Most of you will have noticed a particular abuse of English over the last few years the inclusion by the property industry of the words “Village” randomly after place names. I.e Marylebone Village, Blackheath Village. It’s a way of making part of an exclusive area that bit better by attaching the supposed charms of village life to a formally urban location.It presumably stems from Dulwich village etc which does have the air of a Village, a posh one mind with crap shops and snooty pubs.
And that’s the problem villages are only attractive to those who have never live there. Your typical village will have a grocers come post office that sells little more than atora suet, split peas and old copies of woman’s own. The pub if it’s got one will be full of small minded regulars or have a stroppy landlord. There’s no where to walk and precious else do.
The other side of village life people eulogise is the supposed friendliness of them. That’s if you are white and local that is. Since when has everyone knowing your business being a good thing, you only have to turn to popular culture to see that from everything from the Salem witch trials to midsomer murders that small village life leads to deadly consequences.
So when estate agents call a place posh place “something village” presumably they are targeting the narrow minded nosey bigoted suet buying murderer market and good luck to them.
What brought this all to mind is I often eat my lunch opposite the Molinare film and TV facilities village. In other words a TV studio where they make Jamie Oliver programmes etc. In this case village in the title may be accurate because media types will have more than their usual share of back bating gossips, misanthropes, they ruin the local pubs oh and I bet the shops crap too.
5 comments:
Good points, and true.
But (being a terrible pedant) I must point out that Blackheath Village has been called that, to differentiate it from the rest of the surrounding area, or Greater Blackheath, for donkeys.
All your allegations about "village" life do apply to the Village (as it's known to the locals) though.
Do you mean calling most of what's left of Deptford they haven't renamed "west greenwich" "BlackHeath approaches"! One day Blackheath Dulwichand Clapham will join up across south london if estate agents have their way .Much like in North London where north Archway is "Highgate slopes"
"One day Blackheath Dulwichand Clapham will join up across south london if estate agents have their way"
Also so true.
I am dead curious to see what will happen when they finally knock down the Ferrier.
East Blackheath?
More like Smackheath...
oh very good, I like "smack heath" alot. I think blackheath will stretch to whatever is nice as you got into Kent and move southwards towards brighton, maybe ven annexe the bit of Woolwich that's north of the river! good to have you along to the old blog
Nice to be here.
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