Woolwich....anyone been?

Grew up in long lost Oliver Street. Had the privilege of being rejected by MacDonalds in Woolwich for a Saturday job because "I wasn't doing enough A Levels!"

CAFCTrev said:

Planning a visit as I heard it's a hotbed of Charlton support. Any landmarks or sightseeing the hive mind of CL could recommend?

Wetherspoons 

fenlandaddick said:

First McDonalds in the UK, worth a visit to see where it all started...

And I went there just a few days after it first opened in Powis Street. 
It must have been about 50 years ago, as I was about 18 or 19 back then.

There was quite a bit of publicity at the time that an American company was opening up here.
So us lads wanted to go and try it out.

Up to then, we'd always gone to the Wimpy Bar in Welling.

All these stories from the 80s must really be helping the OP decide where to try next week 

Did a pub crawl from there up to Plumstead a couple of weekends ago, how the Gun Pit is still there I’ve no idea. Barman who looked like he’d just finished shooting up in the toilets told us as we came in they had nothing at all on draft and pulled out a load of bottles of Corona, we sat down and starting drinking them, a bird came ordered a pint of Fosters which he then starting pouring from the now magically working beer pumps. 

The demise of Woolwich town centre?.
It was never a place of beauty, at least in the early 60s and through to the 90s, but it had a certain charm and honesty about it, the RACS, the market and covered market, The rather dated Cuffs, and Garrets, that I worked at with a pal from Bloomfield school, delivering carpets, often going across the Ferry, which the approach road had some notable greasy spoon cafe's, with 'Parade type pin' ups on the walls. 

It had a decent set of shops, Taylors: John Colliers.... certainly the  "window to watch' as they used to claim in their advertisements, and you could listen to LP's in the RACS record department, where I bought 'Electric Ladyland',which was sold to me in a brown bag, I still have the LP, still my favourite album of all time.

I daily passed through Woolwich after going through it on a 53 bus twice a day to school from Charlton, and in later days had a 'couple of fags' upstairs, with fellow 5th and sixth formers, eyeing up the girls from King's Warren school, some of whom lived in and around Charlton.

You could almost feel the decline in Woolwich, in the late 60's and despite visiting the Pictures on a Saturday night, and going for drink with the older lads from Springfield, I really went there, as the cloth shops, shoe shops closed, and the excellent 'Sam's where I bought an RAF great coat, as I endorsed the  more art school look, of grandad shirts, longer hair, and less of the Ben Sherman, and Levi look of the era.

Worked at Morgan Grampian on the doctors newspaper  called Pulse, but missed London, and the excitement of the Westend in the  early 80s, so left as a better job came up, the decline of the buildings in both Powis street was in decline, and the closure of the RAC's on both sides of the street, was very poignant  as my Grandmother had worked there when it first opened, and remember going there one Christmas for a meal in the restaurant, just before it closed, with its plastic co-op money ,as well as light metal coin's. it's days had sadly come to an end.

I came back to Morgan Grampian as a design consultant, in and around the early 90's and  rarely went out, besides parking the car in the council estate the back of the Woolwich  Odeon, the fear of having your car broken into, and having your radio nicked seemed a daily occurrence apparently, but I never had any issues on the estate. Think the car park closed down, and  Sainsbury's was built? yes..... 

Woolwich had a good Ford dealership, Stormont's, but like quite a few in the south east it  also disappeared.

When I had to do jury service at Belmarsh, I did go to one of the last days of the covered market, and shops like Alpat and the camera shop also had gone, to be replaced by chicken shops, and money transfer shops, the covered market seemed to deal in dodgy poor fakes, how the council allowed such 'toot'  was a disgrace. 

When Marks also left as well as the Woolwich, and the closure of MG, or Miller Freeman as it became, for me like many others became a low tide mark.  I guess  in recent times it must be very difficult to compete as 'retailer' as the internet and delivery services take out the need to go to the shops, as well as Blue water, for what was once the more well off. 

I have in the past been critical of Woolwich, because it was part of the culture of my  early life, I blame most of it on the Council, its anti car policy, or at least parking, with traffic wardens lurking around most street corners in the early 70s who had the cheek to park in the town centre. 

I am probably being sentimental, but Woolwich was a decent working class shopping area, with good transport links, sadly missing in so many local areas. But it was alway's lively in the evening's!.
And the bands at the Woolwich Poly were both excellent and inexpensive, but that was a long time ago........

 

 

Daarrzzetbum said:

Elephant & Castle boozer got some amazing Charlton Murals 

Saw someone smoke crack in the toilet there once 

Bedsaddick said:

I was born there. Woolwich hospital for mothers and babies. Shut down donkeys years ago . 

Was also born there and lived at Woodhill until I was 7.

Still remember Sidney Ross the toy shop. Never could afford to buy anything there mind you.