Animosity in the UK
As I journeyed through Camden ‘Tahn’ I had cause to encounter a snap shot selection of some of the denizens of our wonderful country. The woman on the bus with a pint of lager in a plastic glass was entertaining in her own spaced out way, as she refused to stand up for an older passenger because, she proudly proclaimed “I’m pregnant I am” her pet Staffordshire bull terrier was curled up between her black chipped toe nail polished feet.
A skinny jeaned, trilby wearing hipster was getting some abuse from her companions, enquiring of him where he kept his wallet. When they alighted they strolled shakily into Camden Lock to no doubt amble away the rest of the afternoon.
The walk down Camden High Street or should I say the 400meters hurdles, had more than it’s usual number of salespeople trying to generate charity direct debits at a commission. The other obstacles were affluent looking Big Issue salesmen, threatening homeless people (as opposed to the generally polite ones), mobile phone touts offering deals to call foreign countries and sallow thin people struggling to contain their pet DDs (Dangerous Dogs) aggression. Other interesting hurdles were those characters who just out and out ask you for money, not for anything in particular just an expectation that you will give a random stranger some cash.
I did admire the honesty of one man though, who held a sheet of cardboard with the immortal words;
‘To be honest I just want some money to buy some booze, please give generously’. That’s certainly cutting to the chase.
The general wobbly shuffling and tottering citizens in Camden Town, each involved in their own exploration of the effects of various substances present an almost Dawn of the Dead landscape that is hard to navigate even at the best of times; when you're not mentally prepared it’s intolerable.
Simply getting from A-B has become an urban sport, a bit like an old episode of Jeux sans Frontiers with a touch of Rollerball.
A skinny jeaned, trilby wearing hipster was getting some abuse from her companions, enquiring of him where he kept his wallet. When they alighted they strolled shakily into Camden Lock to no doubt amble away the rest of the afternoon.
The walk down Camden High Street or should I say the 400meters hurdles, had more than it’s usual number of salespeople trying to generate charity direct debits at a commission. The other obstacles were affluent looking Big Issue salesmen, threatening homeless people (as opposed to the generally polite ones), mobile phone touts offering deals to call foreign countries and sallow thin people struggling to contain their pet DDs (Dangerous Dogs) aggression. Other interesting hurdles were those characters who just out and out ask you for money, not for anything in particular just an expectation that you will give a random stranger some cash.
I did admire the honesty of one man though, who held a sheet of cardboard with the immortal words;
‘To be honest I just want some money to buy some booze, please give generously’. That’s certainly cutting to the chase.
The general wobbly shuffling and tottering citizens in Camden Town, each involved in their own exploration of the effects of various substances present an almost Dawn of the Dead landscape that is hard to navigate even at the best of times; when you're not mentally prepared it’s intolerable.
Simply getting from A-B has become an urban sport, a bit like an old episode of Jeux sans Frontiers with a touch of Rollerball.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewi_KNMs2rg
Ahhh...you make me almost nostalgic for the old place...then again you remind me why I left London.
ReplyDeleteI may do so in my dotage
ReplyDelete