Cockatiel in Whateley Road

[Sue]

We used to chat to a man who used to stand outside his house in Whateley Road (near Bells the bathroom shop) with his white cockatiel on his arm.

We haven't seen them for ages. Just wondering if they are still around?

[sally buying]

Is Dulwich Fox still around?

[Sue]

59 minutes ago, sally buying said:

Is Dulwich Fox still around?

Yes, but not posting on here 

[Penguin68]

I also met cockatiel man in the coffee shop at Sainsbury DKH. As well as Whately Road. 

[Boscombe]

No, he moved out before lockdown when the house was sold to a developer. No idea where he went.

[Sue]

2 hours ago, Boscombe said:

No, he moved out before lockdown when the house was sold to a developer. No idea where he went.

Thanks Boscombe.

10 hours ago, Penguin68 said:

I also met cockatiel man in the coffee shop at Sainsbury DKH. As well as Whately Road. 

Crikey. He took the bird into Sainsbury's with him? 😂

[Rockets]

He took it everywhere with him - was quite the local character!

[Sue]

1 hour ago, Rockets said:

He took it everywhere with him - was quite the local character!

I only ever saw him outside his house!

Did he own the house? I hope he and the bird (whose name I have forgotten) weren't kicked out by a landlord 😭

Edited March 26 by Sue

[Boscombe]

4 hours ago, Sue said:

I only ever saw him outside his house!

Did he own the house? I hope he and the bird (whose name I have forgotten) weren't kicked out by a landlord 😭

No, he was a tenant

[Sue]

1 hour ago, Boscombe said:

No, he was a tenant

😢 Hope he and the bird  found somewhere nice to live 😢

[HeadNun]

Used to chat to him quite a bit. Lovely man. Kind of feel sorry to hear he was moved on by a developer purchasing the house. 

[KidKruger]

16 hours ago, Sue said:

😢 Hope he and the bird  found somewhere nice to live 😢

I used to talk to this man several times a year over the years, whenever he was out front with his bird.

I used to take those green London parakeet thingies to him if I found them injured (although they always died within a day or so, he would bury them in  his garden).

The property was sold to a developer I learnt from the gentleman. I think it has been split into two (maybe three) flats. He delayed the takeover of the property with the help of Southwark I believe, waiting until a suitable property up near Milton Keynes became available (can’t quite remember the name of the town near MK, it may have been the one where the code breaky stuff happened).

All things come and go so it was a shame the man left, otherwise I think he was very happy living here, just had limited accommodation options locally and perhaps needed to be nearer his daughter as he progresses through the curve.

And it would be interesting if anybody is still in touch with him!

 

Edited March 27 by KidKruger

[NewWave]

One of the by products of local gentification is the loss of these wonderful local 'characters'.

I lived in Notting Hill for 40 years and from the mid 1980's onwards so many of the locals that gave the area its character and made it feel like a 'community' got pushed out by landlords selling up to developers.

It was only council tennants like my mum and dad (I was'nt on the tennancy sadly or I'd still be there) who were able to hang on..though I remember my mum complaining in the mid 2000's (she died in 2008) about the demise of the nearest Launderette, The TV and electrical repair shop closing etc etc...

One of the joys of living in a City like London used to be the differences in neighbourhoods, the local characters the food shops and newsagents catering to their local demographic..Not much of that remains now.

I see vestiges of it on Rye Lane, Brixton,Green Lanes, the lower end of Edgeware road..But most of London has become homogenised and bland full of bland people and bland shops.

[hellosailor]

I have a vague memory that the bird was called snowball 

[Dulwich dweller]

10 hours ago, NewWave said:

One of the by products of local gentification is the loss of these wonderful local 'characters'.

A repetitive tried and tested cycle that seems to be slowing down in London thankfully. Brixton was the start. Councils consciously and purposely let an area decline until that area is next on the list for social and ethnic cleansing and ultimately gentrification. In come the first wave of arty/ creatives to squat and house share. A few coffee shops and cool but inexpensive cafe/ bars and art spaces open up. The crackheads, dealers and other assorted criminals who were once left to operate openly and brazenly to sell, shop lift, mug, beg, purchase,  publicly consume on decent folks doorsteps, stairwells,in bin sheds and without fear of the law begin to be targeted, rounded up and moved on.

A few more jaunty and sustainable coffee shops/ bars appear . The Guardian and other facilitators in the media jump on the bandwagon, first claims of vibrancy are rolled out. Next step a few cool retro clothing shops pop up selling ' reclaimed Levi's for more than they originally cost and ten times the price of what the recently departed charity shop charged. Foxtons open a branch and the arty types and first wavers/ drivers have there first moan about there initially paltry rents going up.

The guardian do a generic lets move to Brixton, Dalston, Hackney, Deptford, Walthamstow type double pager. Interview a graphic designer or two who have just bought a former crack den on the manor for next to peanuts. They will later bemoan the next wave who have more money than them. Cool, edgy and vibrant are now the buzzword bingo must use lingo. Few more coffee shops ( how original ) Pop up everything,. Organic and sour dough move in. The night time economy starts to thrive, more cool bars and eateries open. More squats and the last crack house that was once one of many are cleared out. Second wave is around the corner.

 

All of a sudden there's a visible police presence again and the streets are safe for fun seekers with plenty of disposable cash to chuck about on a dose of vibrancy with added coolness. By this stage even the locally brewed beer is organic. There's queues outside the newly arrived organic, sourdough, artisan and sustainable bakers. Instagram has Brixton trending. The greasy spoon of thirty year has gone cause the lease is up and the landlord has hiked the rents up by 60/70%. Followed by small family run independents that served the community  for decades and more.  The local characters, activists, eccentrics are getting less and less. There's a new show in town for a week or two and until the next brand arrives. Brewdog move in. Former job centres are converted into bars but peak edginess means it's still called the job centre. Followed by a couple more chain eateries. The resident DJ'S and music venues are replaced by another generic brand boasting guest chefs.

The Guardian lifestyle section is now on it's fifth or sixth orgasm. Turn a few pages and hypocrisy is rampant with articles on the evils of gentrification, foxtons, capitalism, social cleansing and unaffordable housing.

The middle classes continue to arrive in there droves to buy into the vibrancy and multiculturalism supposedly on offer. There isn't much multiculturalism going on at the packed latest place to eat, drink and fart. The multiculturalism on show comes in the form of bar staff, doorman and cheap as chips uber drivers and delivery workers.

Rice and peas, jerk everything, red stripe at six quid a can from some hipster haunt that is currently flavour of the month and the place to be seen. The first wavers are now blaming the latest hedge funded brand that's pulled into town for driving gentrification and there soon to be hastened departure to be first wavers again somewhere else. Less cool but up and coming here we come.

Covid has certainly helped/ been a factor in slowing down the process of gentrification. I also think it may be the driver for almost putting a stop to it. Remote working, less need to move to London to be near an office, less disposable cash, sky high rents, worthless degrees that relied on that disposable cash , different priorities, knife and gang crime and a large dose of much needed realism has put a huge spanner in the works for the shitty process and cycle that is/ was the gentrification and social cleansing of working class London. Manchester and Liverpool is next on the list for the planners. Thankfully.

[lone ranger]

Yes remember him well. Lovely man, he had the same lanlord for twenty years who sold up.  New landlord etc, wanted to develop. Luckily he was able to move near his family in Nottingham. Saw him on his last day sitting in the back of the removal van with his lovely friend the Cockatoo. 

[alice]

Romantic

[joseph holly]

The bird's name was CHALKY

Here's Chalky!

[Froglander]

On 25/03/2024 at 21:14, Sue said:

We used to chat to a man who used to stand outside his house in Whateley Road (near Bells the bathroom shop) with his white cockatiel on his arm.

We haven't seen them for ages. Just wondering if they are still around?

It’s a cockatoo, not a cockatiel.

[CrunchB]

Pete and Chalky! We’ve kept in touch with them. Fear not, they moved to live near his daughter (I’d have to check his address but I think it was Lincolnshire). Chalky apparently very happy as he has a large cat-free garden to play in.