Comments on: National Trust audio tour of Soho London's darker side

By: Cynical

Cynical — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:48:00 +0000

“British rock-and-roll, feminism and gay liberation were all born in Soho, so we’re going to turn it into fucking Disneyland and make sure none of that degenerate counter-cultural stuff happens again.”

Actually, I’m kind of torn about this; on the one hand it’s nice to educate people, but on the other the last thing Soho needs is more spacially-oblivious tourists wandering around listening to headphones. Isn’t that what Oxford Street’s for?

By: _OM_

_OM_ — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 22:46:00 +0000

…Yeah, but the *real* question is whether or not they point out the legendary doorway where Pete Townsend collapsed, and was awakened by a policeman who knew who Pete was, and told him he could go home and sleep it off that night, provided he could get up and walk away.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 21:32:00 +0000

Their site says “We’re a UK conservation charity”

Since Scotland’s on the cusp of voting for independence, they’re not doing a very good job of conserving the UK.

By: Mark Brown

Mark Brown — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 21:18:00 +0000

There’s (for mostly technical reasons) a separate charity in Scotland called the National Trust for Scotland, but especially in a global context it is reasonable for the main charity to describe themselves as being a UK charity (they are after all a charity in the UK), even though they don’t cover the whole of the UK.

By: dreddpiratebob

dreddpiratebob — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 21:11:00 +0000

I think this is a cracking idea.

however i’m up at home in the lake district and we have just been discussing what the national trust are up to up here. They really are bloody terrible. Utterly destroying what they profess to protect.

probably not the place to rant, so i’ll hush but hells bells i have my dander up.

By: Keith Tyler

Keith Tyler — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 20:03:00 +0000

All innovations in culture come from society’s seedy underbellies. This is true as true of Soho as it is of 4chan.

By: liquidstar

liquidstar — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 19:54:00 +0000

I was fully expecting a picture of the house of “lords”.

By: David Pescovitz

David Pescovitz — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:40:00 +0000

Their site says “We’re a UK conservation charity”

By: David Pescovitz

David Pescovitz — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:39:00 +0000

Thanks, fixed!

By: sgtdoom

sgtdoom — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:31:00 +0000

If one really wants to see a dark side of London, study the takeover of the monarchy (a buyout) back in the 1700s by the City of London Corporation with their “perpetually renewable” deal (called a SILO – - – Sale In, Lease Out — a sweet scam and really interesting to those curious about such matters.)

By: Wreckrob8

Wreckrob8 — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:30:00 +0000

But no partnership with any local establishment to provide over-priced refreshments at the end of the tour? I could suggest a few places.

By: Ashley Yakeley

Ashley Yakeley — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:27:00 +0000

And if you want to be really pedantic, it’s not the UK’s National Trust. It’s England, Wales & Northern Ireland’s National Trust.

By: Paul Bowen

Paul Bowen — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:24:00 +0000

The header says government-sponsored which you can be without being part of government. But as it happens the NT isn’t either.

By: tw1515tw

tw1515tw — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:17:00 +0000

Pretty sure The National Trust is not part of the government.