Lead Review
- Book: Unofficial Britain
- Location: United Kingdom
- Author: Gareth E Rees
A quirky and interesting read that take you across Britain, exploring the urban landscape. “It is in the urban landscape, shaped by the seance half of the twentieth century, that over 80 per cent of us live” – which is a thought provoking opener.
He ponders the nature of the pylon; none of us are very from such almost iconic structures, dotting the landscape in every corner. He mentions the Pylon Man of Wigan, the sad case of a body found hanging from a pylon, a man who to this day remains unidentified. He then moves on to roundabouts, and highlights the shenanigans taking place at the Black Cat Roundabout near Chawston in Bedfordshire, where the image of a cat has attracted pranksters and vandals in equal measure. The steel cat structure erected on the roundabout was stolen multiple times and ended up in Sunderland at one point.
There are ghosts and ghouls aplenty and he goes to Grimsby (which in 2016 was voted the worst place to live in Britain and its High Street the unhealthiest in the country) and stays in the supposedly haunted Yarborough Hotel and ponders the design of Spoon’s carpets (it is owned by the delightful Wetherspoon chain). Demons appear all across the country and he cites the problems the Hodgson family had with their resident ghoul in Enfield. Actual ghost estates are the result of changing industrial landscapes and in South Wales, for example, where mining and steel industries have disappeared, housing estates stand virtually empty and derelict. Imagine looking at ring roads and flyovers afresh and pondering the remnants of the abandoned multi-storeys, municipal buildings and hospitals and the lives lived in their confines.
His explorations are all set in the context of history, and his musings are wonderfully reflective, offering a fresh take on the mundane elements that are just part of everyday life.
Please wait...
