Weeknote 135

Tube strike, London Open House, lingering housing gloom.

• Virtually the entire past week was a write‑off for going anywhere, including to the office, thanks to the Tube strike. The roads were jammed, and the few National Rail trains crisscrossing South London were crammed with the most determined office workers unable, for whatever reason, to work from home.
• Mixed weather and the encroaching darker evenings offered little incentive to get out on my bicycle. A clear signal to reassemble my indoor bike. I definitely felt the lack of exercise take a toll on my mental health this week, leaving me short on positive thoughts.
• On Sunday, I finally made it to some London Open House events—or rather, just one. My first stop on the itinerary had a one‑hour queue for ten minutes looking inside a very small Central London apartment just outside the Barbican estate, so I gave it a miss. Maybe I'm imagining it, or just getting old, but it feels like most place at Open House seem to be oversubscribed like never before. That turned out to be for the best as it turned out…
• I stumbled upon a place offering last‑minute free spaces for a resident‑led tour of the modernist Whittington Estate in North London, including a look inside his apartment, largely untouched since it was built. Despite heavy rain and plenty of fellow visitors, the visit was both enjoyable and fascinating, offering real insight into the design of this residential estate. I left, however, feeling disillusioned about the state of housing in this country—and with little hope it will improve in my lifetime.