“The poor are there to scare the shit out of the middle class” Thinking about it , that’s what I feel bus routes do. Let the middle class venture through the poor areas to get to their homes and multi national , multi billion pound soulless institutions they work for.
Route 21 is the one of them beacons of London ; the big red bus and it’s route takes you from the well off , through the mega rich and to the poverty that is Lewisham. All the people in their nicely cleaned suits, dry cleaned shirts and hand-made shoes start at Newington green move along the road picking-up people who are a pound short to live in the bohemian parts of Islington. Past new developments and apartments thundering its way to the city.
It crosses the London bridge flanked on the pavement with more suits and women with their breast pushed up under their necks and pencil skirts , high heels and hand bags they don’t need but it was on sale in Harrods and celebrity X had it in magazine Y. And all the people in the suits , ties and shoes disembark form the bus. Never finding out what lays past the bridge. And the people with the word service stitched on their shirts or here to help across the back get on. And a suit of a different kind occupy the seats taken from them off the peg numbers. Almost the shoes and ties are to scared to venture in to them dark waters.
And then the dark side of London appears soulless grey blocks of flats. The big shops have not broken the market and the graffiti simply says fuck. The breast aren’t under the women’s necks any more and they all look like they would turn a trick and you would get change out of a £5 note. And bits of police tape still wrapped around lampposts and all the people are moving away from the area never going towards it.
I am sure most people going to London bridge never sees this London but its there after all. They may not see it but they know it’s there. After all “The poor are there to scare the shit out of the middle class”.
markdini 