Elevator of Doom

[commonpeople1]

Elevator of Doom, a photo by olliefern on Flickr.

I came home yesterday to find a young woman sprawled inside my elevator, trying feebly to stand up. It must have been 6.30pm. She was barefoot and she held a plastic bag with two slippers inside. She stunk of booze and had dried blood on the hand she offered to me when I tried to help.

I called the concierge and the both of us carried her into the foyer and sat her down against the wall. Her left leg was dead - she kept saying it was broken. I asked the concierge if there was anything else I could do and he said it was fine - she was coming from Apt. ** and he knew her.

Other noteworthy moments in my day: going past Mile End Park in the bus and noticing various tents pitched up; and having lunch with millionreasons near my work. I asked if the tents in Mile End Park were to do with Occupy London spreading and she answered that no, it was just the rise of homelessness in the city.

Comments

[zenithed.livejournal.com]

Bloody hell, I hadn't heard about tents going up. Shall have to keep an eye out for it. I can't imagine they'll be allowed to stay up for long.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

There's quite a few of them - at least ten. They'll need a big contingency to kick them out.

[ultraruby.livejournal.com]

Occupy's got a couple of outposts in Tower Hamlets I think; one of them's set up right next to a community centre I went to visit the other day. They've asked the centre for lentils, pasta, materials and all sorts and want to come and cook in their kitchen, and the centre manager (frustrated that she couldn't let them use the facilities, for fear of health and safety worries and accuations of of partisanship etc) was a bit like 'really, shouldn't they be bringing us stuff?' but said she was going to bring them some jam from home. That said though, there have been some people camping out by the canal recently - they moved on a little while ago but until that point I think they were living there, sort of like boatless boat people, sharing their fire and stuff.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

That's really interesting - I didn't realise they were taking over the city! It feels almost... medieval.

[live-life-like.livejournal.com]

dude........ O_o

[leicesterstreet.livejournal.com]

"elevator of doom" - doubt it was the elevators fault, suspect it was the drinking habit that had a hand in her "Broken" leg.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I think there were some dark going ons in that apartment...

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

I believe this is what they call a vibrant and bohemian neighbourhood.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

It was more vibrant and bohemian before the gentrification!

[petercampbell.livejournal.com]

Pitched tents are a little better than sleeping in a doorway, I suppose. The number of homeless people in London is quite frightening though - it was the first real, disturbing thing I noticed about London when I first visited many years ago (the second was a bunch of skinheads beating up some poor Indian bloke on the tube). Living in the sticks has its advantages sometimes.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I've never seen any skinheads going on rampages - I have a feeling they've been pushed out of London somehow.

London is getting so expensive now, it's amazing so many people can still afford to live here. Friends and I were chatting yesterday about how much we have to go without during the month because of these rents that eat into half of our salary.