Pond Film 1975
Standard 8mm film Colour Silent 1975 3:00
Summary: Near some roadworks at the busy Pond junction in Thornton Heath, a few concerned people get passers by to sign a petition.
Title number: 1188
LSA ID: LSA/1629
Description: First a red, then a yellow saloon car go along a busy main road past some shops. The camera follows as more cars, including a blue mini with a white top, go past a bus stop and a left turn sign, approaching a major junction. In the middle of the junction is a park-like roundabout with trees, bushes and benches. There's a red double-decker bus on the far side, and an orange saloon car passing in front. The bus comes round, past a pub - it's a number 130. The camera focuses on the pub and shows a close-up of its name in plaster-work on the wall: The Wheatsheaf Inn. Back on the busy road there a more cars, and a huge dark blue Scania lorry speeds towards the camera, turning just before it seems to be about to reach it. Elsewhere there is a traffic jam with cars nose to tail, a taxi, buses behind, going round a corner over a zebra crossing.
On the first road a man in a grey suit and a boy aged about 12 or 13 are standing at the kerb waiting to cross as the cars stream past them. There's no break in the traffic but at last the cars slow down and stop at the junction so the pedestrians can cross to the central island. There is less traffic on the other side of the road and they cross that part quite easily. Elsewhere there's a queue of traffic on the far side of the road, covering a zebra crossing. There are road works on the near-side, with some red and white barriers,round them, a couple of cones, some yellow lights and a red sign with PEDESTRIANS on it large white letters and a huge white arrow underneath. Pedestrians cross between the cars. A woman with long blonde hair, in a grey jacket and trousers, is pushing a baby in a large carriage pram. Once across she has to negotiate the road works, pushing the pram off the kerb again, turning sharply and walking along the edge of the road protected from the traffic only by the red and white temporary barriers,. The camera follows her and a 10 - 11 year old boy along the pavement and across a busy side-road. Back at the roundabout junction more traffic including a number of large, heavy articulated lorries go past, filling up the narrow roads.
A group of people are standing outside a butcher's shop by the junctiuon, two of them with clipboards - one is the woman with the pram, the other a young red-haired man with glasses wearing a blue jumper and pale denim jeans. He is talking to a man with a walking stick, wearing a black beret and a tweed jacket and a woman in a pale blue anorak and a straight skirt. In close-up we see the red-haired man talk into a small microphone, recording their responses and pointing towards the road and the traffic, He carries on talking into his microphone as the traffic continues to stream past, the camera focussing particularly on a heavy lorry. The man speaks to another, younger, woman in a black leather coat and a few others are gathered around listening. A woman in a red rain coat signs what is presumably a petition on the clip board – her hand holds the pen in close-up. More hands are shown signing, including a woman in a beige mac with a black scarf who walks off with the woman in red. Now the man with the clipboard talks to the woman with the pram who stands with two other women, one holding a small black poodle. A man in a dark jacket and pale blue jumper strides up and the woman with the pram and the clipboard shows him the petition which he signs. A close-up shows several pages of signatures now. And still more are coming as a young woman in a red jacket adds her name.
Further information: The Pond in Thornton Heath was originally a watering place for horses and cattle travelling along the main road between London and Brighton. It was a clearly an important point on the route and in the 18th century was the site of a gallows. In 1953 the Pond was turned into an ornamental garden with a small pool, but that was filled in in 1975 (the year of this film) because of vandalism. In 2003 a new water feature was installed, recalling the site’s origins. This was later removed and now the Pond is principally a roundabout on the busy A 23 to Brighton.
The Wheatsheaf Inn is still standing though it has been closed since August 2014.
The 130 bus route still goes from new Addington to Thornton Heath.
Keywords: Traffic; Roadworks; Petitions
Locations: UK, England, London, Thornton Heath, The Pond
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