Brixton

A Venezuelan friend told me that when I went to Brixton I had to visit the shop 'next to the famous pizzeria' to buy a special flour so I could make a Venezuelan and Columbian speciality, Arepas. Willing to try any food at least once, I agreed. I was also amused at the vagueness of her directions.

The only pizzeria I could find was Franco Manca in the market, and sure enough there was a shop next door. I am now the proud owner of a large bag of harina pan, and will be attempting Arepas in the near future.

I was pretty blown away by the size of the market. Well, really the fact that there were so many butchers. I would say there were at least 40, if not more, and they all specialise in different types of meats from different cultures. I found it rather weird, that anywhere else in London, butchers are a dying breed, and it can be hard to find one close by, but in Brixton, there are so many in one place.

Amusingly, I also found a shop that sold only Nigerian music.

Today, Brixton is mostly known for it's knife crime and teenage murders. And nightclubs. And the Brixton Academy (where I saw Michael Moore speak). But Brixton has actually played an important historical and cultural role in the shaping of modern Britain.

The area remained undeveloped until the early 19th century, when the newly opened Vauxhall Bridge made access to Central London much easier. Suburban development ensued, and the area was a middle class suburb by the 1860's. Brixtons first contribution to cultural Britain came in the 1880s, when Electric Avenue became the first street in the UK to be lit by electricity.

But perhaps the biggest impact Brixton has had on the shaping of modern Britain started with the arrival of the Empire Windrush, a ship that, on it's way back from Australia, stopped off in Kingston, Jamacia, and picked up 492 people who were willing to move to England to work. The image of these first Afro-Carribeans filing down the gangplank has come to symbolise the beginning of the modern, multicultural society that Britain was to become. Initially housed in South Clapham, the nearest Labour Exchange (the day's Job Centre) was in Brixton. And it was because the new arrivals went there to find jobs that they eventually settled in the area around the Labour Exchange.

However, by 1981 the area was suffering from deep social and economic problems; crime and drug use were rampant. Riots broke out over the use, by the police, of the Sus Laws, to stop and search anyone merely on the suspicion of wrongdoing. In 1985, riots again broke out protesting police behaviour. An inquiry into the behaviour of police found that the force was institutionally racist, and the riots eventually led to considerable reform of the police code of conduct. Social protest may be the least effective way to affect change, but it can sometimes work.

I was pleasantly surprised by what I learned about Brixton. This little project, which started out as a silly little game, has now turned into an exploration of British history and culture.

It's become really fascinating.

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