Posted in Uncategorized, tagged art, ben aaronovitch, brent, indie week, just a card, kensal rise, maida vale, NW6, queens park, shop local, W10, w9, warwick avenue, watercolour, westminster on November 27, 2019|
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The prompt for day three of #indieweek is ‘your home and community’ – which gives me the perfect excuse to trot out one of my favourite quotes (by the wonderful Ben Aaronovitch – if you’re not familiar with his work then grab Rivers of London and get reading).
If you’re a native-born Londoner..then the strongest bit of your manor is where you grew up. There’s a particular kind of safety that comes from being on the streets where you went to school, had your first snog, or drink, or threw up your first chicken vindaloo.
It’s true, and one’s manor doesn’t just confer a sense of security but also one of community. I live at a bit of a crossroads: on the north/south boundary between Brent and Westminster and, looking east/west, I’m slap bang betwixt Queens Park and Kensal Rise. I went to school in Kilburn, and (for various reasons) Maida Vale has also become part of my regular stomping ground over the years. My manor is wide and varied; it ranges from the polished and ludicrously posh, to the slightly grubby and still-furiously-resisting-gentrification. I love all of it: the community spirit of the people who walk their dogs in the parks, the friendliness of local shopkeepers, the quirky habits of certain local residents (I’m naming no names), and the fantastically rich local history. It’s an amazing place to live, and I think that living here has influenced me and my work no end.
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