Although the Digital TV Switchover won’t affect most Southenders until April 2012, Sky’s been busy in Southend Town Centre, as it’s the first day of their four day “Sky Southend-on-Sea Roadshow“.

If you happen to be at the Odeon end of Southend High Street between today, the 29th of July, and Sunday the 1st of August, you’ll find a mini-arena, photo booth, a friendly Sky chap with a loud microphone and a tent demo’ing the latest offering from Sky – the Sky 3D service that’s launching in October 2010.

There’s lots of people with clipboards keen to sign you up to Sky, as well as to capture your personal details for Sky’s mailing list. You’ll also be able to pick up a goodie bag with a handy “Sky, Believe in better” notepad, a Sky Digital Switchover pen, and a leaflet for the good people of Canterbury in Kent.

It seems that last week, the roadshow was in Canterbury, and their goodie bags have yet to “switch over” to the Southend-on-Sea leaflets. D’oh, as Sky One’s Homer Simpson would say.

Sky Roadshow in Canterbury? Nope Southend!

Still, if you’re considering switching to Sky, want to know what 3D TV looks like, or just fancy a free pad ‘n’ pen, pop down to the Sky Roadshow on the High Street before Sunday afternoon.

Some tips:

• Do: Get £3 in cash for taking a 3 minute survey on your viewing habits by the ladies with clipboards
• Do: Enter the draw for a Sky+ package (if you’re OK handing over your address, that is)
• Do: Say hi to the lovely promotion girls Emma, Heidi and Anna (tell them we sent you!)
• Don’t: Sign up to Sky at the roadshow! The “Free Sky+ box” quoted on the Canterbury leaflet is also available online, but you get a £25 Marks and Spencer voucher if you sign up online (or £50 if you go HD) – Sign up online and get a voucher at www.sky.com/shop for a better deal
• Don’t: Forget the free pad and pen

For details of how the Digital Switchover affects Southend, go to www.southendswitch.co.uk

Another day, another iPhone launch! Queues started forming well before 6am outside the Southend o2 store for today’s launch of the Apple iPhone 4.

At at 7am, the queue already numbers 50.

Update: By 8am, queues continues to grow to at least 150. o2 staff came to inform those beyond a certain point, by our estimate, those after position 70, that queuing would be at risk, due to stock levels. Some waited it out, but many abandoned their quest for the latest shiny new smartphone.

Live from the Freedom of Southend Parade, Southend High Street, 17 June 2010.

The 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, back from their third tour of duty in Afganistan are currently marching down Southend High Street, being cheered by thousands of locals.

The troops have just been inspected by the Mayor, the Deputy Colonel of the Royal Anglian Regiment, the Lord Lieutenant of Essex and the High Sheriff of Essex. The troops are now marching down the centre of the High Street towards the seafront.

The freedom of the borough of Southed is awarded to people that have rendered outstanding service to the community, and is the highest award that the council can make.

Here are a couple of pictures, live from the scene.

Update: See our forum for more photos and discussion: sarfend.co.uk/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1276785742

Southend’s infamous Millennium Clock is to be removed.

The clock arrived (12 monthe late) at the top of the High Street as a celebration of the dawn of a new millennium. It was based on a design by a local schoolgirl.

Over the last nine years, the clock has been a) temperamental and b) controversial, and it’s hardly been a reliable timepiece – failing to keep the right time despite repairs, and rarely rotating as designed. There was talk of moving it to an indoor location, to protect the poor thing from the weather.

Well, it seems that time is finally up, and Southend Borough Council are set to remove it – at a cost to us of £5,000.

There’s some discussion in our forum on the fate of the clock – feel free to join in.

Going to miss the clock? Comments please!

OK – Technically, this isn’t a news story worthy of inclusion on southendnews.co.uk, but it’s our site, so we can bend the rules to vent a little.

My mission today was to take back a faulty Joggler to the o2 store in Southend – you know – the one that’s been on the High Street for years near the corner of Clifftown Road.

This is what I found.

So, I checked the o2 website on my mobile, in case it’d moved. No… it should be there – 91-93 High Street, Southend-on-Sea. But it wasn’t. So I called the number listed, 01702-432077, but no answer.

Very helpful girl in a nearby shop told me they’d closed down, and as there was no “we’ve moved” sign… looked to be the case. What was an o2 shop now seems to be a closed unit with old computer monitors, junk, and “space to let” signs in the window.

So – A call to o2. No – it’s definitely there, I was told, and I should go to o2.co.uk for a map. They were adamant that 91 High Street, the empty shop I was at, was right in front of me, and still a going concern.

About to give up, I thought I’d try some local knowledge, and put in a call to o2 Basildon. Steve, nice chap, informed me that the shop’s moving – and should be back next week, close to Clintons. At least someone at o2 has a clue!

So now I know… And hopefully, so does anyone else looking for o2 in Southend in the next few weeks…

o2 – They’re better, connected, apparently…

Southend’s historic York Road Market closed on the 17th of October 2009.

Following a Health and Safety review undertaken for the council in September, it was identified that the market, and the 22 shops based there, would have to close. Three days notice was given before the closure.

The report cites rotted roof timbers, the need for re-wiring, the lack of a fire alarm and substandard glazing.

Apparently, the council is in discussion with traders regarding the future of the site, and possible relocation, but it’s feared that many shops will shut for good. Many are speculating that, rather than taking remedial action and re-opening the market, the site may be sold, or turned into a car park.

York Road Market 29 Oct 2009

Comments on the future of the market welcomed…

This morning we saw ten eager shoppers in the o2 queue by 8:30, and two chaps with laptops and seats outside Southend High Street’s Carphone Warehouse.

These chaps have been queueing for the new Apple iPhone 3GS, which goes on sale today.

The new phone, an update on last year’s 3G version, offers a faster processor, a 3 Meg camera (still low compared with most smartphones), better battery life, video recording and a digital compass.

Below is a photo of the queue this morning…

… compared to the queue for the iPhone 3G in July 2008…

Those queueing today are likely to be interested in the new 32Gig version – the cost? £275 plus £35 a month for 18 months – That totals £890 for a phone. Those queuing last year that bought on an 18 month contract will also have to pay around £245 to buy out their old contract and upgrade.

More on the iPhone: UK iPhone details

Hot on the heels of December’s announcement that High Street name Woolworths is set to vanish from Southend and Leigh’s high streets in January, it has s today been announced that Zavvi, situated at Southend’s Victoria Shopping Centre, has also gone into receivership.

Woolworths has been trading in the UK for nearly 100 years, and its departure from the High Street marks a sad day in Southend’s retail history. The news leaves around 75 Woolworths Southend employees looking for work.

Zavvi’s days too are numbered. Zavvi was a management buy-out of the Virgin Megastore brand, and it seems their shut-down is also largely down to the Woolworths closure, as much of Zavvi’s stock was sourced from Woolworth’s supplier.

You have to wonder what other big High Street names could be next to fall, and what our High Street may look like a year from now.

Woolworths Closing Down Sale, Southend (December 2008)

Apple’s new 3g launched this morning, and queues started forming at the Southend o2 store on the High Street.

At opening time, there were at least 70 good folk queuing to get their hands on this new phone.

Overheard in the queue…

Passer by: “What’s everyone queuing for?”
Queuer : “The new 3G iPhone from Apple”
Passer by “Oh, are they free?”
Queuer: “I wish”

… At which point, the passer by rolled her eyes, laughed, and passed by… giggling.

It’s only a phone, Southenders!

If you’re desperate for a 3G iPhone, try your luck ordering online at o2 or Carphone Warehouse

US restaurant chain Hooters, known for cladding their waitresses in orange hotpants and low-cut tops, is coming to Southend.

Planning permission has been granted by the council for Hooters to open at the old MVC site, close to Sainsburys and the Odeon – there’s a pic of the site here. Source

There’s an anti-Hooters petition, and a Bring on the Hooters petition – Guess which one’s winning?

The Victoria Shopping Centre re-development is nearly complete. This Easter weekend, they’re holding a series of events, to give you the chance to look over the £21.5 million redevelopment. Pop down and take a look – more at http://www.victoriasc.co.uk

Southend town centre is hosting an Ice Skating Rink from 22 November 2006 until February 2007. This can be found outside the Odeon cinema at the top end of the High Street