Monday, October 1, 2012

Knife Bin


Here's an interesting discovery I made the other day near Trellick Tower -- a "knife bin." Apparently these have been set up in many locations around London so people can safely discard knives, which in the general absence of guns are the street weapon of choice. The organization that installed these bins says some have collected about 100 knives a year. It's a great idea, but I suspect the people who really need to discard their knives -- those most likely to commit a crime with them -- aren't going to drop them into the bin. It probably does keep discarded kitchen knives from becoming weapons, though.

I had a busy, active weekend. I went running on Saturday morning and then went for a walk in Soho, primarily to take a photo of a storefront that I've been meaning to capture ever since I became aware of its existence. (Photo to come at some point.) I stopped at a cafe, got an Americano with a dash of milk and sat out on Old Compton Street, watching the parade of humanity. That's always such a great neighborhood for people-watching.

(One thing about having a job -- I no longer feel guilty about little frivolous expenditures like stopping at a cafe for a coffee. I used to feel like I shouldn't spend on little luxuries like that, not because we couldn't afford them but because Dave was working and I wasn't. It just seemed wrong somehow. But now, no problem!)

Another little expenditure: I picked up a book called "Inside Notting Hill," about the history of the area, at our corner bookstore. (On sale for just £3.99!) It's been a fascinating read. Did you know that 42 years ago, Jimi Hendrix died in a basement room just a few blocks from where we live now? I went to see the building yesterday -- apparently it was once known as the Samarkand Hotel, but now it's an elegant yet nondescript residential building. I would never have known it as a rock n' roll landmark!

8 comments:

Elizabeth said...

That knife box is just so weird. I try to imagine a gun box here and just have to laugh.

Ms. Moon said...

I would probably try to figure out how to get INTO the knife bin. I'm always looking for a good kitchen knife.
Ha!

Lynne said...

How odd. When I first saw it I did not even think about getting rid of knives as potential weapons. I just thought "what a cool way to recycle old kitchen knives!"

How naive is that?

The Bug said...

I thought that maybe there was a newspaper called The Daily Knife & that they had a special bin for recycling - ha!

I'm glad you feel like you can enjoy the "extras." I know that my mom always loved having her own money (mostly so she wouldn't have to tell daddy when she'd bought something he would frown on), but in my marriage I was the main breadwinner for MANY years & never felt like it was "my" money - it was OUR money. I imagine Dave feels the same way :)

ellen abbott said...

I imagine before you had income producing work, you still did plenty of work keeping home and hearth.

Linda Sue said...

WHOA! Shanks on the street- looks like an opportunity to me but I am sure the British are more sensible- after all they did wear bright red target coats and march in a long file into war...Knife bin is hilarious and I hope effective- that would so not work here!

Reya Mellicker said...

Cool. I had no idea Jimi died in London. Wow.

Steve Reed said...

Elizabeth: Yeah, a gun box wouldn't really work, would it? But police departments do have those gun surrender events -- kind of the same idea.

Ms M: Bleah. I don't think I'd want any of THOSE knives.

Lynn: Ha! Well, in the states we just don't think of knives the same way. Here they really are the street weapon of choice.

Bug: Dave always says "What's mine is yours," but still, I don't want to feel like I'm mooching.

Ellen: That IS true. Even with just two people (and our dogs, before they died) there's a surprising amount of home maintenance!

Linda Sue: The British can be surprisingly unsensible sometimes.

Reya: I knew he died in London, but I had no idea where. Yeah, in my 'hood!