Much-loved charity shop falls victim to Brexit

Farewell, Children of the Mekong on Lavender Hill - one
of the friendliest and most distinctive charity shops in
 the Battersea-Clapham-Stockwell area

Occasional postings on this site rating charity shops in the SW2, 4, 8, 9, 11, 12 (and other) postcodes gave increasingly high praise to the tiny Children of the Mekong shop on Lavender Hill in Battersea.

Run by a charity based in France, this shop was  a treasure-trove for people looking for unusual, good quality clothing, interesting accessories, toys, and obscure CDs, amongst much else. A fair number of the donations were of French origin, perhaps given by the many French families who were resident in the catchment area of the big French/English bi-lingual primary school on Wix's Lane.

The shop has now closed, and will soon be replaced by an "artisan" craft beer shop. According to the shop's manager, the reason for clousre was not Covid-19, but Brexit. 

The shop not only raised funds to improve the living conditiions, health and education of deprived children in south-east Asia; it also offered internships for young people from France and other countries to get some work experience in an English language environment.

Over the seven years of its existence, 97 interns from France and other francophone territories worked in the shop, usually on five-month placements. 

Apart from boosting their language and business skills, these volunteers also gave the shop a great atmosphere - and of course a chance to try out your own shaky French if you had the nerve (they were usually encouraging).

After the covid lockdowns, the shop re-opened briefly this spring - but very soon it had signs up announcing its permanent closure. 

As the manager, Eugenie Munakarmi explained, the reason for this decision was all to do with bureacracy and the costs of obtaining work visas following the UK decision to leave the EU in 2016.

"Despite the challenging year we just had, it is not COVID that forced us to close the shop, but Brexit," she said. "How sad it can be, the new immigration law does not allow European students to carry out unpaid internships in the UK. 

"Our business model won’t sustain without the interns, and this is why we are closing down today."

Little did we know in 2016 just how apt this Edvard Munch
themed poster was. For now is surely the time to scream,
 scream scream!

So it becomes one of hundreds or thousands of small ventures, relying on the EU's rights to freedom of movement around member states, that have had to restrict or abandon their projects - with an immeasurable impact on the education and life chances of  countless people of all ages.

Yes, I was a vehement remainer and still haven't come to terms with what seems like the sheer self-inflicted vandalism of the 2016 referendum vote. So yes, I am biased, and no, I won't get over it. 

And it's not just the fast rising prices of any decent cheese or wine in our supermarkets, but the ghastly new atmosphere of nationalism in the country, and the dulling-down of the variety of day to day social interactions anyone could enjoy in London while it was packed with Europeans from 27 other nations.

So this shop was just another example of how the freedom of movement enriched the lives of so many people in the "UK".

Including mine. I loved this shop so much I could not leave it without at least two or three items. I had to limit my visits. 

I decided to go there  only after having a hair cut over the road at the barber's I  finally chose following the loss of another great European community amenity in this area - Andy's in Landor Road. The Lavender Hill cutting shop, formerly Jazz Barbers and painted a nice shade of orange, was good - and I still use it, even though its name has changed to the corny London Barnet, and its decor has gone a bit blingy.

Meanwhile for the cheerfully diverse communities around Lavender Hill, the opportuntity to bag some great bargains in a strongly French-accented, Vietnamese-flavoured charity shop is to be replaced by yet another opportunity to buy and drink beer - undoubtedly of the rather pricey "artisanal" variety, at least according to to local reports.

Taking a view on redevelopment....Battersea and Nine Elms, 2012 -2017

The first cranes appeared in 2012

There used to be a good view from the back of the small block of flats I live in.  It's in north Clapham, near the Wandsworth Road, and is on the last bit of the higher ground that forms Lavender Hill. So there's nothing but the Battersea marshes and the river between here and central Westminster.

But where once we had views of the old city, now what we see most of are the nasty little boxy blocks and towers scattered along the river, the increasingly baleful evidence of the Battersea - Nine Elms redevelopment. I've watched as the  four chimneys of Battersea Power Station came down, then went back up again. Now the huge building is being engulfed by equally huge blocks going up around it. The old gasholders have gone to be replaced by holders of billionaire owners' tax avoidance schemes.

Battersea Power Station from a fourth floor flat in Clapham: left, on July 6 2012; right, April 2017

Westminster and London Eye from Clapham; left, July 2012, right, April 2017

No point complaining of course...it's not as though we have a protected view. Not that even that status carries much weight in this world of vulture-gangster property developers. Look at the Richmond Park affair.

The funny thing is, I suppose, that all these new buildings are losing value as England commits its xenophobic hari kiri. Perhaps one day soon a penthouse apartment in Nine Elms will be as cheap as it looks.

The stupidity of the EU vote: problem one, how to control the rage?

Been feeling physically sick since about 2.30am today when it became clear the "leave" people were going to win.

The feeling, at 7am, that if I didn't look at the internet or turn on the radio, it might not actually have happened.

The feeling, during the day, cycling around south London, that every sighting of a Union Jack or St George's flag triggered an immediate desire to deface it with red or brown paint. You know, a bit of reciprocal vandalism, a sort of childish urge to hit back at the types who have shat all over our (and our children's) futures.

Sadly, many such flags, sodden with the earlier rain, are flapping around in this very street.

A sort of provocation, a squad of dangling insults, these flags were strung out two weeks ago for some snooty street party, ostensibly to celebrate the queen's birthday, actually to celebrate just how frightfully rich most of the residents here are.

And they left the flags up. Last week they seemed merely pathetic, today they seem insulting, in a borough that voted 80 per cent to stay in the EU, that voted overwhelmingly to support and extend the supra-national European project.

So the sodden flags dangle and flap. At least many of them are pink versions of the flag, LGBT jacks perhaps, nice thought, maybe that's OK. The tolerant UK flag. But maybe not....check out the fake blue plaques on a wall at the southern end of this street, celebrating two earlier street parties to celebrate two other events in the life of the dreary Windsor family.

Please, take down these flags!

It's a time to grieve and mourn the destruction of 40 years of efforts to bring people together, to soften borders, to encourage mobility, to increase understanding.