[ pix available at http://www.dgen.net/gallerys/dmz_gallery/]
"I started by cycling to Canary Wharf.
My first report described the Legoland sterility of the place, it was
like a ghost town. I found this neat little street (picture no 7702) where
there are some older houses overshadowed by the new developments, a stark
contrast to the “New Providence” buildings directly behind
them.
At “New Providence Wharf Development” (7704), I stopped and
took a photo of the new building. Within five minutes a security guard
came out and asked why I was taking photos, and told me that they do not
allow photos to be taken. I asked why and he did not have a good reason,
“they just don’t allow it”, so I replied that since
I was on a public highway, he had no jurisdiction over me. I happened
to be on the phone to Mux and was relaying some of the conversation to
him, and holding the Tryptichon /GPS device as if it were a measuring
device, all of which contributed to making him feel nervous, and eventually
he left.
I then deliberately went up to all the CCTV cameras (7706) I could see
and took a photos from directly underneath. Within about a minute, the
manager was out asking what I was doing. I continued to use the TRyPTiCHON/GPS
device as if it were a measuring device, which really unnerved him as
he kept trying to see what was on the screen. I explained that I didn’t
understand why I could not take photos. He said that they did not want
the tabloids taking photos, but that if I wasn’t taking commercial
pix, then it was ok. I confirmed to him that they were “non-commercial”
and he went away (Gavin O’Malley, Estate Manager, New Providence
Wharf Development, 1 Fairmont Avenue. London E14 9PA). There was also
a radar unit right outside the building (7708/7709).
I proceeded south east toward Greenwich, reporting on the significant
contrast in architecture, but similar desolation in terms of people. Travelling
through the Greenwich tunnel (7716) I was able to confirm that it is a
completely radio-quiet zone as far as mobile transmission is concerned
– signal was lost very rapidly in the lift as it descended and I
later reported that the location would be of use should anonymity be required
(though you would be seen entering and leaving!).
It was amazing how much more life there was in Greenwich (7717): bustling,
happy people. I did a loop around Deckspace (7718) and then headed back
via the South side of the river, stopping to take a rather wishful-thinking
photo on the way (7719). Later, there was a chance encounter with a beautiful
sailing ship passing in front of Canary Wharf – and further along,
I was held up at Tower Bridge as it opened to let the ship through.
It took far longer to traverse the South side of the river because of
the newly developed “expensive” housing. Whereas I’d
previously had an uninterrupted journey along the river bank, now I would
be coasting along only to find that the path suddenly stopped and I had
to double back on myself to find an alternate route. This became very
annoying and happened about 8 times – exclusive property developments
barring any transit along the riverfront.
I arrived back at DMZ around 6pm, having cycled for about 4 hours. Est.
distance travelled: 30–40 miles including all the looping around.
The technology was extremely unreliable and I had to restart the communication
between GPS device and the PDA about 20 times. On three occasions the
phone completely froze and had to be hard-reset. "
agent
Gav |