Tracey sent the wisest email which shall aid me in sorting betwixt and between the men in my life.
She: Your blogs insight Alexis just gave me a good idea and advice for us “Do not chase, Do not follow let them come to you/us. Then choose with thought and care.’You /we are the leader. xx.
Me: You are brilliant. I will use this as I attempt to sort through the five men. Hahaha. One down already!
I forwarded Tracy’s brilliance to Jennifer who replied sending the pictures that are gracing the blog of today.
She: Yes, I agree with your friend Tracy’s assessment. Good advice. I’m on my way to the Quilt Guild presentation. Have a wonderful day!
Jennifer and the Quilt Guild constructed quilts, gifting them to Veterans to thank them for their service. How noble for them – both the Veterans’ and the Quilters. My mother was an extremely devoted and talented quilter – she did NOT pass down that trait to her daughter. When I find it one of her quilts will grace the bed in my new Hayes Valley Apartment. It is is storage and I am not up to the sorting and pitching quite yet, going through stuff that has been in storage for five years. But I am giving myself a break – one thing at a time. A lot of paperwork that must be sorted this week.
This has been a week of good news and a reminder that heeding the advice of Uncle Dave is the road to happiness.
He: Alexis! Quit fighting! Go to the sidelines and they will do themselves in!
Me: But Uncle Dave that is so hard for me to do. I have been fighting all of my life and, do not forget, I was a lawyer.
A wrong is committed against me. But rather than arm myself, bring on an army with heavy artillery, it is best to assert myself calmly but then go to the sidelines. As you can see from yesterday’s blog it worked with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. I left the Orpheum Theatre that evening, went back to my hotel, had a fine and more enjoyable time with the pianist and the group of enthusiastic individuals. The next day spoke of the outrage on the blog but did not insist on Mr. Middleton’s immediate dismissal. The email received on the blog bears witness to the musician’s appreciation of me and their lack of appreciation of ‘management’. Moreover, the jewel of the crown, the President leaves for the San Francisco Ballet, a venue within four blocks of my new abode. It was a win/win. Good did triumph over evil.
But I am on a roll. An email from Cecilia Scott in London informed of a new win against an adversary. Do let us look up adversary: opponent, rival, enemy, foe, antagonist, combatant, challenger, contender, competitor, opposer, fellow contestant; opposition, competition. Dolphin Square became my enemy, my foe, my antagonist and my combatant. This blog was formed, in part, to battle against Dolphin Square as legal redress In the UK was impossible. If you want the history of my battle with Dolphin Square go to the upper right hand corner find the search engine and type Dolphin Square. The number of entries must be astronomical. Their most recent wrong committed upon the citizenry was the submission of a development plan that would have destroyed the peace and harmony of the residents, closed down the shops along its quaint arcade and added an ugly top floor which would have destroyed the Square’s historical significance and removed gardens, a necessity in an urban environment. Public housing, the purpose behind the construction in the 1930s would have thwarted. It was the greed of an American company that led to an illegal purchase in the first place and their inappropriate expansion plan next. But here comes the glorious news. .
JUL 16, 2019 —
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, took the decision yesterday not to call in Westbrook’s planning application and to allow Westminster city council’s refusal to stand. Therefore the nemesis that Westbrook’s shoddy business practices deserved reached fruition. Nemesis: retribution, vengeance, retributive justice, punishment, just deserts; fate, destiny. Westbrook got their just deserts, retributive justice was imposed. The company has six months to file an appeal but the mismanagement of funds (also reported on this blog) will hinder this. There appears to be no money to fund the expansion even if allowed.
At this juncture Alexis McBride shall attempt to read your minds.
You: Why do you care? You no longer live there, it is not your country, you are safely ensconced in San Francisco in an apartment that you love.
Me: For many reasons. My dear friend Shabez works in her family’s store in the Arcade and it would be destroyed. I was friends with many of the shopkeepers there as well, . I had friends who resided in Dolphin Square for many years and their lives would be totally destroyed and disrupted. Illegal evictions were common, not just mine, and lives were made difficult for many. Callous employees were permitted to inflict insults and cruelties on many residents, not just me. The hotel did not honour its Expedia reservations ruining vacations (not just mine). There would be the destruction of history and its significance. There would be yet another barrier to affordable housing. And again, evil cannot be allowed to triumph over good.
The measure of relief I feel is monumental because I did not have to lead the charge. I could go to the sidelines. I can give up my Joan of Arc role which is good because I cannot ride a horse, and do not even smoke; so going up in flames would be grossly unfair.
If more information is desired Google Dolphin Square Petition for more thorough coverage. Here is some factual material gleaned from the site.” Dolphin Square is a historic and iconic building located by the Thames in London’s Pimlico, a Conservation Area in its own right and adjacent to two further Conservation areas. The beautiful gardens were recently listed Grade II.
Its American owners, Westbrook Partners, have filed a planning application to demolish the 6-storey northern block and replace it with a 10-storey building and add one floor to the remaining buildings. Most of the redevelopment is for hotel and short-term letting use and not to provide long-term housing for locals which is so desperately needed in Westminster. If the plans are approved, the northern half of the listed gardens will be lost and replaced with a modern design to accommodate the new building and two huge deep basements providing facilities for the hotel. Also, the famous art-deco shopping parade will be demolished.
Already Dolphin Square has one of the greatest housing densities in Central London with 1,250 homes on a site of only seven acres. By comparison, the adjoining council estate of Churchill Gardens has 1,500 homes on a 37 acre site. The development will increase the density substantially and is completely out of keeping with the three Conservation areas of which Dolphin Square forms a part and the surrounding village community of Pimlico
Affordable housing was a long tradition at Dolphin Square, when built between 1935-37, with more than 1,200 homes specifically aimed at those needing to live in central London for their work – a priority that continued when it was owned by a trust controlled by Westminster City Council.”
Extremely faithful readers will be posing another question.
They: Well what about the wedding between Kim Me Poo and Alicia McTwit? The fictional wedding was to occur within the gardens of Dolphin Square but had to called off because of the possible presence of building cranes and the destruction of the gardens.
Me: Well, it is too early (or perhaps too late) to tell. That dream had been destroyed and has not been resurrected in the past two or three days since the news was received.
Jennifer’s photographs follow.
