The reviews of the forth film in the Terminator series, Terminator Salvation, were frequently scathing and opened up many questions as to the technology of the machines (who builds the machines and why can’t their weapons be more hardcore?), but what kind of cyborg technology is actually available?
Surely by now we are close to inventing robotic eyes that can see in the dark and mechanical legs that can run super fast? If I wanted to shed this mortal shell and climb into something a bit more, well, futuristic, what could I hope to get for my pains?
A “cyborg” is a cybernetic organism, or any organism that contains technology to replace or enhance part of the natural body. This theoretically entails that wearing contact lenses or wearing a hearing-aid makes one a cyborg, but a more accurate definition would be an animal who has bionics or robotics implanted into their body.
With troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the need for prosthetic limbs has increased massively in recent years. Prostheses technology is now capable of allowing somebody with no arm or leg to control an artificial limb with their thought alone. The replacement limbs not only look relatively natural but allow them do many of the simple tasks previously unavailable to them as a result of the amputation.
The C-Leg, developed by prostheses pioneers Otto Bock Healthcare, is an example of a neurally-controlled artificial limb. Its multiple sensors receive signals 50 times a second that are processed into a determination of where the amputee wishes to move their limb. A microprocessor then sends the signals to a hydraulic cylinder that can rotate and extend the knee accordingly. The revolutionary technology essentially guesses your next move and adjusts accordingly. It stiffens to support you if you seem like you will trip or stumble and relaxes to a natural gait while walking. It enables the amputee to change speed and tackle hills without any awkward jerks.
The iLimb is a prosthetic hand that reads electronic muscle signals generated in the remaining muscles of the amputee’s arm and moves accordingly. Each finger moves independently and has a high degree of sensitivity. Scottish manufacturer, Touch Bionics, explain: The “built in stall detection tells each individual finger when it has sufficient grip on an object and, therefore, when to stop powering”. The technology is a huge leap from that which proceeded. Never before have amputees had the option of such a visually realistic prosthetic with such a degree of manual dexterity.
Any machine needs power. A mechanical heart is available, but currently only for patients with very particular characteristics: they must be older than 18 and suffer from heart failure so severe that, despite the height of medical care, they are expected to die within 30 days. The AbioCor artificial heart is the first self-contained and implantable artificial heart that can keep people functional. The patient would not need tubes protruding through the skin and would not be bedridden. Only a small battery pack, worn on a belt, is needed to keep the AbioCor pumping. The first one was implanted in July 2001 and the patient lived for an extra 151 days. The second patient was given less than 20% chance of surviving 30 days before the operation, but lived for 512 days after receiving the new heart.
There is technology available, pioneered by a team from the University of Southern California, that restores some vision to those with certain forms of blindness but it is currently reliant on the user wearing large dark glasses that house a small camera. To simplify, the camera sends information to a retinal implant via electrodes. The message is received by the brain allowing the user to make out dots of light and dark equal to the number of electrodes. The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System has so far been successful in clinical trials using 16 electrodes and it is currently being tested with 60.
The Boston Retinal Implant Project has an even more remarkable mission statement. Their aim is to develop an implantable prosthesis to restore vision to patients with certain forms of blindness. Their website claims that they have already created an “ultra thin (several times thinner than a human hair), flexible, wireless micro-electronic device” which houses a chip that will control delivery of electrical pulses to the retina. They have performed hours long electrical stimulation studies in humans and are waiting for authorisation to fix long-term implants into patients. If successful, sufferers of certain forms of blindness will face having their vision restored with technology that will not be visible on their body.
Most of the body can, amazingly, now be exchanged for an artificial counterpart. Artificial livers, new skin grown from stem cells, pneumatic muscles and bionic lungs and stomachs are already a commercial reality and, as ever, the technology is getting better rapidly. Maybe our kids and grandchildren will save money to buy eyes that can zoom and see in the dark, or lungs that can deal with having water inside them. Watch out John Connor- the machines may be coming!
References:
C Leg: http://www.ottobockus.com/cps/rde/xchg/ob_us_en/hs.xsl/17084.html
iLimb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMFrL7xt7kI
AbioCor: http://www.abiomed.com/products/heart_replacement.cfm
BRIP: http://www.bostonretinalimplant.org/
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Testing Times for the Printed Page
It is a question that has been mulled by many; sitting in the office while scrolling down www.whatevernews.co.uk, or riding the underground with a LondonLitelyinteresting, or flipping through that glossy mag, or even curled comfortably, captured by the words on paper pages being turned by calm fingers. It is a question laced with ominous undertones. Is the internet going to destroy print?
Jeff Jarvis, journalist and blogger, certainly thinks so. He wrote on www.buzzmachine.com, his controversial blog, that books, “Are frozen in time without the means of being corrected or updated.” He continued his diatribe: “They are expensive. They can’t afford to serve the real mass of niches. They aren’t searchable [or] linkable. They carry no conversation.” A pertinent point: “They try to teach readers but don’t teach authors.”
In Fast Company, a glossy business magazine, Jarvis makes a point that rings loudly at this time when Whos Jack has recently made the move to print: “Is our conversation better for being on this slick paper? No it’s not because only two of us are in it when we know that the collective wisdom of the people holding this page is greater than our own. We should be having this conversation together.”
Although holding weight, I think his arguments miss some points. Apart from economical / ecological issues, I see no problem with print being “frozen in time”. In fact I consider it a benefit. Opinions and ideas change over time and one can gain a deeper understanding of an author by how they evolve. If the articles are deleted from the internet due to vanity or politics, the reader will be denied this.
Saying books “Carry no conversation” is like saying watching sport carries no conversation. Neither offer a chance of audience reciprocation but they do offer something to think about, put faith in and, indeed, have a conversation about. Viewers absorb both sport and text and, if they are interested in what they are watching or reading, they will want to talk to others about the subject. Authors’ opinions offer something to think about and it only shows a lack of maturity in the reader if they accept what is written without question.
But is print currently in decline?
A survey from the National Endowment for the Arts, in the USA, had a shock effect back in 2004 when they published results claiming that, “Literary reading is in dramatic decline with fewer than half of American adults reading literature.” The survey also found that there had been a fall in literature readers of 10 per cent between 1982 and 2002. The then NEA chairman, Dana Gioia, mongered some fear with the stark claim that the findings, “Document a national crisis”.
Could this represent an international trend and does it signify an ailing print industry? Apparently not. A Publishers Weekly article documented that commercial publishers worldwide published 39 per cent more books in 2007 than 2006. Elementary economics suggests this is responding to a higher demand. Furthermore, according to UNESCO, new titles published in the UK had risen by 28 per cent in 2005-06 (although in the ‘States they had indeed dropped by 18 per cent). The UK now leads the world in number of books published per annum.
Electronic book readers and ebooks have proven themselves to be popular, with over 30 000 readers and more than 100 000 ebooks being sold by Waterstones bookstore since the store first stocked the range in September of last year. The Amazon Kindle, an ebook reader sold exclusively on www.amazon.com, apparently sold out within five and a half hours when it was released in the USA in November 2007. The device shows pages from books and newspapers, which are purchased and downloaded. Now in its third generation, the gadget has proven to be immensely popular. Sites such as www.gutenberg.org allow users to download from a selection of more than 100 000 ebooks, with over 30 000 of them for no charge.
But these stats don’t imply that a majority will forget about paper books altogether. A spokesman for Waterstones bookstore was vague about whether the company felt the ebook to be a real threat to the traditional book: “Books as we know them have been around for hundreds of years and we expect them to be around for many more to come. Ebooks offer another way to enjoy them and we anticipate that books in both print and electronic form can look forward to a long future.”
Jeff Jarvis, journalist and blogger, certainly thinks so. He wrote on www.buzzmachine.com, his controversial blog, that books, “Are frozen in time without the means of being corrected or updated.” He continued his diatribe: “They are expensive. They can’t afford to serve the real mass of niches. They aren’t searchable [or] linkable. They carry no conversation.” A pertinent point: “They try to teach readers but don’t teach authors.”
In Fast Company, a glossy business magazine, Jarvis makes a point that rings loudly at this time when Whos Jack has recently made the move to print: “Is our conversation better for being on this slick paper? No it’s not because only two of us are in it when we know that the collective wisdom of the people holding this page is greater than our own. We should be having this conversation together.”
Although holding weight, I think his arguments miss some points. Apart from economical / ecological issues, I see no problem with print being “frozen in time”. In fact I consider it a benefit. Opinions and ideas change over time and one can gain a deeper understanding of an author by how they evolve. If the articles are deleted from the internet due to vanity or politics, the reader will be denied this.
Saying books “Carry no conversation” is like saying watching sport carries no conversation. Neither offer a chance of audience reciprocation but they do offer something to think about, put faith in and, indeed, have a conversation about. Viewers absorb both sport and text and, if they are interested in what they are watching or reading, they will want to talk to others about the subject. Authors’ opinions offer something to think about and it only shows a lack of maturity in the reader if they accept what is written without question.
But is print currently in decline?
A survey from the National Endowment for the Arts, in the USA, had a shock effect back in 2004 when they published results claiming that, “Literary reading is in dramatic decline with fewer than half of American adults reading literature.” The survey also found that there had been a fall in literature readers of 10 per cent between 1982 and 2002. The then NEA chairman, Dana Gioia, mongered some fear with the stark claim that the findings, “Document a national crisis”.
Could this represent an international trend and does it signify an ailing print industry? Apparently not. A Publishers Weekly article documented that commercial publishers worldwide published 39 per cent more books in 2007 than 2006. Elementary economics suggests this is responding to a higher demand. Furthermore, according to UNESCO, new titles published in the UK had risen by 28 per cent in 2005-06 (although in the ‘States they had indeed dropped by 18 per cent). The UK now leads the world in number of books published per annum.
Electronic book readers and ebooks have proven themselves to be popular, with over 30 000 readers and more than 100 000 ebooks being sold by Waterstones bookstore since the store first stocked the range in September of last year. The Amazon Kindle, an ebook reader sold exclusively on www.amazon.com, apparently sold out within five and a half hours when it was released in the USA in November 2007. The device shows pages from books and newspapers, which are purchased and downloaded. Now in its third generation, the gadget has proven to be immensely popular. Sites such as www.gutenberg.org allow users to download from a selection of more than 100 000 ebooks, with over 30 000 of them for no charge.
But these stats don’t imply that a majority will forget about paper books altogether. A spokesman for Waterstones bookstore was vague about whether the company felt the ebook to be a real threat to the traditional book: “Books as we know them have been around for hundreds of years and we expect them to be around for many more to come. Ebooks offer another way to enjoy them and we anticipate that books in both print and electronic form can look forward to a long future.”
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Squatall Street
Got a job? Lucky you. But is it a good one, or one of those tedious ones that don't take you anywhere useful? A means to pay the bills and nothing more? One where you gain no social life, your boss treats you like a lab rat, you travel an hour and half to get to and from the restaurant / bar / office / salon that swallows half your life and gives you nothing back... I mean, do you resent your working days and think you should be spending your time doing more personally fulfilling stuff? You know, like hanging out with new people and strumming a guitar and that.
If this sounds like you, then you are one of many who sound like they should sort it out and get involved with squatting.
Ah, squats- the world of the grimy floor and the Eternal Laze. Where everyone is high while the atmosphere is low. Or it's buzzing with speed junkies listening to hardcore who keep borrowing your laptop and forgetting to give it back. Is that a familiar impression?
It's probably not and maybe you feel patronised but reading such nonsense. But in case you don't already know- it isn't like that. Rather, it doesn't have to be like that. I've just had a refreshing cuppa from a nice clean electric kettle that sits on a tidy work surface in a hygenic kitchen with a working fridge and cooker and everything and the kitchen is next to two smart and spacious bedrooms with another down the hall, just next to the flushing toilet that has a bathroom next door. And it's all behind a secured locked door in the fine location of Bethnal Green. And it's all free. So there.
Whether you already know it or not, squatting can be an ideal solution. And you get to learn stuff about fuse boxes and plumbing that, if you're a guy makes you look like a real guy and if you're a lady makes you look feckin' hardcore cool. Knowing your DIY is well attractive to the opposite sex. It's a fact and I read it.
There are loads of squats in London. In fact the capitol is a haven for them due to the many "emptys" and the relatively relaxed laws about inhabiting them that date back hundreds of years. In the eyes of the law, there is no difference between some people who have made an empty property their home and a tenant who refuses to pay the rent. A landlord must go through a legal procedure which may take some weeks before forcing anybody out of their building. The law was made to prevent landlords from bashing the door down and getting the heavies involved to move on problem tenants.
Back in January there was that £30m mansion squat on Park Lane. It made the national press and also probably made a lot of people very jealous. In the 70s heyday of squatting there were roads blocked at either end by buses and every house was a squat. St Agnes Place in Kennington was a street first squatted in 1969 that managed to stay fortified until 2005.
Cotall Street, just south of Mile End and next to the canal, has a block of flats that look out across a spacious park to the rigid, linear form of Canary Wharf. Every flat in the block of 97 has now been squatted by English, Hungarian, Polish, South African, Spanish etc men, women, kids, babies and dogs and cats. Some people have been there since the end of last year.
Andreas, a resident on Cotall Street said: "There were just a few of us to begin with. A group of about 10 needed a place to go after being evicted from another place. We opened three of the empties. There were still a lot of tenants here then but they all moved out over the weeks."
The reason the whole block had been made empty is the Olympics. The area has been swept up in the gentrification push that is aiming towards hundreds of plush new homes. Tower Hamlets council is moving on residents in the blocks that they plan to knock down. To deter squatters, the council smash many of the empties up.
Frank has been on the estate since January. He said: "Loads of the flats had been totally gutted- the electricity cables ripped out, doors ripped off their hinges and windows smashed, the plumbing all pulled apart and the toilets hammered into pieces. Some of the flats were a real project to get sorted, but it's been fun because everybody here mucks in and helps each other out. A couple of days working on a place and it becomes totally hospitable."
The majority of the flats on Squatall Street have fridges and cookers but if they don't , the residents just go to their neighbours. Most of them cook and eat with friends from other flats.
Frank said: "The vibe here is really friendly. Pretty much everyone gets on well. We're having more and more communal barbeques and we're starting to screen films in the communal flat. Now that the weather's picking up people hang out on the roof, just sharing stories and learning from each other."
Natalya from Hungary stays in a ground floor flat with Tractor, her rottweiler puppy. She came to London last year but didn't know what she was going to do once she arrived.
"I knew a couple of people here before I came but I lost my phone and their numbers before flying. I didn't have a place to stay but wasn't too worried about it. I know other people who had managed to do the same thing. I just wanted to be in London and thought I'd figure out the details as I went along. On the 'plane I started talking to the girl next to me. She asked me what I was going to do in London and when I told her she immediately said, "Well you can stay with me." It was so sweet of her! We became good friends and I ended up staying at her squat for weeks. Then we were all evicted and came here and we still live together. The very first person I spoke to on arriving in London and we still live together over a year later!"
It does not look as if the Cotall Street squatters will be moved out anytime soon. There is a block currently being built across the canal and the council are not planning to knock down the squatted flats until construction is complete. Judging by the rate of progress on the building work that won't be until around the winter.
And when the council do start proceedings to get the flats empty again they are going to be in for an absolute nightmare. Each flat will have to be dealt with individually. The process of issuing eviction, going to court and finalising a date to get people out of a home takes time. Sometimes it takes a few weeks and with 97 flats to deal with, the courts are going to be very busy.
Frank said: "We are prepared to put up a fight, should we need to. Hopefully most of us will have a new place sorted for when we have to leave here, but if we don't then we're gong to do our best to buy us some time. It's never fun being homeless, especially if it's wintertime
The East End is peppered with empties. Walk five minutes from Squattal Street towards Langdon Park and you will find whole blocks of empties. They are probably going to get opened into squats soon because many squatters are being evicted from the Ocean Estate in Stepney. If you open one and it is not in the best condition then take your pick and simply open another.
It's quite straight forward to make an empty your home. Once you've found a place that looks abandoned (i.e. it's got boarded up windows, cobwebs over the door, no furniture inside etc) just find a way in. Sometimes a window can be forced open. If the doors and windows are boarded up you may need to get physical with a crowbar and bolt cutters. Make sure you don't get caught though- you could get done for burglary or criminal damage.
Once inside, make sure the place is secure so no unwanted company can join you. Hang your Section 6 on the door to show you're clued up with the law and then sit on the floor and eat some fish and chips. Lovely.
Furthur info. about squatting can be found at the Advisory Service for Squatters on the Whitechapel Road. They are on 020 3216 0099.
If this sounds like you, then you are one of many who sound like they should sort it out and get involved with squatting.
Ah, squats- the world of the grimy floor and the Eternal Laze. Where everyone is high while the atmosphere is low. Or it's buzzing with speed junkies listening to hardcore who keep borrowing your laptop and forgetting to give it back. Is that a familiar impression?
It's probably not and maybe you feel patronised but reading such nonsense. But in case you don't already know- it isn't like that. Rather, it doesn't have to be like that. I've just had a refreshing cuppa from a nice clean electric kettle that sits on a tidy work surface in a hygenic kitchen with a working fridge and cooker and everything and the kitchen is next to two smart and spacious bedrooms with another down the hall, just next to the flushing toilet that has a bathroom next door. And it's all behind a secured locked door in the fine location of Bethnal Green. And it's all free. So there.
Whether you already know it or not, squatting can be an ideal solution. And you get to learn stuff about fuse boxes and plumbing that, if you're a guy makes you look like a real guy and if you're a lady makes you look feckin' hardcore cool. Knowing your DIY is well attractive to the opposite sex. It's a fact and I read it.
There are loads of squats in London. In fact the capitol is a haven for them due to the many "emptys" and the relatively relaxed laws about inhabiting them that date back hundreds of years. In the eyes of the law, there is no difference between some people who have made an empty property their home and a tenant who refuses to pay the rent. A landlord must go through a legal procedure which may take some weeks before forcing anybody out of their building. The law was made to prevent landlords from bashing the door down and getting the heavies involved to move on problem tenants.
Back in January there was that £30m mansion squat on Park Lane. It made the national press and also probably made a lot of people very jealous. In the 70s heyday of squatting there were roads blocked at either end by buses and every house was a squat. St Agnes Place in Kennington was a street first squatted in 1969 that managed to stay fortified until 2005.
Cotall Street, just south of Mile End and next to the canal, has a block of flats that look out across a spacious park to the rigid, linear form of Canary Wharf. Every flat in the block of 97 has now been squatted by English, Hungarian, Polish, South African, Spanish etc men, women, kids, babies and dogs and cats. Some people have been there since the end of last year.
Andreas, a resident on Cotall Street said: "There were just a few of us to begin with. A group of about 10 needed a place to go after being evicted from another place. We opened three of the empties. There were still a lot of tenants here then but they all moved out over the weeks."
The reason the whole block had been made empty is the Olympics. The area has been swept up in the gentrification push that is aiming towards hundreds of plush new homes. Tower Hamlets council is moving on residents in the blocks that they plan to knock down. To deter squatters, the council smash many of the empties up.
Frank has been on the estate since January. He said: "Loads of the flats had been totally gutted- the electricity cables ripped out, doors ripped off their hinges and windows smashed, the plumbing all pulled apart and the toilets hammered into pieces. Some of the flats were a real project to get sorted, but it's been fun because everybody here mucks in and helps each other out. A couple of days working on a place and it becomes totally hospitable."
The majority of the flats on Squatall Street have fridges and cookers but if they don't , the residents just go to their neighbours. Most of them cook and eat with friends from other flats.
Frank said: "The vibe here is really friendly. Pretty much everyone gets on well. We're having more and more communal barbeques and we're starting to screen films in the communal flat. Now that the weather's picking up people hang out on the roof, just sharing stories and learning from each other."
Natalya from Hungary stays in a ground floor flat with Tractor, her rottweiler puppy. She came to London last year but didn't know what she was going to do once she arrived.
"I knew a couple of people here before I came but I lost my phone and their numbers before flying. I didn't have a place to stay but wasn't too worried about it. I know other people who had managed to do the same thing. I just wanted to be in London and thought I'd figure out the details as I went along. On the 'plane I started talking to the girl next to me. She asked me what I was going to do in London and when I told her she immediately said, "Well you can stay with me." It was so sweet of her! We became good friends and I ended up staying at her squat for weeks. Then we were all evicted and came here and we still live together. The very first person I spoke to on arriving in London and we still live together over a year later!"
It does not look as if the Cotall Street squatters will be moved out anytime soon. There is a block currently being built across the canal and the council are not planning to knock down the squatted flats until construction is complete. Judging by the rate of progress on the building work that won't be until around the winter.
And when the council do start proceedings to get the flats empty again they are going to be in for an absolute nightmare. Each flat will have to be dealt with individually. The process of issuing eviction, going to court and finalising a date to get people out of a home takes time. Sometimes it takes a few weeks and with 97 flats to deal with, the courts are going to be very busy.
Frank said: "We are prepared to put up a fight, should we need to. Hopefully most of us will have a new place sorted for when we have to leave here, but if we don't then we're gong to do our best to buy us some time. It's never fun being homeless, especially if it's wintertime
The East End is peppered with empties. Walk five minutes from Squattal Street towards Langdon Park and you will find whole blocks of empties. They are probably going to get opened into squats soon because many squatters are being evicted from the Ocean Estate in Stepney. If you open one and it is not in the best condition then take your pick and simply open another.
It's quite straight forward to make an empty your home. Once you've found a place that looks abandoned (i.e. it's got boarded up windows, cobwebs over the door, no furniture inside etc) just find a way in. Sometimes a window can be forced open. If the doors and windows are boarded up you may need to get physical with a crowbar and bolt cutters. Make sure you don't get caught though- you could get done for burglary or criminal damage.
Once inside, make sure the place is secure so no unwanted company can join you. Hang your Section 6 on the door to show you're clued up with the law and then sit on the floor and eat some fish and chips. Lovely.
Furthur info. about squatting can be found at the Advisory Service for Squatters on the Whitechapel Road. They are on 020 3216 0099.
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Bleech
Bleech claim they were “formed from a packet of pro-plus pills”.
Well, like the caffeine pick-me-ups, they ain’t sweet and, however much they make you sweat, you are bound to want more of them.
The young East London based three-piece are composed of sisters Jen (guitar and vox) and Katherine O’Neill (bass and BVs) and pounding drummer Mat Bick, a friend from school.
They have been likened to The Subways and have the energy and backing vocals to match, but the riffs are more crunching and Jen’s voice has a kind of sweet but sassy swagger reminiscent of Elastica’s Justine Frischmann.
They played the fantastic monthly F.L.U. night in Camden’s Proud bar on March 19 and their uncompromised grungy ‘90s set, coupled with front girl Jen’s stunning disregard for glamour caught the trendy tight-jeaned, coiffed crowd off guard.
She hid behind a long mess of brown tangles and gave her all to the mic as Katherine, the yin of Jen’s hair‘s yang- short, styled and blonde- interspersed her backing vocals with violent flicks of her torso.
They are fast and they are strong. And they have a packed next few weeks, including five London gigs in four London nights between March 26 and 29.
They are also releasing their debut single “Is It True That Boys Don’t Cry” through Ban*Jam, with a launch at The Monarch in Camden on April 14.
Steve Lamacq hailed them as his Unsigned Band of the Week and XFMs John Kennedy claimed: “You are about to witness Rock History in the making!”
Their simplicity and power did it for me- get yer jeans on and give them a go.
Homelessness Pt.2
My experience of living on the street for only a week was an easy one. I was well fed, clean and I got enough sleep. But I wanted to find out why some people find themselves unable to get out of their situation and onto some kind of ladder of progress. In an East London park I found some answers. By no means are they representative of many homeless people: they do not touch on mental health problems, issues with language and immigration or any other reasons over what they are. But this is what I got from a couple of hours talking.
There was Buzz, 37, Chalky, 41, and Quicksand, 26, and me with them sharing a mid-afternoon drink.
Not undercover this time, my cards were on the table and they knew my agenda. To get to know these homeless folk and learn why they are still on the streets when the city’s facilities appear so accommodating. I had found through sleeping rough that the longest a healthy and ambitious person should be on the streets of London for is only about 25 days.
Buzz, Chalky and “Quicks” did not look healthy and if they had much ambition they must have been keeping it private. “We are not well, you might say,” said Chalky, before closing the sentence with his’ “Heheheh!”. “We drink, it’s what we do, our thing you might say.”
Chalky, the most articulate and open of the three, gave his story with little prompting. “I’ve a missus and my three girls living over in Shepherd’s Bush. I still see ‘em every couple of weeks or so. We all get on fine, you know, but it’s best not to see too much of each other. It’s the fuckin’ booze- I say things I’ll regret.”
He told me how he used to be a successful amateur boxer in his early twenties. He trained in one of the East End’s famous gyms, Repton, and was about to turn pro when he had a motorbike accident and shattered his left leg. He started drinking and the rest is a hazy plummeting of fights, hangovers, social security cheques and booze-numbed regret.
“I won’t be getting off the streets any time soon. I’ve been trying on and off for seven years, but I’m the bars of my own cage. I won’t allow myself to get out of this situation ‘cos I keep fuckin’ up and drinking away my chances. I don’t last in a hostel for long before they chuck me out.”
He keeps himself reasonably hygienic, using the drop-in centres like the Whitechapel Mission on Whitechapel Road to shower, shave and brush up. Many of the centres hand out free clothing on a daily basis and have washing machines.
“The cold and wet nights are obviously a pain, but you get kinda used to them. Sometimes I get to kip on the sofa in a mate’s house, but mostly I bed down in my sleeping bag. I stay up on Kingsland Road most nights.”
Quicksand’s drinking mates nicknamed him because of his stark self-destructive streak. They say he will keep sinking down until he kills himself. Defensive and confrontational, he kept smirking and then looking nervously at Chalky and Buzz for help whenever I asked him a question.
“’Cos I ain’t got no home, do I,” he said when I asked why he is on the streets. After some pushing, he conceded: “I can’t really be bothered with them hostels. The people there tell you you’ve gotta have your lights out at a certain time, not shout about. It’s like prison or something.” It is clear he is the kind of person who does not know how to compromise. When being tried for ABH in 2001, he called the judge a, “Fucking dingbat” in the courtroom. No doubt that extended his 100 day prison sentence.
Buzz, like Chalky and Quicksand, likes a drink. But he is trying to keep a lid on it and, counter-intuitively, that is why he chooses not to stay in a hostel. “Too much temptation,” he says. And to be fair he kept sober in the park, drinking only one can of Strongbow. “I also don’t claim benefits. I know what I’ll spend the money on if I do. I just get by, surviving rough and trying not to drink. I also volunteer at a couple of the day centres. I like to keep busy.”
Chalky, buoyant, Quicks, nervous, Buzz, sober and I drunk our cider and talked sport a while. Chalky closed the get together: “Right ho, we better go. Gotta see a man about a dog. You know. Heheheh!”
There was Buzz, 37, Chalky, 41, and Quicksand, 26, and me with them sharing a mid-afternoon drink.
Not undercover this time, my cards were on the table and they knew my agenda. To get to know these homeless folk and learn why they are still on the streets when the city’s facilities appear so accommodating. I had found through sleeping rough that the longest a healthy and ambitious person should be on the streets of London for is only about 25 days.
Buzz, Chalky and “Quicks” did not look healthy and if they had much ambition they must have been keeping it private. “We are not well, you might say,” said Chalky, before closing the sentence with his’ “Heheheh!”. “We drink, it’s what we do, our thing you might say.”
Chalky, the most articulate and open of the three, gave his story with little prompting. “I’ve a missus and my three girls living over in Shepherd’s Bush. I still see ‘em every couple of weeks or so. We all get on fine, you know, but it’s best not to see too much of each other. It’s the fuckin’ booze- I say things I’ll regret.”
He told me how he used to be a successful amateur boxer in his early twenties. He trained in one of the East End’s famous gyms, Repton, and was about to turn pro when he had a motorbike accident and shattered his left leg. He started drinking and the rest is a hazy plummeting of fights, hangovers, social security cheques and booze-numbed regret.
“I won’t be getting off the streets any time soon. I’ve been trying on and off for seven years, but I’m the bars of my own cage. I won’t allow myself to get out of this situation ‘cos I keep fuckin’ up and drinking away my chances. I don’t last in a hostel for long before they chuck me out.”
He keeps himself reasonably hygienic, using the drop-in centres like the Whitechapel Mission on Whitechapel Road to shower, shave and brush up. Many of the centres hand out free clothing on a daily basis and have washing machines.
“The cold and wet nights are obviously a pain, but you get kinda used to them. Sometimes I get to kip on the sofa in a mate’s house, but mostly I bed down in my sleeping bag. I stay up on Kingsland Road most nights.”
Quicksand’s drinking mates nicknamed him because of his stark self-destructive streak. They say he will keep sinking down until he kills himself. Defensive and confrontational, he kept smirking and then looking nervously at Chalky and Buzz for help whenever I asked him a question.
“’Cos I ain’t got no home, do I,” he said when I asked why he is on the streets. After some pushing, he conceded: “I can’t really be bothered with them hostels. The people there tell you you’ve gotta have your lights out at a certain time, not shout about. It’s like prison or something.” It is clear he is the kind of person who does not know how to compromise. When being tried for ABH in 2001, he called the judge a, “Fucking dingbat” in the courtroom. No doubt that extended his 100 day prison sentence.
Buzz, like Chalky and Quicksand, likes a drink. But he is trying to keep a lid on it and, counter-intuitively, that is why he chooses not to stay in a hostel. “Too much temptation,” he says. And to be fair he kept sober in the park, drinking only one can of Strongbow. “I also don’t claim benefits. I know what I’ll spend the money on if I do. I just get by, surviving rough and trying not to drink. I also volunteer at a couple of the day centres. I like to keep busy.”
Chalky, buoyant, Quicks, nervous, Buzz, sober and I drunk our cider and talked sport a while. Chalky closed the get together: “Right ho, we better go. Gotta see a man about a dog. You know. Heheheh!”
Monday, 18 May 2009
Garage Living
Further effects of the credit crunch- a couple from Kent have been living in a garage since they both lost their jobs in April.
Paula Lacey and Michael Ward were forced to move out of their house when it was repossessed after they became unable to afford the mortgage payments.
The new home has no running water or electricity but the relatively secure roof over their head costs £10 per week.
They claimed they had “nowhere to go” and now use shower and toilet facilities at the local swimming centre.
Mrs Lacey said: “If we’ve got the money we go to a local pub we know that do really nice meals for £1.50.
Their local authority, Swale Borough Council, said in a statement: “We advised them how to make an application for homelessness and will now look more closely at their application.
We will weigh up the information provided and will decide in due course if the council has a duty to house them permanently.”
The landlord of the garage has issued them with a notice to quit but has also tried to help the couple find somewhere better to live.
He said: “I didn’t know it [the credit crunch] could narrow to this but I think there are probably people all over the UK living like it.”
Paula Lacey and Michael Ward were forced to move out of their house when it was repossessed after they became unable to afford the mortgage payments.
The new home has no running water or electricity but the relatively secure roof over their head costs £10 per week.
They claimed they had “nowhere to go” and now use shower and toilet facilities at the local swimming centre.
Mrs Lacey said: “If we’ve got the money we go to a local pub we know that do really nice meals for £1.50.
Their local authority, Swale Borough Council, said in a statement: “We advised them how to make an application for homelessness and will now look more closely at their application.
We will weigh up the information provided and will decide in due course if the council has a duty to house them permanently.”
The landlord of the garage has issued them with a notice to quit but has also tried to help the couple find somewhere better to live.
He said: “I didn’t know it [the credit crunch] could narrow to this but I think there are probably people all over the UK living like it.”
Monday, 23 March 2009
A Week on the Streets
The credit crunch. Again. For hell’s sake, stop banging on about it. We know, all is lost- everyone will lose their jobs, pensions, family pets. We are all going to face abject poverty with only a tarpaulin to keep the rain off our attempts at slumber as we cradle down in some Waterloo alleyway.
You see the charity pictures of drained phantoms huddled hopelessly into their fraying sleeping-sacks, holes in their shoes and a soul sucked dry from endless nights on the street. That will be us.
After hearing a statistic from the Council of Mortgage Lenders that home repossessions are going to soar to 75 000 this year, I decided to taste homelessness for a week to discover how one could survive in the capitol with no money, job, contacts or place to stay.
It may become a reality for some. Research by homeless charity Crisis tells us 1 in 10 people are struggling to keep up with their rents / mortgage payments and a YouGov poll recently found that 41% of people questioned know someone who has recently lost their job. The charity Simon Community said in November that the number sleeping rough in London had nearly doubled in the proceeding six months, blaming the figures in part on the economic downturn.
The Pavement, a monthly magazine for and about the homeless, said that in February, Alan Gibb from the West Midlands was found living in a tent near a bypass after losing his job and being evicted from his home. Stories like this are going to become more frequent in the next few months.
The week began on a Monday morning, when I handed over my Oyster card, my phone and spare change to Louise, the Who’s Jack editor. I had 5 pairs of socks, toothbrush and paste, spare t-shirt, notebook and pen, and a harmonica for busking- all in a rucksack- a sleeping bag and the clothes I was wearing.
I mulled over what a week is. 168 hours. 21 meals. £280 if you work 40 hours at £7 ph. About 35 cups of tea. About 90 hours of darkness at the time of year (beginning of March). And the potential to rain, snow and hail tigers and flippin’ hyenas. “Would this be hard? Am I going to freeze, starve and get foot leprosy?”
I headed to Booth House- a Salvation Army hostel on Whitechapel Road. I was undercover, so had to spin a story about losing my job and getting kicked out of my girlfriend’s Southampton flat. “I hit the bottle and did things to that forced me to leave town.” The manageress told me they were full but “Please take a copy of The Pavement- there’s a list of shelters and drop in centres that could help you.”
“The List” in The Pavement told me everything. 14 places dotted around town were listed as offering free food and many others sold it cheaply. There were places to shower, have your eyes tested, get a haircut or free change of clothes, do the laundry. The List goes on. I was flabbergasted. The facilities for the homeless in the capitol are fantastic.
The first night and two others were spent under a pentice on Leather Lane, just off Holborn Circus. I had met Luciano in the Holy Cross Centre in King’s Cross (a club mainly for recovering addicts where there is a T.V, pool table, internet, free food and a relaxed, social atmosphere). He had been on and off the streets for seven years and told me over coffee that light, open areas are better to sleep in than dark doorways or alleys- you can see people coming and can easily run away if needs must.
Each night on Leather Lane was comfortable, wrapped in sleeping bag and clothes, lying on cardboard. The night cradled in some Waterloo alleyway was also ok, but I did wake up a couple of times to voices squabbling aggressively in a council estate that was, fortunately, the other side of a wall and locked gate.
One night was nearly sleepless- I made the dumb decision to kip in London Fields. It was chilly and dewy-damp on the soil and a fox tried to piss on me in the night.
The easiest night was in the Russell Square flat of Mini- one of the volunteers at The Holy Cross Centre. She is 56 and has been on the streets for 40 years, most of that time a junkie. She came from a good background but ran away from home at 16, got into drugs and settled into a life of scoring and stealing. She cleaned up and sorted her flat only 18 weeks ago. An amazing woman- generous, determined and strong. She has helped out others on the street with a place to live and said I could stay full time for a tenner or so a week.
Before the week began I thought this article would be a write-up of a touch-and-go experience, where I’d be hungry, exhausted, and possibly attacked. Far from it. People were polite and incredibly helpful. When I asked the manager of the Gray’s Inn Road Coffee Republic if I could use the toilet he said: “Of course” and as I left: “Have you eaten today?” I said no but no matter as I would buy a fry-up in the Whitechapel Mission for 50p. He took a hot bacon and scrambled egg ciabatta out the microwave: “I didn’t wrap it as I thought you’d want to eat it on the go.”
A man handing out flyers in Camden gave me four quid for finishing the half hour job. The Crisis Centre on Commercial Street let me use internet and offered free painting classes, bike maintenance, music lessons and more.
Outreach workers in the Dellow Centre on Wentworth Street, Aldgate, put me in touch with reps from Emmaus- a scheme where those homeless willing and able to work are given a flat-share and £35 p/w for working five from seven days on furniture repair. They said it would take a maximum of two weeks to organise but then I would have a job and stable shelter. They said the longest a mentally healthy person with no addictions would be on the streets in London for is 21 days.
So the nights were easy and the days were fine- free food, hygiene and enough sleep. There was a lot of walking and that is about it. My experience on the street was an easy one.
Clearly mine is not the reality. I knew I could finish when I felt and I had a life beyond the street. In this sense I was not vulnerable. Luciano had said: “It’s easy to get into drink and drugs when you know you’re stuck on the street for even a couple of weeks. The temptation’s all around and they help you sleep and feel safe.”
The boredom and alienation surely encourage inebriation. Also, the endless queues for charity can dent confidence. They can make destiny feel out of your control and forces a meekness. Some people are proud, leading them to crime for food.
Still, I found it reassuring to know that, should you become homeless, it would not take too long before your life is back on track.
Next month I will explore why some people find it so difficult to get off the streets.
You see the charity pictures of drained phantoms huddled hopelessly into their fraying sleeping-sacks, holes in their shoes and a soul sucked dry from endless nights on the street. That will be us.
After hearing a statistic from the Council of Mortgage Lenders that home repossessions are going to soar to 75 000 this year, I decided to taste homelessness for a week to discover how one could survive in the capitol with no money, job, contacts or place to stay.
It may become a reality for some. Research by homeless charity Crisis tells us 1 in 10 people are struggling to keep up with their rents / mortgage payments and a YouGov poll recently found that 41% of people questioned know someone who has recently lost their job. The charity Simon Community said in November that the number sleeping rough in London had nearly doubled in the proceeding six months, blaming the figures in part on the economic downturn.
The Pavement, a monthly magazine for and about the homeless, said that in February, Alan Gibb from the West Midlands was found living in a tent near a bypass after losing his job and being evicted from his home. Stories like this are going to become more frequent in the next few months.
The week began on a Monday morning, when I handed over my Oyster card, my phone and spare change to Louise, the Who’s Jack editor. I had 5 pairs of socks, toothbrush and paste, spare t-shirt, notebook and pen, and a harmonica for busking- all in a rucksack- a sleeping bag and the clothes I was wearing.
I mulled over what a week is. 168 hours. 21 meals. £280 if you work 40 hours at £7 ph. About 35 cups of tea. About 90 hours of darkness at the time of year (beginning of March). And the potential to rain, snow and hail tigers and flippin’ hyenas. “Would this be hard? Am I going to freeze, starve and get foot leprosy?”
I headed to Booth House- a Salvation Army hostel on Whitechapel Road. I was undercover, so had to spin a story about losing my job and getting kicked out of my girlfriend’s Southampton flat. “I hit the bottle and did things to that forced me to leave town.” The manageress told me they were full but “Please take a copy of The Pavement- there’s a list of shelters and drop in centres that could help you.”
“The List” in The Pavement told me everything. 14 places dotted around town were listed as offering free food and many others sold it cheaply. There were places to shower, have your eyes tested, get a haircut or free change of clothes, do the laundry. The List goes on. I was flabbergasted. The facilities for the homeless in the capitol are fantastic.
The first night and two others were spent under a pentice on Leather Lane, just off Holborn Circus. I had met Luciano in the Holy Cross Centre in King’s Cross (a club mainly for recovering addicts where there is a T.V, pool table, internet, free food and a relaxed, social atmosphere). He had been on and off the streets for seven years and told me over coffee that light, open areas are better to sleep in than dark doorways or alleys- you can see people coming and can easily run away if needs must.
Each night on Leather Lane was comfortable, wrapped in sleeping bag and clothes, lying on cardboard. The night cradled in some Waterloo alleyway was also ok, but I did wake up a couple of times to voices squabbling aggressively in a council estate that was, fortunately, the other side of a wall and locked gate.
One night was nearly sleepless- I made the dumb decision to kip in London Fields. It was chilly and dewy-damp on the soil and a fox tried to piss on me in the night.
The easiest night was in the Russell Square flat of Mini- one of the volunteers at The Holy Cross Centre. She is 56 and has been on the streets for 40 years, most of that time a junkie. She came from a good background but ran away from home at 16, got into drugs and settled into a life of scoring and stealing. She cleaned up and sorted her flat only 18 weeks ago. An amazing woman- generous, determined and strong. She has helped out others on the street with a place to live and said I could stay full time for a tenner or so a week.
Before the week began I thought this article would be a write-up of a touch-and-go experience, where I’d be hungry, exhausted, and possibly attacked. Far from it. People were polite and incredibly helpful. When I asked the manager of the Gray’s Inn Road Coffee Republic if I could use the toilet he said: “Of course” and as I left: “Have you eaten today?” I said no but no matter as I would buy a fry-up in the Whitechapel Mission for 50p. He took a hot bacon and scrambled egg ciabatta out the microwave: “I didn’t wrap it as I thought you’d want to eat it on the go.”
A man handing out flyers in Camden gave me four quid for finishing the half hour job. The Crisis Centre on Commercial Street let me use internet and offered free painting classes, bike maintenance, music lessons and more.
Outreach workers in the Dellow Centre on Wentworth Street, Aldgate, put me in touch with reps from Emmaus- a scheme where those homeless willing and able to work are given a flat-share and £35 p/w for working five from seven days on furniture repair. They said it would take a maximum of two weeks to organise but then I would have a job and stable shelter. They said the longest a mentally healthy person with no addictions would be on the streets in London for is 21 days.
So the nights were easy and the days were fine- free food, hygiene and enough sleep. There was a lot of walking and that is about it. My experience on the street was an easy one.
Clearly mine is not the reality. I knew I could finish when I felt and I had a life beyond the street. In this sense I was not vulnerable. Luciano had said: “It’s easy to get into drink and drugs when you know you’re stuck on the street for even a couple of weeks. The temptation’s all around and they help you sleep and feel safe.”
The boredom and alienation surely encourage inebriation. Also, the endless queues for charity can dent confidence. They can make destiny feel out of your control and forces a meekness. Some people are proud, leading them to crime for food.
Still, I found it reassuring to know that, should you become homeless, it would not take too long before your life is back on track.
Next month I will explore why some people find it so difficult to get off the streets.
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