WHY are there Japanese-styled door canopies on some houses in a new estate in London SE6?
Which former sports ground in the Borough of Bexley is now the council waste recycling site?
Where was it flower-bed stopped play for Penhill Standard FC?
The latest new book from author and publisher Mike Floate is a treat for football and local history enthusiasts in the News Shopper area.
Mike specialises in taking high-quality and evocative photographs of football grounds, past and present.
In addition, he is a relentless hunter of old photographic prints, plus any related historical knick-knacks which can be unearthed from sources such as library archives or the attics of personal collectors.
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His new book, The Football Grounds of South East London, includes a comprehensive selection of present-day and vintage photographs of Charlton Athletic and Millwall.
There is also information on Arsenal, the former Woolwich Arsenal who began life in Plumstead before moving away to north London in 1913.
Meanwhile, for the majority of the book, Mike has literally gone to town (and to village) with his abundant coverage of the Non-League football scene.
It is alphabetically not quite an A to Z, but a huge number of football clubs and pitches in our neighbourhood are featured, ranging from Beckenham Town to Wickham Park.
As a Cray Wanderer myself, I am flattered to find Mike has given the Wands pride of place in his opening chapter of the book, as befits the second oldest football club in the country.
Founded in 1860, Cray Wanderers are an aptly named club, having played at numerous venues Mike has traced via maps, photographs and even a copy of the architect's outline plans of a ground the club nearly played at.
I suspect Mike especially cherishes his recent discovery of the former football pitch of a long-defunct club even he had never previously heard of.
Step forward the mysterious Perrycobow FC.
No, this team was not based in Cornwall or the Welsh valleys, they used to play their matches at well, I'm not going to tell you, you must buy Mike's book and discover this little gem of buried history for yourself.
Mike has sub-titled his book, A Visual History.
I can certainly vouch for the excellent quality and variety of all the pictorials.
The aerial photographs are a special treasure.
I note, too, Mike has a cameraman's eye for occasion and for composition.
His snow-covered landscape of the Welling United FC pitch casts an aura of serenity and would look perfect on a Christmas card.
The pictorials are further brought alive by Mike's accompanying notes of potted history and factual titbits.
Particularly helpful are the London postcodes which he has thoughtfully tagged to each entry.
Armed with these identifiers, Arsenal fans can find and visit the exact location where, in an ordinary residential street, they can today still see remnants of the terracing where their forefathers may have stood to watch The Gunners in those long-ago Edwardian days.
The book costs £12.95 and to order a copy by post, write to the author at Newlands Cottages, Stones Cross Road, Swanley BR8 8LX.
Alternatively, you can buy it on eBay or by visiting mikefloate.clara.co.uk/football_grounds_bookshoplatest_.htm
Posted by: Eric Brackstone, Welling on 6:01pm Thu 6 Mar 08
I have supported local football for the past 57 years and it was a great surprise when Barrie Hobbins,the co-owner of Welling United F.C. asked if I would like to read this book as we travelled in the team coach to Bishop Stortford F.C. for a match recently. My first reaction was to note the professional way that this book was presented.The pictures portrayed a lot of memories,and each page was full of excellent information about so many different clubs. [bold]This book has so much to offer, it deserves all the success that I know it will bring to this great author. Well done.
I have supported local football for the past 57 years and it was a great surprise when Barrie Hobbins,the co-owner of Welling United F.C. asked if I would like to read this book as we travelled in the team coach to Bishop Stortford F.C. for a match recently. My first reaction was to note the professional way that this book was presented.The pictures portrayed a lot of memories,and each page was full of excellent information about so many different clubs. This book has so much to offer, it deserves all the success that I know it will bring to this great author. Well done.
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