Another day of library organization yesterday. As it turned out, there was a huge meeting in the library for the entire morning, so for about half the day I was unable to do much with books. I have to be able to wheel around carts and make noise for that kind of activity. So instead I was sitting in the back office doing more work on the computer, but I did get things done.
After work Dave and I went to meet my stepmother, who's traveling with a friend on a cruise around the British Isles. She's staying in a hotel near Lancaster Gate, so we went to dinner at a nearby pub, The Victoria (above). I hadn't been to this pub in ages and I was amused to see that they've replaced their sign, substituting a fresh, young Victoria for their previous portrait of the dour aged queen. Can you see Dave in the picture, at far left in the plaid shirt?
One of my readers asked about my use of the terms "council" and "estate" in yesterday's post, describing the apartment block being demolished. In England, your "council" is your local government. I live in the London Borough of Camden, which is governed by Camden Council. (There's an additional layer of government for London as a whole, overseen by Mayor Sadiq Khan, which handles issues like transportation that affect the whole city.)
An "estate" is a public housing development. In the states we'd call it a housing project, but that also has a different connotation. Public housing in the USA (where it still exists) tends to be for low-income people. In Britain, where a lot of public housing was built in the '50s and '60s to accommodate people displaced by World War II, "council estates" tend to be more middle-class, although councils also make a special effort to house the poor, elderly or disabled.
Also, to make matters more complicated, many "council estates" now include private apartments. Under Margaret Thatcher, in an effort to privatize public housing, the government began allowing residents to buy their council-owned units. So not every apartment on a council estate is still publicly owned. When Dave and I first moved to London we lived in a privately-owned council flat in Notting Hill, and it was a nice apartment. Several of our neighbors, though, were long-term tenants and still rented from the council. Many of our co-workers have purchased apartments that were previously council flats.
The demolition of the Emminster and Hinstock buildings, which I mentioned yesterday, is part of a redevelopment plan that is explained in more detail here. It will increase the number of apartments in that area, with slightly fewer than a third of them designated "affordable" with controlled rents. The others will be market-rate housing. The council usually does make arrangements to re-house its tenants when schemes like this move forward, but I don't know whether they all necessarily stay nearby.
Back to the United States now, with my latest postcard from the Florida state photo archives, which arrived several days ago. This shows Ponce de Leon Springs, in Volusia County, around 1925. That beautiful old building is gone now, replaced by a rather sterile imitation, but the springs are still open and part of a public park. There are few places in Florida I've never visited, but this is one of them!
An interesting explanation of the housing variables. I remember being on leave in England in the 60s and hearing my parents and grandparents speak disparagingly of those living in housing estates. I never understood why as they weren't really in any position to judge but snobbery was rampant back then.
ReplyDeleteSo nice you got to see your stepmother on her travels. I had heard of Ponce de Leon Springs my first time in Florida. I wanted to go to the Fountain of Youth, although I don't know why since I was a youth.
ReplyDeleteAny council houses on council estates I have ever known have been occupied by the working poor - certainly not middle class people. Maybe it's different in London. Thatcher famously said "There's no such thing as society" and tried to push things that way by selling off the family silverware. To her it was all about looking after number one - "I'm alright Jack. Pull up the ladder".
ReplyDeleteThe words used now are "social housing"...one wonders about the opposite.."anti social housing"?!
ReplyDeleteJust so YP.
I'm always annoyed when an old building is demolished to make way for some sleek monstrosity.
ReplyDeleteAnd I had no idea you lived in [the Borough of] Camden because I live in the [City of] Camden named so by English who settled here in 1789.
The Victoria looks like my kind of pub. How wonderful to sit outside. We rarely baulk, but we did today at sitting outside at a cafe when it was less than 12 degrees.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the explanation of councils. I've been an Eastender fan for many years and always wondered exactly how that worked.
ReplyDeleteThings must have changed a lot in public housing since my family lived on a council estate in the 50s. All working poor, very stigmatized at school.
ReplyDeleteAnything undesirable was called "council house" , as in, that apartment was awful -- council house windows! Etc.
We waited so many years on the list, family of nine in a two bedroom terraced rental, that by the time we qualified, the others had grown up and emigrated, leaving me and my parents in a four bedroom house.
The council insisted we take it, refused to rent us a smaller one, even though there were large families still waiting. Double whammy, renting and bureaucracy.
Boud's story is most interesting.
ReplyDeleteI remember on "Call the Midwife" families waiting for housing in council estates, their joy at getting out of inadequate housing that had been built to be temporary. It seemed like heaven to them to move into apartments that had nice bathrooms and kitchens, light and air.
Have you ever been to Wakulla Springs? The original lodge is still there and it is one of my favorite places. You can stay there and there is a lovely dining room and also a snack bar. And of course- the springs. One of the best of the best of old Florida.
I've always wondered how you and Dave decided to move to London anyway? How long have you been there?
ReplyDeleteI love that old post card.
It's funny that the pub changed their sign to a younger version of Victoria. Looking back at the old one... I've seen worse portraits of her. I see Dave! (but wouldn't have if you hadn't pointed him out)
ReplyDeleteDave is standing up, yes? There are so many different terms for housing, even here. It's confusing indeed!
ReplyDeleteI read that initially as a "public house tutorial", probably a tutorial I would not need!
ReplyDeleteThe selling off of council housing is the biggest privatisation there has been, and it is a disaster because most of it is now in the hands of private rentiers. Many of what were once pleasant family homes have been converted into multiple apartments rented out at outrageous prices. The privatisation was nothing more than bribery to vote for Thatcher and her successors.
Interesting information about the different levels of government. There is far too few affordable housing anywhere in the world. That is especially true in big cities.
ReplyDeleteP.S. You were right about my career in banking. I worked in various areas of banking for some 35 years. The non-profit gig is my retirement job. I started working part time after I retired. It was supposed to supplement my income for travel purposes. It still does that but it also keeps my brain active.
Having a meeting in the library was a rather thoughtless thing to do. Obviously they didn't ask you.
ReplyDeleteSeeing that pub reminds me of one of my favorite Bryant and May books, "The Victoria Vanishes." Makes me sad to think there will be no more Christopher Fowleer books.
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining the difference on that -- I come across both those terms all the time when I'm reading mysteries and now I have a more clear idea of what that means.
I liked your post, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about the housing in London. I had watched something on TV a year or two ago that kept talking about "estates" in London, but I knew that they weren't the American version of what an estate is.
ReplyDeleteCaro: People always like to feel superior!
ReplyDeleteMitchell: I'm pretty sure there's no evidence Ponce de Leon ever visited those particular springs. St. Petersburg used to have a city fountain they called the Fountain of Youth. I wonder if it's still there?
YP: Well, maybe it depends on your definition of middle class. For me the line is blurry between middle and working class. But yeah, I suspect London estates have more aspirational homeowners, though it also depends a lot on the individual estate.
GZ: So much of it DOES turn out to be anti-social!
Bob: It's like I'm your grandparent! LOL
Andrew: Unfortunately we couldn't get a table outside, so we sat indoors. But it was still nice!
Colette: Yes! All those terms would definitely feature prominently in "Eastenders"!
Boud: I have no doubt the bureaucracy involved in getting a house is a nightmare. I know it takes forever. It must be even harder now with more private ownership and fewer public units overall.
Ms Moon: I have never been to Wakulla Springs, either!
Debby: We moved here when Dave got hired by the school in 2011. There are blog posts documenting our move!
Kelly: Yeah, I thought the old sign looked pretty nice! But maybe a younger Victoria is better for business. :)
Margaret: Yes, that's Dave standing on the far left. We were about to leave after eating. My stepmother isn't in the picture because she was standing next to me.
Tasker: Yeah, it was a horrible program, like so many of Thatcher's initiatives.
Sharon: OK! Thanks for the career clarification! I'm glad my memory wasn't failing me. :)
Red: It's often used as a meeting space because it's one of the few large rooms in the school, and it's relatively pleasant. But yeah, it can be hard to get anything done during meeting times!
Jeanie: Yeah, I'm sure British books and TV shows use those terms a lot.
SPACE: Hmmmmm...are you spam? I can't decide.
Michael: Yeah, it's really hard to describe. American housing projects aren't quite the same thing, but they're the closest we have to an estate.
It's still there and it's still ugly.
ReplyDeleteThank you Steve for that explanation..
ReplyDelete