Brixton - having a riot of a time

We hoped on another bus and headed for Brixton, which lies within inner Southern London. It is about 4km from the centre of London, and was an area that used to be considered dangerous, with a veryRead more
We hoped on another bus and headed for Brixton, which lies within inner Southern London. It is about 4km from the centre of London, and was an area that used to be considered dangerous, with a very bad reputation which culminated with the Brixton Riots in 1981. The youth of the area were disengaged and unemployment was high, as was the level of social issues including high crime and poor housing. Following this period the community banded together to reinvent itself and change its reputation.
Eddy Grant released the song “Electric Avenue” in 1983, which was about what had occurred in Brixton - “Down in the street there is violence, And a lots of work to be done, No place to hang out our washing, And I can’t blame all on the sun, oh no. We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue, And the. We’ll take it higher..... “
The release and popularity of the song was a catalyst for change. The community became active, and this helped with changing the area. When developers came in and tried to knock down the old markets it was the community banding together that saved the markets and prevented the gentrification of the buildings, because if that would have happened the locals would have been forced out as they wouldn’t be able to afford the housing. The area has a large Afro-Caribbean population, which influences the markets which sell lot’s of ingredients for ‘Jerk’ dishes (Caribbean cuisine). The market stalls are very colourful and vibrant, as are the people.
We wandered through the markets which had colourful vegetable and clothes stalls, and stopped for lunch at “Pop Brixton”, a complex of eateries. The options for lunch were extensive - amongst the group we had Ramen, Gyoza, Vietnamese, Senegalese, Caribbean and Italian cuisine and it all looked and smelt delicious.Read more
Today is wedding dress shopping day for Suki so she heads into the city with some friends whilst Trav catches some Zzzzz and meets up with a friend they met on the Navimag cargo barge in Chile. After a few drinks, Suki arrives at the pub excited about the buying a dress! In celebration we cheers and Steve tells us stories of the rest of his trip and future plans.
A few more pints down we return home and get ready to go out for dinner. We stroll to the now 'Trendy' Brixton village and have dinner outside one of the tiny pop-up restuarants. After dinner we head to 'Brixton Pop' - a cool venue that's been created out of stacked shipping containers producing numerous bars, eateries and groovy places to chill with friends. It's been a great night and we stop for one last drink at a pub of the way home.Read more
I made sure to have an alarm set, I wasn't going to sleep in on my last day!
I'd drawn up a rough plan of what I wanted to see throughout the day, so I got up and showered, and headed on my way.
Roadblock number one - it was a little rainy... Only spitting here and there, so no issue, I continued on my way.
My first destination was Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. I jumped on the tube and headed to Queensway Station. My plan was to explore Kensington Gardens, find the Princess Di Memorial Fountain and Kensington Palace, and then walk through Hyde Park.
Well, that seemed like a great plan, but as good as the signs are in the Tube, they were NOT good in the Kensington Gardens. I found the Princess Diana Memorial Playground instantly, but you’re not allowed to go in unless you’re supervising children, and I guess in my rain jacket with a hood on, it may have looked a little suss had I tried to go in... Nevermind, there was a cute little Merry Go Round nearby so I had a look at that, and then headed in search of the fountain.
The signs seemed to point every which way, so I would be following a sign, then find another pointing in a completely different direction. I got a bit lost, and the rain got a bit heavier, but I continued along anyway. I stumbled across the Albert Memorial, which is a huge gold statue, with many statues around it, and is directly across the road from the Royal Albert Hall. I’m sure many people have played there, but I always think of the live video of Someone Like Me by Adele, which was performed there.
Eventually, after walking along the edge of the gardens, I found another sign, which said the Memorial Fountain was actually across the road, sort of a part of Hyde Park. It was a little underwhelming, as there were some barricades covering some of the fountain. I took a couple of snaps and headed off.
I walked along a lake back into Kensington Gardens, with some more swans following me like they did at Lake Bled. I saw a few more different birds, saw some people walking their dogs, found some more statues scattered throughout the gardens, and then crossed back as I realised I’d completed missed Kensington Palace.
I passed another lake, rain coming and going, and once I found the ‘palace’, I was again a little underwhelmed... I guess I’d imagined something grand, but it just looked like a bricked mansion. Still nice, and certainly bigger than any home I’ll ever be able to afford, but not overly fancy. I didn’t go inside, instead walking through the rose gardens out the front.
I’d spent a good 2 hours exploring, so whilst I hadn’t really ventured much of Hyde Park, I thought it was time to tick some other places off my list.
I found a little cafe near the tube station for a quick bite to eat, and then jumped on the train to Tottenham Court Road Station, for a squiz around the infamous Oxford Street. I also thought, seeing as I hadn’t done anywhere near as much shopping as anticipated, that I would check out Victoria’s Secret. Well, this was another disappointment. In the US, you can normally buy 5 pairs of undies for $25-30USD. At this VS it was about £30 for 2 or 3 pair... No thanks!
Disappointed, I walked out and decided to cheer myself up by heading to Abercrombie and Finch. There’s normally a model out the front and I thought that would be sure to lift my spirits...
I found the store (I nearly walked past it, it was quite conspicuous), and there was NO model in sight... I later found out they don’t do that anymore, not in London at least...
Next Stop: Abbey Road! I jumped on the tube to St John’s Wood station, which was about a block away. I arrived and it wasn’t quite as busy as I’d imagined it would be. There rain had cleared for a little bit, so I did the obligatory walk across the road. I took some pictures of Abbey Road Studios, and had a look in the gift shop, then walked back out, walking across the road again, taking selfies as I didn’t have anyone to take the photo for me, and am not very trusting of strangers with my phone!
My next destination was recommended by a co-worker who lived in London for a short time, Primrose Hill. It didn’t look too far away on the maps, so I decided to walk it. I think it probably took about half an hour by the time I got to the park, and another 5 minute trek up to the top of the hill. By this point the rain had started again, so the view wasn’t completely clear, but it was still a gorgeous sight. You can see all of London, the Eye, the Shard, all the wonderful buildings. I imagine it would be stunning on a warm and sunny day...
There wasn’t really anywhere to sit as everything was wet, so I didn’t hang around for too long before making my decent, and found my way to Swiss Cottage Station.
Next up: 10 Downing Street. I knew with all the Brexit news, and resigning of David Cameron, there would be plenty of security around, but what I didn’t realise, is that you can’t actually walk into Downing Street at all, it’s completely blocked off. I should have guessed, you never see anyone walking past when they show the townhouse on the news... So I could barely catch a squiz at all...
I back tracked and took a couple more photos of the London Eye and Big Ben, and then jumped back on the tube to St Paul’s Station.
I thought maybe after all the disappointment, I could bring it back to basics, and all the churches and cathedral’s I’d been to throughout the trip had been breathtaking.
I walked around the outside and it was HUGE! I made it to the front steps with the intention of heading inside, but guess what, another roadblock! They were about to have a service inside, so they weren’t letting anyone in who wasn’t attending the service. I sat on the steps feeling a little defeated, but then it occurred to me to just pretend I was going in for the service... A little sneaky and deceitful (sorry God!), but I was so glad I did, as St Paul’s did not disappoint. I didn’t take any photos inside - Ididn’t want to be disrespectful - but just took a quick look around before heading back out.
My last stop on my eventful day was back near the Phoenix Theatre where I’d seen Guys and Dolls the night before. Michelle had told me to check out a little shop/gallery around the back of the theatre that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was playing at. From what I gather, it isn’t related to the show at all, but was opened by some artists that worked on the film franchise. Called the House of Minalima, it was full of Harry Potter references and artwork. It was really cool. There were about four levels, so I had a good look around them all, even stopping on one level to have a bit of a chat to a young girl that worked there. She asked about my travels, and once I told her about Contiki, she was so keen to go on an adventure of her own. I hope she does, she’d barely left London before!
It was around 5pm by this stage, so I headed back to my hotel and got changed, as I was off to meet Michelle for my last night in London!
We planned to meet at Brixton station at 6.30pm, so I could check out Michelle’s hood! Once I found her at the station exit, we headed off to a pop up venue with food and drinks, which was much like the pop up food truck parks back in Melbourne, but they were all in containers rather than trucks. We had a couple of drinks there, before walking to a cool BBQ restaurant called Brixton Blues Kitchen. It was like an old US blues club, great music, dark lighting, and great food! I even got to try a new Jim Beam variety – Jim Beam Maple! (Months later, I found out it was actually an OLD Jim Beam variety, and you can get it at Dan Murphy’s... But the point is, it was delicious, and complimented the chicken pieces I was eating perfectly!)
After dinner, Michelle walked me back to Brixton Station, via a mural of David Bowie, which still had an abundance of floral tributes to the musical genius in front of it. It was a little moving, but so nice that Bowie’s home town wasn’t showing any signs of forgetting the legend that was.
I said my last goodbye for the trip, and jumped on the train to head back to the hotel.Read more
Da wir nicht genau wussten wo die Wand sein soll sind wir einfach erst einmal so drauflosgelaufen.
Die Menschen hier waren sehr Multi-Kulti. Wir sind erst einmal durch eine seltsame Strasse voller Marktstände gelaufen.
Der London Borough of Lambeth [ˈlæmbəθ] ist ein Stadtbezirk von London. Er liegt unmittelbar südlich der Stadtmitte im „Knie“ der Themse an deren östlichem Ufer gegenüber der City of Westminster. Der Name Lambeth, urkundlich erwähnt im Jahr 1062 als Lambehitha bzw. 1089 als Lamhytha, geht etymologisch auf die altenglischen Worte lamb (Lamm) und hȳth (Hafen, Landepunkt) zurück. Bei der Gründung der Verwaltungsregion Greater London im Jahr 1965 entstand er aus dem Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth sowie den Stadtteilen Clapham und Streatham im Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth.
Die Bevölkerung setzte sich 2008 zusammen aus 67,3 % Weißen, 5,6 % Asiaten, 19,8 % Schwarzen und 1,3 % Chinesen.
2011 identifizierten sich 57,1 % als weißen Ursprungs, 29,9 % schwarzen Ursprungs, 8 % asiatischen Ursprungs, 0,6 % arabischen Ursprungs und 4,2 % gemischten Ursprungs.Read more
Als wir die Wand nach einer Weile nicht gefunden haben, haben wir google befragt und sie dann auch gefunden.
Die Wand entstand durch eine Faninitiative und sein Geburtshaus ist nicht weit entfernt. Vor der Wand lagen viele Blumen und Kerzen und an der Wand haben sich viele Fans verewigt.
David Bowie (* 8. Januar 1947 als David Robert Jones in Brixton, London; † 10. Januar 2016, New York) war ein britischer Musiker, Sänger, Produzent und Schauspieler. Der Ausnahmekünstler war in seiner mehr als 40-jährigen Karriere mit 25 Studioalben einer der einflussreichsten Musiker der Rock- und Popmusik und mit mehr als 140 Millionen verkauften Tonträgern auch kommerziell erfolgreich.Read more
Mit der Victoria Line geht es heute Morgen nach Brixton.
Brixtons Identität war schon immer vielfältig, immer umstritten und immer eindringlich. Im 21. Jahrhundert ist es nach wie vor einer der interessantesten Teile der Stadt und das Herz von Südlondon. Brixton gilt als eine der multikulturellsten Siedlungen Großbritanniens. Und es ist viel los…
Die Entwicklung des Stadtteils zum Arbeiterviertel und Marktort setzte zwischen 1880 und 1890 mit der Installation der Pferde-Tram Up Brixton Hill ein.
Electric Avenue - Brixton Market hatte 1888 eine der ersten elektrisch beleuchteteten Einkaufspassagen (Electric Ave).
Auf dem Dach des Gebäudes am Eingang zur Electric Avenue in der Brixton Road sieht man einen großen Art-Deco-Schriftzug und die merkwürdige Foxes and Cherries-Skulptur. Es wurde 2010 enthüllt und von der Künstlerin Lucy Casson geschaffen – es ist eine spielerische Interpretation der aasfressenden Füchse, die unter uns in London leben und sich an Kirschen vom Markt ergötzen.
London war seit dem 17. Jahrhundert immer wieder Zufluchtsort für verfolgte und leidende Minderheiten aus aller Welt. Mit der Wandlung des britischen Empire zum Commonwealth of Nations, sahen viele Einwohner der ehemaligen Kolonien in Afrika, der Karibik und dem indischen Raum eine Möglichkeit, in London ein neues Leben zu beginnen. So läßt sich heute beinahe ein ethnischer Stadtplan von London erstellen: Afrikaner und Kariben leben in Brixton oder Notting Hill, Iren in Camden oder Kilburn, Italiener in Clerkenwell, Chinesen in Soho, Inder im East End usw… London hat heute mehr als 7,1 Millionen Einwohner – die größten Minderheiten bilden Inder (5,2%), Kariben (4,4%) und Afrikaner (2,4%)- es werden 147 Sprachen in London gesprochen. Interessant ist, dass hier im Bezirk Lambeth ca. 78 Prozent für den Verbleib in der EU gestimmt hatten…
Der Brixton Station Road Market ist ein Gemeinschaftsmarkt, der von lokalen Händlern betrieben wird. Er befindet sich in einer breiten Fußgängerzone in der Nähe der U-Bahn, einer Straße mit Bars und Cafés, dem Recreation Centre und Pop Brixton. Außerdem führt er über die Popes Road zum Hintereingang von Brixton Village. Außerdem gibt es hier Straßenimbissstände, an denen die Händler Speisen aus der ganzen Welt anbieten.
Man spürt förmlich das karibische Flair, die Musik, das Essen und an jeder Ecke riecht es nach Gras. Die Gerüche des Brixton Market konkurrieren mit seinen Farben um die Aufmerksamkeit der Besucher. Die ersten Eindrücke des Markts, der als einer der größten für karibische und afrikanische Spezialitäten in Europa gilt, erschlagen fast.
Das Dog Star liegt an der Ecke Coldharbour Lane/Atlantic Road und ist seit über 20 Jahren eine von Londons coolsten DJ Bars. Die Liste der Sets, die hier bereits aufgelegt haben, ist lang: Massive Attack, The Prodigy, 2ManyDJs, Stereo MCs – um nur einige Namen zu nennen.
Der Markt ist ein kleiner Kosmos für sich – und Zentrum des gleichnamigen Stadtviertels im Süden Londons. Zwischen Lebensmittelhändlern und Restaurants verkaufen kleine Läden Plastikspielzeug, schreiend bunte, mit exotischen Mustern bedruckte Stoffe, künstliche Fingernägel, Langhaarperücken oder Kurzwaren.
Reliance Arcade, 455 Brixton Road (um 1924), bildet eine schmale Fußgängerverbindung von der Brixton Road zur Electric Lane. Es umfasst das ursprüngliche georgianische Haus und hat eine schöne Fassade mit ägyptischem Grabmal zur Electric Lane; es wurde 1931 von Ernest J. Thomas nach vorne erweitert. Im Inneren befinden sich kleine Geschäfte, die nicht größer als Marktstände sind, und ein Glasdach sorgt für Licht.
Brixton Village, Coldharbour Lane, wurde 1937 als Granville Arcade nach Entwürfen von Alfred und Vincent Burr gebaut; Bauherr war Philip Granville-Grossman. Das Innere besteht aus schmalen überdachten Straßen, die Avenues” genannt werden, und ist, ähnlich wie die Market Row, doppelt so hoch. Es gibt über 100 Geschäfte. Sie verbindet die Coldharbour Lane, die Atlantic Road und die Popes Road.
Die Stände biegen sich unter der Last afrikanischer und karibischer Lebensmittel. Von Yamswurzeln über Fisch und Kochbananen bis hin zu mir unbekannten Gewürzen gibt es hier alles. Danny’s Greengrocers verkauft eine Reihe von frischem Obst und Gemüse.Read more
Enjoying the weekend with mates in London. Learning new things and courses. Lots of fun with the best of people
Danach sind wir wieder zur Tube und haben beschlossen noch einmal zur Oxford Street zu fahren.
You might also know this place by the following names:
Brixton, Brikston, بریکستون, בריקסטון, ブリクストン, 브릭스턴, ब्रिक्स्टन, Брикстон, برکسٹن, 布里克斯頓