16 May 2012
"I don't know what London's coming to—the higher the buildings the lower the morals." Noël Coward 1899-1973.
Most of the time I'll refer to where I live as "the city within a city".
I was born and I grew up in London. (Notice I did'nt say 'brought up' or 'raised', but that's another story).
And my experience, like many others, breaks the sterotypes of cucumber sandwiches and a glass of pimms in friendly pubs showcasing indie bands, where guys in skinny jeans have cockney accents.
I grew up in Tottenham. It is perhaps a lesser known part of the capital, but over the years it has become more...recognisable.
Tottenham is one of the most ethnically diverse places in the world, apparently there are over 300 languages spoken here (I can't name them).
Apparently Tottenham also has the highest unemployment rates in London, and one of the highest crime rates in the country. Tottenham is also a hotspot for gangs and gun crime with groups like TMD and the 'Turkish Mafia' who supposedly are responsible for 90% of the UK's heroin trade.
Tottenham is also known for being the place where the infamous 2011 summer riots kicked off, after a local boy 'Mark Duggan" was shot dead by Police.
For most of my life, this was "my" London. The London where used needles lay on littered streets. The London where looking at someone's girlfriend could get you a broken jaw. And the London where for no reason other than time and place, you could be knifed or worse.
When I grew older I decided to go to university. I stayed in London, but decided to study in the West End.
On my very first day of uni, I realised how different everybody was.
They did not talk like I did The did not act like I did. And they certainly did not think as I did.
Over the next few years I made a very diverse set of friends. They were from different cities, different countries and different backgrounds.
My tastes in music, food, culture, and books changed.
I started to feel like a sell out.
I liked the bright lights, the pretty girls in strange dresses, the live music, the things to do.
I'd spend most of my days in this new city of mine with my new set of friends.
And after a while I started to notice things I did not like so much.
The banker who would sell products to families who could'nt afford them.
The pervert lecturer who made me shiver in disgust.
The seedy alleys of Soho.
The girl who carried a £3000 handbag who would snort in disgust at the homeless man selling the big issue.
The guys and girls who would openly cheat on eachother with the others friends.
People with what I thought to be a privileged life, were capable of being absolute animals.
I realised that as ghetto-esque as Tottenham was, my friends would never behave like that.
My new friends would offer to buy me a drink or lend me a book every now and then.
But the friends who I growed up with...They'd take a baseball bat to someone's head if I asked them.
I've left the country and travelled, I don't know how many miles away. And I realised what I must have heard on a TV show or something. It's not the place that makes a home, but the people in it.
And as bad as I wanted to escape my roots when I was younger. I know now it's made me who I am. And whilst I'm not 100% happy with who I am...I'm getting there.
Tottenham will always be a part of who I am.
I love the smell of smoke from old factories.
The sparce supermarket.
The ever changing street slang I struggle to keep up with.
And most of all, the people who've been through hardships and strife, who may end up as lawyers and bankers, or thieves and criminals but who are essentially...
Just like me.
City Boy? Gritty Boy? • Opuss № I