A few weeks ago, I came across this beautiful vintage classic car with the back-drop of the old buildings of Spitalfields. This is Elder Street, near Folgate Street. It is a stone's throw from Spitalfields Market and a decent pub, the Waterpoet. This was a usual haunt for me and my colleagues when I worked on Brick Lane.
Unfortunately, I understand that this area is marked to be redeveloped with some of the buildings being torn down and replaced. I know that some of this area is a little run-down as it's on the fringe of the city, and some of these warehouses and buildings (especially at the end toward Bishopsgate) look a little run-down, but these are historic and beautiful buildings. Many similar buildings have been phased out recently, and I do not want the same to happen here as this is an identity and a culture of London.
Historically, the buildings in this area were homes and businesses that primarily belonged to the silk weavers. Tearing some of them down and building tall buildings around it would make this place lose its essence. I do hope that the buildings can be preserved and additional buildings be built of the same or similar architectural style. It is a pity to lose more of London's history and essence, and I believe that future generations will look back on and regard as a mistake if this is allowed to happen. Perhaps what needs to be looked at is the housing and building situation, such as allowing houses/flats to be sold to millionaires who do not live there and keep the properties empty, which increases the property values. Not only that, but London has had a major influx of people over the last decade and not much has been done to anticipate or prepare for that.
Apologies for another 'Photo of the Day' blog post two days in a row. Truth be told that I've not had much time recently to dedicate to my blog due to work. Last weekend was a three-day weekend (I worked three days of hours in two weekend days) and I've had to work late nights most of this week, particularly on Tuesday night when a group of us stayed late to work. This month has been particularly busy with work, so my blog has had to suffer for it. I'm hoping that things can quiet down a little bit.
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