The big one

Yesterday I took a several hour ramble in the city. In the course of my ramble, I spied a promised building with yet-another ridiculous name. The One. It was a tad Top of The Pops. Will there be a Number Two? or The Three? There’s already been a 42. In the photo promising the building there was a massive rooftop swimming pool. It occurred to me that we live on a major fault line (or three) so what precisely will be the outcome should The Big One strike on the residents of The One, who’ve competed so heartily to live there. They’ll have water potentially coming up to greet them from the neighbouring false inlet and down on top of them from the diving board above.

It’s up there with the building that declared itself The Highest Point on Main Street! Main Street not exactly being a mountain.

I carried on wandering, my brain was compressed by the bland shape(lessness) the city is taking. The new buildings are about as distinctive as upright freezer units in food stores. The urban wasteland/industrial playgrounds they have filled had more personality and surprises. I was about to be sunk by how predictable it all is when I crossed the street tempted by the sound of pretty bad drum-kit. Restored! There was some bam, bam, indie-guitar type band practising in a building I couldn’t locate and I remembered ha! yes there are still people bashing drum sets in the midst of this gentlifying–gentrifrying. The black pudding is still on the pan! It reminded me of the Elephant & Castle in the late 80’s/ early 90’s, another place I likely would not recognize these days.

At City Hall the clock face displayed two different times. One side declared it 7.40pm/ the other side declared it 9.40pm. I enjoyed that.

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Yesterday’s weather was sun, with minimal breeze. Take your coat off weather. There was a woman wearing a tank top. This morning began with hard rain, but gave way to dull grey, now there’s a bit of last minute illuminating on the yellowing leaves.