I’ve always had a soft spot for 30s suburbia. These two pictures are a place called Twydall, near where my mum lives. I went along there to buy some wool, and I wasn’t disappointed, the area is full of old ladies. Also, the fact that the wool shop is called World of Woolcraft and is run by what could be the brother of the Comic Book Store Guy made me laugh.
John Betjeman did this documentary in the early 70s exploring the suburbs of NW London along the old Metropolitan Railway (now part of the Metropolitan tube line and the Overground). It’s worth a watch just for his voice and way of phrasing things. I also like the bird-watcher straight out of Look Around You and the man with a Wurlitzer organ in his living room.
I’m very familiar with the London areas he shows, and I love archive footage of places I know. I’ve never been to the places further out along the line in Hertfordshire, but I feel like maybe I should, just to see what they’re like. I like poking around unexciting places.