In between trying to get this 'Redbox' set up I have also been trying to settle my eldest daughter Elle into her new flat in 'Island Gardens', AKA the tip of the Isle of Dogs, AKA Millwall.
Last Thursday week I met Max Davey in the City after lunch with you. Similarly 'dazed and confused' on attempting to return to the City, Max suggested meeting at 'Simpson', a bar off Cornhill 'the only bar used to go to that is still there', said Max. I have to confess Max must have joined the City earlier than me, because it was the first time I had been to the Simpsons. When I had gone to meet you earlier to Jefferies, I had a taste of 'messy old England'-a bit of a cultural 'car crash' and I was very reminded of the shitty Britain of the 1970s/early 1980s. Barclays toadying up to Boris & Dave had installed their marvellous new 'rent a bike scheme' at the bottom of Queens Street - complete with cycle lanes which took you no more than a hundred yards in each direction. Their chief contribution seemed to be to block the traffic trying to cross Southwark bridge. I nearly got killed crossing a 'pedestrianized' section of Queens Street when the lights changed, and a stream of black cabs came storming through. I then took my life in my hands as I crossed Upper Thames Street, where the lights were out on the Pelican Crossing! When I got back to Simpsons, I found this quintessentially 'Old City' pub and pub, an unchanged fossil. There was not a single woman in the bar! And barely a man under forty!
I hung around Leadenhall Market while I waited for Elle to 'BBM' me on her Blackberry. To say she was ready. I have not yet got myself a Blackberry, and as I stood there realised why I can never get in touch with my friends anymore. Just about everyone in the pubs and bars of Leadenhall were standing next to there friends (old style) but were not chatting. Instead every few minutes they paused to send or receive a Blackberry message from someone far away. In some cases they didn't even bother talking to the person next to them at all. they just sat side by side typing. It was the quietest I have ever known a packed pub!
At Elle's summons (ie. BBM) I took the DLR to Canary Wharf and a couple of BBMs later we located each other as we would have without the benefit of these text messages because she was right in front of Canary Wharf Underground Exit anyway! I thought Elle -being a fashion student not financial type - might look out of place in Canary Wharf, but far from it. At around 8-9pm Canary Wharf was filled with lots and lots of people, more or less her age given ten years or so, often dressed the same and similarly tapping into Blackberries or something similar.
There was one thing that was striking though-they were of many, many different nationalities - I recognised a lot as Hispanics, lots, often in smart suits were from the Indian sub-continent, a great many were Chinese or Japanese.
We had a Sushi meal, served to us by a guy who turned out to be Russian. He informed me much to my disappointment-as Elle was on the look-out for a part-time job and has three years waitressing experience- that the hourly rate including tips was no more in - expensive-central London than -cheaper- Tonbridge. We then popped on the DLR down to her flat in 'Island Gardens'. The DLR on this stretch is even more filled with this multinational crowd of twenty-somethings, all very quiet and well-behaved all tapping into little machines. It was interesting to see Japanese students loving the DLR and taking pics of it and each other on it. No doubt it all seemed very like being at home in Tokyo! I had been concerned 'Island Gardens' being formerly known as Millwall might be a 'bit rough' for Elle, but descending at the DLR stop, a crowd of these eeriely quiet yound people quietly got off and quietly filtered off to various flats, happily texting as they went.
On three or four night-time trips to/from Island Gardens, including popping up to the 24 hour ASDA at Crossharbour for Elle, the same impression was reinforced time and again. This was 'Logan's Run'. No old people, or few to speak of. Everyone quiet. Everyone conveniently 'radio-tagged', all their conversations neatly written down, so should anyone wish to go over who, what and where they had said something to anyone else it could be looked up on some database somewhere. Their preferred source of entertainment is the internet, Facebook and Youtube, are of which log their preferences conveniently for advertisers. I saw even the 'outlaw' Youtube is now playing little ads at the start of each clip - mine spookily often is the little government advert telling me to go to 'Jobcentre Online'! Thanks for the hint 'Big Brother'!
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So what you might say?
Well I grew up in a little town called Gravesend, where by time I was ten 40% of the population were Asian.
I grew up with 'racial conflict' - Gravesend had the biggest NF vote in the country when I was there- but generally we ended up getting to know each other better - the kid four doors down was an NF organiser in his teens, but ended up marrying an Indian girl!
So then we had 'multi-cultural' Britain, getting to know and appreciate each others cultures and all that.
But this went far beyond this. This was a 'monoculture'. Everyone all the same, using the same technology, having the same values, largely blind to race or creed, and all being sold to by the same advertisers and big corporations.
A good thing or a bad thing...I'm not sure...but the future will certainly be a different place...
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