Not West Bridgford No. 6 … and “Dream Politicians”

West Bridgford is often thought of as one of the most affluent parts of Nottingham, yet it includes areas hinting at pretty well all socioeconomic levels, and is very mixed, even within individual thoroughfares. This intense sense of variability, from one road to the next, is a factor that enhances the sheer interestingness of this suburb. It is also perhaps reflected in the ironic nickname “bread and lard island”, where the inhabitants wear “fur coats and no knickers”. The demographics include a large student population and many elderly people.

A general tendency – with a great many exceptions – is for the affluence to increase the further south in the district one goes and – as in Hollywood – wealth tends to correlate with altitude. Some of the most wealthy thoroughfares, not just in West Bridgford but in the East Midlands as a whole, are up the hill in the direction of Edwalton (itself very mixed), and include Valley Road and adjacent roads such as Croft Road and a stretch of the main A606 Melton Road. The picture below looks a lot like part of Valley Road, but is in fact Dulwich Wood Avenue, in Dulwich, one of the richest and leafiest suburbs of south London.

 
Somewhere along the wealthiest stretch of Melton Road resides Kenneth Clarke, who has been the Conservative MP for Rushcliffe for longer than anyone can remember. He’s standing for Parliament again in the general election of 7th May, and there will be gasps of surprise if he isn’t returned with his customary huge majority. Which gives me an excuse to plug a performance by one of my favourite bands, the Catford Tendency, and their gently whimsical political song “Dream Politicians” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHv1P1Nu2Cc&feature=youtu.be Click on the above to follow the link to the YouTube video, set to “full screen”, turn up the volume, and enjoy.