Brixton news, rumour and general chat - January 2015

[BigMoaner]

blame the game, not the players.

 

[colacubes]

Cheers for that Alex Ferguson

 

[boohoo]

It not a matter of opportunities it is a matter of work not being rewarded. Middle England might be doing ok but for working class living standards have dropped.

Talk of opportunities is a bit of a distraction from the issue of increasing inequality. Which is in other words how the wealth is distributed. Opportunities for what? My friend liked her job. As she said when she started it pay and conditions were ok. She had enough to get by and have a life. Not now.

Opportunity is important though. I did detached youth work in Bootle back in the 90s and there was a huge gulf between opportunity there and opportunity in London which led to very limited expectations.

I do agree that wages have stayed stagnant whilst the cost of living in London has rocketed and that rising inequality is a huge issue. But the answers like more social housing and rent caps are not happening. What do we do?

 

[boohoo]

Good question.

Mass Observation did this.

The voice of a lot of people are not recorded. Unless its in government documents, court records etc.

Even with Mass Observation is was observing from outside.

I had a long chat today with someone this morning who had lived in or around Brixton for life. Realise now he had told me a lot about the history of living on one of the estates. On my way back tonight stopped in a cafe/ bakery I use and got chatting to a couple of people there complaining about being hounded by the social and London being for the rich now.

What I am saying is that there is a whole wealth of info out there in brief chats to people but its not recorded.

There is a lot of information from local people and it would be great to do a project recording these stories. My interviews with muralists working in London in the 1980s had lots of stories about Lambeth local estates.

 

[Rushy]

Sorry Manter . All I have managed to take home from your post is blah blah blah ... last night in Brixton I ate crickets ... blah blah blah. What is that all about?!! Oh, and the perving bit.

 

[Manter]

Sorry Manter . All I have managed to take home from your post is blah blah blah ... last night in Brixton I ate crickets ... blah blah blah. What is that all about?!! Oh, and the perving bit.

 

[ricbake]

I was chatting to someone today who had been moved from Myatts Fields To Crystal Palace area when the new development at Myatts Fields was started. He will not be going back.

Lambeth say 20% of tenants have chosen not to move back to Myatts Field North. Also 20% of leaseholders are not moving back. Considering the Heygate experience in Southwark and the terms that Cressingham Gardens were offered, if theirs were similar, don't know if they feel they had a choice...

 

[Dexter Deadwood]

Opportunity is important though. I did detached youth work in Bootle back in the 90s and there was a huge gulf between opportunity there and opportunity in London which led to very limited expectations.

I do agree that wages have stayed stagnant whilst the cost of living in London has rocketed and that rising inequality is a huge issue. But the answers like more social housing and rent caps are not happening. What do we do?

For working class people, wages haven't stayed stagnant, in real terms they have fallen between 10-12% over the last decade. Worse than that, the poorest paid have not had a real terms pay rise since the late 1970's; that's a generation of people written off.

School children from Baltimore to Brixton know they have been dumped in the lowest stream in this brave new world of market forces, they are set up to fail while resources are funneled to the children of wealthier parents who have usually bought their way into a school catchment area.

There can be no talk of opportunity when hope has left the building.

 

[boohoo]

Lambeth say 20% of tenants have chosen not to move back to Myatts Field North. Also 20% of leaseholders are not moving back. Considering the Heygate experience in Southwark and the terms that Cressingham Gardens were offered, if theirs were similar, don't know if they feel they had a choice...

If you have a family and you have no choice but to move away then it would be disruptive to move back unless you have found a way to keep your children at the same schools during your time of exile.

I can't think about a primary school for my daughter because it is likely we will have to move in that time due to further rent increases. Modern living.

 

[teuchter]

His camera is a professional tool, from which he derives a living. Using it as a comparator for spending £70 of disposal income on a gastro-tour is at best disingenuous, at worst a display of a degree of ignorance that would make a village idiot blush.

Except that the comparator is the island kitchen, which she no doubt would also say is "for work" given that she is a food writer. But what is the relevance of her kitchen to the article, which pretends to be about offering an idea for an alternative tour of Brixton? Is being judgemental about an individual necessary?

 

[ViolentPanda]

Except that the comparator is the island kitchen, which she no doubt would also say is "for work" given that she is a food writer. But what is the relevance of her kitchen to the article, which pretends to be about offering an idea for an alternative tour of Brixton? Is being judgemental about an individual necessary?

Shouldn't you ask yourself that same question before you attack the ed?
Or are you as hypocritical as you appear?

 

[teuchter]

Shouldn't you ask yourself that same question before you attack the ed?
Or are you as hypocritical as you appear?

I'm not attacking the ed for owning an expensive camera. That would be hypocritical because i also own all sorts of things that many people in Brixton couldn't afford. My criticism is not about his camera ownership but his judgemental attitude to others based on partial information, having a go at them because of their apparent affluence whilst pretending to make some political point about a wider issue. If he wants to judge people in that way then he should be prepared to get as good as he gives out.

 

[editor]

This is not a 'Discuss The Editor' forum. Nor is it one where it is appropriate to discuss the personal ownership of camera for work. This is thread to read and post up about Brixton news. Let's keep it that way please.

 

[editor]

And in Brixton news:
Brixton Topcats add two new players to help boost chances in Women’s British Basketball League

 

[CH1]

Odd story about Oyster skimming in Brixton Blog. http://www.brixtonblog.com/krishen-...0-stolen-from-brixton-oyster-card-users/27192
Not sure how the corupt newsagent is supposed to repay his customers if he only did it on unregistered cards - looks like it's actually TFL who will benefit.

 

[Greebo]

Odd story about Oyster skimming in Brixton Blog. <snip>

At least that newsagent won't be allowed to have an Oyster top-up machine in his shop from now on, that's going to affect footfall as his shop's convenient for where several bus routes intersect.

Robbing people who can hardly spare the money (even for necessities) too.

 

[EastEnder]

Is there anywhere in Brixton that sells plants? My last one died ages ago & my flat feels like it needs a bit of greenery.

 

[boohoo]

Is there anywhere in Brixton that sells plants? My last one died ages ago & my flat feels like it needs a bit of greenery.

isn't there a place in the village?

 

[Rushy]

Brixton is on remarkably good form today in the cold sunshine.

Nice to bump into Gramsci (also on good form!)

 

[Ms T]

Is there anywhere in Brixton that sells plants? My last one died ages ago & my flat feels like it needs a bit of greenery.

The new flower lady on the corner of Pope's Rd. Or M&S.

 

[han]

The Tulse Hill Hotel was very busy. Tried the Crown on Brixton Hill too. Dangerously cheap. Two proper pints for £4.30! Two double Hendricks and Fentimans for £7.10!!

The Crown is my favourite pub in the area these days. The prices are fantastic, food pretty damn good for your bog standard non-gastro pub grub. And a lovely diverse local crowd, not a tweed-wearing hipster in sight.

 

[EastEnder]

isn't there a place in the village?

The "village" is full of scary young people with silly haircuts. I daren't go in there

 

[boohoo]

The "village" is full of scary young people with silly haircuts. I daren't go in there

you were once a young person with a silly haircut. You'll be fine.

 

[friendofdorothy]

http://lambeth.gov.uk/elections-and-council/finance-and-payments/financial-information-guide

Lambeth paid £1,345,335.91 to 26 providers of Bed and breakfast during the month of December 2014

for a month? that is scary - could build/buy a lots of homes for that sort of money. Madness.

 

[friendofdorothy]

The "village" is full of scary young people with silly haircuts. I daren't go in there

Go on! just to remind them how they might end up.

 

[friendofdorothy]

Have just been for a quick drink in the Regent - I've never so many young men with beards in one room.

 

[Dan U]

Had a pint with Badgers earlier in the beehive. It never changes

 

[BigMoaner]

Have just been for a quick drink in the Regent - I've never so many young men with beards in one room.

soon it's going to the case that those without beards are the REAL hipsters.

bit like that now with tats. amazing and astounding when someone hasn't got one.

 

[boohoo]

for a month? that is scary - could build/buy a lots of homes for that sort of money. Madness.

It is about approx £250 a room per week. If we use the figure mentioned, it only provides 1345 rooms

 

[editor]

Curious kind of name for a shop: