Up in Heaven (part two)
This will flow better if you read part one first….but as I mentioned my role as an anti Poll Tax activist involved heading into the tower blocks on the South Acton Estate. It’s best I provide some more background, although my Grandparents and Dad were from North London and I had constant exposure to their part of town (leafy pleasant Southgate and Oakwood) I grew up in the calm of the countryside. My exposure to urban grime was limited to seeing Arsenal play in Millwall, West Ham and some of the less pleasant parts of Manchester and Liverpool.
Running with a football crowd when you number in the hundreds wasn’t the
same as going door to door alone in a London Tower block. I did my first stint at the weekend, it was winter so I thought if I have to do this at least let it be light out. I seem to remember I had to get 600 doors knocked on and/or leaflets dropped off by the end of the week. Barwick House (pictured to the right) was my mission. As soon as I headed into the estate I realized the few cars about were that much older and the shops were either shuttered or graffiti had taken hold. Barwick House like most of the estate was built in the 60′s and sold as the future of urban community. 25 years later that promised future looked to be a lie.
My most vivid memory was the gratuitous use of concrete, it was as if the GLC had a contract that paid by the tonne of concrete wasted. Concrete walkways leading to concrete squares surrounded by concrete walls. In the pits of these buildings you’d see broken TVs, bags of rubbish and overflowing bins and skips (dumpsters). The nerves left me as I remembered this was all about stopping Thatcher and her foul Poll Tax and how it made the poor (of whom I’d soon make acquaintance) even worse off. Bright orange doors (probably originally back in 1965) were now the colour of mud stained rust on the lifts. A small green call button and to my shock I heard the lift shaft rumble as it sent the box down to get me.
Doors open and out stumble two savoury looking lads who probably just
South Acton Estate
dropped off a deal, into the lift and the smell of piss was overwhelming. I wished the lift was broken but I think this was a 14 storey tower. Up to the top and you exit into an outdoor exposed corridor covered with chicken wire as a fence (to stop people chucking stuff I imagine). The view South Towards Chiswick and the River was good but I had doors to knock on. I won’t regale you with all the details but I think I finished 5 floors of the building that day and each floor had about 16-18 flats built like a bee hive. Narrow units which extended the width of the tower with windows at the rear. Many of the doors had padlocks as well as traditional, newspaper covered a lot of windows and tension loomed as people asked who was knocking.
I was invited into a lot of homes, smoky musty homes, a 3 bar fire burning and a black and white set on in the corner. Formica counters and a stench of staleness. I was amazed at how many of the flats had elderly people in them. They hated being cooped up but feared to open the windows. Perhaps 75% of the people who came to the door were pensioners, in addition to the few single mums and some truly dodgy geysers. No one liked where they lived, no one felt safe, no one felt the police cared and no one saw an escape. Some of the older people had moved here when the estate was first built and were amazed at the futuristic living, they never got out, the future arrived and was laced with gloom. People had no money, and while they were against the Poll Tax the consensus was ‘I have no money, what can they do’. I still encouraged people to come to our next meeting and implored that a majority can’t be ignored.
I remember wondering where the people my age were? I remember wondering what it must be like to grow up somewhere where hope is in short supply and the bustle of Harrods, the Royal Albert Hall and the Tate gallery must seem to be in a far off land although it was only 5 miles to the East.
I had to go back to the estate 4 more nights that week, and on the last night I took the lift to the top of Harlech Tower the tallest on the estate. It was freezing cold but I looked to the East, beyond the fuzzy orange streetlight glow were the nearby towers at Shepherds Bush and further to the North East the towers along the Westway where Mick Jones grew up. I thought of the boredom and desperation of youth in these buildings and it made me wonder if it ever ended.
When I was looking at photos for this story I saw some recent pictures of South Acton, it looks like they’ve retrofitted the building exteriors with a cream coloured shell to make it look modern. I wonder if the lifts smell less like piss? I wonder if the hopelessness doesn’t run as deep? I wonder if the next Clash are learning guitar chords in one of those boxes.
Tim
addendum: The London Borough of Ealing are actually tearing down the vast majority of the estate and rebuilding new homes, the optimist in me feels that is great news and yet I ask is the cycle just being repeated? Time will tell.
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What an amazing, humbling, and eye-opening experience this must have been. I do hope the cause had success. Thanks for the great piece. The details and imagery were perfect.
Thanks for both posts Cathey. I’m glad you liked that piece….as for the cause…the Poll Tax protest got hijacked by wrong people…that’s another story I’ll save for another time.
Glad you are enjoying the blog.
Tim, once again this is great investigative reporting. Up in Heaven has always been high on my list of Clash Faves, and I’ve actually thinking alot about it lately. Funny. Anyway, thanks for the new insight into the story behind.
By the way, Mick’s Rock and Roll Library exhibit July 18th to August 25th is taking place beneath the Westway, which is perfect indeed. Tim, I hope you’ll go for those of us who can’t make it and get lots of photos and observations for us. Pat Gilbert (I believe) called the Westway a symbol of Clashness and it’s definitely got a mystique, especially to Americans like myself who’ve never seen it. Cheers.
Joannie – Thanks for dropping by and glad you are enjoying the Blog. The picture – not a Clash member, just a photo that reminded me of old school uniforms. Although I’m from England I’m now in the States so don’t think I can make the Mick exhibit…I’m counting on someone on here to do the business! The Westway is truly a symbolic (albeit ugly) thing in all things Clash – When I moved to LondonI purposely made sure I lived right by it so any excuse to zip along it and look at the tower blocks. Building a motorway over the top of towns was a new concept in England (although mastered here) and as you drove along you were always aware of the pubs, schools and homes in the shadow of the road. This image does a better job than my rambling
Hope you come back to the site.
Tim
Hi, Tim — thank you ever so much for that wonderful photo! In all these years of Clashophilia, I have never seen a decent shot of the Westway! Thank you! I have been having such a great time looking at all the new additions since my last visit on July 4th. This is a superb site, and I am sure that you will have loads of visitors in no time. I am also “mommymommy” on the CSi forum page; I had mentioned to you that I’d love to contribute when and if you need. I’ve been a Clash fan since they hit thescene (I was 13) and have been loving them more and more with each passing year. A Bond’s veteran, I also saw them at Asbury Park, Pier 84 in NYC and Shea Stadium. I noticed that quite a few of your photos that scroll across the top are from Asbury Park. Just wondering if you were there too, or do you know someone who took those photos? The one with Mick Joe and Paul on the Boardwalk with the Convention hall in the background is stunning. Since I ended up seeing Carbon/Silicon play in Asbury Park last year, and believe it or not walked that very same spot with Mick and the CSi band, that photo has very special meaning for me. It was a dream come true to actually say to Mick “I saw you there, it was the show where Joe got hit with a cherry bomb” and Mick had totally forgotten where that happened and was so excited he started yelling to the other guys in CSi “Hey guys when we played here this is where Joe got hit with the cherry bomb!” Lots more fun tales to share with you; I actually have a very very special project in mind that I’d like to coordinate with you, and when it’s complete maybe have it be part of Mick’s RnR Library. Can you contact me through my email (I’m guessing you have access to that through this comment?), when you have time and we’ll “chat.” Too bad you aren’t on the East Coast, we could have such fun trolling all the old NY Clash haunts. Which reminds me, I took my 13 year-old daughter to the Today Show concert in Rockerfeller Plaza yesterday (All American Rejects), and we walked around Broadway afterward. Passed what is now known as Bond 45 a restaurant in the former Bond’s Casino space. Same neon sign outside, it was a real thrill to point it out to my daughter who dutifully captured it on her new cell phone. The site of my first Clash concert…a momentous occasion, and any chance to recollect upon it is fine with me! Made me think too, that I was my daughter’s age when I first turned on to the Clash through the “Things from England” program on WNEW-FM radio. And we keep the flame going by listening to the radio exclusively in the evenings here (no TV in my house), and last night we plugged in a cassette recording of Joe’s London Calling radio show and I gave my daughter a quick rundown of Joe’s life and how he ended up with the program. Anyway, that was a bit more than I had planned on saying…blah, blah, blah…this site inspires me. That is a HUGE compliment to you. I was also wondering, how do I get to be a “compadre”? I’m still having a bit of trouble navigating the site. Looking forward to many happy shared Clash moments with you and all the Clashheads out there. Luv from Jersey xxx
Joanie,
Wow - thanks for all of your compliments, memories and feedback. It’s great to hear that the blog is filling some voids out there for Clash fans – and I’m totally committed to the project so long as time and funds carry me through.
I’m most excited to welcome ‘guest’ features and articles it livens it up from my same old rambles, I’ll contact you via email tomorrow and you can tell me your plans and I can explain the site navigation a bit more. Do you twitter?
Tim
Yes Tim, I Twitter! I’m Clashophile. Ask to follow me! What’s your Twitter name? xxx
theclashblog….thought I’d keep it simple
T