As some readers of this Battle Board may be aware, the Lee Valley Regional Park has almost exclusively metric footpath signs throughout its length from central London to Ware in Hertfordshire. A research project has now been carried out and plans are well in hand to over-label the metric distances (e.g. Waltham Cross 3.8km, Picketts Lock 1.55km) with suitable professionally-designed and attractive plates in British units.

Active Service Unit

Six heavy metallic white-and-blue metric signs giving various distances in kilometres and metres at Hooks Green (3 miles north of Waltham Abbey, Essex) in Lee valley Park have now been replaced with signs in miles and yards with very bold professional adhesive lettering, e.g. 'Tottenham 14.5km' now reads 'Tottenham 9 miles'

Active Service Unit

Two interesting new illegal metric footpath signs have been discovered in Broxbourne, one in the station car park and one 200 yards south of the car park.

They're in cast iron metal painted over with white enamel, with the destinations and metric distances painted in blue enamel. An expensive job, by the looks.

A recent reconnoitring exercise revealed serious inaccuracies in the metric distances. None of the metric distances shown was over 600 metres, yet amazingly the actual distances (nine in all) were in error by amounts of between 110 and 510 yards! In one case the signs gave the same distance (600 metres) to a destination even though there is a 250-yard distance between the signs. A totally sloppy piece of work.

These have been added to the list of signs to be demetricated in the area. We now believe there may be well over 100 metric distances along the Lee Navigation and in Lee Valley Park that need amendment.

Active Service Unit

Funnily enough, when I reported some finger-post signs on the High Street, at Stratford, along with other signs in that area, they told me that the signs were put up by other corporations including Lee Valley Park, and that they had made them take responsibility for them. I bet that Lee Valley Park REALLY hate us now.

During the past few days, two fingerpost signs along the River Lee Navigation with 8 double-sided fingers with metric distances on have been professionally and attractively converted back to distances in miles or fractions of miles (to the approval of nearby fishermen describing the weight of their catches in lbs. and the length of them in inches). Another Lea Valley sign on a main road giving the distance to a car park as '250 m' has similarly been converted to one showing '250 yds'. Total plates required for the above = 17. 'Before' and 'after' pictures record these events.

Still more metric signs in Lea Valley Park have been discovered close to Ponders End Station, where metal signs covered in white enamel show the way to 'Lee Valley Walk - 300m' and 'Lee Valley Leisure Complex - 1.6km'.

A programme of demetrification to be undertaken within the next 2 weeks has been arranged and those being invited to take part will be receiving full particulars shortly.

Active Service Unit

For my information, does this mean that the signs just south of the new bridge into the Island Site at Enfield Lock (on the corner of Ordnance Road and South Ordnance Road) have been dealt with?

1. Yes. Just near the pub

2. Another four sets of signposts with 17 metric distances on have been replaced with British distance signs; at (1) near Ponders End Station (over the A 1055 footbridge), (2) at Stonebridge Lock, and (3) two at Fishers Green Car Park, north of Waltham Abbey.

Active Service Unit

Summary Report - filed 1 December 2001: 'Demetrification Day in the Lee Valley'.

Ten people were present to see the first metric signs put back into Imperial - the four-finger post metric sign adjacent to The Old English Gentleman on the River Lee Navigation. Most welcome was the 100% support from the landlord (who turned out to be a member of the Society of St. George and a thoroughgoing eurosceptc and metric-sceptic) and landlady.

Nine fingers on two metric signs at Broxbourne were then amended by sticking on large exterior-quality adhesive black lettering in miles and yards (in Times New Roman Bold style) on to the white panels (the metric distances had previously been whited out).

There was time for a party of 4 to deal with three more signs at Wormley and Enfield with a total of 6 fingers on them.

Making a total of 19 double-sided fingers i.e. 38 metric distances converted back into English.

Active Service Unit

A further 21 metric distances have been buried today beneath white industrial epoxy gunge and sturdy 1/8" thick metal plates with Imperial distances on them.

Public support was greater than ever with many walkers out today having read the article in Thursday's 'Hertfordshire Mercury': "Metric militants go miles to make point". Two young mothers were delighted to see the miles going up before their very eyes and their children aged from 4 to 8 or so went skipping off down the towpath chanting: "We prefer miles". Their mothers were explaining to them how many miles it was to and back from Stanstead Abbots. A man said: "Who the ___ put then up in metric in the first place?", whilst another said: "If they fine you, we'll have a whip-round".

Copies of the Hertfordshire Mercury newspaper article plus six other newspaper articles covering anti-metric raids in Northampton, Portsmouth, Southend, Brentwood, Kent and Islington available by hard copy.

Tony Bennett
UKIP
66 Chippingfield
HARLOW
Essex
CM17 0DJ
Tel: Harlow (01279) 635789

The direct action campaign to demetrify Lee Valley Park signs is having unexpected beneficial and harmful results!

In a major article: "Walker didn't know which way to turn", the 'Cheshunt Mercury' reported last week that Lee Valley Park have taken down nearly all the signs throughout the park (including some of the ones neatly put back into Imperial units) - to the obvious irritation of walkers, one of whom was quoted as saying: "If you do down there now you don't know which way you are going. I got so far along the path and then it split into two directions and I didn't know which one to take".

Janet Green, Manager of the Lee Valley Park Information Centre, said: "The Park is reviewing its legal position [on the footpath signs]" and added that it would take at least two months to determine how distances would be displayed and the signs wouldn't be re-installed until after then.

This is the latest in a bizarre series of contradictory statements made by Lee Valley Park Authority since the demetrication campaign began.

I have a hard copy of the 'Mercury' article.

Tony Bennett

BWMA received a letter from Lea Valley Park a year ago saying that their signs were not affected by legislation - so their new position is a very important development.

It demonstrates once again that claims by parks and others that their signs fall outside the regulations should never be assumed to be necessarily correct.

Almost every week, one of the local papers highlights the increasingly bizarre conduct of Lea Valley Park over signage. This week, I had a letter published (in response to Lee Valley Park press comments) as the lead letter in the Cheshunt Mercury, with the now-famous pictures of neatly-amended signs being published for the 3rd week out of the last 5. The headline given to my letter was "Lea Valley Park Don't Know Which way to Turn!" Whenever the signs are mentioned by the paper, e.g. in a caption to the photo, they are always described as 'vandalised' i.e. WITH the inverted commas

Tony Bennett

Over three months after Lea Valley Park Authority removed several perfectly serviceable and attractive signs converted by activists to miles and yards, many fingerposts remain bereft of *any* fingerposts, so that new walkers in some areas of the Park still have no signs even to point them in the right direction.

An insider informs us that Lea Valley Park put their proposal - of new signing with lead distances in miles and supplementary indications in kilometres - to the Department of Transport and the Park's lawyers, but both have come back and said the signs should be in Imperial only. Of course, Lea Valley Park are reluctant to concede this and are playing for time by mumbling that they are still seeking to 'clarify' the advice they have received!

The man to ask when the signs are going to go back up at Lea Valley Park is Peter Warren, Director of Marketing, Tel: 01992 717711. I'm sure he won't mind you 'phoning!

The Park has placed on record that most comments made by Park users are pro-mile and anti-kilometre.

Tony Bennett

If you want to call a sad little no-hoper, try this one:


01279 635789

Why? Is that your number anon?

How long did that take you?

Did you need help?

Perhaps you called in an Active Service Unit

Sorry, that was a bit harsh.

Yes, I guess it was funny (in a small way)

We on the metric side can be a bit childish/ignorant sometimes!

Not as silly as those who are PRETENDING to be pro-metric, eh?

Not as silly as the luddites, the holier than thou hypicrites, the cowards who won't face up to or answer the questions, the sad little wanabees who give themselves little titles based on terrorist organisations, the underachievers who have suddenly found a way to make themselves feel important (even though most people regard them as rather sad people with low ambitions and less achievement)

In short, ARM

And STILL NO ANSWERS - no surprise there then

Hello, "Disarm" nice to see you using a name for your posts at last!

You are getting very angry aren't you?

Hey calm down! Life's not that "serious". Sit back, take a breath and try again.....

I know that BWMA are not directly connected to ARM, and this is not the place to advertise but is their a "fighting fund" (like with the metric martyrs) where one can make donations to cover possible court cases and, of course, to help fund the equipment (for "new" signposts, etc) ?? I'm sure that many would like to donate.

We are right to get angry about hypocrites, ARM and their little pals - or should we just feel sorry for them. They obviously have sad , meaningless lives full of underachievement, lack of vision and ambition.

Look at the little names they give themselves - one step up from milk monitor I suppose.

It must make them feel so very important, but I suppose it's probably the only time in their lives they've felt like that.

Yes, you're right - we should feel very sorry for these sad little people.

But, they STILL won't answer.

That's all very well but - is their a "fighting fund" (like with the metric martyrs) where one can make donations to cover possible court cases and, of course, to help fund the equipment (for "new" signposts, etc) ?? I'm sure that many would like to donate. THAT would be a good question answered!

Back to being Anon, then? Well if you like that sort of fun....

Why should there be a fighting fund - I have no idea what you mean

But STILL NO ANSWERS

The question is not directed at you! Being a forum this means that many people contribute - my question was more directed towards the general public.

Still no answers from anyone - especially ARM

Can't be very sure of themselves

ARM does provide a bank account number - we've provided details on the Direct Action webpage (follow the link from the home page).

To BWMA,

Thanks for answering my question. (A relevent question/answer I must add!)