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Jenn Garside, my designer, is now working on the final stages of my book. Early discussions about the book’s layout yielded a number of options, and these two pictures show an early concept.
There’s been a little bit of change from this version, but I thought I’d tease you with a glimpse of how my book will look inside. I’m also lining up three printers and I have their quotes so I’ll be able to reveal the book’s price soon. Keep following for up to date news on my progress.
In the meantime, watch out for live streams on my theendoftheline Facebook page where you can join me as I read more extracts from my book.
If you’d like to get in touch, please email me at info@theendoftheline.blog, and for other news about my travel journey’s, follow my social media channels. See you soon…and thank you for continuing to follow me.
Why a yellow lock? It caught my eye as the colour stood out against an otherwise tired and drab lock-up garage on a dull day. I take this photo at the entrance to the garage lock-ups on Rockingham Street.
But as I took it, I wondered if it somehow symbolised my ‘end of the line’ theme, as who knows what’s inside? A lock is definitive in that it states that whatever is inside is at the end of its use: be that daily or permanently. And because of this, I adopted the symbol as my social media avatar for my first two years. Curiously, who would have thought this expression would become a word of the 2020s? Something I had never envisioned when I crafted this title as I first set off on my travels.
Elephant & Castle
This area is known for its social deprivation and regeneration and a place I was somewhat familiar with, having worked in the vicinity some time ago. In preparing for my travels, my visualisation was that of a shopping centre in the middle of a roundabout surrounded by high-rise office blocks and social housing. By and large, this is what I found, but it seems that modern developers have a new vision that is creating some controversy in the 2020s.
Emerging out of the station, I almost stumble into Skipton House, NHS England HQ. I pass London South Bank University around the corner, where there’s an impressive new build with a living wall crafted onto its east face and, across the road, there is the Salvation Army HQ. The area’s historical references to Michael Faraday crop up in several places. The efforts to regenerate the area expose a diverse architectural style, with each architect stamping their mark sympathetically within their surroundings.
‘The Artworks Elephant’, just south of the main centre, is one of many repurposed shipping container complexes popping up over London. It provides a colourful work area for small and diverse food outlets and creative folk working independently. You can see the iconic ‘Razor’ tower block with its three wind turbines visible from afar in the distance. Designed to generate 8% of the building’s energy needs, sadly, they have remained stationary since 2014.
The main shopping centre has become an unloved throw-back of the 1960s. In its heyday, it was praised for being the first covered shopping mall in Europe, but today it has become a reflection of a lack of investment. However, the stall workers in and around the centre have a clear sense of purpose and seem full of life, peddling their wares. However, despite theirs and the centre’s best efforts in brightening up the vicinity, there is a general air of depression and gloom about the place.
The End Of The Line 