Pootling around over the past year

2013 saw me pootling around all over the place, with trips to the entirety of the Belgian Coast, Strasbourg, Paris, Offenberg and Gengenbach in Germany, Cornwall, Eastbourne, Liverpool, Southport and a host of other similarly glamorous destinations!

When I haven't been out of London scoffing cream teas and trying as many different types of beer as possible I've been working on various bits of research and analysis and like a self-congratulatory newspaper review of the year, here comes some of the posts I've written that I think make for interesting reading.

I think the big thing that came out of Pootling Around this year was my realisation that the Wapping Project had been sold. When I made this chance discovery, I didn't anticipate what was to follow. It started off as an innocuous query of "I'm a neighbour and I  notice from a planning application that the building has sold, can you confirm that the Wapping Project will continue to operate" to the only email address on the Wapping Project's website. Unfortunately whilst the sale had concluded two months earlier the staff hadn't been told and the email address I used had informed 'all' the staff of the closure which I had no reason to think given a) the time that had passed since the sale; b) no announcement had been made in that period and c) the restaurant and gallery were open with a forward programme of events. I had actually assumed it was a sale and leaseback transaction to raise some cash for a project. What did happen was that I unintentionally opened a can of worms which I wish I hadn't.

I was told by Jules Wright that my blog post has been picked up by members of the national press (but didn't report it until a press release a few weeks later) but I got the impression from Dr Wright that the press thought I had some ulterior motive, whereas the mundane reality is I'm actually interested in the built environment and will cross the road to read a planning notice on a lamppost, something that I think is self evident from my blog and I hope most people I know in Wapping would agree.

However, if I caused undue distress I'm genuinely sorry, but anyone walking past the Wapping Project (including staff) could have seen the planning notice had they taken the time. However, in their own way, they had the last laugh. When I went to see Dr Wright to discuss the issue, I walked to the bar in the restaurant and the three members of staff behind the bar (it was empty) at first ignored me and proceeded to make themselves some drinks and when they finally acknowledged me and  I asked where I could find "Dr Wright" they told me to wait in the car park. The reason? They thought I was a taxi driver. After explaining I had an appointment, I then had an uncomfortable five minutes browsing the books as audible sniggering reverberated around the restaurant.

Eventually the news came out and references were made to noise disturbances, so I put in an FOI request to the Council which suggested that the piece on the Guardian website wasn't fully accurate (I actually made the request before the article was published). In turn Vickie at WiW picked up the baton and found more evidence that the journalist had not presented the story fairly. East London Lines did a bit more reporting that didn't make things much clearer. I pushed the journalist on twitter about the role of the Council, but it seems that it was infact limited to one Councillor getting involved, but with the gates now shut, the Wapping Project has ended. Its Flash website taken down, it's now just a memory.

Or it was until my partner had to break the news to someone asking for directions. Alas, we may discover a few people finding themselves on Wapping Wall and turning straight back to the Overground.

When you have a moment, enjoy a video of the first moments of the Wapping Project.

However, I'm far more proud on my research on a robbery at the Prospect of Whitby, a Tobacco theft from the docks and my thematic assessment of 'Nappy Valley'. I hope I've added value to the community and gratefully receive all feedback on the blog.

What's next in 2014

In 2014 we will have a new market to hopefully look forward to and I took a trip across the river to Brockley to see what the organisers operate over there to get an idea for what we might be able to enjoy.

On the Blog I hope to find some time to have a look in some archives subject to the cost of reproducing any materials I find. I have a few ideas at the moment, but are dependent on me getting off my arse.

One interesting project that is just starting to begin is possibly doing something on Elephant Studios which were based in Wapping and a few famous artists recorded there. I've been in touch with the owner and I hope he'll be willing and able to share some memories and information about this long lost studio. (Big thanks to Andy M for giving me impetus to do some digging on this).

Other than that, I just hope to keep on pootling. Happy New Year and thank you for reading and showing support.

And now for some more highlights!

History

• The first post of the year was a cheery review of the number of Executions at Execution Dock. Over the course of a century there was on average fewer than one execution per year, and indeed the 84 hangings actually only occurred in 34 years despite occurring throughout the period 1735-1830.
• A drink in the Prospect of Whitby led to a lesson on historic local government boundaries before subsequently discussing a particularly odd aspect of the boundaries on local administration. The parish of St John Wapping which administered a work house and other civic functions was actually split in two with the parish of St George and then St Peter's sitting between the two parts.
• I typed out the text of an article in The Strand Magazine about a night out with the River Police , and two posts based on a pamphlet I bought online which included a description of the area in 1929 and  a religious retreat at Pierhead.
• Some aerial photos of Wapping showing before and after the impact of the Blitz

Crime

• I continued on a similar theme with a look at crime rates in Wapping and then looked at how Wapping compared to the rest of Tower Hamlets. Over the preceding decade, crime rates had roughly fallen by half with theft (not muggings or burglaries) being the most common crime. Wapping had low rates of crime for robbery and violence against the person.
• I argued against crude reporting of ASB.
• I challenged assertions that Wapping whad the lowest level of crime in London (on the grounds of accuracy). But did note it was not a crime hotspot.
• A simple attempt to establish if Wapping Woods had experienced a disproportionate level of crime.
• I found that the Overground was the safest part of the TfL network.
• An infographic on ambulance callouts

Historical Crime

• Seemingly obsessed I then wrote about an eighteenth century horse thief who stole a horse in the Wapping area and then travelled out to Essex to steal some more. People are idiots. Don't leave your horse unattended!
• A two part post on a robbery at the Prospect of Whity (part 1) (part 2)
• The Wapping Great tobacco robbery

Planning

• Spurred on by Mark (LoveWapping) and Vickie (WiW). I persevered to create a handy tool to extract planning applications just for Wapping.
• I made some comments on a plan to convert King Henry's Wharf etc on Wapping High Street that were submitted to LBTH. I then wrote to the Council.
• I looked at historic population trends
• I dug out an article on an historic plan to redevelop the London Docks
• My views on King Edward Memorial Park in the context of the words of George V
• I broke the news that Tesco was coming to St Kats. I also wrote a letter of concern about some of the signage.
• I found out that the Ticket Office at Whitechapel was going to be removed. I the did some analysis of the designs of the new Whitechapel Station and why removing the ticket office didn't add up. However, all irrelevant given TfL's announcement.
• A summary of the initial planning application for the London Docks development.
• Concerns over covering the Old Rose in advertising.

Nappy Valley

• Fresh from a meeting, I started to look into the phenomenon of the missing children of Wapping.Suspicions were confirmed - there are very few kids in Wapping.
• I then identified other areas with similar patterns of a number of toddlers and few older children.
• Next I looked at whether there was an issue of primary school places in Wapping and found local schools varied in extra capacity.
• I then discovered that whilst two-thirds of adults in LBTH state English is their first language, but 78 per cent of children speak another language as their first language. This pattern was even more striking in Wapping. I also looked at relative levels of attainment at different schools.
• I eventually confirmed that the age distribution of people of all white ethnic groups combined was massively different to that of the ethnic Bangladeshi population. I returned to this and found the Bangladeshi population was different to a number of different ethnic groups including other Asian ethnic groups, in that families have children and appear to stay in the area with their children.
• I finally found evidence that there was a net movement of children out of the area, which was particularly acute upto the age of 5.
• I did a survey of a few local parents and residents and found out some of the concerns parents have.

Other local issues

• With the denizens of Wapping forced to the streets to clear snow because the council couldn't coordinate gritting, I wondered what the cost to the Council would be if it actually bothered to grit the streets. I found that it would cost the council £50 to grit all of the main roads in Wapping.
• I looked at the Government's measure of well-being for London, Tower Hamlets and Wapping. Life in Tower Hamlets is a bit rubbish, but hey, Wapping is better than most of Tower Hamlets!
• House price affordability - Tower Hamlets is a *relatively* affordable place to buy a house.
• Rent increases after reading a regurgitated piece of analysis in the local paper.
• I began looking into statistics on Fire Brigade response times. I also looked at the impact of Bow fire station closing (see a bit of info on methodology). I also mapped which 100m squares were responsible for a particularly large number of callouts
• The range of erotic literature available online from LBTH libraries.
• I asked the council about scrapping railings and dustbins.
• Shoreditch High Street costing lots of users of the Overground money.
• A disappointing new restaurant.
• An interview with a photographer creating a website celebrating the dark, uncovered corners of Wapping.
• A look at the spare room subsidy
• I mapped the average number of people living in each property for every postcode in Tower Hamlets. I then looked at the nature of the housing stock in the area by number of bedrooms and found Wapping is dominated by one and two bedroom flats.
• Mapping where people in Wapping ride Boris Bikes to
• I questioned why there were so few female civil partnerships ceremonies in LBTH

Pretty pictures and local walks

• Some long exposures (ooh er!) and others of St Paul's and other photos around Shadwell Basin
• A walk to Westferry in photos
• A walk from Maritime Greenwich to Surrey Quays and some incredibly bad signage. I returned to the Surrey Docks and compared it to Wapping and then pootled around Rotherhithe
• Wildlife in my garden, Watney the Squirrel, Jamrach the Jay, Graham Norton the Tit
• A walk to work
• Cygnets and the Wapping Bloggers
• Swifts on Hermitage Basin
• Photos and music by me of a local pootle
• A visit to Hampstead Heath
• A schlep to Shadwell/a walk to Watney Market to see the new library
• A trip to Hard Rock Calling at the Olympic Park
• Abraham Lincoln comes to Wapping
• My award winning graffiti tours of Wapping which even made it into the Guardian.
• Damsel and possibly dragonflies in Wapping
• A walk down a completely empty 'The Highway'
• Pirates and rain
• The Around the World Race
• Wine tasting at Victualler
• A trip up One Canada Square
• A trip to Another Place, by Anthony Gormley
• A trip to Leeds
• A trip to Wapping, Liverpool
• A trip to a bird reserve
• A guide to a Sikh wedding in photos

Odds and sods

• My views on beer in Wapping
• A review of coffee in Wapping
• OMD's music video in Tobacco Dock
• The Specials' video in Wapping
• Morrissey in Wapping
• MIKA and ITV Advert in Wapping
• Infographic on David Bowie
• A trip to Eastbourne
• How many rock bands of the 1960s & 1970s are  connected
• Yeah, I can do DIY
• Looking at trends in Boris Bike usage
• Random things people ask in FOI requests

• Strasbourg Cathedral
• Alsatian cuisine
• Travelling by train to Strasbourg
• Spying on Rory Kinnear
• A taxonomy of pies
• Taking the Manneken Pis
• The Atlantikwall, outside of Ostend
• The Atomium
• My first foray into blog poetry