31 August, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Today I’m movin’ on up…in more ways than one.
I’ll be leaving Suth-uk (or as it’s known officially, Southwark) and moving north of the Thames to my most favoritest section of London. Lucky me. I’ve enjoyed living in Southwark these past couple months. It’s been a time of wandering and exploration. I’ve spent time at the Tate, way too much time admiring St. Paul’s dome and way way way too much time hanging out on all the bridges I’ve had such easy access to from here:
My lovely bridges, in order: Lambeth, Westminster, Golden Jubilee, Waterloo, Blackfriars, Southwark, London, Tower. I’ve been spoiled! I love bridges and I love the Thames. That’ll be the toughest thing about leaving this part of town. I’ll also miss my own personal view of the London Eye. I used to be able to hear Big Ben from here, but Big Ben is undergoing repairs and has been silenced for the first time in 50 years. Yes, that’s me. I have impeccable timing.
Despite its pleasures, I would never settle in this neighborhood long-term. It’s fun for a short while, but I can’t imagine actually living here. It’s not homey at all, but is instead filled with abandoned buildings and alleyways and elevated railway tracks. After business hours and on weekends, much of Southwark (aside from the area around the Tate and Borough Market) is a real ghost town. In a way it’s cool to be in a pretty centrally located section of London and have so much space and quiet, but run-ins with local drunks and weirdos makes it decidedly less fun. And there’s a real lack of services for locals, with few supermarkets, restaurants, etc. And as for taxis — forget it!
I’ve been living about a 5 to 10-minute walk north of Elephant & Castle, widely considered to feature London ugliest traffic circle. Underneath this eyesore is a network of pedestrian tunnels filled with mud and homeless people playing the guitar, but the groovy colors make walking through this wasteland almost bearable:
Ahhh, the land that time forgot: Elephant & Castle. [Charlie Chaplin was from here and the Ministry of Sound is here.] The shopping centre at E&C (where I had to do my grocery shopping) is like walking into a time warp from the 1970s. I heard it’s going to be demolished, which is too bad. You could shoot a movie in there that takes place in 1975 and not have to alter one thing. If you think I’m kidding, go take a look before they knock it down. One good thing about E&C — being able to get on the Bakerloo line at the very first stop. You always get a seat.
One thing I love about this area is that it’s full of surprises. You’re walking along and then BAM! Pirate ship ahead! What a trip. Oh — I managed to find the prostitutes’ graveyard. I’ll do a post on that soon, but I’ve just been super busy. For now, here’s a little taste of Southwark and a bit of the surrounding area. I’ll definitely come back down here to hang out whenever I can. But now it’s time to return to a W postcode…
Anglofille said @ 7:53 am | london & uk |
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Lillie Says:
September 1st, 2007 at 2:55 amIs the big red suitcase on the move again?
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already moved. the red suitcase is hated by a multitude of family, friends and cab drivers in three different countries (so far), but the ol’ girl has served me well.
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I always feel like your in a timewarp when you go to that part of London( Southwark). I really get a sense of what it was like in Victorian England. All those allies and railway tracks. Very atmospheric. But I guess it is not the greatest area to live in!!
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It’s extremely atmospheric. Someone on Flickr commented that my b&w photos of the area look like they were taken a really long time ago. It is like a timewarp. It’s really cool to spend time walking around there and exploring.
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Welcome in your new home, Anglo !
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