One of the less objectionable aspects of Boris’s suburban obsession was a competition to design posters for TfL to attract people to the outer reaches of the capital, much as the Hounslow Skyride directed people to view such jewels as walled up disused seminaries and now-closed grotty pubs.
It’s interesting, therefore, to see what suburban delights the general public would choose:
- Lidos – we had a lido here. It was closed in 1980. Quite a lot of lidos have closed in London. There are a few still open though, mainly in a sort of ring around the centre (Dulwich, Hackney, Hampstead) and I do like the poster a lot. Clearly appeals to the healthy outdoor sporting aspect of Boris’s character.
- Herne Hill velodrome – old fashioned poster with bikes on it. Can’t think who that would appeal to. Interesting use of a serif font, too, surely a proper modernist London poster should use some variety of sans. As with the lidos, I’m sure the designer knows his market. Herne Hill is on the Z2/3 border.
- A doughnut (taking the whole thing a bit literally, methinks)
Other areas considered worthy of interest include:
- Waltham Forest
- Primrose Hill
- Waltham Forest (again?)
- Mudchute, complete with a delinquent looking llama.
- Wimbledon
- Hoxton (ten minutes walk from Liverpool Street is not outer London)
- Hackney (again, not precisely doughnut territory)
- An allegorical one apparently including V2 rockets. Well, the first one fell in the London suburbs, of course.
- Dalston (they’re really not taking this seriously, are they?)
- The Green Belt (OK, too far the other way)
- London Zoo (back in the middle again)
- Barnes Wetland Centre
- Thames Barrier
- Hackney Marshes
- Crystal Palace
- Clapham Junction and Battersea (one stop from Victoria is outer London?)
- Another abstract one
What’s notable here is that most of them are in the kind of inner urban ring just outside the centre, rather than in the Boris voting suburbs. London Zoo, Hoxton and Primrose Hill are within easy walking distance of Zone 1, Dalston’s not much further. It does seem that when London’s best artists and designers consider the capital, it’s still the urban parts that stand out as interesting rather than the suburban.
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If they’ve got London postcodes, they’re definitely not suburbia.
The Herne Hill Velodrome poster’s a pastiche of this style: http://www.ltmcollection.org/posters/poster/poster.html?_IXMAXHITS_=1&IXinv=1983/4/1056&IXsummary=dates/decade&IXfromdate=1920&IXtodate=1929&_IXFIRST_=38&IXenlarge=2057-17
The second Waltham Forest poster has the ‘Stow dog track as a backdrop, pity it’s been closed for over a year
This competition was to promote travel beyond zone 1. ‘Suburbia’ was never mentioned in the brief.