#havering

ANARCHO KNITWEAR CREEPS ITS WAY INTO THE UK POST-PUNK SCENE -- PURE '80s STYLE.

PIC(S) INFO: Mega spotlight on "near mythical" and previously unseen live shots of Havering, UK, DIY post punks WHAT IS OIL, reportedly sharing the stage with Southend’s STRIPEY ZEBRAS at Hornchurch, UK, c. 1981. 📸: @garyget.

My home town…

Another trip through the archives yielded these shots of Romford, my home town for better or for worse. As I didn't exactly have the happiest of upbringings, it's a place I have mixed feelings about. It's only now, after I've re-located to the other side of the country, that I can start to deal with my memories of the place. Maybe at some point, I'd be happy to go back for a visit but, that won't be for a while yet…

There's a musical connection with the electronic band Underworld being formed in Romford - Underworld Born Slippy Live in Berlin (Electronic Beats TV)

Upminster Tithe Barn

Though it was once part of Essex, Upminster has been in the Greater London area since 1965. Whilst the Upminster Tithe Barn dates from long before though… shhh it still counts!

The Tithe Barn was built around 1450 on the estate of the Abbey of Waltham. A tithe is a form of tribute given to the land owners, consisting of one tenth of an income, usually paid in crops, livestock, wood, etc. – though there is no record of the barn ever being used to store collected tithes! With the dissolution the monasteries the estate passed to Thomas Cromwell in 1540, then following his execution passed through a series of owners until coming into the hands of the Branfil family, who owned it up until the early 20th Century. The barn itself then passed through the ownership of several companies before coming into the possession of Hornchurch Urban District Council and then the Borough of Havering.

A fire in 1973 seriously damaged the thatched roof, leading to an extensive restoration which was completed in 1976. Though there were plans to use the barn as an events venue, or even a fancy spa, it was decided to use it to house an agricultural museum. Over the years the collection expanded to include many domestic items and pieces of historical interest from the local area – giving the barn its current designation as the Museum of Nostalgia.

One I ran across on Twitter, and clicked through out of curiosity since that just didn’t sound right.

How did they get that number in the headline?

Thirty eight volunteers targeted hotspots around the borough such as the town centre, railway stations and the local hospital on Thursday night (December 29) and encountered just two rough sleepers…

“However, this was just one night and the council know of at least 12 people sleeping rough.“

I can well imagine that not everyone in that situation would want to deal with the council, or these volunteers going around getting nosy. I doubt I would gladly talk to them. Twelve still sounds very low for the whole borough, and I have personally repeatedly seen more than two street homeless people hanging around just Romford Station most nights. Doesn’t sound like they were even looking that hard.

Also from the same person quoted there, Councillor Joshua Chapman, cabinet member for housing:

“It’s also important to note that not everyone chooses to accept the help or accommodation offered by the council.

“We have actively sought out rough sleepers to make them aware that help is available but unfortunately in some instances they have turned down offers of support.”

I was trying to find an old post discussing exactly that in more detail. But, if people would rather sleep on the street (in this climate, no less) than make use of whatever help/support you’re offering? Maybe you should listen to what will actually serve their needs, instead of getting snotty about it.

See also: The majority of homeless people in London are foreign nationals (Most of those are Eastern European, followed by people from elsewhere in the EU)

Homelessness charity helped deport rough sleepers

EU rough sleepers win damages for illegal deportations

They’ve supposedly had to stop doing that to EU-connected immigrants, but would I trust the local council or charity groups given the political climate these days? Hmm.

Anyway, I wasn’t that surprised at the overall slant of the piece, because politics.

What did surprise me some, though?

Investigation work carried out by the Recorder revealed that at least three homeless people have died in the borough in the last year, however no records of their deaths have been kept, and data released by charity Shelter shows that an additional 490 people are now homeless in Havering since the November 2017 figure of 1,956.

Of the 2,446 currently homeless, research shows 22 are rough sleepers and the remaining 2,424 are living in temporary accommodation.

This means one in 105 people are now homeless in Havering, up from one in 129 last year.

(So, now we’re up to 22 official rough sleepers instead of 12? 🤔)

Again, I would be surprised if that weren’t a low estimate. Those figures do include people living in temporary accommodations, couch surfing, etc. But still, somewhere around 1% of people living in this borough are now homeless.

(And this still isn’t as high as some others. One neighboring borough was in the top 10 as of last year, and I really doubt this has improved any more than it has here.)