1987 what a great year, I am trying to find myself in one of your video clips driving the 159.. I got married July 1987 and we hired a RM Bus for our guests, from Battersea garage. Loving your collection of videos 😊
John Lewis wanted to expand the store and buy up houses behind to create a large car park. Lambeth Council then a loony left council said no and John Lewis closed Pratt's Department store down and it was left empty for 6 long years until it was demolished and rebuilt with the hideous red brick building that houses Lidl and other shops Argos, Greggs et al and a large car park like John Lewis had wanted. John Lewis then opened a new store in Kingston. Streatham's never been the same since.
Many thanks for posting as it has brought back some great memories for me of when i lived in london between 1972 & 1973. i lived in streatham hill and my stop was the streatham garage right opposite telford avenue. i worked with segas on barrhill road. great days.
In 1987 I lived in West Norwood but was always in Streatham. Within two years of this video I learnt to drive the RM from AK, remember my instructor Mick making me sit on my right hand to teach me to steer with my left hand, on an RM that was no easy thing to do lol
Poor Old Streatham High Road. The traffic even then was the reason why this place died. I did like Pratt's and that lovely pale green building (Aka John Lewis) to others and Russell and Bromley even McDonald's now all gone. Why the road itself killed the place off and so did Lambeth Council. Had Lambeth not been so funny with John Lewis Pratt's would have stayed where it was.
used to get either the 109 or 159 up to town from the Streatham High road in the 70's & early 80's. Also the 137 from the leigham court road stop up to the kings road .Loved living in Streatham Hill. so handy with transport to anywhere in London.
Nice video. Great memories. Most of the shops in your video are no longer there of course, and the street furniture (especially cameras) are plentiful nowadays. Everything seemed less frantic back then.
I lived in Streatham from 76 to 84 and remember it looking and feeling like this. Tony Blair was the nightmare of the future, who imported the third world.
As I remember RM's as a kid the white relief band and the white LT roundel with that disheveled worn out look what a workhorse the Routemaster bus a purpose built designed bus that fitted the bill for driver conductor passenger and engineers that worked on the many of them
I would chop my right arm off to be back in the day expecially 1988. lived in upper tulse hill and Streatham hill in the 1980s. 1980-1988. mind you there were 2 riots down the road during that time. 1981 and 1985. it wasn't all plain sailing but being 17/18 was and I loved London then. Now its like eastern Europe. a hell hole.
