Re-discovering London at night time
Writer Sukhdev Sandhu, author of London Calling, is undertaking an interesting project for his new book. He wants to re-discover the London night.
The point of this “midnight traipse across the metropolis” is partly to protest against the morphing of “the London night” into something called “London nightlife” ruled by real-estate moguls, foreign investors, film directors, etc. But it also partly to restore to the city and to night-time a sense of the street, crime, poetry and grime.
[via Amitava Kumar]
Night Haunts is a project with Artangel, a company “dedicated to making odd, imaginative, impossible projects happen,” Sandhu tells me in an email. He adds:
It’s pretty common these days to hear hipsters and tastemakers bemoaning the death of London. Lusaka is hot, Sao Paolo is rad, but London is meant to be a sterile, gentrified shadow of its old self. Not to the people I meet and talk too though. Sure the city can be pricey, feral and heart-breaking. But it’s also liquid, alive, exhilarating.
The website is basically a year-long journal which will be serialised in the Saturday magazine section of the Daily Telegraph and published in book form at the end of 2006. You can also drop him suggestions for places to see through the site.
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Ive been meaning to do this for years….whoa!
I cant imagine why anyone would say London is dead…its anything but! In fact its the most alive….ALIVEEEEE!!!
Stick a pic up on the post Sunny! I read this on Amitava’s blog yesterday, oddly enough. He has a very distinguished blogroll, Manish of SM informed me.
They should do a version of this about Coventry.
Swindon can be really exhilirating too.
Ahhhaa Swindon the sleepy part of Wiltshire, now that would be interesting.
Perhaps a piece should done about Cornwall (Bude/Torquay) it’s coastline and pasties. ooowwwhhh Farmer macdonald aswell.
Stoke on Trent is really funky and exciting.
what about good old Dudley, instead?
Yeah whatever guys, nothing beats London
Rohin – he does indeed! I saw this when he posted but was waiting for a response back from Sukhdev before writing it. What pic you want me to put on there?
I think its a cool project. check out the website too, I’m on dial-up for now so its annoying but I’m sure something is going on with it….
Very cool looking project indeed and great website.
Though however much we might want to restore a sense of grime, I’m not sure we need to “restore a sense of crime”, do we??