Dickinson College Humanities Program in Norwich

For our Tube exercise, we travelled to Walthamstow. It is relatively far east (think Salaam Brick Lane east).

We started our journey at the Goodge Station and took the Northern Line north to the Warren Street station where we changed lines and rode the Victoria Line all the way east to the Walthamstow Central Station.

On the Tube, as in Watching the English, most people just kept to themselves. A few people were conversing loudly, but this was not the norm. Most people were travelling by themselves and avoided eye contact.

We noticed that the number of people on the line thinned out as the train travelled east. This seemed to be a reflection upon the geographic location of the stop and its relation to the socioeconomic standing of that area of London.

The obvious reason that people would travel to this stop is its proximity to nearby train and bus stations as well as open-air markets and shopping centers.

The area surrounding the station seemed to be primarily Afro-Caribbean and Middle Eastern. Many of the shops were targeted towards- and in fact, labelled for- these ethnicities.

Interactions between people on the street and in the mall were very lively and fast-paced. We observed (and heard) a vendor singing to advertise his goods and his patrons joined in. The fruits and banners in the market were brightly colored and visually stimulating, adding to the vibrancy and vividness of the scene.

Although there were no traditional monuments or plaques in the area, we came upon a library that was an interesting blend of modern and 18th – early 19th century design.

The architectural grandeur and elegance of its exterior served as a sort of centerpiece for the neighborhood.

In order to get back to Arran House, we took the Victoria Line from Walthamstow Central Station to the Finsbury Park Station. We then switched to the Picadilly Line and followed it to Holburn Station. From there we braved the rain and made our way (slowly) back to the hotel.

While on the underground on the way home, we had a fairly similar experience to that of the original trip. It was relatively uncrowded- we were able to sit all the way back- and people did not interact. A pair of men who had been talking loudly in the station continued their conversation on the train, much to the annoyance of a young mother sitting near them. She did not chastise them for their behavior but instead quietly looked away and rolled her eyes. This simple interaction seemed to us to be quintessentially British, at least based on Kate Fox’s observations.