Dear LPG,

Thank you for the interesting birds eye view of life as an older person that your paper offers. Your Christmas video this year got me thinking somewhat.  It was interesting to see another view of some of the Lewisham sights, although it put me in nostalgic mood.

I wonder if I am the only Lewisham pensioner who, when walking was allowed, walked the streets of the borough remembering buildings that, I so took it for granted, would far outlive me when they were being constructed.   I still think of some as being fairly modern, even though they have, according to the Borough Council, now outlived their usefulness and long since been replaced.

I found the following webpage recently which again brought the whole issue back to mind.  I couldn’t help but find it ironic that the page is still accessible online, because the building that replaced the one featured on the web page has been a Lewisham high street landmark for some five years, and I have always had a bit of a problem with the newer building.

I am sure my view is not shared by everyone, but as I travel down Ladywell Road on my way to the Lewisham shops, I now see a building that is most striking because of the clash of colours that hits my eyes. I have to say that I also find that its present purpose-built replacement at the other end of the high street displays a similar colour scheme and provokes a hauntingly similar visual reaction when I see it.

But finding the webpage brought back all the memories of the Turkish baths, swimming classes, gym sessions and aerobic classes I attended there. 

I think that this thought attests to the fact that 2020, and the restrictions that it forced upon us, has given me, and I suspect many other older people will agree that we have all had too much time to think.  Perhaps my thought today will resonate with many people who have not been able to take a regular journey past such landmarks and consequently remember them as they were, but the whole issue reminds me of just how replaceable we all are. 

Perhaps it is time for me to at least take a more detailed virtual tour of today’s Lewisham reality…

LB, New Cross

LB, shares the web page that provoked her thoughts today…

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