What a location! Everyone knows Free-FM’s studios are on the most happenin’ street in London but even more is happening than we anticipated. Richmond Street is alive with the good, the bad and the frustrating.
Yesterday morning as I clicked away on my keyboard I noticed something unusual in my peripheral vision. Vehicles, quite a few of them, not moving. Just a hair to the south of our building is a set of train tracks and it’s not unusual for a morning choo-choo to pass through and hold up traffic for a while. But after a few minutes it became clear that this train wasn’t going anywhere so my lead traffic note quickly became a warning to avoid the area. The train ended up being there for more than an hour! CP Rail finally let London Police know that it had broken down, right there on the tracks. What a way to start a Monday for those drivers.
A few weeks ago, London’s latest sinkhole also occured within our window view. I strolled 100 yards down to it to take some video and photos on behalf of the radio station. Since I started with Free, I’ve seen at least 5 cyclists get struck by vehicles below our newsroom. I was certain that one incident was going to end up with van driver beating the heck out of the cyclist he had just hit but instead he drove off, leaving the crumpled bike and his shaken rider on the sidewalk.
Want to eat lunch in Victoria Park? Sure, it’s just 3 blocks away. I love Richmond Street. When I’ve found myself with a day off and no one to spend it with, I’ve gone down to Richmond Row to explore the shops. Now that it’s where I work it’s become apparent that it’s not just a shopping and festival hub for The Forest City but also a window onto the world of news.