Nanker Phelge
Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.
It's all rather callous and calculating.
The thing with a place like the White Hart is it used to be a place some of the older people would go in the afternoons for a drink and a chat, and some of them may have been totally bonkers, but it was a safe place for them. When they wouldn't appear for a couple of days other locals and bar staff would pop around and make sure they were all right. One person, who gets a lot of bad comments made about her, would cook and take food to the elders, and make sure they were safe. That's now gone for them, and for those with mobility problems, heading up to The Horns is not quite as easy.
The idea that specific types of people are going to be made to uncomfortable and unwelcome as a means to drive them out is exactly what 'Gentrification' (that word again!) is all about. It's not about joining a community, it's about invading and destroying one and replacing it with a cleaner, more sanitized and white washed version.
The Tulse Hill Hotel has been very tolerant of the locals, and I've not seen a single member of staff act negatively towards 'old Tulse Hill' people. Actually, the one time I witnessed someone completely fucked in there the guy running the bar was more than tolerant and looked uncomfortable asking them to leave....and even called a cab for them.
The Railway is fairly tolerant too, and regardless of what you think of the owners, staff, beer prices etc, it's a very mixed crowd and remains pretty chilled out most of the time.
The thing with a place like the White Hart is it used to be a place some of the older people would go in the afternoons for a drink and a chat, and some of them may have been totally bonkers, but it was a safe place for them. When they wouldn't appear for a couple of days other locals and bar staff would pop around and make sure they were all right. One person, who gets a lot of bad comments made about her, would cook and take food to the elders, and make sure they were safe. That's now gone for them, and for those with mobility problems, heading up to The Horns is not quite as easy.
The idea that specific types of people are going to be made to uncomfortable and unwelcome as a means to drive them out is exactly what 'Gentrification' (that word again!) is all about. It's not about joining a community, it's about invading and destroying one and replacing it with a cleaner, more sanitized and white washed version.
The Tulse Hill Hotel has been very tolerant of the locals, and I've not seen a single member of staff act negatively towards 'old Tulse Hill' people. Actually, the one time I witnessed someone completely fucked in there the guy running the bar was more than tolerant and looked uncomfortable asking them to leave....and even called a cab for them.
The Railway is fairly tolerant too, and regardless of what you think of the owners, staff, beer prices etc, it's a very mixed crowd and remains pretty chilled out most of the time.
