For a while now I've been toying with an idea for a photo essay. The subject is Life on the Gloucester Road in Bristol. I was walking along this road yesterday on my way into the city centre and the idea came to me again. The area really is alive with all kinds of people going about their daily business. It has a lot of independent shops such as butchers, fruit and vegetable stores, hardware and record stores as well as the usual charity shops. It also has a large number of popular pubs and restaurants with a couple of nice parks adjacent to the road.
The people who use the amenities in the area are fiercely loyal and proud of their stubborn stance against the influx of the big corporate shops and supermarkets that dominate the surrounding areas.
As a contrast, part of my walk yesterday also took in Clifton which is a wealthy suburb of Bristol. This area has some of the more mainstream shops and some of the best restaurants in Bristol. However, it was alarming in a way to see how many of them have closed down recently. Maybe it's due to the economic situation we find ourselves in at the moment or maybe it's due to the brand new £500 million shopping centre that has recently opened in the city centre.
Seeing this contrast got me thinking about the merits of having a largely independent shopping area on my doorstep. This is something I want to celebrate, publicise and try and understand better which is why I want to use the Gloucester road as the subject of my photo essay.
No comments:
Post a Comment