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Naut
It was so bad that an MP wrote a letter of protest to ( I think ) the Warden of the Tower of London, written with the black water of the Thames!
posted by
ariel70
on January 26, 2007 at 6:57 AM
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Presley
Yes, tough times for them.
Those old photos of poor people taken during the Depression are so riveting. I think they were taken by a guy called Agee ; or he was the one who worte the text for someone else's photos.
I must look on the net for them
posted by
ariel70
on January 26, 2007 at 6:55 AM
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Sir
These events remind me so much of The Great Depression in America. My grandmother, who recently passed away, was from a very poor family. She used to tell me stories of what it was like to grow up during the 1920's and early 1930's. Her experiences were somewhat similar to the events you've described in London though obviously during a different era.
posted by
Presley
on January 26, 2007 at 4:52 AM
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Ariel
as a sailor I have sometimes encountered mudflats and their often infernal stench (never on the Thames, mind you), and it really boggles the mind that people would be driven to grub for
a living in such conditions...
posted by
Nautikos
on January 26, 2007 at 4:43 AM
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Kabu and fourcats
Oh No!
Nobody, but nobody in the developed world lives a life so filthy, squalid and deprived as theirs. The worst of today's slums in, say Britain, Europe and America, bear no resemblance whatever to the slums of Victorian London.
Later on in this series, I shall give some idea of the staggering quantities of coal that were burned annually in London, and even that alone will prove my point.
It should be recalled that during the Great Smog of 1953, 3,000 Londoners died ; and that was nowhere near as bad as a typical London Particular of Victorian and later times.
Fascinating stuff, isn't it?
posted by
ariel70
on January 26, 2007 at 12:44 AM
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ariel - the comment that formed as i read is much like kabu's - this is as
much the story of today as it was then.
posted by
fourcats
on January 25, 2007 at 7:44 PM
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Ariel,
you are drawing a powerful picture. Incidentally, your observation that those who rise from the ranks of the poor tend to be anything but charitable to those in need seems to be borne out generally...
posted by
Nautikos
on January 25, 2007 at 4:06 PM
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A story to break the heart but what have we learnt?
Now it's on a larger stage me thinks. Country exploiting country and hidious povery and misery v. ...billions for others. Hopelessness versus have the lot! And that includes basic human rights.
posted by
Kabu
on January 25, 2007 at 1:39 PM
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Helen
Thank you.
It doesn't get any less heartbraking
posted by
ariel70
on January 25, 2007 at 1:28 PM
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Miriouma
Thank you.
None of them wil be easy reading.
posted by
ariel70
on January 25, 2007 at 1:27 PM
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Ariel,
A fascinating, eerie history. This reminds me of the novel
People of the Abyss, I think it was called, by Jack London. In it he wrote of the tragedy of London's impoverished in the late 19th century. It was heart wrenching to read, especially the parts about the children.
posted by
myrrhage_
on January 25, 2007 at 1:19 PM
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Heartbreaking. Truly.
posted by
Helen_Bach
on January 25, 2007 at 1:10 PM
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Tony
Oh, I guess you'll hear lots more before we're done!
posted by
ariel70
on January 25, 2007 at 12:34 PM
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ariel70
I don't even know what to say. I sat here eating an early lunch while I read your post, thinking that I must hurry and get out of here to do the errands that I must do like shopping for a new dress to wear to the wedding in Florida and buying a case of Gates Barbeque Sauce to take to my son because they can't get it there. How easy it is to forget that even today there are children and old people around the world that really don't have life very much easier than that you tell us about of the Mudlarks.
posted by
TAPS.
on January 25, 2007 at 9:29 AM
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Marvellous stuff, El Tel - great to hear these vaguely familiar terms such
...as 'mudlark' explained.
posted by
Antonionioni
on January 25, 2007 at 9:24 AM
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