Hooray for Harlow (Part Two)

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The more I'm in Essex exile whilst my mother is in hospital the more I'm conscious of this attitude to the "new" town of Harlow.

Today I'm walking along the street near where my mother's home is. I'm stopped by a man asking how she is. I say she's recovering and indeed in an hour's time I'd be visiting her after doing a few things in Harlow (the hospital is nearby to the town centre) which, I add is a place I rather like.

"Have you " he asked "been there at night?"

Aside from when I leave the hospital in the evening the answer's no. But I don't consider it an issue. After all I'm fifty four. Not of an age where you look forward go out regularly in any town centre in the night.

"Well" he says "there are good and bad spots in every town".

This is of course true. Yet you could tell from the sound of his voice that he figured that there were more minuses in the Harlow list than pluses.

I went to the town centre again this afternoon. And my view hasn't changed. Not Paris or Milan but not worthy of the mockery or snobbery of others ether. I noticed a few shops that were closed down but the vast majority were open and seemingly doing good business. People seemed happy and chatty and just leading their lives.

Mentioned in the original tweet that there was a statue of large books which I couldn't take last Sunday cause kids were playing on it. As presumably they were being educated today however ....

The thought did occur to me on Sunday that the kids were of the generation that aside from school they would be unlikely to want to read a paper book again. Which is sad.

I also noticed this statue.

This is Meat Porters by Ralph White. Two things. Firstly I'm not sure whether they would pass Health and Safety. Secondly though I didn't look too closely, I'm not sure the men had any clothes on.

And along the main thoroughfare there's this.

This monument is there to symbolise Harlow  as a new town. Personally it seems rather sad it just seems rather forgotten. I like the statues myself. They're unusual, slightly quirky but in a good eccentric way. Rather like Harlow itself.

And as for Harlow at night I give you....

Moon Over A Car Park

 Until the next time.