London Burns

August 9th, 2011 – London Riots

Croydon, South London

Since Sunday, rioters and looters have been loose on the streets of London and other parts of the UK.  Seeing my town on fire on the news last night really hit home, and no one I know has ever experienced this kind of widespread criminal damage and arson across the city simultaneously, and definitely not in suburban areas.

I don’t have any pictures of the thugs in action – I wouldn’t venture out on the streets of South London on my own with my camera at 11pm on a normal day.  I also know of photographers and people in general with SLRs who were set upon by thugs.

If you’ve taken good shots, don’t post them on Flickr.  Sell them and make the most you can out of them because you damn well deserve it.

Most of the main roads in my local area have been cordoned off by police.  I took a quick tour and captured some of the damage and precautions being taken today.

Pretty much every shop was shut early in anticipation of violence.  I bumped into an old man who was waiting for the bus.  He was trying to find an open newsagents so he could do the lottery tonight.  We got on the same bus which didn’t stop at the next bus stop, where he was hoping to find an open shop.  The bus driver said he had been told to carry on driving and not stop until he was right at the end of the road.  The driver then began swearing at us all when people told him he should have warned them of this.  He then suddenly stopped the bus and demanded we all get out.   You know, I have never experienced consistently rude bus drivers anywhere outside of London.

There was literally nothing the old man could do but walk back.. not easy for an 80 year old man.  I told him that I really hoped the rioters hadn’t stopped him fron hitting the jackpot tonight.

I was taking a picture of this boarded building when I got stopped by this guy who seemed keen to be photographed.  He said my photo would look much better with him in it.  He’s not a trouble maker – he apparently works in a local shop.

His friend joined him

A looted Tesco

It’s even more sad when independent shops are targeted

They asked for me to take their picture and when I pointed my camera at them they looked away. All talk!

People began boarding up their shop fronts but with the amount of police on the streets now, I assume it won’t be as bad tonight.  Still, no one is taking chances.

Waiting for a bus that would probably not arrive as they had all been suspended.

I never expected to see multiple police vans driving down residential roads in these suburbs. There’s real anxiety in the air with pretty much everyone outside talking about this in disbelief.

Relatives and people I know have lost their livelihoods which ran through generations – gone in a split second.  These mindless thugs are not protesting against anything – they are simply enjoying themselves. Sad times.

For some more graphic images:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/08/london_riots.html