Sunday, January 31, 2010

SE-a-Borg

SE stays for South East and borg is the old name for burg, borough (and it is the roots for the word bourgeois).
A city in the south east of a land is often far off from the main routes, maybe on the SEA. There is a centre somewhere, and there is a rugged town on the shore. There might be a sense of marginality at the beginning, a desire of being somewhere else. Men turn into sailors, pirates or merchants, sometimes the 3 things together. On the way up north, up on the ventura.
It was only when London ceased being an encampment on the north west borders of the Roman Empire and started seeing itself as a south east city of Britain that its luck began.
My address is SE14, London, Borough of Lewisham. Not far from me there are Greenwich and Deptford, with their memories of maritime matters and SEABORne trades. If there is only a big steel anchor on the beginning of Deptford High street to recall its Dockyard history, the Royal Naval College in Greenwich is an unmissable memento.
I live on Telegraph Hill, once known as Plowed Garlic Hill, when there were no houses, but only fields and gardens. In the 18 century a semaphore telegraph station was build on top of the hill to warn the ships in wartime. In the 19 century lofty Victorian houses were also erected and I now live in one of those. My flat is on the top floor and my bedroom is a converted attic overlooking the city. The London Eye seems very far.
I moved here 2 years ago and it is the start point for my adventures.

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