When you commute somewhere, it is all too easy for the routine to take over and you become blind to what you see every day around. Just over half way in to a year long contract, I have realised that it was time for me to look up and remember to actively see the place I take many hours traveling to and many hours present at. The buildings are most just glassy or else stony pastiche.
Please note the green spaces include fake grass. Does it still ‘count’ as a green space then, I wonder?
So Canary Wharf – what is there? I must confess that I don’t think I will be particularly complimentary. My overall impression is that it is rather shiny and soulless, with a focus on making money and spending money.
Its redeeming features are the elements that stand out as being uncharacteristic of the place. These include certain pieces of art that are dotted around the area. My favorite is the statue below. I like it because it is imperfect; if it is wasn’t made of bronze, I would describe it as a bit shabby; and I still haven’t worked out whether the gesture of the statue is one of joy (thanking the heavens for their happiness) or of utter desperation (calling upon the heavens for support and consolation).
The other parts I enjoy being in are at the edges – where real life and real London creep it. This comes through most strongly once at the river when the forces of nature do their thing: the tides expose unseemly muddy flats and cormorants pose and stretch to dry their wings at their own chosen spot.
I did wonder whether I was being rather harsh and bringing in ‘history’ would make me feel there is more character and depth to the place. Whilst it is certainly true that acknowledging Canary Wharf’s earlier activity in trade adds more color to the picture, I am not sure it really changes the dynamics. This trading – as it does today – is about wealth, greed and exploitation of global resources. There was lots of trade in slaves, sugar, tobacco and drug smuggling. Hmmm. Like today, Canary Wharf was the place which could show off ground-breaking / landmark developments – for example, the first ever tunnel under a navigable river and the world largest ship built in the 19th century.
Luckily (and perhaps somewhat ironically) the place where I work is one concerned with supporting those on low to middle incomes and where the principle of paternalism (not relying on consumer choice) reigns supreme.
