NEF

My last day in London and a meeting with a hero of mine (if an organisation can be a hero) and a close call with a cyclist which turned into a visit with a housing commissions tenancy support worker.

Spent the time with NEF considering how we work up alternative narratives to the mainstream conversation about our current situation without just spending the time re-butting those myths.  Myths such as "unemployed people are lazy", "Australia has an immediate and terminal debt crisis fueled by welfare payments" were amazingly similar in both our working lives.  Something to take hope from that we are working together in the same area but at the same time makes you wonder why we can't all be a little more generous to each other, and how on earth the economic myth as the world order took such a tight hold when most people don't understand economics anyway (and I include myself in that).

Leaving NEF and I got "run over" by a cyclist who hadn't seen the red pedestrian crossing light.  He was incredibly apologetic and wouldn't take "no worries" as a simultaneous message of forgiveness and dismissal.  As we got talking I found our he was a tenancy support worker on his way to a nearby housing estate for his weekly "clinic".  I went along and learnt about some of the concerns and joys of the local tenants.  Also some of the successes of the tenancy enforcement team (hopefully a photo of their successes is posted).  The actions of this team seemed somewhat harsh and celebrating the eviction of tenants as a success seemed poor form.  However the residents told me of how safe they felt now, how they were able to step out after 7pm and how this hadn't been possible for the eight years or so their previous Neighbour had run his drugs business from his flat.

As I leave London for the northern city of York I would like to thank all the people that gave so freely of their time to me this week.