Sunday, 10 February 2008

Windless night helped

The fact that there was next to no wind yesterday made all the difference. It was an oddly gorgeous day and felt more like early summer than late winter. The fire was so big, like a huge pyre had been lit in the centre of Camden market. Even a slight breeze would have meant that the hot debris being thrown up in the air when the fire was at its height would have rained down on more homes and shops in the area.  

Thank you to the men and women who risked their lives to stop this fire. We owe you a lot.

Posted by Benedict Greening at 11:39:40 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Camden Market Fire - Eyewitness account


I could see the glow in the distance from Swiss Cottage. The flames shot up into the air and as I ran down Chalk Farm Road, the road was being showered in sparks and ash. I stood on Hawley Street with other witnesses, held back by Police, my mouth gawping open.

The Camden market fire raged on my doorstep, and the firefighters had tea breaks below by balcony. No one was hurt. But people's homes have been burned and livelihoods shattered. And a piece of history has been lost forever.
  
One man said he thought the Police were worried that the sparks would set off an explosion in the petrol station nearby.

I saw smoke coming out of the Hawley Arms, but those round me said it was simply the heat from the fire nearby that was causing it. Then I saw flames lick up in side and a glow from the shadowed windows. The Police began pushing the crowd back, further and further. The area became off limits. I raced in my doorway and watched as the Hawley Arms became engulfed in fire.

The firefighters battled bravely, taking their hoses as close as possible and dousing the flames at all costs. After five hours of fighting, they have brought the fire under control. Emergency workers were fed and looked after by a Salvation Army van from up the street. The area around my house is still cordoned off to pedestrians.

This has been a devastating night for Camden Town.

Posted by Benedict Greening at 01:50:43 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

Monday, 04 February 2008

Cost of being honest

I know I'm behind the times but this still bugs me. Jacqui Smith admitted that its unsafe to walk the streets of London on your own at night. The media decided it was a huge gaffe. Politicians from both opposition parties jumped on a feeding-frenzyfied bandwagon about how she has admitted failure. No wonder ministers are evasive. Would they rather that Jacqui Smith lied and said everything was fine? 

Jacqui Smith was honest. We should applaud that, and not savage her for having the guts to be candid. We who live here know its still not safe to walk the streets of London on your own late at night. Most of my friends have been mugged. I was randomly attacked late at night as I walked down a quiet street in Haringey. Statistically, crime has fallen in London. What worries me is that these figures are built on a trend of people not reporting  more low-level crimes because they don't feel like the massively-centralised police force will listen or respond. To be clear, that's not the police's fault but the government's.

And it seems to me the government isn't tackling crime in a progressive way. Building "super prisons" won't solve the problem. We have to stop the cycle of reoffending. Education has to be part of the answer. 95% of prisoners need help with basic literacy. Yet these basic skills are needed in 96% of all jobs. So why is it a surprise to us that 71% percent of 18-21 year olds in prison are reconvicted within two years of release? Prison at the moment, as the Liberal Democrats say, is "an endless merry-go-round of crime and punishment"*. We can learn by looking at the Canadian and Dutch examples.

I hope that these comments will provoke a discussion. That's, as I see it, is the prime purpose of blogging. I want people to say why they disagree or agree. Don't be shy.


* Paul Marshall and David Laws (eds.), "The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism", (Profile; 2004), p. 211.
Posted by Benedict Greening at 17:05:35 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |