide shelter to people that dump their ID and passport etc in the English Channel but ignore the people already homeless on our streets, in a lot of cases ex-servicemen that failed to adapt to life outside of the armed forces and end up either on the streets or in prison.
Councils would rather spend money on preventing people from kipping on a bench than spend money on actual homeless shelters.
But apparently that's fine.
https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/anti-homeless-architecture-hostile-designs/
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Never realised this - what an absolute and utter disgrace. I'm surprised that there are not some human rights issues involved. Perhaps "the chair of inclusive societies" should take that approach.
 
PeteS said:
Never realised this - what an absolute and utter disgrace. I'm surprised that there are not some human rights issues involved. Perhaps "the chair of inclusive societies" should take that approach.
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Perhaps it's as much (or more) to do with stopping people congregating and drinking alcohol (and all the problems that that brings) in the street?
 
Floyd1 said:
Perhaps it's as much (or more) to do with stopping people congregating and drinking alcohol (and all the problems that that brings) in the street?
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No, because if that was the case they would do it everywhere people congregate and drink alcohol outside, including places like The Red Lion in London SW1, which is where all the journalists, politicians, TV news presenters and youtubers hang out. The street here is (most evenings if it isn't lashing it down with 'London Sunshine') usually full of people milling about.
Those benches don't look too uncomfortable.
1666343737738.png
 
Trevp666 said:
No, because if that was the case they would do it everywhere people congregate and drink alcohol outside, including places like The Red Lion in London SW1, which is where all the journalists, politicians, TV news presenters and youtubers hang out. The street here is (most evenings if it isn't lashing it down with 'London Sunshine') usually full of people milling about.
Those benches don't look too uncomfortable.
View attachment 60038
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No, I mean the more undesirable outside drinkers.
 
Floyd1 said:
Ah right- cheers Dick.
It sounds like a lovely place. Makes you wonder how they survived winters back then though.
Well at least we've solved that one. Now, the dog that didn't bark.....
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Again, walked to the village pub yesterday lunchtime as was working from home. Per usual the Alsatian farmyard guard dog barked growled and snarled at me as I walked past. No change there then.

At the top of the country lane stands a large house, a gated property that also has an Alsatian guard dog, which also barks at me as I walk past, however with a few gentle words she comes right up the gate and wags her tail. Certainly, a lot friendlier than the dog just down the lane.

Anyway, when I first moved into this house, I was looking at some old Victorian maps of the area dated at 1876. The property with the friendlier guard dog is listed as “Hospital for incurable diseases”, I can’t find out online when the building ceased to become a hospital, and converted into a private home, but sod living there though. Can you imagine the dozens, or even the hundreds of poor souls that died in that property..?
 
Dick Turpin said:
Again, walked to the village pub yesterday lunchtime as was working from home. Per usual the Alsatian farmyard guard dog barked growled and snarled at me as I walked past. No change there then.

At the top of the country lane stands a large house, a gated property that also has an Alsatian guard dog, which also barks at me as I walk past, however with a few gentle words she comes right up the gate and wags her tail. Certainly, a lot friendlier than the dog just down the lane.

Anyway, when I first moved into this house, I was looking at some old Victorian maps of the area dated at 1876. The property with the friendlier guard dog is listed as “Hospital for incurable diseases”, I can’t find out online when the building ceased to become a hospital, and converted into a private home, but sod living there though. Can you imagine the dozens, or even the hundreds of poor souls that died in that property..?
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Yes it must have been hell. Where is the road Dick, or would you rather not say? No worries if not.
 
Dick Turpin said:
I don't mind Floyd.

This is the place. Not sure the link will work though.

https://www.instantstreetview.com/@51.980876,0.604174,268.62h,2.63p,1.16z,kbBk3bgOLFu7BAoDnkL_lQ
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Edit. There has been a lot of work done to the property since the google street car went past it. The stucco has been removed to reveal the original brickwork, and the bushes either side have been dug up and double gates put there instead.

The owners seem a friendly middle aged couple. I don't know if they know about the houses history. Not my place to mention it to them really lol
 
Well that was weird. Knock at the door. An entire family standing there. Mum, gran, two kids. Mum says- in perfectly good English with a Polish accent - "Hello! We're looking for any Polish speakers around here. Do you know if any of your neighbours....?"
 
Dick Turpin said:
...old Victorian maps of the area dated at 1876. The property with the friendlier guard dog is listed as “Hospital for incurable diseases”, I can’t find out online when the building ceased to become a hospital, and converted into a private home, but sod living there though. Can you imagine the dozens, or even the hundreds of poor souls that died in that property..?
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The 1892/1914 OS 25"/mile sheet shows it simply as "Hospital (Infectious Diseases)" as does the 1888/1913 6"/mile sheet.

maximus otter
 
Dick Turpin said:
The property with the friendlier guard dog is listed as “Hospital for incurable diseases”, I can’t find out online when the building ceased to become a hospital, and converted into a private home, but sod living there though.
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SimonBurchell said:
I know that place! I've eaten there.
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At first I thought these two consecutive posts were related.
It wouldn't have surprised me, in this place.
 
Thanks Max. You are much better than me at this sort of stuff. Can you find any more info..? Date it opened as a hospital, date it closed as a hospital etc.
 
gattino said:
Well that was weird. Knock at the door. An entire family standing there. Mum, gran, two kids. Mum says- in perfectly good English with a Polish accent - "Hello! We're looking for any Polish speakers around here. Do you know if any of your neighbours....?"
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Not all that strange. A few decades back a couple of people came to my door asking about Spanish speakers. They were already aware of a fellow from Spain that lived a few doors down. They were trying to start a group of bilingual people who could help Spanish speakers with their English.

Unfortunately my Spanish is almost non-existent - and my Polish is very rusty.

Are there a lot of Polish immigrants in your area, gattino? Not necessarily in the immediate neighborhood, but nearby? It could have been something similar.
 
ChasFink said:
Are there a lot of Polish immigrants in your area, gattino? Not necessarily in the immediate neighborhood, but nearby? It could have been something similar.
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No, on superficial appearance its a very homogenous area. Obviously accents can't be seen, but I've not noticed any.

I think the strangeness was more in it being a whole family standing there. Mum with child in arms. Another standing at her side ( or were there two) and granny beside them lined up on my doorstep. They werent shabbily dressed or anything but as a tableau it was reminiscent of a world war two poster raising funds for war refugees.
 
Trevp666 said:
No, because if that was the case they would do it everywhere people congregate and drink alcohol outside, including places like The Red Lion in London SW1, which is where all the journalists, politicians, TV news presenters and youtubers hang out. The street here is (most evenings if it isn't lashing it down with 'London Sunshine') usually full of people milling about.
Those benches don't look too uncomfortable.
View attachment 60038
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I expect it's world-wide that if you can pay money as you sit in the seats you're welcome. I expect that that particular location is heavily policed at night, because it's a great place to doss once the restaurant closes.
 
Dick Turpin said:
Thanks Max. You are much better than me at this sort of stuff. Can you find any more info..? Date it opened as a hospital, date it closed as a hospital etc.
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On a very quick look (got to walk the dog soon) the only thing I can find is that on the 1945-65 map it is listed as 'Argyle House', so maybe we can narrow it down to closing between 1915-1965. I'll have another look around later.

(P.s It looks like a lovely part of the world down there, but a bit too near Trev for my liking).
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/sid...51.98105&lon=0.60622&layers=219&right=BingHyb
 
Floyd1 said:
On a very quick look (got to walk the dog soon) the only thing I can find is that on the 1945-65 map it is listed as 'Argyle House', so maybe we can narrow it down to closing between 1915-1965. I'll have another look around later.

(P.s It looks like a lovely part of the world down there, but a bit too near Trev for my liking).
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/sid...51.98105&lon=0.60622&layers=219&right=BingHyb
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Edit: (Of course, I suppose that it could have been called 'Argyle House' back when it was an hospital, but the old maps all say only 'hospital' up until this point).
 
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