Transitioning London..

There are perks and draw backs to living in a city whose infrastructure is largely Victorian!

Anyone who has lived in London during the last four to five years will have experienced transition. This transition is from an older way that had lost its efficiency, to a new way that is recapturing an efficiency of old.

That which likes to see itself as emerging would do well not to lose that which it calls institutional and, that which likes to see itself as institutional would do well not to lose that which it calls emerging!

This transition has been messy and inconvenient. It has had to be well planned and articulated. It started when the problems were realistically acknowledged but seen as not being insurmountable. The old Victorian water pipe work that had become corroded, broken and in a general state of increasing decay, while still achieving its aim, could not be ignored. It leaked, it didn't achieve what it was meant to achieve hemorrhaging galleons of water a minute. (here).

A huge engineering task has stopped and slowed traffic all over London as areas particularly affected are addressed. Huge holes have appeared in most parts of London as engineers work to bring back ‘watertight’ efficiency to the distribution of water throughout the city. A 1,000 miles of pipeline by 2010!

Of particular interest is that the old pipe work is not obsolete, it may not function in the same way but its role is essential within the transition. Huge reels of plastic piping announce that the end of inconvenience is near as they are fed - I am told in some cases - through the older pipes. The older pipes guide and act as a conduit to the new. The pipes look different but the water tastes the same.

That which likes to see itself as emerging would do well not to lose that which it calls institutional and, that which likes to see itself as institutional would do well not to lose that which it calls emerging!