I went to London for the first time in a few years on Saturday and I remembered my parents - both Londoners born and bred - saying that the place had changed beyond recognition in the early 1960s.
I think every generation says things like that about familiar areas when they get older, but this time I really believe that London has become a horrible place to be.
The charm has gone out of it and can only be found in secluded and ancient pockets protected by equally ancient laws and customs that have - so far - escaped the attention of the foreign investors who are throwing up gigantic and ugly bits of architecture which aggressively compete to be the tallest and ugliest of them all, ruthlessly overshadowing familiar, much loved old faces.
People have changed and many of the shops that have not closed up for good are now vape stores, nail bars and suspicious looking bars and clubs, though this is happening all over the country I think.
We went to see the Auerbach exhibition at the Courtauld, but later travelled East - Hackney - to meet up with the kids and their friends and spouses at an outdoor venue on the edge of the old Olympic village named after the late Queen. It is still an industrial wasteland despite all the money spent on it.
I don't like the idea of Uber taxis, but we used them anyway. What cost £25 with Uber would have been over £100 with a black cab, so we had to. Sorry boys, but satnav has made The Knowledge almost redundant and I hope you don't think that all those years on a scooter in all weathers was a waste of time.
The pounding beat from the bar on the other side of the canal went on relentlessly for around two hours, and only stopped at the exact moment I turned toward it with my phone to film it. I think I made the DJ self-conscious.
That sounds like an exhausting day out. How was the Courtauld since its changes? I haven't been in a long while.
ReplyDeleteYes, very exhausting. The venue was chosen because it was only a 25 minute train ride from where the girl lives in Kent... The Courtauld is now at Somerset House, which I like to visit. The Auerbachs were all old ones, which was unexpected. There was a really nice attendant who we had a good chat with. He told us about dreams he had been having and was drawing in a little notepad all the time. He was Middle Eastern I think.
DeleteWe arrived at Paddington with 30 seconds to spare for the train, which saved an hour wait for the next one. That helped.
DeleteI saw that the heads were old charcoal drawings. I would like to have seen them but I never feel up to visiting London anymore. I am dreaming a lot too, perhaps we all are. Nice that the attendant talked to you about his. It is good to get an earlier train unexpectedly. I don't like having to run for a train.
DeleteNothing stays the same and we all miss some of the things that disappear entirely. Hopefully you time with family and the exhibition made the day enjoyable. The ease and convenience of Uber can not be beat. That said, the London black taxi carries tradition and even romance.
ReplyDeleteYes, I don't regret the trip. I love black cabs.
DeleteA few months ago I bought an Omaze ticket for a London house, of course I did not win, but thought with three grandchildren in London it would be easy to house them all.
ReplyDeleteI would trust the National Lottery more than I would trust estate agents running a competition like that, but then again I have never been struck by lightening.
DeleteThe Max Bygraves of blogland.
ReplyDeleteI am struggling to understand this comment and all I can think of is that I might need hands.
DeleteHe sang 'Fings aint what they used to be'.
DeleteOh I see...
DeleteLoving a place is all about an experience
ReplyDeleteGood, bad, indifferent
I go from hating some aspects of London , to loving others
I went to Madrid on Friday and loved it because of factors nothing to do with the city
I love Madrid and it is all to do with the city and all it contains. I used to love London, despite some very bad experiences there in the past and the shabbiness of it now. Other people's experiences received third hand have more effect on me than my own, but there again I have never been successfully mugged.
DeleteMy grandmother was robbed at gunpoint here in SF back in the 60-70s and I still (mostly) love this beautiful, happy, sad, weird, uber wealthy, impoverished town.
ReplyDeleteI never warmed to the scene over in Hackney. -did always enjoy visiting No. London, however.
Some parts of the East End are better than others.
DeleteI used to have to go to London for the galleries twice a term when attending Cardiff Art College...six o'clock train, arrive in time for breakfast opposite the station and walk to galleries as they opened..then escape back on the train before everywhere got seriously busy.
ReplyDeleteDid the passenger gate shut five minutes before the train left? I once missed the last train by a couple of seconds, only to see it sitting there the other side of the gate...
These days the gates are barriers that open when you put your ticket in the slot, at any time.
DeleteLove hate situation I feel. But isn't it a moot point, it seems that the city is so incredibly expensive to live in these days, nobody can buy there unless they are a foreign investor!
ReplyDeleteIt is very expensive, but I live in the second most expensive city so I know what to expect. Actually, for some things London can be quite inexpensive.
DeleteYou miss the London you knew growing up. I wonder what changes your kids and grands will see over the course of their lifetime? What will they miss?
ReplyDeleteYes, I wonder too.
DeleteWas distracted by Tasker's comparison, had to consult Wiki.
ReplyDeleteWell: London: the last time I have been there was before Covid. And have to confess: I love London. My memory is very selective: (mostly) I remember the good things, see what I want, have good friends in London - and so I love it. Still.
I was there before Covid too before this time. Everything has changed, partly because of covid and partly because of the way our government has handled a global crisis. The chickens have come home to roost, as we say.
DeleteI still love London but it obviously has changed as it naturally will. I can remember going as a child and there still being lots of bomb damage !!! I really love the City and rather like the modern buildings mixed with the old. I also love walking down a main street with Dickensian alleys and really old pubs. When I worked in Mayfair in the 1970's, it was like a small village with old, individual shops but it's all designer clothes shops now. My friend was brought up in Hackney and it was dire but it's now very trendy which is a good thing. Areas change ..... Notting Hill was a very bad area .... Charles Booths poverty maps were colour coded to indicate the poverty level and posh areas now were pretty awful. XXXX
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember the bomb sites and the flowers growing in them too. I have several books on London, including the Victorian survey where Seven Dials was described as a warren of alleys populated by fugitive criminals where the police dared not go. I am sure it was a lot worse then!
DeleteI still get great pleasure from my trips to London, there are many areas that remain unspoilt. The art galleries and museums are a feast and there are many individual and interesting small shops. If we are driving home at dusk or in the evening alongside the Thames, I think it looks magical. (Wouldn't want to live there though, I'm always glad to get back to my own home.)
ReplyDeleteLondon has always changed and keeps changing. I like the areas which haven't changed since the great fire.
Delete