The morning started unusually quiet. The moon was bright and full, which made me wonder why Stonehenge was opened for the Summer Solstice last Friday when it should have been last night. Anyway, strange things happen in London when the moon is full.
The first strange site was the traffic lights from the A40 until Euston station – all green! Gary was in an excellent mood all morning, even when he was verbally abused by an irate woman driving a van who wanted to cross our path after she had driven in the wrong lane around Westminster.
As we drove through an open, workman free Blackwall Tunnel a sign flashed a warning that the A205 at A207 was closed. We had no idea where this was and we live near to here. It turned out to be in Shooters Hill. Cones strewn across the road and an absent diversion sign gave no indication of what had happened before or around 3am. Gary did a detour through Woolwich and we came back the usual route to find police cars blocking the road at Shooters Hill police Station. A policeman asked us to turn around and said there had been a serious accident. The road was still closed at 7am. Only after arriving home and reading the teletext on TV did we know the horrific truth. A woman pedestrian, aged 29, was killed after a police car had raced out of the station on route to an emergency call. The policemen in question have been sent home on holiday leave while an inquiry is underway. I can’t help wondering if she is tall black and might have just stepped out from the darkness, in which case it might not have been their fault.
Where are the police when a drug deal is going down? This is not the first occasion we have seen a deal in broad daylight at Euston Station. This time a young white girl sold a packet to two black men.
Another cow is now in the gardens next to the Embankment Station. This one is painted like a red double-decker bus.
‘Fox watch.’
A young fox ran frantic across a busy Petrol Station forecourt at 3am in the Docklands. It was hungry enough to risk its life to chew a piece of paper from a sweet wrapper. The only time it stood still was after finding the wrapper in the shadow. After this Gary said I should have used the flash. If I had it would have scared the fox and I have lost some good photographs in the past after forgetting the flash was on. I ended up with something that resembled two spotlights (its eyes) and nothing behind them when I should have got a vixen and her two cubs.
I finally got a picture of a fox in the light though - and this is how it turned out. I now give up trying to photograph a fox at night, especially if they are running!
‘Prozzy watch.’
On the first trip at 2.20am there was one prostitute at Euston. Two at King’s Cross, with four pimps close by and four in Shoreditch. The second trip at 6am in daylight revealed three at King’s Cross and two at Shoreditch. We had to stop at King’s Cross and I locked the doors. While there a car driven by a black man pulled up and another black man with dread locks got out and escorted a white girl aged around 16 years into the side entrance of the station. It would be great to think these pimps were actually keen to protect the girls from harm by watching them from a distance but it is more likely that they are protecting their investment. I sat with the doors locked and a few young men, all black, glared at me as if expecting the driver to be shocked when he comes back. Tomorrow I will wear a sign saying ‘Wife of driver - not for hire, rent or sale.’
After a while another car pulled up containing two black men who I assume were lost tourists and not threatening in any way that I could see. One got out and approached a white wealthy middle-aged businessman and he jumped in horror at being stopped. I don’t know what was said but he glared at me then ran backwards with a scared look on his face shaking his head. I can only assume I am not the only one who gets shivers up my spine in this area.
Tuesday 25th June
When we arrived at the kitchen there were two boxes of sandwiches out with the rubbish. I took the sandwiches out of the packets of one box and scattered the contents around the grass for foxes or birds to eat. No doubt I could be accused of encouraging vermin to a food place but then I don’t actually work for the company and would have done it if I had just walked passed them. I don’t agree with other acceptable practise that I have seen such as coughing in the fridge or spitting on the floor, all of which are worse when it comes to hygiene. When Gary worked for this company ten years ago there was much more waste with too many sandwiches made and goods with only 24 hours to go before the expiry date thrown in the bin. Gary offered to take the food to the Salvation Army or any organisation that helped the homeless to have a meal every day. He was told that the law says they must be thrown away and are no longer for human consumption even if the sell-by date is the same as the day it is consumed. That is right for sandwiches that might be kept in shops. They would not accept food with such a short expiry date. Surely there should also be a law to prevent food being wasted in kitchens all over the world in rich cities while people starve too.
Speaking of waste, outside Liverpool Street Station the cleaners threw bundles of newspapers into the back of a rubbish cart along with handfuls of calling cards for prostitutes from telephone boxes. This is not recycled as far as I know, unless someone is willing to sort it from other rubbish swept from the street and from bins that were also tipped into the cart.
There were a few armed police around Liverpool Street and Westminster this morning. Reports on TV yesterday stated that there will be a crack down on the use of cocaine and drug related crime but this couldn’t be the reason they were here. We have only seen armed police when a big occasion is expected such as the golden jubilee celebrations or a royal wedding.
Gary got a swipe card from the security man at King’s Cross Station this morning so that he could deliver at the back of the shop. He cannot leave the order outside and delivering the order long before the shop opens means that other orders are not late. It is also much nicer around the back away from the intimidating glares of pimps and prostitutes at the front.
In Victoria Station people were inside on comfortable seats. I wondered why during the first week of summer they are now allowed in and yet all through the cold winter and spring they had to sit outside on the cold concrete.
I try not to tell you too much about Gary and his strange behaviour because I don’t want to be flooded with email from well-meaning psychiatrists. All I ask is this; is it normal behaviour to suddenly start pushing the dashboard, doors or interior of the van to stop a rattling noise? I can’t hear anything until Gary acts in a similar way to someone swatting flies. His face cringes and I can’t help but laugh, which often makes him angrier if he can’t find the irritation and stop it. Do other drivers have a problem with rattling cars or am I the only one just not bothered by it?
‘Fox watch.’
There were lots of foxes around Shooters Hill and the Docklands this morning. Some of the less frightened are the younger foxes. They tend to wait by the roadside watching traffic and run as soon as we slow down to get a picture of them. It is daylight quite early and I could get the perfect picture if only they would stay still!
‘Prozzy watch.’
Now that we have seen the prostitutes and pimps at work in the daylight I notice more and more around London. One girl walked through Shaftesbury Avenue, two at Euston and one at Whitechapel. King’s Cross had three girls walking around it and six pimps watching from across the road at 3am. By 5am there were another three girls and up to six more pimps waiting across the road. There must have been at least another three girls somewhere and it might be easier to count the pimps to get a more realistic overview of the area. Pimps sometimes talk to each other but most stand on their own at corners opposite the girls.
The girls in Shoreditch were absent but when they are there they don’t all have men watching. Although I have seen young teenage white boys on push bikes riding around and occasionally stopping to talk to them. They ride off when a man approaches or a car pulls alongside the girls. The King’s Cross girls are mostly white aged between underage and forty, all with black pimps aged between twenty and twenty-five that look Caribbean or West Indian. All the pimps I have seen in this area escort the girls with one arm around the smiling girls shoulders as if they are partners until they reach their area of work and then they separate as if they don’t know each other. As an observer looking on it appears to me that the girls are all quite happy with their work even when out of the sight from would-be punters.
Wednesday 25th June
Where we saw the burning lorry a few weeks ago there are now two smashed up vans. This area near the Old Kent road seems to be the place to get rid of old vehicles.
The sunrise over the Thames gave the river a golden glow at 5am. This picture is facing the newly built footbridge, The Hungerford Bridge, next to Charring Cross Station.
Meanwhile the waning moon shone from the other side of Trafalgar Square.
Next to King’s Cross Station is St. Pancreas Station, a lovely building when you can see passed the roadworks that has surrounded it and King’s Cross for what seems like years. Behind the front wall the road has been dug out and instead of rising with the wall is nearly the same level as the main road.
‘Fox watch.’
Lots of young foxes around Shooters Hill Road, plus one dead fox cub, and a couple of large adult foxes. There were three in the docklands and one crossing a side road off Commercial Road in Shoreditch. The older are wiser and stay off the main roads but can be seen in back roads and side streets if you look for them. Young ones are more adventurous and tend to run across the road and when a car comes along they don’t carry on running; they run back and end up under the wheels. I can now see how a young fox can easily be hit but I still think they would have a better chance if drivers did not behave as if empty roads were racetracks.
‘Prozzy watch.’
There were two rough thin-faced bony girls at King’s Cross this morning and seven pimps across the road. In Shoreditch we saw six girls, three pimps and two young white boys wearing baseball caps that we have seen before now walking in this area. I’m not sure if there is a certain uniform that the boys might wear so they can define the roles of these people but it does look like it.
In Shaftesbury Avenue there were two prostitutes, two pimps, two policemen and a strange woman with half her head tattooed among them. One of the prostitutes carried a blanket and a plastic bag with some things in as if she had slept out all night. I think some girls without pimps might not be as looked after as those that do. Having said that my friend was beaten and hospitalised before going out on her own. She said that the money was all hers and she didn’t need anyone by that time. She was grateful he had found her and gave her food and a place to sleep in the first instance though. A very strange philosophy by any standard!
Thursday 27th June
I was freezing this morning. The coldest time of day is just before sunrise but a cold breeze meant I put my fingerless gloves on for the first time in a couple of weeks. Gary still calls me a reptile and moaned he was too hot. He was only wearing a T-shirt and other drivers wore the same and shorts. Even the Prostitutes had winter coats on in the early hours this morning.
The girl killed at shooters Hill is still not identified and no description has been given. I telephoned the help line for this enquiry yesterday and got the answer machine. I left my name and said that if she was very tall and black then I can give her first name but no one has bothered to call me back. There are three bunches of flowers and one wreath tied to the spot where she was killed outside Shooters Hill Road police station just after 1am on Monday morning of this week. Two experienced drivers drove the police car that hit her from the Eltham police branch that was answering a call to a burglary in Woolwich. I am not sure why the Eltham police responded instead of Woolwich or Shooters Hill police, perhaps if the Woolwich police went instead the 29 year-old woman would be alive today.
On the way home we spotted a black and white cow on the roof of the old firestation in The Old Kent Road.
My camera caught a Van driver, as he turned left into Old Broad Street, which has a no left turning sign.
At Finsbury Circus, near Liverpool Street, an unusual statue of an upside-down horse stands inside a building. This picture is a bit blurred because I was hanging off the railing outside trying to get the head in while taking the picture with one hand from higher up at 5am.
This chained up bike outside Liverpool Street Station made me laugh. It must have belonged to a very tall person with very long arms or a thief couldn’t quite get the saddle all the way off!
The London Eye looked good with the morning sun shining through. We were just in the right place at the right time.
‘Fox watch.’
We only saw one large adult fox crossing the road in the Limehouse area of East London. Urban foxes can be as big as a small Alsatian and they are much thinner than country foxes.
‘Prozzy watch.’
The first lady of the night was at High Holborn, then one at Euston, four at King’s Cross, one in Commercial Road and four in Shoreditch. One of the girls in Shoreditch stood with her pimp watching a young white man walking along the road. If there had been suggestions of the wrong kind then I think he was making sure she was okay and waited in case the man came back. Pimps are never far away and seem to be quite protective in a strange sort of way.
I am yet to discover why young white men wearing baseball caps are in these areas. If they are also pimps then they are not as protective or as obvious as the young black men.
Friday 28th June
I am thinking of changing the name of Lynda’s London to Psycho City today. First a driver drove a car the wrong way in St. Georges Street, which ever way he came in there was a sign saying one way only. Then a cyclist was merrily peddling his pushbike over the A40 flyover. Shortly after we saw two cars at a junction that had smashed into each other and then we reached the calmness of Park royal. The van was loaded and we left the other driver coughing and spluttering germs over the pre-packed sandwiches in the fridge. On the way to our first stop at Mile End we passed the accident in Marylebone Road and another similar about three junctions down from there. If that wasn’t enough for one night, we then saw two youths and a slumped man outside the British Library also in Marylebone Road. At first it looked as thought the white youth and his black friend was trying to get him up. The pair then suddenly walked very quickly away and I was sure the slumped man had been robbed. I wrote down everything I saw including descriptions of clothing, age and actions and we tried to stop a police car further down in City Road. The young police driver ignored Gary leaning out of the window frantically waving at him and then we left it because he was going in the direction of the said mugging. My mobile phone was at home with a flat battery and Gary didn’t have any credit to telephone police so we carried on with the journey.
Next we were driving behind yet another cyclist with a death wish. This one was a woman with no lights on her bike but looking pretty with a flower in her hair and best frock on. And it was still only 3am in the morning and very dark!
An hour later when Gary delivered to Euston Station the man that we thought was robbed was slumped in the same position against the wall inside the station, either high on drugs or very drunk. Perhaps chancers passing by could have taken advantage of his pathetic condition, or they were friends behaving badly and leaving him alone. He had no signs of bruising or that he had been hit only an hour before.
On approaching Leamouth Roundabout a very wide load on a lorry was being escorted by police. The psycho driving a ranch rover (yes I have his registration in my note book) was erratically zigzagging behind the police car trying to get passed. When he decided to be in the left lane Gary levelled to his right and he wound his window down screaming profanities and abuse at him. Gary stayed calm and just looked at him wondering why he needed both lanes and why the police at the front had not stopped. At the next set of lights the wide load turned left and carried on through the Limehouse Link Tunnel and the ranch rover psycho must have suddenly realised that Gary might have been a bigger lunatic than him, after all most drivers of large vehicles have a tool in case of breakdown to use on a potential psycho. He then went straight through the next three sets of lights and sped through Blackwall Tunnel. We didn’t have a delivery through there today so we just drove off in the other direction wondering why these people are out at night.
At Victoria a man stood staring while the man in the shop put his cakes into order at the counter. At Liverpool Street another man paraded up and down laughing and talking to himself. He approached a taxi driver who promptly drove off and then another who gave him a cigarette and then drove further down the street. My door stayed firmly locked and so was Gary’s side each time he got out.
By the time we got to Trafalgar Square the sun was barely shining over the low brick wall of the Embankment along the Thames. After seeing a young man wearing his very dark sunglasses in the twilight zone of the rising sun I was in hysterical laughter.
Gary says the air pressure is low and it might cause peoples brains to constrict. I noticed the tide was unusually high and in my profession water represents emotions, therefore, low pressure and rising tides could mean it is a day to stay at home in future if either or both of our observations is right. Email me if you have met psychos today. I really am interested in the psychology of our theories.
At King’s Cross Gary went to put the order in the shop while I stayed in the locked van. He came back a few minutes later scratching his arms and said a large cockroach was in the middle of the floor on its back with legs kicking in the air. He hates bugs and creepy crawlies of any kind and he couldn’t bring himself to pick it up and bring it out to show me. He tried to flip it back over so it could run away but it wouldn’t go. We will never eat out in London again!
A complete London cow location list is now available from
‘Fox watch.’
No foxes out tonight.
‘Prozzy watch.’
There were five at King’s Cross and two in Shoreditch, one in Whitechapel and a few pimps wandering around. One girl stood in Marylebone Road opposite Euston Station with her back turned from her pimp who was happily urinating up the wall in full view of busy traffic in the 5am daylight.
More photographs are at the 'Best of Lynda’s London Photograph' section.
Next update Monday
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© Lynda Archard
