Anyhow, a few days ago, I drove through some parts of London I never quite knew existed. London can be a pretty depressing place sometimes, no thanks to its unpredictable weather and blatant lack of modern architecture (not that I mind but some people find Victorian buildings dull), so you can imagine my state of mind after discovering what I now call the pit of London. For reasons best known to me, I will rather not divulge the exact location of these parts of London but I can tell you it was a depressing experience. Run down buildings and equally tattered residents, abandoned vehicles, unattended dump sites, empty nil-star rated restaurants with clumsy looking sign boards and a handful of druggies, beggars and homeless people roaming about. It had nothing in common with the London I have grown accustomed to. The London I see when I look out my bedroom window. It definitely lacked the presence of tourists, most especially Arabs who now make up a significant portion of London's creme de la creme. Few weeks ago, my sister and I were in Knightsbridge for a bit of shopping and even though all we did was shop, we felt like we had journeyed to the set of Sex and the City 2, even indulging in a bit of car spotting (Rolls-Royce Phantom, Lamborghini Murciélago and Porsche Panamera to name a few). Meanwhile on my drive threw the pit, there was a vivid lack of life, hardly any cars on the road, we even saw one of those retro Volkswagen Beetles, and the local transport was nothing as efficient as that in Central London. Granted, the poor in London are better catered for than in Lagos but relatively speaking, they are not necessarily in a better position if travelling from one post code to another makes you question if you are indeed in the same city. Also unlike Lagos, a vast majority of London's upper class (in financial terms), are foreigners >>>>>> food for thought.
As a trained economist, I am well aware of the existence of income inequality in every nation, measured by something we call the Gini Coefficient. According to http://www.poverty.org.uk/, inner London is deeply divided: it has by far the highest proportion of people on a low income but also the highest proportion of people on a high income. So not only have I witnessed a great divide between the rich and the poor in the UK, by class, education and post code, there exists statistical data to back this fact up.....(just saying!). Still love London though hehehehe xx
