Not West Bridgford No. 7

It was gratifying last week to see that fabled supergroup The Catford Tendency’s video of “Dream Politicians” had received approximately 200 views on YouTube in the four days between release and the start of polling. After which, as expected, it stalled and stiffed. Huge thanks to all those who privately offered kind comments on the song and the video; positive feedback is always so encouraging and rewarding, and your support is greatly appreciated.

Meanwhile, West Bridgford looks much the same after the election. Ken Clarke is still the MP, albeit with his habitual majority eaten into by UKIP, a party that for some reason appears to do well in seaside resorts. West Bridgford, being slap bang in the middle of the country could not be less like a seaside resort, although in its quintessentially suburban nature it shares much stylistically with the likes of Durrington-on-Sea in West Sussex, Frinton in Essex, and Ansdell in Lancashire. A little to the north of Ansdell, bordering Blackpool, is St. Anne’s, conventionally coupled with Lytham.

The photo shows a typical thoroughfare in St. Anne’s, just off the seafront on a summer’s evening, and the scene reminded me - overall, though not in detail - of the area around Cyril Road in West Bridgford, the subject of a painting, shown below, that I perpetrated last year called “Brownes’ and Bellamys’”, named (with conceited allusion to Andrew Wyeth) after former residents.

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.