onionbagblog

Chaning Man (and Woman)

“The signs pool management need to put up in changing rooms usually give you an idea of the kind of thing patrons would be up to, if they could. ‘No spitting, no shaving’ has been my favourite to date.

The worst changing rooms have a very particular smell, similar to the tigers’ enclosure in the zoo after a downpour, a feral urine / wet hay fusion. You can almost see the veruccas lying in wait on the grubby beige tiled floors. I once saw someone blow-drying their feet, but I’m sure readers will have seen weirder.”

@jennylandreth on the woes of swimming pool changing rooms.

Woh.

Where to start?

Thakfully the Rec has long since lost the old school tiles from back in the day.

Urinating in the Tooting Bec showers was a bit of a pisser. But perhaps not quite on par with once finding a freshly delivered turd on one of the benches at the old Clap’ham Manor.

Progress of sorts has been made in SW4 - welcome to the brave new world of the Village [URGH] changing room:

“I just want to get naked in the shower. You can’t have a proper wash if you keep your costume on, or a decent spit and shave.”

Got you by the short and curlies, Madam.

Reverse Housing Ferret

“London is turning inside out. Just as affluent young professionals seem to be staying in the inner-city longer, turning places such as Dalston and Peckham into hipster enclaves, so too are the outer suburbs getting poorer, as people who cannot afford inner-London rents are pushed further out.”

Half-decent gentrifiucation online mapping from The Economist. The inner London red and the suburban blue is not dissimilar to the doughnut voting model that landed us with Boris. But I wonder if the affluent inner London reds (arf!) will vote Tory in 2016?

Quite a contrast to Comrade Wolfie and his:

“Dragging the poor back into the City, whether they like it or not.”

via @Darryl1974.

Post-Punk Perceptions

“A Journey Through London Subculture: 1980s to Now illustrates a perceived thread of creativity between the post-punk era and the present day - a legacy that underpins London’s incredible creative potential in the present.”