we got a cab to ‘trina’s from waterloo station, when we disembarked at the elephant Blivs looked up at the high-rise blocks and said “this is england”. both boys are loving the contemporary , brazilian, african , polish cockney london.
Trina runs her 8th floor, two storey southwark council home pretty much like we run ours at home, open fridge policy and wide berth on flat-screen tv watching. the view is tremendous, out around lambeth and across to westminster, we can see the Houses of P, big ben & the terrifyingly huge London eye.Its been hot like Lagos and we sit out on the balc, catching up & going forward, drinking lager & smoking roll-ups. trina has gotten engaged to the most endearing south london anarchist, and is happier than I’ve ever seen her. Blivs calls her man the Main Guy. He works for the council and brings Trina all kinds of good stuff from the move-outs, most notably DeadMans Bar, a kitsch piece that fits perfectly in the living room and didn’t come from the dead mans house.( A few weeks ago, Main Guy went to a move-out, thought something was seriously off in the fridge on entering but turned out to be an old dead guy, who left this life while sitting in his tv chair.
Otto, my bud & Trina’s twin, came for the weekend with Villette and their three kids. We were jazzed at how the next generation jelled, its in their genes to rave together, and they did, later & harder than us old school 40-somethings. As an example of how hospitable our hosts are they housed all of us, 10 in toto, in the most chilled out style. We needed it after tiptoeing around grandma. I’m glad we are here and I see the boys soaking it all up. Eldest is drinking stella shandies at the Main Guy’s request, I like how he is with the boys, no patronizing, good empathetic uncle vibe.
last night otto, villette & I took all the kids up west in their roomy mercedes van ( they drove in it to Morocco last summer!) the streets were tokyo teeming with people, mostly young, high-spirited and drunk up-for-its. the kids were loving it, we ate burgers in covent garden and people watched.
sight-seeing hasn’t occured on a large scale but the kids now know their way around elephant & castle shopping centre and are happy to be sent to tescos for supplies. they bought thirty bags of crisps on offer and I was glad to find a worchester sauce flavor packet, steak & chips flavour? no ta. Somehow I’m taking sugar in my tea and buying hob-nobs.. its south london and it must be done.
The night before last there was a terrible fire in a high-rise just down the road, seven dead and the whole block traumatized. Feeling grateful for every day and the friends that we love.
Tags: south london, walker crisps
