police and blue lights round the corner from my house!!

[goinggrey1978]

on the way home from work, turning into the street before mine, police with blue lights on but no siren's up head on the the road on was turning from, i turn and suspect they are on there way to an accident on the busy A road not far away, but no they turn into the same street i'm already on, still with lights on and no siren's, they over take me and the car in front and then turn their lights off, pull over at an angle, jump out and put cuffs on a man(he was a beefy well built guy as well) that was just on the street!!
wish i knew someone that lived in those flats to see if i could find out what was going on!!

When we were on holiday in a sleepy Norfolk village, there was an escaped prisoner at large

The village was buzzing all week although the lady in the tourist information centre denied it and said it was just a police training exercise.

The police even drove around our campsite in case he was hiding in a sleeping bag.

I used to get a 'blue light taxi' home sometimes. I wouldn't worry too much op.

vicar nice to see you back!

Was the escaped prisoner called Magwich usual?

Turned out that he had been arrested for drink driving and had ran off wearing handcuffs.

Most excitement that village had had for 40years.The village shop was a hot bed of gossip.

I do love a village shop for gossip...

Especially if they have the Post Office in there too like Take The High Road

Police helo is regular overhead where i live as we are a mile away ( as the crow files ) from a busy motorway plus lots of police cars etc go pass the flat ( busy road ) we dont really notice them now we may mention it if 3 or 4 go pass at the same time though we did look out the window to watch the fireman when a canabais flat caught on fire ( which was on the otherside of the road )

I actually remember watching a police chase once through my street when I was tiny. Was amazed at the police lady who could scramble over the 5 ft fences..

And an escaped prisoner. We weren't allowed to leave the house or go to school.

I guess that's what happens when you're next to Peterhead prison!

We had a high profile escaped terrorist a few years ago, he legged it over the wall of the prison. Police texted everyone with his photo and details to be on the look out. Everyone was peering at their mobiles and each other really shiftily.

I'd be interested and I'd ask a neighbour if they knew what was going on.

I live in London. We're not that jaded down my street. And yes, all the neighbours really do talk to each other and know each other's names.

I'm glad I don't live in E20
You realise E20 is an actual postcode/area now don't you?

I'm in East London and honestly if I could have one day without listening to sirens and a sqealing police chase/police helicopter/general nuisance in the streets, it'd be great. Even watching police raids in my building got boring after the 3rd time in less than a year.

You realise E20 is an actual postcode/area now don't you?

It is now, but never used to be. It was used deliberately.

Maryland Point between Stratford (E15) and Forest Gate (E7) in East London was said to be the inspiration for EastEnders with lots of shared names of places and people in graveyards.

I used to go there a lot before EE, but whenever I said the name, other people would scoff at me like I was buying into an early attempt at gentrification by estate agents

No, I didn't know it had been used other than for (I think) the Olympic Park.
Where I am now is a million miles away from the east end in terms of what it is like; it's a whole different way of life.

They went for E20 because east London postcodes used to end at E18 (South Woodford, which to my mind is really Essex, as is Chingford E4, but there have been heated arguments about that on MN) and they didn't think it would expand more.

They expanded Beckton to the south of the A13 (which is where Full Metal Jacket was filmed because Stanley Kubrick was afraid of flying) and developed the docks just along the way. But those were just given E6 and E16 postcodes.

They went for E20 because east London postcodes used to end at E18 (South Woodford, which to my mind is really Essex, as is Chingford E4, but there have been heated arguments about that on MN) and they didn't think it would expand more.

They expanded Beckton to the south of the A13 (which is where Full Metal Jacket was filmed because Stanley Kubrick was afraid of flying) and developed the docks just along the way. But those were just given E6 and E16 postcodes.

that is quite impressive that you know this!

Oh, I love chinooks. [jealous]

I'd be interested op.

that is quite impressive that you know this

It's very kind of you to say that surlycue but I suspect you're taking the piss

If not, I have an extensive collection of Royal Mail First Day Covers that you might want to have a look at.

I'm genuinely not taking the piss! Im impressed. I love stuff like this, not specifically post codes, but people having a wealth of knowledge about things that other people wouldnt even know about.

I wasn't offended either way surlycue . I can be very nerdish and a mine of useless information.

Full Metal Jacket was filmed almost entirely in England and lots of it was done at the disused gas works in Beckton, east London. If you look carefully you can see it, but it's pretty convincing.

Everyone was so excited to have Hollywood come.

The whole site was eventually bulldozed and a big estate was built on one side with a retail park on the other side.

The resultant slag heap was plonked in the middle and turned into a dry ski slope. Everything seemed so joyful in east London in the '80s, but the bubble didn't extend that far east and sadly it failed long ago as a business venture.

Last time I drove past was about four years ago. It had sunk a bit and looked sad.

But it was nicknamed The Beckton Alps, which always made me smile and that's what I always call that area. I'm not sure anyone else still does.

Someone once insisted that I'd fallen for yet another bit of estate agents' gentrification and I couldn't convince her that that was actually what local people called it - with a hefty dose of irony.

I really hope they decontaminated that land. It must have harboured all kinds of nasty heavy metals and chemicals.

As my mum would say, stop rubber necking.

My mum said a lot of things too MistressMerryWeather.

It doesn't mean she was the font of all wisdom. Though on the whole she was...

TBH honest my mum would try to find out what had happened when I probably wouldn't bother.

That doesn't make her a rubber-necker. Just an involved member of the community. Possibly a better one than people who piously ignore things that are going on in their neighbourhood or claim that interest in flashing blue lights and a dramatic arrest are just de trop and beneath their sophistication.

When we first moved to London 15 years ago we had a flat on Kilburn high road. One of the first few nights there a police helicopter landed in the middle of the road (they'd closed it) and there were several men being arrested spread eagled on the floor. Certainly opened my eyes having moved down from quiet suburbs of Cheshire!!

Woah limited, that's a heavy response to my post.

I meant it in a tongue in cheek way. I'm sure your mum is lovely!

She was Mistress. And I bet yours is too.

Sorry.

You got caught in the cross fire of me reading posts that seemed like: 'Oh, where I live, it's like The Wire every night and I don't turn a hair.'

Or

I live in central London (albeit in a "naice" part of one of the posher boroughs) and whilst seeing police cars and flashing lights is an almost daily occurrence, I have never seen anyone grabbed and cuffed on the street!!

Don't be sorry I should have put a :o in my post.

Sorry for not picking up on the was, I'm an arse.