Harringay online

Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Yesterday, I had the misfortune to find myself in the shopping mall. Walking out the big automatic doors and into the crowd of Star Wars pub extras who were smoking, spitting and squabbling on the footpath I witnessed what for me sums up the whole carbuncle on the arse of Haringey that is Wood Green High Road. One of the characters stormed through the crowd with his status dog in tow. I was reflecting on the fact that ‘status’ dogs don't seem to work (as the people who have them only ever seem to be what everyone else in society would consider low status). Everything suddenly went quiet except the ever present sirens. The status dog had stopped and released its copious bowels all over the footpath. It was like turning on the light in an HMO; the cockroaches screamed and scattered. The dog owner laughed and walked on. It was probably one of the most disgusting things I have seen or smelt in London. Eventually the crowd returned and watched the next horde trample the mess up and down the road. There was no-one to turn to, no-one to clean up and more importantly no-one with the authority to challenge and/or shoot the dog owner. Things just returned to normal.

The whole experience made me think how the council, local police and traders believe that we're all animals if they are happy for us to have to deal with this every time we go to the High Road. It's easy enough for me to hop on a bus and head off to Crouch End or Islington or even Enfield to shop but if you're older or disabled and have trouble getting around or not enough money for the bus it must be pretty grim to face it every day. Imagine how the standard little old lady dreads heading out into the crowds, litter, phlegm, smoke and anti-social behaviour of Wood Green every morning to get the milk.

Short of manning water cannons at each end of the High Road and employing some mercenaries with batons to control the crowds, I don’t know what can be done. Are there any clever ‘nudges’ or interventions that could improve Wood Green? Is it a matter of tarting the place up and hoping that the crowds respect their new surroundings? Is it signage to remind, and in many instances educate, people that spitting, littering and barging into other people is just not the done thing? Or do we just give up, bulldoze the lot and install a waterhole in the middle and let the law of the jungle and the status dog owners prevail?

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It's only so parochial during an election and actually I think it's kept to a minimum.

OK thanks John - fancy that beer soon? Will tweet you :)

Wood green and turn pike lane were identified as the best buys on the picadilly line by the standards picadilly line special yesterday. It also said that the picadilly line will be getting a load of big new air con driverless trains by 2020 which will increase capacity by 60%. They also said the line was the best one for tourists as it gets to more of the the best bits of London than any other line, which come to think of it, they are probably right and given that Hampton court and Wimbledon will be easy access via ally pally one day, the area is going to be pretty great location to explore London from ...

Made me laugh looking at this 7 years on! The piccadilly line trains are now only due in 2025! The area is still a dump

Haha. No idea how this got a bump 4 years on but some of the comments ring painfully true.

Ha. Saw this again. Still the same. Even in lockdown.

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