There Goes the NeighbourHood

The other day I went for a drink in the Hood with two of my old housemates to catch up on a rather eventful last year. It was a really nice afternoon and eve. It became a bit of a (modest) pub crawl visiting familiar places that all had been refurbished. The last place we visited, under the arches of the railway, I remember as a funky place where they make killer cocktails. The cocktails are still good, but the place had changed. I had been ‘glammed down’ a bit and the crowd look very different. One of the reasons why I love the Hood is because it has a very funky, interesting, inspiring crowd, that loves its neighbourhood. The crowd in that bar seemed like people who live in my new neighbourhood and who I always like to slag off for being pretentious wanna bees. Maybe there was a concert in the Academy and this crowd thought of having a drink and/or a bite on their way from the tube or train station. But chances are that these are the new people on the block. The Hood is gentrifying which I believe is a good thing. Key is to keep the balance. Gentrification brings money and also people who wouldn’t have thought of moving to the Hood a few years ago. The Hood therefore runs the risk of losing its charm, its funkiness, its edge. I am very grateful for the flat and the neighbourhood I am currently living in. I would find it a real shame though if the Hood is starting to attract the same crowed and its funkiness is slowly going to the dogs. May the forces of cool forbid

image:urban junkies.com