Richard Hawley

Hello good people.

It has been a while.
Hope life is treating you well and if not that you are braving it with courage, a certain smile and humour, as much as possible.
came across this article today : https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/world/europe/london-inequality-grenfell-tower-fire.html
and subsequently posted this, to give my 2 quids.

Having lived and loved, laughed and cried, hoped and despaired, failed ans succeeded and so on, on both sides of the spectrum, the gutter and the stars, south and north for 15 years within the RBKC may not entitled me to have an opinion or say on this
."Having said that", this piece from the NYT brings up a few fair points and released a mountain of memories (being very familiar with pretty much every topics and places mentionned).
Do read it.
I lived alone in a three story mansion and stayed in swanky hotels, shared a room with 12 smelly and snoring geezers in a sordid derelict hostel, drank in weird working men's clubs towards golborne and spent many nights and breakfasts at the Chelsea Arts Club, did my running along the canal from Trelick's or in Chelsea streets onto Albert's bridge, battersea park and back, etc...i could go on for hours and days.
i am permanently ever so greaftul towards those there, old and young who openned their hearts and homes to the lofty frog.
I will cherish and love RBKC and its people for ever..
Gentrification has always existed around the world and i was, in some ways part of it, working in a "trendy hotel" converted from a homeless people shelter there, right after this bloody NH movie.
Inequalities is, i guess what makes the world go round.
But Grenfel is on a completely different level
My thoughts are with the men, women and kids who perished in horrible circumstances and their families.
Whether this was due to money mispent on dodgy dealings or those in charge ignoring whistle blowing for decades,the men and women responsible for this absolute human tragedy should be hanged on the Marble Arch, just to get the balance a tad more right.
Happy Carnival everybody.