The tunnel of doom - part two.

Two very different views of Erith, yet both locations are only a couple of hundred yards apart - you can click on each image for a far larger and more detailed view. The top image is that of the infamous Tunnel of Doom (tm) that I moaned about in last weeks' chapter. More of that later. The lower photo was taken by me on Friday night in the Running Horses carvery on Erith river front. You may recall I posted some photos taken in the place on Boxing day. It was almost empty then; well I am happy to say it was bustling and busy on my return visit as you can see above. I would strongly recommend the place.

After my unnerving experience with the foot tunnel I described in my last posting, I Emailed the following message to Bexley Council - this is a verbatim transcript:

Dear Highways Department,

I wish to register a complaint regarding the underpass that connects Erith Town centre with Erith Station. Over a week ago, vandals broke all the lights and scattered broken glass over the floor. No action appears to have been taken to remedy this; the lights are still out and it is a mugger's paradise. I, along with tens of other council tax payers use the tunnel both in the morning and evening when commuting to London, and it is extremely frightening in the pitch dark. To add insult to injury the Bexley Council offices in Erith are directly adjacent yet nothing would appear to have been done.

It amazes me that the Council can squander £60,000 of tax payers money on the hideous fish sculpture (looking more like a giant psychedelic "Mister Whippy" type turd apparently crapped on Erith by some passing alien) which coincidentally is located directly above the underpass in question, yet they cannot address the basics of maintenance and security.

I attach a couple of photos for your reference and would be grateful for a reply not measured in geological time.

After a few days I received the following reply:

Thank you for your recent e-mail. My Street Lighting Technician was made aware of the damaged lighting units last week and an order has been raised for more robust replacement units. I anticipate completion of the work within the next two to three weeks. In the interim, the Police have been made aware of the situation and signs have been erected at the entrance points to this subway, advising pedestrians that the lighting is out of operation due to vandalism. Pedestrians can then make their own decision whether to use the unlit subway or to choose an alternative route.

So far they have managed to put up a few "Caution - tunnel lighting vandalised" signs, and also paint over some of the graffiti. This is the equivalent of an eight month pregnant woman wearing a T- shirt with an interesting design and hoping that nobody will notice the bump! The graffiti needs pressure washing off, and you don't put grey gloss paint over ceramic tiles!

The new series of "Life on Mars" starts on Tuesday night on BBC 1. The first series was brilliant, and I expect the same of this second and final series. Following is a great trailer for the show in the style of Trumpton, Camberwick Green and Chigley.