Sunday 23 March 2014

Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music

I’ve got a special anniversary coming up: on 5th April it will be seventeen years since I first landed on these shores. Saturday 5th April, 1997 to be more accurate. That year I spent a month here on vacation, I went back to Havana the next month, on 3rd May, as Labour came to power. Do not read too much into the previous sentence; there’s no relationship between both events whatsoever.

If I cast my mind back to that first trip from Gatwick airport to the outer London suburb where my then girlfriend and now wife used to live, one memory stands out: typical red-brick, gabled-roof English houses dotted around the rural and urban landscape through which we were driving. A scene reminiscent of my lectures in uni in which the implicit message was that Britain (England, really) was a country attached to its traditions where people sat to drink tea at four o’ clock on the dot. If only we, students, had known then that what the British call tea at that time is more like a late afternoon light meal regardless of the hot beverage that accompanies it! Back to 5th April, 1997, though, I still recall watching the top of the roofs of the neighbouring semis through my wife’s bedroom window that evening. To me this was the London I had always heard about.

So, London, what happened? When did you start giving up on low rise property? What happened to the detached, semi-detached and terraced houses that made you famous?

According to a recent report more than 230 tall building (20+ storeys) have either been approved or are under construction in the British capital. That includes both living and working spaces. In fact the majority of these towers are likely to be residential blocks, which is good news if social housing gets a larger piece of the architectural pie. Yet, this piece of news has left me with an uneasy feeling. Call me romantic, in fact, call me hopeless romantic, but I love the traditional British house. The one with red bricks and gabled roofs. Whilst I understand the importance of “building high”, I am also concerned about the aesthetic side of it. And I’m afraid to say that I am not really impressed by the latest developments in the field of construction.

The Gherkin: a phallic symbol of London's new skyline
The Shard and the Gherkin are my usual examples of what hubris can do to a city. To say that I do not like either building is the understatement of the century. I loathe them. Every time I have to drive near any of these two humongous, urban mountains something inside me snaps. They make me cringe. Not just as Cuban-cum-Londoner who is proud of the city in which he lives now, but also as a man. Come on, I dare you to take a look at the Gherkin and not think of a... phallus, or at least a dildo. Hey, no sniggering at the back, please, this is serious!

I am not the only one. Plenty of Londoners I have spoken to do not see the need of “building high” and higher, and even higher. Who do we want to be like? New York? Skyscrapers might fit the US urban behemoth but I do not think they are suitable for a city like London where many streets are still quite narrow. The beauty of London – once you live here – is how quaint and delightfully maddening it is. Plenty of one-way roads, just to drive you bonkers, out in the ‘burbs lots of streets with width and height restriction just to confuse you (will I fit through here?) and low-rise property that no matter how unique it is, it still manages to convey smallness. That, to me, is the key phrase when it comes to London: a huge city that looks small.

As I mentioned before I understand the importance of finding suitable spaces for people to live in. In fact for more than three years I was a resident in a high-rise which, by the looks of it, would not have been considered a very tall building nowadays as it had only eighteen floors. The building where we used to live, however, was ugly, impersonal and lacked character. Same with a lot of new properties. I am not an architect and my design skills are non-existent but I do not think you need to be one to notice that many current urban developments, especially “towers”, place practicality before aesthetics. Without wanting to sound too melodramatic, London’s skyline has been ruined.

My only consolation is due to my special anniversary I am getting lots of flashbacks of the gabled roofs I saw that first time I arrived in London, as dusk turned to night, through my wife’s bedroom window.

This is it for the time being. I am taking a month off for Easter. I will be back on Sunday 27th April. I am not planning to go anywhere so expect me to pop by your blogs every now and then.

© 2014

Next Post: “Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music”, to be published on Sunday 27th April at 10am (GMT)


41 comments:

  1. I remember when high-rise flats were razed to the ground. For various reasons, suicide, loneliness, that feeling that residents had of being cut off from the world. And now they're starting again because we're short on housing. Too many people need somewhere to live! I love architecture, even modern stuff, so long as the skyline is acceptable. The new fangled Gherkin makes my teeth go on edge. It not only ruins the skyline but it ruins people's perception of the UK. Like you, Cuban, I would rather see more redbrick houses but where could we put them without demolishing more to make room? I don't think the answer is to build, rather to cut down on unnecessary immigration.

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  2. I like Scottish cities with their three and four storey tenements (though there are high rise blocks in the peripheral estates). I agree with you about the aesthetics of too many high rises, but I've never really been a fan of the traditional English detached house even though (or perhaps because) i grew up in one

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  3. Yeah so many are just cookie cutter buildings now a days, all easier to do so they can save money! Enjoy your break

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  4. Beyond being aesthetically a blight on the landscape (from my point of view), the social and political implications of these contemporary "towers of Babel" are disgusting (again, from my point of view).

    Individuals might not always get what they deserve, but, in the end, I believe societies do and life in a sardine can is the inevitable result of unbridled population growth.

    As for you, CiL, congratulations on your anniversary of life as an Englishman. It would be fascinating to know "who you would be" had you become a Cuban in Los Angeles or a Cuban in Atlanta or a Cuban in Chicago, for instance. I wish you good fortune as you begin the next seventeen years.

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  5. I am with you all the way. I loathe the huge buildings where there is no privacy, and no 'connection'. And wish I knew what the solution is. Enjoy your break.

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  6. There's no easy answer to our housing problems. I live in the countryside, where anyone suggesting building just one new house gets all the local nimbies marching on the council. So we can't build here as the locals (mostly Tories) don't like it. We can build high rise because they blight the city skyline ...

    and we still have too many families without homes.

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  7. I was just looking at online images of the Gherkin and actually find it a fascinating place. It is indeed unique to the rest of the city, but that can be a very good thing. In spite of its kinship with the phallus it is a beautiful work in itself, but perhaps not so beautiful in place.

    At the same time, I hate high rises. I live in a low high rise and the place is rather alienating in that each floor and apartment looks exactly the same and there is no room for individualism. As Valerie said, it does make one feel cut-off from the rest of the world.

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  8. I live in a flat, and hardly see the neighbours!

    Thank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.

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  9. Oh My God. Pull the Gherkin down. That architect has a penis complex! SF is filling up with high rise building but they sure aren't for the working class. Rents start around $3000 a month for a studio and condos are selling for around 5 million (not sure what that is in Euros). I am glad I visited London before some of the recent monster buildings went up. I like to remember it "way back when." My last visit was 10 years ago and I didn't spend any time in London because I wanted to explore all the small towns in the Cotswolds and stay in Oxford and pretend that I would be a student there.

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  10. Forgot to congratulate you on your 17 years in England. They were lucky to get you.

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  11. we will all be building up soon enough..especially in the city...overcrowding...no where else to expand without being too far out...what an ugly building...i imagine the future will see all the more....

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  12. i enjoyed your reflections. You know, I think there are few places that are the same as they were 17 years ago. For better or worse, things change.

    Glad you are taking a month off for Easter. We all need a break; and I am always impressed with your reflections.

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  13. I think it is a struggle that all major cities deal with--trying to respond to the needs of the people yet adequately plan. A decade ago, I moved from a city to a rural area and much prefer the slower pace and open spaces.

    I am with Brian on the pic though--blah on that building.

    I hope you enjoy your time away.

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  14. smiles... i love the little english houses as well and have lived in one for a while..though i do understand to build high as well if you need to fit more and more people into a city... it's a problem every city of the world faces sooner or later..

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  15. I wholeheartedly agree!
    All those high rise buildings with no privacy and neighbours you never see...so depressing and demoralizing.
    A shiver ran down my spine as I read this...I honestly believe I wouldn't survive living in one of those...it would be too claustrophobic!

    Have an enjoyable break...am looking forward to your next post :)

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  16. I was in London many years ago. I must agree that the ultra modern buildings seem so out of place there. It's a shame.
    I've been gone and will be gone for most of April. So, guess we'll be connecting a little before summer. Take care.

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  17. Now that has to be one of the most ugly buildings I have ever seen.
    Denver (where I live) has many high risers but I am not a fan.

    Hope you have a joyful break.
    Take care and be safe in that big city of London.

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  18. Oh, I meant to say thank you (so much) for the kind words on my past poem, that you read it twice was an honor to me.
    You made me smile :)

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  19. I have a rather romanticized opinion of England. It's sad to see skyscrapers rear their ugly heads in the middle of traditional beauty and long-standing norms, but perhaps they can coincide.

    Enjoy your break. I'll be vacating the blogosphere for the month of April, too.

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  20. have a great time of blogging. :)

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  21. I think the gherkin suits London - city of big parliament pen pushers.

    Congratulations on your anniversary, hope you enjoy many more years of happy London life!

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  22. I've always hated that Gherkin building too. I loved the flat in a townhouse my then boyfriend and now husband and I loved in years ago in Olympia, London. Having grown up in NYC the low rise buildings were a nice change. I'd be sorry to see London looking like NYC and Tokyo. Enjoyed the Jewish music too.

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  23. Definitely when I think of England I think about the traditional British house. Shame to see that aspect lost.

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  24. Enjoy your break! I think that some modern architecture works well with old buildings - take the Louvre for example.

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  25. Happy Anniversary Cubano! I agree, I don't love tall skyscrapers and I come from the city that invented them. Ancient, winding, London streets don't really suit those structures but it is better to build up than out. I think a compromise would be shorter, green-constructed buildings that would offer both more living space and aesthetics.

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  26. Many thanks for your kind comments.

    Greetings from London.

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  27. That is an interesting building. London is an interesting town--high rises will ruin its ancient charm. Enjoy your break.

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  28. I can't agree about the Shard, because to me it seems both bold and ethereal with that glittering unfinished top. Imaginative. The one I really loathe with a passion is the "cheese grater" a great ugly misshapen lump which elbows the other buildings out of the way and (I noticed today) entirely wrecks the view of Tower Bridge from the east (almost but not quite as much as it ruins the view from Waterloo bridge from the west.) I really wish it would catch fire or something (without loss of life of course) Grrr! And the trouble with such an obstreperous, vulgar and ill mannered brute is that you just can't ignore it. Every time I see it I wonder what is going on that such monstrosities are given planning permission. There are far too many of them. But yes, I would keep the Shard. To me, it's different :)

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  29. Many thanks for your comments. Although still working in real (non-virtual) life, I am enjoy my blog-break.

    Greetings from London.

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  30. hey you...
    was wondering where you disappeared to...so happy anniversary yesterday...i hope you are doing well....

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  31. Sorry the London sky line is not in your favour. Some sky scapers are monstrosities! An interesting post that I enjoyed reading.

    Thank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.

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  32. hi my friend,
    happy belated anniversary!
    you know how much i love london.

    hope you're enjoying your break.

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  33. It is not only in London but all over the world. They come up with such ugly looking things and then insist on being in the Guinness book of records.

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  34. Hope you are having a great break.
    Thanks for popping by and the kind words.

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  35. Nice blog....thanks for sharing.....like baseball.....love Cuba

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  36. Buena semana mi querrido cubano,amo los cubanos son amorosos,abrazos

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  37. "Un Cubano en Londres" has been included in Friday's Sites To See for this week. Be assured that I hope this helps to point many new visitors in your direction.

    http://asthecrackerheadcrumbles.blogspot.com/2014/04/fridays-sites-to-see_18.html

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  38. Siempre tus reflexiones vienen cargadas con buena musica, saludos amigo.

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  39. just stopping in to see what's new. hope you're having a good weekend.

    Hugs from BC Canada, G

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