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camdensedimenta · 6 years

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Published October 2017 Hampstead Village Voice

Hampstead Housing for Homes by Olga Olyphant

(unabridged version)

How many of Hampstead's multitudinous empty properties could well be requisitioned to provide homes for the traumatised survivors of Grenfell's towering inferno.

Here's one: 4 Frognal Close NW3 6YB (opposite University College School) owned by Greek Cypriot travel entrepreneur, George Michalias. Bought for cash during peak-GFC in March 2009 at a 30% discount to its' asking price, the 5 bed classic Bauhaus, designed by Sigmund Freud’s son Ernst (father to Lucien) once homed a family of 7 for 40 years and was itself requisitioned by HM Govt in 1939 at the outbreak of war to become an air raid look-out. It has lain abandoned and neglected these past 8 and a half years. Such a sorry sight. Even squatters wouldn't touch it.

Back elevation 2014. Ceilings collapsed, floors exploded, walls mouldy.

Front elevation and garden view 2008 when on sale

So many landlords cynically allow their properties to rot so that Councils have no choice but to grant permission for demolition and expansion. To add to the iniquity, Guardian live-ins, where they exist, now must pay the owner and not vice-versa as before. (Even pet-sitters who once could command a wage, are now asked to pay rent to owners while they safeguard a zoo and prevent a break-in.)

Camden Council could lead the way nation wide as they have done with the Chalcot Estate evacuations – current tenant grievances not withstanding. See note below regarding the local Fire Brigade. ++

Very punitive fines for houses left empty for more than a year, i.e. 20% above annual rental value

Damn punitive ones for places descending into structural decay - say 10% market value...why not.

Fully utilising legal recourse (EDMOs - Empty Dwellings Management Order) to requisition long term empty private houses for rent to some of the 20,000 on the Council's waiting list, housing association lists et al.

There's so much scope if only the government wasn't so in thrall to the hyper-rentier class who don't even bother to extract rent anymore because doing nothing pays so well in the long run and they, thanks to Quantitative Easing, asset leverage and low interest rates, via an easy splash of tax evasion, can afford to wait while their capital accumulation skyrockets.

CALL TO ALMS! Why do only Kentish Town, South End Green and West Hampstead get squatted or re-purposed these days. Hurry up Hampstead! There are so many empty places in need of some grass roots activity, 'alt' social spaces, multi-use refugia, pop up galleries, studios...whatever.

++ Rumour has it that Camden Fire Brigade, in a dispute over shuttered stations, refused to honour commitments to council housing emergency evacuations in the wake of the Grenfell Tower inferno. Hence the preemptive move by the Council to force everyone in to the gym nextdoor. Nothing apparently wrong with the cladding at the Chalcots in Swiss Cottage which has proven safe for 11 years unlike Grenfell which combusted within months.

#hampstead #housing crisis #grenfell tower #camden #quantitative easing #uk economy #capitalism in crisis #sigmund freud #ernest freud #lucien freud

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kentishwarmroof43-blog · 4 years

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The Most Common Complaints About Kentish Warmroof, And Why They're Bunk

Are you considering getting a new roof installed on your house? You might be questioning what type of roofing will be most worth the investment of time and cash. You might select to reroof in the exact same product you have now or think about using an alternative material for your shingles. Different materials have advantages and downsides in relation to roof repair and roof installation that ought to be considered. Here are a few kinds of roofing products to think about.

The first are composite or asphalt shingles. These are the most popular, economical and can be found in many various colors and types. Roof repair work when you have composite roofing is simple, as you can just reapply a brand-new shingle here or there where needed. Plus, they normally feature a 20 to 30-year warranty so it will be a while after installation that you will require to fix your roof. Roof installation is rather basic too. A primary disadvantage is that since these shingles are so common, your home's roof will not stand out from others. It is also subject to mildew and moss development over time, and asphalt not an environmentally-friendly product.

The next alternative is wood shingles. These are commonly set up on contemporary cottages, cottages, and ranch-style houses. The natural weathered appearance is an appealing one that numerous individuals seek. Plus, some insulation worth is put on your home with this kind of roofing. Roof repair work with wood shingles is simple, and if appropriately kept, this roof setup ought to last 30 to 50 years. Nevertheless, unless these shingles are appropriately dealt with, they have a bad fire score Solid Conservatory roofs Kent and can require a high level of maintenance due to the weather. Setup typically requires a expert to handle the work.

Tile roofing is a extremely appealing option on Mediterranean, Prairie-style and italian homes. They are non-combustible, which indicates that fires are contained with these sort of shingles. While upkeep of this sort of roofing is simple, roof repair can be costly and difficult because walking on the roof may break tiles and trigger more repair to be done. This exact same level of trickiness calls for a expert roof setup to occur and the installers must understand the fragility of the tiles. There are other roofing options readily available today, but these popular choices supply you with a beginning point for considering what brand-new sort of residential roofing you might want on your home.

Are you thinking about getting a new roof set up on your home? Various products have advantages and drawbacks in relation to roof repair and roof setup that ought to be considered. Roof repair with wood shingles is simple, and if properly maintained, this roof setup must last 30 to 50 years. While upkeep of this kind of roofing is easy, roof repair work can be tricky and costly because strolling on the roof might break tiles and trigger more repair to be done. Arched roof is a stylistic type of roof that can add to the aesthetic appeal of your house, due to its uniquely and delicately slanted curve.

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aisphotostuff · 3 months

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flickr

Winter @ No20 Holly Place Shoreham Kent by Adam Swaine Via Flickr: Holly Place A Grade II Listed Building in Shoreham, Kent

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captainsandclotpoles · 5 years

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My Worst Fear - Chapter 6 - 9th December, 2006.

Read on AO3

A year later, and Jude Law begins to realise that his friendship with Diana will never be an easy one.

Following on from his ‘official’ separation from Sienna last month – they hadn’t actually spoken since she’d left in October the year previous, but his P.R. department thought it best for his image if they appeared to be reconciling their differences as opposed to breaking it off immediately – he realises that in the past year, he’s seen less and less of his Floss-y friend.

She’s blamed it on work. In January had Diana told him she’d got a new directing job in London, a Shakespeare play, and it could be the start of her becoming a household name. The kind of contacts she would meet doing Shakespeare, she insisted, were contacts she could not meet anywhere else.

So, she’s moved to London. Temporarily, but she’s moved all the same. While she’s been away, Jude has moved into her little cottage in Kent to house-sit. Getting away from London for him is a blessing – after the events of the year previous, he’s wanted to be as far away from the spotlight as possible for the foreseeable future. And the people of Diana’s little cul-de-sac are wonderful. Caring, thoughtful old ladies who bake him cookies and invite them to their coffee mornings; just because they like him. Not because he was Jude Law, just because he was Jude. Diana’s friend Jude, and ‘oh, Diana. We love Diana. Don’t you, Jude?’

But Diana has moved to London, and he’s moved away. It’s not an ideal scenario. Jude has just gone through the worst period of his life thus far with Diana by his side – he’s used to her being there. Whenever anything happens to Jude – and granted, not much happens in the Kentish countryside, but – whether it be good or bad, Diana is the first person he reaches out to; the first person he calls, or Skypes. And originally, when she’d just moved, those calls had been regular, and long. Hours upon hours of on-set gossip from her, and book-club gossip from him. (Yes. The sweet little old ladies were doing a book-club, and he’d wanted to say no - he did have some sort of image to maintain - but they were doing Jane Austen, and Jude would be damned if he didn’t admit his whole ‘English gentleman’ branding had come from the very same Mr. Darcy that Diana had compared him to a few years prior…) But eventually, the calls were cut short. She’d say things like ‘Oh, sorry Jude. Andrew wants to go over some extra blocking stuff. I’ll call you back tonight.’, but she never would. Blaming traffic for her late arrival back to her hotel – he still couldn’t believe she was staying in a hotel instead of at his house for free, but she had been right when she’d reminded him that the paparazzi knew where he lived, and it really wasn’t going to look all that great for either of them if the woman hanging around him when he was having his affair had suddenly started to live in his house (“How many affairs is Jude Law having, exactly?!”) – which meant she’d conveniently run out of time to speak to him. And then she’d started rejecting his calls altogether.

He’s managed to tie her down to one set time a week where she can fit him into her busy schedule – he’s tried not to be bitter, really – but their conversation has become cold, and stinted.

Jude, by this point, is panicking.

He can’t bare to think that after everything they’ve gone through, Diana has changed her mind on him. Maybe she’s started to see him for who he really is. Maybe that fun-house mirror version of himself is the reality, and after the whirlwind of it had all died down and they’d spent Christmas together, maybe Diana had taken this new job as an escape. A way to distance herself from Jude, and whatever they’d started to build. It was himwho suggested that he house-sit, after all, not the other way around.

However, Christmas is coming around again, and that means Diana only has two weeks left on the play before the production is over and she can return home, to Kent, where the two of them can spend the festive season together. Last year they had spent it in this very cottage, sipping mulled wine in front of Diana’s open log fire, tartan blankets round their shoulders and Celtic hymns playing on the stereo. It had been a safe haven for Jude after his year of heartbreak and represented so much about where he was in his life now – with Diana, with his wonderful children; surroundedby incredible, loving people – that he’d asked her to make it a yearly tradition: Christmas in Kent. He’d spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with his children, in London, and then on Boxing Day an hour in the car would take him right to Diana’s door; to the cosy cul-de-sac and the tartan blankets.

Providing that was still the plan, of course.

Pouring himself a strong, black coffee, Jude decides that enough is enough. It’s been a long time since he’s cared about anyone as much as he cares about Diana – apart from his children – and he’ll be damned if he’s going to let the two of them do anything as mundane as ‘drift apart’. Jude practically shudders at the phrase. Him and Floss, drifting? Not a chance.

He takes out his phone, hits ‘one’ on his speed dial, and listens to the all-too-familiar incessant ringing.

Then, the voicemail.

‘You’ve reached the voicemail of Diana Frost – Director. Please leave your name and number after the tone. BEEP.’

“Floss, it’s Jude. Hi. Hope you’re okay, just calling for a chat really. I know it’s not our normal time, but…yeah. Call me back.”

‘If you would like to leave this message, please press one. For other options, please press – ‘

Jude hammers the ‘one’ key, before sliding his phone shut.

He’ll try again later.

‘You’ve reached the voicemail of Diana Frost – Director. Please leave your name and number after the tone. BEEP.’

“Floss, it’s Jude. Again. Let me know you’re alright, yeah?”

Jude hits the ‘one’ key without waiting to be told.

‘-leave your name and number after the tone. BEEP.’

“Hi. Look, I’m worried about you. I just want to know you’re alright. Please call me.”

The one key on his phone is starting to look a little worse for wear. He’s about to pour himself a cup of tea – because it truly is the answer to everything – when a sudden wave of inspiration hits.

He runs to the computer in Diana’s living room, typing her website URL into the top bar. Right at the top of the page, there it is: “Taming of the Shrew – Directed by Diana Frost. Dramaturgy by Richard Madson.’

He clicks ‘BUY TICKETS’ and finds that there’s one last ticket quite near the front. It’s an aisle seat. Perfect, he thinks, before securing his purchase and taking out his phone again.

He calls her. The ringing. The voicemail. Then:

“Floss. Listen, there was one ticket left for your last performance, so I’m coming to see it. I…I don’t know exactly what’s happening with you, maybe nothing’s happening at all, but…we should talk about it, anyway. Maybe after the show we can go get some hot chocolate or something; I’ll bring the marshmallows. Anything to feel normal again.” He takes a deep breath, “I hope you’re okay.”

He ends the call, and after printing off his ticket for the play, makes that cup of tea and sticks a DVD on. He gets 5 minutes in before the computer starts ringing – a Skype call. He would have ignored it, had it not been for the personalised ringtone – You’re My Best Friend by Queen.

Diana.

Jude practically leaps across the other armchair in Diana’s living room, and shoves the mouse onto the ‘accept call’ button, battering it before he’s even sat back down at the desk.

“Floss?”

“Shit. Um, Jude! Hi! Um, give me a minute, yeah?”

He sees her for all of three seconds before she’s out of camera shot again, and he can hear her clattering about in the background. From what he can see, she’s in a trailer. His heart warms when he spots a picture of the two of them on a pinboard above the window. It was last Christmas, on his camera. They’d set the timer and shoved Santa hats on, raising their glasses of mulled wine to each other. He’s got an arm round her shoulders, as she smiles at the camera.

He’s smiling at her.

Maybe all is not lost, he thinks.

“Um, Di?”

“Yep, two minutes!”

To anyone else, that reply would have been fine. A bit odd, sure, but not life-altering. To Jude, however, that very response had all the air knocked from his lungs. Her voice sounded wrong. Airy. Skittish.

Scared.

“Floss? Are you okay?”

Silence.

“Diana.”

“Yeah, I’m fine!”

“Come here then.”

“Two minutes, Jude.”

“Di-”

“I said TWO MINUTES, for GOD’S SAKE.”

Now he was really starting to panic. His Diana was calm. Brave. She never swore, never uttered any kind of blasphemy. She was a river – relaxing, yet powerful. This Diana was a mess. Short-tempered. A nervous wreck.

“Diana, come and speak to me.”

Another moment of silence, before she returns, and as Jude finally gets a proper look at her, there are two things he notices.

One: She has a full-face of heavy make-up on.

Two: Her pink hair is gone.

“Floss, what the fuck have you done to your hair?!” Jude exclaims, taking in the short, blonde hair his best friend is now sporting, as opposed to her usual pastel-pink, waist-length, beautiful curls.

“Nice to see you too.” She replies, eyes void of any emotion whatsoever.

“But…but why?!” Jude presses as he’s utterly confused and a tad more upset that he has any right to be, considering they’re not a couple. “You loved the pink.”

“This job has introduced me to a lot of influential people. I’m trying to build a career here, Jude, it’s not professional.”

“Since when have you ever cared about how other people see you?” Jude smirks, trying to lighten her mood.

He fails.

“I called you because you can’t come to the show.” Diana says, while also looking off-camera at whatever appears to be on the other side of her laptop.

“Why not?”

“I’ll give you your money back, just…just don’t come.”

Jude rolls his eyes, “It’s not about the money, Floss. This is your first proper show. A directorial debut! I want to support you.” He pauses, confidence utterly thrown from her lack of engagement. One last try: “You’re my best friend.”

“We don’t even know each other, Jude, not really. There’s so much –”

“What? Where’s that coming from? Look how much you’ve done for me. Let me do the same for you.”

“Look, Jude, I just think it’s best if-”

“I just want to support you.”

“Jude, please –”

Then it clicks.

“You’re ashamed of me.”

The horror that takes over Diana’s face is unlike anything Jude’s ever seen, and he realises then that he’s got it oh so completely wrong, and also broken her heart.

“Jude!” She says, and before he has time to explain himself, she’s crying.

Diana. Crying.

In that instant, Jude is ready to drive straight to London, the paps be damned, and save his best friend from whatever is going on. Because something is going on. He knows it. There is no way all of this is happening organically, because of Diana progressing in her career. He wants to support her. He’s supposed to support her. She’s his best friend.

“Why would you ever think that?” She asks, make-up running down her face. “How could you?”

“Because look at everything that happened last year! I was all over the papers, and you ended up in them too, dragged into my mess because you were associated with me and…in building your career maybe you’re a little more careful about who you’re associated with now. A womanizer for a best friend won’t spread good rumours about you.”

“Rumours be damned.” She spits, and although in that moment – wrong hair and wrong make-up, which is now all over her face in completely the wrong way thanks to her tears, which Jude caused (God, you twat. He thinks) – she’s never looked more unlike herself, with that one sentence the woman he’s proud to know has returned. “You’re my best friend, Jude. Always will be. I chose to get involved last year, because I cared about you, and I’d do it all over again if I had to.”

“That’s more like you.” He smiles, but it’s not until he feels his face going cold that he realises he’s crying too.

Within the next moment, however, she’s changed back again. She’s looking behind her laptop more frequently, out towards what Jude assumes must be a window – judging from the light on her face.

“Floss, what are you looking at?” He finally asks, deciding that if she won’t tell him the full story willingly, he’ll just have to find out himself.

“What? Nothing.” She insists, immediately looking panicked. “Just, um…” Diana picks up her laptop, carrying it around the trailer and moving to a new couch. “Checking the weather. That’s all.” She grabs a nearby tissue from the small table next to her and starts wiping off some of the now-ruined make-up.

And that’s when Jude sees it.

“Oh…my God.”

And she freezes.

She knows by his tone, instantly, that he’s seen it. That he knows. And she doesn’t really know what to do with that information.

“Oh my God, Diana,” Jude begins, his voice low, and slow, like he’s approaching a wounded animal. Which at this point, he honestly believes he is, “I’m coming to London.”

“No!” She practically screams at him, the façade completely falling, and he sees how much of a wreck she truly is. Her eyes wild, she rambles a mile-a-minute, practically begging him not to come. “Please Jude, please. You can’t. Please. Please, don’t come to the show, stay at home, please.”

Home, he thinks. And he would smile, if he wasn’t so scared.

“Diana, there’s no way you expect me to see that,” he points through the computer screen, “and not do something about it!”

“Please, Jude, please, I’m so scared, just stop this, please, please just let me go, I need to go, I have work to do, I –”

“Di –”

“NO, you can’t, just –”

They’re interrupted by a very loud, forceful banging on Diana’s trailer door. Jude sees her head instantly flick up, eyes wild, before looking back at him – eyes red from a fresh set of tears.

But then something happens.

“Diana?” A voice calls from the other side of the door, a little too sweet and a little too coaxing, “Are you in there? Let me in.”

And in that moment, she decides.

“It’s not safe for you.” She whispers to Jude, as she moves to put the laptop back where it first was. But this time, she’s saying it quietly. Calmly. Like she’s giving him permission.

“Where are you?” He asks, equally as quietly. He’ll be damned if she’s ever hurt from anything he says or does.

“They’ve set up a few trailers outside the theatre, round the back by stage door.” She replies, and that’s all she has time to say before the banging gets louder and the voice suddenly reveals its true self.

“DIANA. OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR.”

And then she’s gone, Jude left to stare at nothing but the empty, black screen.

#jude law #jude law x ofc #jude law fanfiction #sherlock #sherlock holmes #john watson #sherlock holmes filmes #crimes of grindlewald #captain marvel #my worst fear #ao3

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