CABBIE: Where are you going?
ERIC: Hockley, Hunters Road.
CABBIE: You're not from Birmingham, are you?
ERIC: (laughs) What gave me away?
CABBIE: Where are you from? Are you...Australian?
ERIC: No, I'm from the States. I'm going to grad school here.
CABBIE: Oh. So...why are you going to Hockley?
ERIC: Um...Because that's where my flat is.
CABBIE: Oh...so you live in the ghetto?
Looks like I just earned some more street cred, because I'm living in the ghetto...apparently.
To be honest, I had no idea what that cabbie was talking about. Granted, Hockley isn't the wealthiest neighborhood in Birmingham, but "ghetto" might be taking it a bit too far.
Architecturally speaking, it reminds me of Lawrenceville. Tightly spaced Brownstone-like houses originally designed to accommodate the influx of workers during the Industrial Revolution, Hockley still seems to maintain its working-class roots. The Irish and Eastern European Jews may have been replaced by the Pakistanis and Jamaicans, but nothing is lost in terms of character in this neighborhood.
Young Pakistani women walking around in abbayas, accessorized with Coach handbags. Young men dressed in traditional thawbs, accentuated with Chuck Taylor high tops.The Afro-Caribbean market, right next to the Electronics Store, The Halal Butcher, and the chippy. Old and New Britain, side by side, a dynamic and diverse backdrop for the next year.
The university owns a number of properties in the area and his been renting them out to Acting students for years now. Roughly 20 Acting students living within a 3-block radius of one another, yet another reason why I'm more than comfortable with Hockley being my Home Sweet Home for the next year.
Oh, not to mention two pubs and a Kebab House within walking distance. Yeah, that helps too.
Mmm. I could really go for some Doner kebab right now...I wonder if they're still open...I'll be right back........
Cheerio, n'at.
No comments:
Post a Comment