The tube slowed down and came to
a stop: North Greenwich. I stepped off the train, through the double layers of
glass. Going up the escalators and into the entrance hall, I found that the
earlier rain had cleared away to make way for a crisp and bright afternoon, so
I decided against getting a bus and walked instead, along the river to the east
side, which I guessed would be very different to the last time I was here- it
seemed so long ago now. Signs pointed me towards the O2 centre entrance. It had
only just opened when I left Greenwich, after years of being an empty Dome. I
found my way around the side of it, bright white against a blue sky scattered
with clouds, and past a car park, before I arrived at the water’s edge. The
reeds blew in the wind, making a soothing sound, as I looked out at the boats
and beyond them to the other side of the Thames, where I could just glimpse the
top of the Excel centre.
Just then I thought I heard
someone call my name. Turning around I was sure I had seen a glimpse of a
movement at the end of the pathway, but even when I shouted “Hello?” there was
no more sign of anything happening, not a soul in sight anywhere, so I
continued on my way.
“What’s going on?” asked a sign
on the hoarding next to me. I could have asked myself the same question, I
thought to myself, but when I got closer I found that it referred to an
information panel describing the building on the other side. I continued a
little further, until I could see the Thames Barrier in front of me,
dramatically sitting across the width of the river, and beyond that the Tate
& Lyle factory. Another new addition: the Ecology Park. The afternoon was
so pleasant I nearly took a detour into it but I knew I had to be somewhere
soon so I took a right turn down John Harrison Way, past the colourful blocks
of the Millennium Village. The sun lit up the reds, blues and oranges and
people strolled across the open square through the trees; I could hardly
believe it was October.
I passed the curved wooden
structure of the Millennium Primary School just as the children were leaving
for the afternoon, and stopped at the crossing with a cluster of other people.
A woman with three small girls was crossing at the same time; one of them kept
pressing the button but it was still a few minutes before the lights changed.
There wasn’t much traffic around but I didn’t want to set a bad example so I
waited for the green man to appear. As I glanced around I saw a discarded teddy
bear in the cycle path; I hoped that whoever had lost it would find it again
next time they passed by.
I passed underneath the road,
each car making a BANG-BANG noise as it went over the flyover above my head.
The landscape on the other side of the road became very different, not so many
of the shiny new buildings here, and a lot more residential. It all must have
seemed new once though, I thought as I headed towards Blackwall Lane.
Going past the top of Tunnel
Avenue I saw the old sign for the BURNER Radio Electric FACTORS. I continued
south, past Rothbury Hall and some more industrial buildings on the right,
blocks of flats on the left.
I finally reached the end of
Blackwall Lane, with the Greenwich Town Social Club proudly boasting its name
twice in red lettering. I glanced into the window of the charity shop on the
corner; perhaps I would need to go in there later to get a change of clothes,
all I had was contained in the small hold-all that I had over my shoulder.
As I turned left to go down
Trafalgar Road, I stepped on a discarded copy of Greenwich Time. I picked it up and flicked through it as I waited
for the lights to change. I still don’t know what made me look at the small ads
page, but as my eyes skimmed over it, I read the words that made me stop in my
tracks.
