Once when I was younger I had spent the afternoon with a friend and his uncle for the afternoon, we had met initially at said friends house that friend lived in a Mews House property tucked away near Gloucester Road Station. I’d visited a few times and found my friends household respectful and peaceful and I recall their parents making me an ice-cream float which I had not had for a very long time.

Still I had not invited my friend to my home but on that afternoon the plan was to have my friends uncle park in front of my home and then make the suggestion to invite them over next time. Unfortunately their uncle took an odd route to drive me back home and I suggested I get out by the flats nearby. My reasoning was like anyone who lived nearby. I’ll either walk through the flats to get to my house or take the alley by the pub as a shortcut.

However when I got out of the car I said “I’ll walk from here it’s on the other side” but my friend and his uncle instead looked up at the flats then at each other and said “Okay”.

There was this realisation that they believed I lived in the flats it was a very odd feeling but I let it pinpointed it as pity. Which was a shame as I knew many residents in the building from all walks of life even a few friends who would call out from their window since I lived directly across from them and ask if they could come over to play SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) and I would ask if I could come over to theirs to watch a movie, perhaps have tea at theirs and so on.

This is where I primarily lived when I was younger, I lived in other places but this was the hub but this picture is from 2012.

As a corner terrace this was the view from the side and ahead.

Funnily enough at the end of the road a mirrored corner terrace used to have a junkyard you could enter from the side since 1963 until it got sealed up and the house converted. Now my friends uncle dropped us off on the other side as I explained. So let’s take a look at what they would of observed letting me out of the car. Remember all I said was “Let me off here I’ll get to my home quicker”

I can see why they thought perhaps I was telling a little lie.

Of course things change over time.
I no longer have have ownership of that property for example so that story is only specific to a certain time period if you were to observe it.

Those Flats for example are not there anymore they went from a period of standing tall.
to being demolished around 2021. For a brief time below was the view.

This is just a moment I’m talking about in an environment that changed over the course of 2 decades and is still changing.

Where is your home?

Will it still be there when you get back?

Where is home?

Think about this.

Regards,

Alexander / Zenchi