Morning in a London ghetto (bunch of pics)
 

Pretty much every morning I take the same walk. I go out of my house, walk around a lake and then back. This time of year there is a lot of things going on around the lake so I decided to take my camera this morning.

We start with - the view of of my door - they tore down a lot of stuff down the road and are starting a major renovation plan:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/consruction.jpg


After about three minutes walking I finally smile because I get to these trees:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/trees.jpg


That is where the path around the lake starts..that building in the distance is a sewage plant ..neat building but boy can that stink in the summer:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/sewage_path.jpg


Then I turn the corner and get to the first bit of wild life on the man-made island that a bunch of swans have made their home:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/swan_island.jpg


(more in next post)

I don't know what kind of bird this is but I have been watching this particular one build this nest for the last week or so. If you could see it closely you could see the reminders that we live in the 'hood' because of the plastic bags that help to make up the nest:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/nest.jpg


Two swans just having their morning float:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/two_swans.jpg


The view from the 'otherside' of the lake from where I live..though not in one of those towers.

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/sweeping.jpg


My favourite part of my trip over the last few days - a bunch of geese and their babies ..they are always at this part of the path:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/chicks_5.jpg


They just keep herding them back and forth across the path from the grass to the edge of the lake:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/chicks_6.jpg

About this time I get a reminder that I am still in 'the hood':

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/reminder.jpg


But even in the ugliest places you can find some beauty:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/flowers.jpg


And even the tower blocks can look nice from some view points:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/towers_trees.jpg


Just like so many people that live on this estate, these Swans apparently can't read:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/no_swim_2.jpg

Great pics, Sarah. Nothing like some greenery in the morning.

nice pics Sarah

:1orglaugh :)

If that is a ghetto I live in a shit hole

Then I get one last look at nature with this pair of black swans that live on the lake:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/black_swans.jpg

I turn a corner and it starts to send me back to 'reality' and the first thing I come to is this bit where they have started to tear down some of the houses:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/demo.jpg


This person's balcony has been invaded by flying rodents:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/invasion.jpg


Then it is about a two minute walk and then a climb up these stairs:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/tavy_stairs.jpg


And come back to the construction zone that is across the street from where I live:

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake...nstruction.jpg

Movie buffs might be interested in knowing that this big space used to be enclosed and the area was the filming location for A Clockwork Orange. The scene where they kill the bum was filmed under there..now they are tearing it down and using the film as part of the reason.


Anyway...that is my morning in a London ghetto :)

Thanks..yup...I also like that there are thousands of people that live within two minutes of there but yet when I walk around it at 8am I barely ever see anybody else at all.

Thank you :)

This place is a ghetto almost by definition. When it was built all this land was swamp and was part of the Royal Arsenal. It got bombed a lot and they are often finding old unexploded bombs when they are doing the building works. Anyway, it was built in reaction to the need for London post-war housing and it was built with the express purpose of thinning out the crowds of poor people in central London. So, they moved people out of the poorest areas of central London, gave them cheap rents as a carrot, and put them here on the edge of the city. It is no longer run by the gov't ..now it is just a private company...but because of that and things like Clockwork Orange the place has always had a stigma. We even have the major prison where all the terrorist suspects are held just down the road. Personally, I think it is better than it looks but it is a bit grubby...that is why I like having a half hour or so around the green.

Hey Sarah - I moved out of London to Hull at the weekend.

We never got to have that drink :(

That bird is a "Coot" if it has a white bit on it's forehead and a "Morehen" if it is red :)

Ah, then we have both Coots and Morehens there...some other weird ones if I take the longer path and end up at the Thames.

Hull must be a big difference than where you were living. One day I will probably end up north, BF is an only child, parents own a house, etc...but for now I still love London.

The beauty of London is wherever you are you are always near greenery,
crazy amounts of parks to discover. I used to love wandering around little Venice.

Beautiful pics! Thank you!
Was only once in London... and loved it for whole live

London :thumbsup :thumbsup

very nice :upsidedow

great pics!
which part of the town is this?

Yeah dude, their idea of a "ghetto" is quite a bit different than ours.

Last time I was in town I was staying with an old girlfriend in an estate in Hackney which is supposed to be one of their rougher areas. Estates are supposed to be like their version of projects.

She told me, "I know you are used to flashy places and all so you may not want to stay with me in the ghetto."

I looked at the place and I'm like, 'ghetto? What ghetto? This is a decent high rise apartment where I come from!'

Yeah I was in Harringay, near to the Finsbury Park, visiting a friend of mine... the houses are mostly ok, but the ppl are not. maybe that's why they call it a ghetto. My friend has lots of stories about his 'hood' experiences

nice pics

Take a trip out to Carshalton and walk the river wandle

man, i miss london

I always call it 'the hood' to my friends but I do it with a lot of irony because I I know that compared to the 'hood' back home this is nowhere near. Yet, the people here think it is a nearly the worst level of place to live.

It is in South East London..a place called Thamesmead.

"ghetto" or not is still looks like a pretty nice place to take your morning walk. ;)

They have few problems compared to us in that regard. They are making 'hood' progress though. Guns are increasing rapidly and they aren't sure what to do about it.

Even the "gangsters" that I know over there really don't know how to handle their gangsterism. They are like kids with new toys. It would be cute in an aww shucks kind of way... except they can shoot you. It's really a shame.

Still, it's 1000% safer than a ghetto in Brooklyn, Jersey or The Bronx.

Where I was living until last week is about as close to the real "hood" as it gets here.

Do a search for "London murder mile" and you will get the idea. So fucking happy to be out of it.

yup...not bad at all :)

:) :) :)

Nice bunch of pics Sarah...

It didn't seem that bad to me. I've spent enough time on and off the 253 in that area hanging with random blokes to get a good feel for it. That's down the road from where I was staying after all. It seemed quite Disney-ish to me.

When you compare it to a small section of Philadelphia called South Philly which has around 25% unemployment and is on track to tally around 300 murders this year by itself then you see how exaggerated the title "London's Murder Mile" is to people from the inner city here.

great pics :)

You know: fish, chips, cup 'o tea, bad food, worse weather, Mary fucking Poppins... LONDON.

That looks like a nice 'hood' to me try the ones in NY u'll get killed after 5 mins outside after dark...

I think I have spent about 20% of my life on the 253 - you are making me homesick. :(

http://www.sjayne.com/boardpics/lake/chicks_5.jpg

Great Pics...thanks for sharing :)

I grew up in the Philly burbs....it is all a matter of perception and what yo uare used to living around. There is probably about one place in central London where I get nervous in the daylight ..that is Kings Cross...it is also the only place anybody has offered me money for my services (Not sure what about the business suit and briefcase that made him think I was up for it). Still, in comparison to some places in Philly it is pretty darn safe.

However, if you grew up in London - or the UK as a whole - in the 70's or early 80's then the increasing levels of gun crime that you mentioned earlier makes people feel really uneasy because it wasn't something they had to deal with in the past.

Interestingly, the places in London that have had shootings in the last few months have largely been around a place called Peckham ...Peckham is the 'cousin' of the area of the pictures I have posted...a bus ride away and pretty much the same type of area.

It isn't as bad but I would never walk around that lake at night..never.

Watch out for those swans. They can break a man's arm, ya know?

If you feel that way about where you live, why not move.