According to Will Self his missus reckons that psychogeography is just an excuse to get out of the house and that people like him and Iain Sinclair are, well, wankers really. Not much I can add to that but tramping the metropolis, expecting the unexpected and generally getting a feel for the lie of the land remain a favourite pastime. No doubt the sits over egged the pudding. Ambling around town is not the revolution, but as Rebecca Solnit points out in her excellent Wanderlust, there is a long and honourable connection between walking and radical politics.
Unlike most comrades I don't view the Livingstone years in a completely negative light. There were some useful initiatives from the Mayor's Office, not least the London Strategic Walks Network. Jewel in the LSWN crown is the CAPITAL RING, a 78 mile circumnavigation of the London burbs that takes in parks, disused docks, deprived estates,Hampstead Garden Suburb and the Streatham Pumping Station. Anyway, as part of Ken's efforts to big up the project, certificates were supposed to be issued to people who completed the walk. Needless to say when I finally staggered through the front door last year after doing the final leg my letter was in the post before you could say knife.
Did I get my certificate? Did I fuck! No chance now of course.
1 comment:
Thats bad news, I was hoping for a nice certificate when I completed the Capital Ring. Though this will be some time the speed Im going at. A great new perspective on London though, and I like the way it doesnt compromise - takes you through estates, cruising areas, post industrial landscapes.
Rob
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