London Is Bonkers

I am in the process of decorating my flat and it means many forays out into the local area to buy paint, brushes, sandpaper, handles, screws, hooks and the like. I am cooped up for hours staring at the same few colours, drinking tea, blasting out music to keep sane, suffering slightly from the effects of paint fumes, and the outside world seems more bizarre as a result.



It's not just me that's making improvements; everywhere around here is being rebuilt. From my balcony I can see the new Arsenal 60,000+ capacity stadium rising up in a mess of cranes. As it is, when the local team scores, I can hear them from their current location with 42,000 watching the game. I guess this will be much louder when it's finished.

And there are buildings and rebuildings going on everywhere around here. To make the new stadium, they moved the municipal dump. Plus, I can count 4 new domestic multi-level developments within a block of here. The Holloway Road is finally changing. In among the old Victorian redbrick and new concrete, we even have a major new piece of architecture by Daniel Libeskind brightening up the area.

This frenzy of improvement seems to have attracted a whole new array of sex shops, like the fabulously named Fettered Pleasures (instantly renamed "Fetid Pleasures") but it hasn't quite removed the 2nd hand furniture shops.



North London University will surely soon be reflecting the local area and offering degrees in architecture, majoring in office chairs and very shiny shoes.