As I woke up this morning to the news that the Cutty Sark,a mere 150 meters from my humble abode,had burnt down,I grabbed my new digital camera(I think that I'm Peter fucking Parker these days) and ran off down Creek Road to investigate.I'd became a little suspicious that something was going on as the amount of helicopter activity over our flat, from the Worlds' media, was huge…..worse than London Marathon day..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
The oak soaked in seawater, for the last 150 years, that a lot of the ship was cladded with,(steel frame)smelt like the best bacon sarnie ever,as I got closer……
I thought….."Greenwich will never be the same again"
My fears were alleviated as I got close….yes the Tea Clipper had been raised to the ground but the nearby shop,"Pets in the City" which sells top end accessories for dogs(small beds,settees.diamond encrusted collars,designer clothes,gourmet snacks,silver bowls etc. et fucking cetera)had been spared by the flames.I don't know how I could have gone on losing that place or one of the 3 shit Mexican restaurants on the one way system,especially now that the Tartan Cupboard(shop selling Scottish accessories)has closed…..
As expected,the Police had thoroughly "torn the arse"out of the event,and had set up all kinds of roadblocks,moving people along and generally restricting movement,hours after the fire had been put out.I managed to cut through the Market and with my camera infront of me,pretended that I knew where I was going(in a Peter Parker- like manner) and came out in front of the Naval college gates,where a fat copper eyed me up very suspiciously.
Local Jazz man and architect,Joe Serovic,who lives adjacent to the Cutty Sark was giving out an interview to one of the many TV reporters that were millimg around,trying to extract the last few drops from the story…..I couldn't make out too much of what he was saying but I think that it was something along the lines of,"Greenwich will never be the same again."
The Firemen were loving it,stood around in full uniform checking out and being checked out by all of the local secretarial girls going to work,drinking their 15th Red Bull of the morning……
Even as far as the Dole office,some 250 yards from the dormant fire,the Polive were still out there,directing traffic away,moving people along.
As I got round the corner near my studio,Local character,Toby Moy,was bitterly weeping,"G..G…Greenwich will….n …n …never be the s…s…same again.He owns the Junk Shop around the corner from the studio,and had decked out the exterior with a picture of the Cutty Sark,a copy of it's flag and a random variety of random nauticalia……..
Local Harmonica supremo Alan Richardson(born and bred in the Borough)and perfomer on many of the records by local singer songwriters Bill Clift(born in Kent,but key player in Greenwichs' music scene for at least the last 20 years),Joe Wilkes(Coventry born,but recent key player),and Dave Sutherland(born and bred locally) looked visibly distressed when I bumped into him some 3 hours after the flames had been doused.
Greenwich will never be the same again………
They were in the process of renovating the Cutty Sark,putting a stylish cutting edge glass tent around the sides of it; then installing a stylish cool expensive top end restaurant for loaded stylish wankers to dine in,just as the trees that were starting to successfully hide the housing estate next to it,were coming to fruition......as you can imagine,I'm gutted.