Olympic snapshots: Olympic Stadium Last Wednesday now seems a very long time ago, but July 2012 is considerably more distant. 367 weeks away to be precise, during which period the bland industrial trading estate in this photo will be resurrected as the world's top athletics stadium. Really, precisely, exactly, here. As you can see, there's an awful lot of work to be done first.
Marshgate Lane runs across the very bottom of this photograph. The road up the centre of the photo is a side-turning about the length of a 200m sprint, ending at a metal fence beneath a raised bank of earth a short distance in front of the City Mill River. At the far end on the right is Arnell House, home since 1988 to the Tyrone Group, specialists in the manufacture and distribution of lace and voile window furnishings. Not for much longer though. Look, here are photographs of the happy smiling (pre-Olympic) staff - whose jobs at the company head office are now more than just threatened, they're doomed. I'm sure the LDA will offer the company money to set up elsewhere, but whether that money will be enough to afford a new showroom even vaguely nearby is another matter. The Mercedes after-sales centre nextdoor has got to shift, as has the adjacent Bywaters 'special waste' depot and all the surrounding warehouses too. It can't be too many months before the compulsory purchase orders start rolling in.
But it was business as usual here when I visited last week. I've wandered up thisroad several times before but last Wednesday afternoon was different - this was no longer the site of a potential Olympic Stadium, it was the real thing. You could tell something had changed because there was one neighbourhood feature I'd never seen before - film crews. Up on the Greenway, the great Victorian sewer that crosses the Lower Lea Valley, two feral kids on BMX bikes asked me if I was looking for 'the filmers'. Beyond the bushes I spotted the media pointing a big black camera at the bleakest industrial landscape they could find, while a second group wandered (tripod in hand) towards the doomed businesses below in search of a choice quote for the evening news. In a second sideroad, adjacent to Forman's salmon-coloured fish-smoking plant, I spotted this big skip adrift on the pavement beneath a long grey warehouse wall. The tower of waste piled up inside was prophetically symbolic of the fate of many of those who currently work down Marshgate Lane.
But in seven years time this very spot will be the most famous location on the planet, beamed live into the homes of billions of people around the world. Relay finishes, high jump finals, world record-breaking performances, wheelchair sprints and medal ceremonies - they'll all be happening within a javelin's throw of this skip. A couple of weeks of inspirational athletic performances surrounded by a golden halo of cheering spectators, right here where they currently distribute net curtains. And, somewhere high up in the sky where grey pylons now dominate, the Olympic flame will shine down a message of hope and friendship across a revitalised East London. Standing last Wednesday in the centre ofthe future Olympic arena I struggled in vain to picture the all-transforming reality that 2012 will bring but, at last, I felt as if anything was possible. This trading estate cul-de-sac is no longer a dead end.
Silver discs(July 1980)
A monthly look back at the top singles of 25 years ago
The three best records from the Top 10 (8th July 1980) OliviaNewton-John& Electric Light Orchestra - Xanadu: How do you follow Grease? With a sugary homage to roller disco, of course. Forget leather jackets and rock'n'roll, this film revelled in Kids From Fame chic. Olivia fell from heaven and sang a lot, Gene Kelly twirled his last upon the silver screen, and ELO began their gradual descent from all-conquering art-pop greatness. Some people adore this musical's camp schmaltz charm, but SamuelTaylorColeridge must have been turning in his grave.
"A place where nobody dared to go, the love that we came to know they call it Xanadu. And now open your eyes and see, what we have made is real, we are in Xanadu" Odyssey - Use It Up And Wear It Out: Think disco, and this song will whistle into your subconscious within seconds. An infectious dose of latin rhythm, performed by native New Yorker Tony Reynolds and alliterative sisters Lillian and Louise Lopez. Think funk soul sisters, think wide grins, think big beaded hair (but, whatever you do, don't think about Pat and Mick's 1990 remake).
"We're gonna use it up, wear it out, ain't nothin' left in this whole world I care about. I said one two three shake your body down (shake it on down to me)" Splodgenessabounds - Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet of Crisps Please: The original A-side may have been 'Simon Templar' but nobody cared because the barside rant on the flipside was an aural act of quirky genius. Singer Max Splodge's increasingly drunken frustration at being ignored by a pub landlord struck a chord with an inebriated nation, and the song's title slipped smoothly into the English vernacular. It was especially disappointing, therefore, when the BBC sitcom of the same name abandoned this punk anthem in favour of some anaemic low-alcohol spritzer of a theme tune. Time gentlemen please.
"Two pints of lager and a packet of crisps, please. Two pints of lager and a packet of crisps, please. I'll have two pints of lager and a packet of crisps, please. I'll have some pickled onions and a little bit of cheese please, thank you."
My three favourite records from July 1980 (at the time) KateBush - Babooshka: My cousin was always the devout Bush fan (for all I know he still has a shrine hidden away in his bedroom somewhere), hooked completely and utterly ever since Kate appeared in 1978 with the divinely whirling Wuthering Heights. Me, I saw in Babooshka's lyric the perfect 'Tales of the Unexpected' plotline to use in my O-Level English Language creative writing examination, should the right title come up on the paper. It didn't, so I wrote about being scared of the dark instead, but the song remains a work of soaring greatness (and smashed crockery).
"She wanted to test her husband, she knew exactly what to do. A pseudonym to fool him, she couldn't have made a worse move. She sent him scented letters and he received them with a strange delight, just like his wife." Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Messages: Debut top 40 single from the band with the bizarre but deviously memorable name. McCluskey and Humphreys proved that even the simplest one finger synth ditty could enchant if topped off with deadpan aching vocals, and in this case a bit of wailing thrown in at the end for good measure. A glittering (but acrimonious) career followed, with Andy more recently achieving demigod status as the pop svengali behind Atomic Kitten.
"I'd write and tell you that I've burnt them all, but you never send me your address and I've kept them anyway" Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart: Confession time. I'd like to say I loved this record when it first came out, because it's always better to spot greatness at the time than to miss out and have to catch up later. Alas, this seminal indie masterpiece slipped beneath my radar at the time, not meriting even a 30-second snippet laid down on the cassette tapes I was recording off the radio at the time. Ian, I apologise.
"Why is the bedroom so cold? Turned away on your side, is my timing that flawed?"
20 other hits from 25 years ago: Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime (Korgis), Cupid (Detroit Spinners), A Lover's Holiday (Change), Lip Up Fatty (Bad Manners), Me Myself I (Joan Armatrading), Jump To The Beat (Stacy Lattisaw), My Way Of Thinking (UB40), Midnite Dynamos (Matchbox), Could You Be Loved (Bob Marley), Sanctuary (New Musik), Waterfalls (Paul McCartney), My Girl (Whispers), There There My Dear (Dexy's Midnight Runners), Mariana (Gibson Brothers), Sleepwalk (Ultravox), Emotional Rescue (Rolling Stones), Let's Hang On (Darts), King's Call (Phil Lynott), Whole Lotta Rosie (AC/DC), Wednesday Week (Undertones)...which one would you pick?
London borough quiz
London = consonant vowel consonant consonant vowel consonant
Seven London boroughs follow the same cvccvc pattern - which 7?
And can you identify 18 other boroughs in a similar way?
A) cvccvc B) cvccvc C) cvccvc D) cvccvc E) cvccvc F) cvccvc G) cvccvc
London future: There's somuch to look forward to in London in July.
• Monday 11th July 2005: Open for business - normal life continues. • Tuesday 12th July 2005:Bloc Party(Somerset House, 8pm) The penultimate in the annual series of summer concerts. • until Wednesday 13th July 2005:City of London Arts Festival (but you've missed the concert at the top of the gherkin) • Friday 15th July 2005:Queen(Hyde Park) Supported by Peter Kay and Razorlight, but without Freddie. • Friday 15th July 2005:The First Night ofthe Proms(Albert Hall, 7pm) Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Elgar and Tippett [until 10th Sept] • Saturday 16th July 2005:Rise Festival(Burgess Park, Camberwell, 12 noon) "London's top free music and dance festival, celebrating the capital's diversity and promoting anti-racism in a day-long festival." • Saturday 16th July 2005:Renaissance(Three Mills Green, E3, 9:30pm) "Audiences will be surrounded by towering architectural imagery, choreographed JCBs, aerial performance and pyrotechnics as a city of dreams takes shape around them." [Part of the Greenwich and Docklands Festival] • Sunday 17th July 2005:The Big Day Out(Hackney Town Hall Square, 12 noon) "Hackney Council has let the Spice Festival use the two adjoining squares for an open day of cultural multrilism (sic)." [part of the Spice Festival] • Thursday 21st July 2005:First Ashes test(Lord's) England v Australia - time for a good thrashing • Friday 22nd July 2005:Sprite Urban Games(Clapham Common) "See the world’s best skateboarders, BMXers, Freestyle Motor Cross riders and B-boys." [until Sunday 24th] • Saturday 23rd July 2005:Drako(Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, 9:30pm) "A dragon awakens and sets off on a terrifying journey through the streets of Woolwich accompanied by a foolhardy circus impressario." [Part of the Greenwich and Docklands Festival] • Friday 27th July 2012:The Olympic Games(down the end of my road, 7pm-ish) Open to the world - abnormal life continues.
Victoria Park, E3 lay a towel on the grass shades on, stretch out, relax a low roar on the eastern horizon sunworshippers stir and look upwards procession of planes flying in formation biplanes, Dakotas, Flying Fortresses Lancaster, Hurricane and Spitfire buzzing into the western sky the East End remembers back to the suntan
The London Olympics 2012
Last Wednesday now seems a very long time ago, but July 2012 is considerably more distant. 367 weeks away to be precise, during which period the bland industrial trading estate in this photo will be resurrected as the world's top athletics stadium. Really, precisely, exactly, here. As you can see, there's an awful lot of work to be done first.
But it was business as usual here when I visited last week. I've wandered up this road several times before but last Wednesday afternoon was different - this was no longer the site of a potential Olympic Stadium, it was the real thing. You could tell something had changed because there was one neighbourhood feature I'd never seen before - film crews. Up on the Greenway, the great Victorian sewer that crosses the Lower Lea Valley, two feral kids on BMX bikes asked me if I was looking for 'the filmers'. Beyond the bushes I spotted the media pointing a big black camera at the bleakest industrial landscape they could find, while a second group wandered (tripod in hand) towards the doomed businesses below in search of a choice quote for the evening news. In a second sideroad, adjacent to Forman's salmon-coloured fish-smoking plant, I spotted this big skip adrift on the pavement beneath a long grey warehouse wall. The tower of waste piled up inside was prophetically symbolic of the fate of many of those who currently work down Marshgate Lane.
Silver discs (July 1980)
Olivia Newton-John & Electric Light Orchestra - Xanadu: How do you follow Grease? With a sugary homage to roller disco, of course. Forget leather jackets and rock'n'roll, this film revelled in Kids From Fame chic. Olivia fell from heaven and sang a lot, Gene Kelly twirled his last upon the silver screen, and ELO began their gradual descent from all-conquering art-pop greatness. Some people adore this musical's camp schmaltz charm, but Samuel Taylor Coleridge must have been turning in his grave.
London borough quiz
Victoria Park, E3
Last Wednesday now seems a very long time ago, but July 2012 is considerably more distant. 367 weeks away to be precise, during which period the bland industrial trading estate in this photo will be resurrected as the world's top athletics stadium. Really, precisely, exactly, 
But it was business as usual here when I visited last week. I've wandered up 
Victoria Park, E3