Wednesday 25 September 2013

Urban Diary

The first thing I notice is their heads poking above the wall. They move almost uniformly, one behind the other before disappearing down the stairs. Like plastic figures on a conveyor belt they descend en masse, the snaking, metallic, eight-coach long monster having burped them out at the station.

I am on my bike, stationery at the pedestrian crossing, letting parents and children with whom I am now quite familiar, cross. A few feet in front of me the crowd of black blazers and ties, and white shirts, thins out and becomes a single file walking on the pavement. Some stop at the cornershop (no more than two at a time a signs reads) whilst others take a right (and a wrong one at that) turn for a quick ciggie before lessons. The early morning mist merges with the hazy urban horizon. Cars swish their tails and toot their horns as they negotiate the narrow road under the bridge. Some of the black blazers spill onto the street making it difficult for motorists (and cyclists) to manoeuvre properly. Words are exchanged. Near-misses occur. We all compete for a space in this corner of London. I can see an adult muttering “One of these days...” One of these days adults will stop muttering “One of these days” when they realise that they were once the subject of oneofthesedaysery themselves not so long ago.

At the head of this black blazers’ column travels the Year 7 contingent. You can tell they are the new ones. Their clothes are two sizes too big, their shoes haven’t yet lost their early September shine to impromptu football matches in the local park and they haven’t adopted the sullen look that their elder counterparts sport. Their short stature contrasts with the three high-rises past which they walk. There is another reason why these temporary dwarves are easy to spot: they walk in a hurry. They seem to drag their bags on the pavement as they rush to a new but, to them at least, safe environment. I guide my bike away from the crowd of black blazers and ties, and white shirts. But only until tomorrow.

© 2013

Next Post: “Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music”, to be published on Sunday 29th September at 10am (GMT)

16 comments:

  1. Such an atmospheric piece! It captures early morning in London but is foreign to the non-uniform experience of American schools. One of these days is comparatively polite too.

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  2. Beautiful! I could visualize the whole busy-busy-busy scurrying scene as you described it.

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  3. Thank you so much for sharing this little vignette of London life. I loved it.

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  4. ha. you put us right there...i think at times we forget we were them once upon a time...stay safe out there...

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  5. Captured well as many scurry about where you dwell

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  6. Así es la vida de un día otoñal de un empezar un día más de ese ritmo cotidiano de trabajo y escuela.
    Saludos con buen aire.

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  7. I agree with Sarah. Very atmospheric. And lovely.

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  8. I really loved this and I felt like I was there :)

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  9. Oh, "temporary dwarves" - what a vivid and evocative phrase! It's a bit sad to think how quickly they will leave childhood now; one wants to hang onto it (at least I do) for just a bit longer. I often wonder at what stage the change would happen if children just continued in the same school, as mostly happened 100 years ago. They stayed as children, until one day they became grown up.

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  10. Nice descriptions... I am thinking of the movie, "Good Bye, Mr. Chips"

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  11. This is fabulous!
    I find myself utterly immersed in the hectic London scene that you so vividly describe...and I am totally loving the trip!;)

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  12. we don't have school uniforms over here in germany...sometimes i wish we did.. big pro and cons discussion... but you can spot them either way...smiles...happy sunday sir

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  13. Sounds really good Mario.
    Muy bien descrito mi hija odiaba usar el uniforme:) aun lo usan aqui casi todos los colegios!xo

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  14. i miss uniforms they dont' have them in the states

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  15. Many thanks for your comments. I had to make do with this photo of the uniform because I wouldn't be able to post a real picture of these schoolchildren going to school.

    Have a great weekend. Or what is left of it.

    Greetings from London.

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