Dickinson College Humanities Program in Norwich

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Today we visited the neighborhood of Acton about 30 minutes by tube from the Arran House. After two trains, we arrived and asked the station attendant for directions. She helped us out and added, “don’t expect much.” With that, we followed her directions and arrived at the quaint and simple Acton market. The market consisted of no more than two dozen booths selling a range of items: prepared food, produce, crafts, clothing, toys, etc. It was relatively quiet without much traffic and the people were pretty diverse, something we’ve come to expect from London in the past couple of days. The neighborhood seemed as though it served a suburban, mainly residential purpose for people of many ethnic backgrounds and ages. We didn’t really see any conspicuous tourists (other than ourselves) and we almost felt uncomfortable taking pictures of this strikingly normal place. Acton certainly isn’t a destination but it was still a pleasant place to spend an afternoon.

There wasn’t a particularly distinct ethnic feel to the market, an Indian curry seller on one side and a white lady selling apple juice on the other. The shops were likewise varied. Our walk through the market was quick and we continued on to walk explore the neighborhood. The shops and restaurants lining the streets had a similar feel to them. For example, one small restaurant offered both fish and chips and curry. We saw all of the kinds of stores you’d expect in any normal neighborhood but we did notice a number of antique stores and 99p shops. The architecture was mixed with older-style churches and row-houses next to more contemporary and basic buildings. We happened upon the neighborhood library. Upon entering the old stone building, we discovered more shelves of trashy romance novels than we’d ever experienced in a public place. They sported titles such as The Greek Prince’s Virgin Prisoner, The Sheik’s Impatient Virgin, and It Takes Three. Fine literature indeed. We continued on to walk through a really nice, green park and learned about the plight of the English Elm which has tragically fallen victim to the pervasive Dutch Elm Disease.
For lunch, we ate and drank at The Rocket, a restaurant and pub. Our very attractive but insufficiently flirtatious waitress brought us our antipasto meat and cheese plate and we gathered our ales from the bar. We sat outside for over an hour talking about the town but eventually, our conversation shifted to who we are and what we’re interested in. We noticed the European pace of our pub experience and enjoyed very much sitting and relaxing for what seemed like the first time since we arrived. The entire neighborhood had a slower pace to it than we’ve really experienced anywhere else in London. On the outskirts of the big city, things slowed way down and we were happy to experience a much less frenetic atmosphere. We took the opportunity on our return trip to have our first double-decker bus ride. We rode (on the second level, of course) one district over to Hammersmith and then hopped back on the Picadilly line to return to Goodge. Overall, we had a really pleasant day.

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.