Yesterday was one of the ten busiest days ever on this blog. Almost ten thousand people turned up.
But it had nothing to do what I wrote yesterday, it rarely does when this kind of thing happens. People don't flock here in large numbers because I've been cutting edge and on trend, they pour in because somebody's spotted something I wrote a while ago.
And I've just smashed that longevity record with something I wrote 1390 days ago, which is almost four years. Again it's Reddit that's flooded folk my way and again it's a peculiarity in the Olympic Park.
That's my photo but it's very similar to their photo, except mine was taken last summer and theirs has twice as many concrete blocks. It looks like the blocks have been multiplying.
The thread got upvoted over 800 times on the London subreddit r/london and currently has 254 comments.
As usual their threaded system has filtered the best comment to the top and that comment is
» Allows access for bikes but prevents racing other vehicles?
These three comments provided added background.
» There was a big problem with people riding motorbikes up and down it a couple of summers ago before these concrete blocks up and down it for hours after dark. Source, live 5 mins walk away and got very annoyed with them.
» This is the correct answer. I used to play tennis at the Olympic centre across the road by the hockey pitches. Motorbikes would be doing donuts and wheelies etc for hours on end on this road so they put these blocks there around 18 months ago to stop it. Interestingly if you look the other way from the bridge where this photo was taken there are no concrete blocks, so not sure why the bikers don't just do it in the other section of road?!?
» Correct, we used to hold huge eskate races here... DAMN LEGO BLOCKS.
I said this last summer, not on Reddit but on my blog ("Now littered with concrete blocks to prevent wheeled anti-social types enjoying it too much"), but that's not why everyone turned up.
People turned up because someone remembered I'd written a post about this unusual road during lockdown, and that got traction.
» Check out this post for more information. It's pretty interesting.
» Damn, that is some blog. Looks like almost daily blogs going back to 2002.
» Wow. To think this is hidden from most people somewhere deep in the web.
I don't like to think of my blog as 'hidden' but it clearly is, because if you live in the world of mainstream social media/scrolling apps/chatboards/forums you're not going to stumble on it by mistake. Not unless someone points it out - thanks YU_AKI!
It got nicer.
» Ohhh my darling friend, welcome to the wonderful world of diamondgeezer! And yeah you’re right, he’s maybe missed 5 days of blogging in the last 10 years. An absolute legend, known only to a very nerdy cult following of about 40k (?) people.
» That’s amazing that he so little known. He does sound like a Diamond Geezer.
I haven't missed 5 days of blogging in the last 10 years, I've missed maybe 1. Also my 'very nerdy cult following' isn't about 40k, it's rarely even 10% of that. But yes, this does count as 'little known' amidst a London population of approximately 9 million. I'm not complaining.
The Reddit thread featured another top comment which said pretty much what I said in 2020 and 2023.
» The road has been closed for absolutely ages, it's odd considering it was built only a little over a decade ago that there doesn't seem to have been any long term plan for it. Or at least not one that has been followed through on. Sometimes you see film crews there, other than that I don't think it has anything close to an official use.
There was a consultation a few months ago about what to do with it. I think it's most likely that will basically become green space and adopted by the park, but with how much it dips down under the footbridge (because it was designed to accommodate tall vehicles) and also with the A12 running parallel it might be challenging to try and make it an inviting space to spend time.
Northwall Road is a very strange road, and may not be a road for much longer.
But I thank it for giving me this blog's 6th best ever day.
I fear most of those 9244 readers will never be back.
