Lapsing Into Oblivion

The darkness does not lift but becomes yet heavier as I think how little we can hold in mind…

Regents Canal, Lisson Grove, Westminster, NW8

…how everything is constantly lapsing into oblivion with every extinguished life, how the world is, as it were, draining itself…

Leake Street, Waterloo, Lambeth, SE1

…in that the history of countless places and objects which themselves have no power or memory is never heard, never described or passed on.

Abney Park Cemetery, Stoke Newington, Hackney, N16

From WG Sebald’s Austerlitz (2001)

Topolski Century

She was comfortable knowing her neighbours’ flaws. Or what she perceived to be flaws. The ugly faces, the strange voices and the unexplained limps had been with her for a long, long time.

Topolski Century, Concert Hall Approach, Lambeth, SE1

In fact, a lifetime of exposure to these odd people had not dulled her curiosity. Guesswork based on watching and crucifying had brought these characters to life. The thought often passed through her mind that she could spend all day people-watching. She had time to watch and time to label, blame and dismiss.

Topolski Century, Concert Hall Approach, Lambeth, SE1

And plenty of it. Time.

Leake Street

He returned to the car, which was as he left it. Not stripped of its valuables or burnt into wreckage. He felt quietly nonplussed about the experience. This neutral feeling gave way to disappointment. Not even a grafitti-ed profanity. 

Leake Street, Lambeth, SE1

 All the doors were covered in graffiti. The playground with the swings and roundabout too. The bins, the garages and the shops. The cats, the dogs, the…

Leake Street, Lambeth, SE1

 How disappointing, he thought. I’m just being stupid now.