Thoughts on possible North London transformation

The transformation of "depressed" North London areas promised soon after the last year riots is apparently going to happen, but in the a questionable way.

Plans were presented for Lea Valley, Seven Sisters, White Hart Lane, etc. all of them boasting glossy photos (or more precisely, smooth rendered images) and offering some some different experience for everyone. Some of the projects have longer history (e.g. Wards Corner restoration has been a debated issue for several years), some were were introduced during the last year only and have already changed their developers, but there is still a progress to observe.

Those who actually happen to walk the streets of Tottenham might be given a leaflet issued by local community group and raising some questions:

[click for a bigger version]

I find these arguments valid, but at the same time can't fully agree. I hate big retail centres with identical shops and chain restaurants, and well, not because they "lack their own face". I actually more enjoy, say, buying clothes in bigger stores - the less interaction, the better (doesn't apply to food though, and there is Amazon for everything else). The real problem with mass retail is that one day you realise most of the staff they employ actually hate being there and either hope it's (and you're) being only a short stop on their way to something more decent or live under permanent stress of fines, low wages, rude customers and no perspective.

On the other hand, it's hard to argue that cafes and small stores currently open at Wards Corner are not the cleanest or safest ones, and being honest I wouldn't go there myself. I wouldn't use them as a good small business examples either - they change owners and signs fairly often, and those signs are cheap and don't reveal the best taste.

Back of that "own face" problem leaflet is focusing on, despite all these facts, you can still claim that some of them can only exist there (not the prettiest or most friendly face though), while residential towers and retails centres can be erected absolutely anywhere and be as absolutely identical.

And most importantly they aren't going to accommodate those who live and work there now. The "restoration" is, effectively, not about helping businesses and people to become better off. It is, in a longer perspective, more about replacing them.

Life drawing

Two more years

It's been a while since I mentioned paperwork here last time, but there is now something deserving a post. Having had applied for visa extension back in February, we didn't expect that nearly 3 months delay (we have only received an approval a week ago). It was all the recently introduced biometric enrollment stage to blame - first there were misspellings in our names and then some IT infrastructure problems in the agency, both resulting in starting from the beginning.

Because of that I had to enroll my details for three times, each time paying for that again (not that much, but every extra bit on top of the handsome fee already paid was slightly disappointing).

It turned out for the better though as we got our new permits later than our previous visas expired, so effectively we enjoyed some "bonus time" by that. I didn't check it for sure yet, but there is a good chance that delay makes it possible for us to apply for ILR in 2 years from now without having to extend the visas once again (that's of course if rules don't change which is hardly guaranteed).

Anyway, that'd be a real shame to leave after 3 years, after having dealt with nasty beginner's difficulties and starting actually enjoying things around. So good news that was.

Life drawing

Things I learned today

1. That there were green Routemasters...

...as well as RTs:

2. That there is no street lighting at Theydon Bois (and they have never had it). And that it's possible to visit Essex without leaving the M25 and not even using any other transport apart from the Tube.

3. That postal bikes were an early invention:

4. What do the post boxes look like under the ground level...

...and inside:

***

(and I also have more pictures if you're by any chance interested)

Sketching at the Barbican and around

A church and an office block towers visible from the inner court:

Palm trees on the upper concrete galleries:

Just loved that "Robbo" on the banksy-ish rat's sign:

John Bunyan's grave at the Bunhill Fields cemetery:

A day in Hastings

Thanks to our friends (and particularly their mobility and awareness) we braved the rainy weather and paid a visit to Jerwood Gallery opened in Hastings today.

Hastings appeared to me similar to nearby Folkestone, bigger, but less nice. While the main trade street was fairly cosy there were undoubtedly more identical faceless global brands branches, betting and pawn shops, and what specifically caught my eye, many shop signs were just printed in unnaturally bright colours on plastic banners (just as they do in Russia), and there are very few things that can make a shop more ugly and undesirable.

I liked the design of the gallery building - I don't how how well do those "hand-glazed" tiles reflect the dusk sunlight (which was the idea), but they blend almost perfectly with the black wooden net huts surrounding it.

Building the fancy venue ten steps away from boats, stalls and huts used by local fishermen caused a lot of controversy in the town. It is very hard for me as for a random visitor and a foreigner to judge, but I feel that the real reason behind the discontent wasn't just the obstructed view.

For a honest fisherman or woman that gallery with strange people lazing their time away staring at some childish scrawls must be something that seriously challenges their lifestyle - which has been already threatened by market and regulations:

In London the most most famous modern art museum resides in a former power station which industrial assemblies are now serving as lifeless decorations. Boat huts around the Jerwood gallery are very likely becoming the same.

The collection the gallery started with is hardly able to impress someone who is spoiled with a luxury of visiting countless London exhibitions. Some paintings were still good enough to remember and I've written down their details to publish them later on my tumblr, only to find out upon returning home they're not yet online. Anyway we spent more time near windows apparently, taking pictures of the deserted street:

We also had a quick walk in the drizzle to the spectacular hills offering fantastic views on the seashore. The best part was the thickening fog blurring the horizon out and almost hiding the distant objects - that made the perspective very distinctive, and I couldn't help remembering Flatland I read last year.

There is also my full Hastings Flickr set if you are interested.