View from the QE2 Garden this week
I’d been wanting to write something on the chronic state of disinformation that prevails online about London being lawless/lost for some time.
Last week, following Sadiq Khan’s warnings on exactly that issue, I went for it, but it would have been bizarre not to mention that two murders have taken place in LB Camden in recent weeks, too.
By doing so, the purposefully culture-first agenda of Camdenist crossed the Rubicon into culture-war territory. Crime - particularly the murder of a young person - is a deeply emotional ‘worst nightmare’ scenario for most of us, so it’s certain to grab the attention over happier topics in today’s overcrowded information space.
That visceral response is exactly the stuff that social network algorithms and the very same online provocateurs and trouble-makers feed on. I really didn’t want to veer into their ‘for eyeballs and clicks’ game, yet this unavoidable part of the story landed me there, and inevitably the comments and poll responses flooded in, reaching record levels, I’m fairly sure.
It’s tricky, as anyone producing content of any type or quality these days wants it to be seen, and to be engaging enough to make an impact, but we all know that pushing the emotive buttons via fear and outrage is not exactly doing society a whole lot of good, either.
Rather than defend my position or endlessly re-examine each turn of phrase, I’ve simply included a wide selection of the comments received in the poll section below ⬇️
There was substantial pushback, but also broad agreement about how safe the city actually feels, despite the obvious horrors of the recent incidents, so I hope a more nuanced debate is the overall result.
‘If it bleeds, it leads’ has long been the front page mantra for selling newspapers, but I think in an algorithmic, trackable era, we all have a duty not to get sucked in to feeling that every video of a phone snatching or fare evasion served up to us signals that our city has no hope. Watching these things simply feeds the outrage machine, as well as stoking our own worst fears, which only ends up making the issues (perceived or real), worse.
At a time when even such once venerable titles as the Evening Standard seem to be on their last legs, haemorrhaging their remaining journalists while churning out depressing amounts of vacuous sponsored content, it’s easy to see why publishers and audiences alike gravitate desperately towards the more emotive stuff.
I love having impassioned feedback to Camdenist, but I won’t chase it by running easy crime topics or culture war controversies. Thankfully, we’re spared the anonymous slanging match of X, YouTube or below the line keyboard warriors here, and all opinions are welcome, as long as they genuinely aim to improve city life, not deride or dismiss it.
👑 Remember when it used to rain in April?
The brand new Queen Elizabeth II Garden opens in Regent’s Park this Monday (27th Apr), commemorating the life of our longest serving monarch while also making some rather pointed, er, points about climate change with its striking design.
The wider Park is looking lush at the moment, its historic, generations-old formal landscaping and sweeping boulevards are bursting with the colourful buds of spring promise. In fact all that makes the new QE2 garden look positively arid, where more youthful plants have a few years of bedding in ahead of them.
The plucky specimens have also been set the challenge of growing deep into a high PH scree of crushed up concrete that was once the base for the defunct greenhouses that used to dominate this site, found just behind the pretty espresso kiosk on The Broad Walk.
By repurposing the rubble, the designers at landscape architects HTA have solve one environmental challenge (waste) while also creating a garden ready to adapt to the stresses of London’s scarily fast-shifting climate.
On a blisteringly sunny preview visit this week, we heard about the meticulous, low impact irrigation systems, the mix of rolling wildflower meadows, shady wooded areas and water features that all sit on top of some rather unforgiving London clay.
It’s certainly very different from the rest of the Park, hemmed in by trees and bushes as a curiously less green oasis in the middle, yet with the same odd glimpse of the BT Tower, which I always feel lends Regent’s Park a rather homely, urban exclamation mark.
The space looks idea for weddings (if not the shooting plenty of identical social content) although we were told it’s not been designed for such events. Meanwhile, an impressive figure of nearly 200 places to sit was also hinted at, across posh benches, concrete perches and assorted other places where you can to rest your feet throughout.
Oh, and the stone and iron work really are as impressive as the epic tulips currently swaying in the centre beneath the Queen’s fave - a magnolia tree - and well worth taking a look up close, too.
Suitably interested? You can find out a lot more from last week’s episode of Gardener’s World or just drop by from Monday - it’s another impressive free attraction on our doorsteps, and will doubtless prove a big draw (so beware initial crowds, perhaps), not just for locals and tourists, but also apparently for all the hedgehogs reportedly curled up in the strategically placed woodpile.
🌍 EarthFest is back in KX this summer
Talking of positive, free things in the area, right after the garden preview, I strolled on down to Euston for the launch of EarthFest 2026, which will see a week of summits and school events, leading up to a big festival weekend on 27th & 28th June in King’s Cross.
The event developed out of the work of the Covid-era inspired Camden (now London) Clean Air Initiative, and introduces all kinds of sustainability topics to the public in an engaging way, with live music, wellbeing, workshops, food demos, an eco friendly expo, electric mobility showcases, sustainable fashion and big name panellists.
It’s the third edition, and every year the format gets tweaks to improve, with a move to coincide with London Climate Action Week the big news for 2026, alongside ticketed industry-specific summits which you can find out more about here.
Enjoying the independent journalism you’re reading here? Upgrade with a monthly or annual subscription to help keep the lights on…
Alternatively, simply click on the ad for Aramore skincare at the end of this week’s edition to help fund this newsletter at zero cost to yourself ☑️
📊 The One-Click Poll
Will you make a beeline for the new QEII-commemorating bit of Regent's Park?
As ever, please do leave a more detailed comment after voting or simply reply to this email with your thoughts. We publish a selection of your comments each week.
Last week, when looking at our lived experience of living in the capital, I asked: Is London is a more lawless/declining place to live?
Yes. I don't feel the city is what it was and feel less safe, regardless of the statistics and awards
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 16%
No. As huge metropolises go, it's one of the safest, most exciting and promising of them all
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 59%
It's complicated. There's a lot wrong, and a frustrating lack of fixes, but it's home
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 24%
And some of your many comments…
🗣️ “I remember the days when there were fights constantly in pubs. That’s largely gone – I assume due to surveillance and banning the usual suspects. Glassings – in many ways much more horrific than the knifing culture – seem to have become less fashionable. Overall, cameras seem to have inhibited a lot of vandalism which was commonplace in the past, and what happened to serial killers? I’m figuring they are getting caught a lot quicker now, before they become cause celebres due to technology. A capital will never be as safe a village or small town, but its miles safer than it was the 70s and 80s and feels safer than most of the rest of the comparable capitals of the world.”
🗣️ “I have lived in London since 1982. I come from a seaside town in Northern Ireland, which is lovely and I go ‘home’ to enjoy the town and the sea and the different pace. Then, when I come home again to London I enjoy the city; the diversity a centre of excellence in the arts, the parks and architecture, the public spaces, the events, the local vibe, the excitement and discovery of a city I have lived in for so long, know so well, and yet so little. I’ve had children who are grown up Londoners, and become a Londoner myself.
🗣️ “I dare anyone to say this city was better under the Tories.”
🗣️ “London continues to attract people from Europe and around the world (despite post-Brexit hurdles and endless conservative online propaganda) for a very good reason. There is nowhere else like it. A cultural melting pot. It would be nice if Londoners reflected on this every now and then with a bit more of a New Yorker spirit when talking about London: "Greatest city in the world!" Perhaps that's asking too much of Brits?”
🗣️ “I cannot understand why young people feel they possess ‘all the answers’ when they are so unaware of what London was and how it has evolved in history and. They own views that they think at their age are infinite (when people change, grow and experience life as one ages completely differently). Oh, the naivety of youth! If only it wasn’t so dangerous in its ability to do such damage by its WOKE and left wing condemnation! To be so sure, so young without knowledge is poisonous. I knew a London that has been damaged by the ideals of the politics now, entrenched in three generations of pure folly.”
🗣️ “I’ve been bringing American university students to London for three weeks each January since 2020. We have stayed in Kentish Town, Camden Town, and Dalston. As you note, the ‘undesirables’ are what make the city so vibrant: generations of immigrant communities that show up in decoration, music, and foods; the blend of working, professional, and government types; the clash between history and progress visible before your very eyes. Limited gun violence. Cleaner public transportation and streets. You don’t know how good you have it if you have nowhere else in the world for comparison.”
🗣️ “As I walk through Camden daily, I often think how easily all the different people in the thronging crowds get along.”
🗣️ “I do not recognise the city I was born and grew up in, it was never perfect, but it has deteriorated way beyond anything I could have have imagined. I am not racist and welcome other cultures, but I take exception to you labelling everyone who doesn't like Khan and his implementations as racists, which is what I took from your article. Sadly, l honestly do not believe diversity has been our biggest strength as there are too many who do not wish to integrate as one community – it is sad and the places I knew growing up are no longer familiar. Many factors have contributed to that fact not solely diversity but when you walk down many streets across our city it often feels a task to find people speaking the native language - that is not helpful!”
🗣️ “London is an incredible place to live, I’ve lived here all my life and it keeps getting better. Yes, there are problems but the benefits that have taken place over the last 20 years in transportation, road safety, air quality, and urban regeneration have more than made up for it.”
🗣️ “Drug trading, the number of homeless and petty crime have all gone up in my neighbourhood.”
🗣️ “London is a tougher more atomised, alienating place than it was. Technology – everyone in their mobile phone bubble – people shouting into their phones on public transport – shouting into their phones in the street – playing loud media on their phones on public transport etc has changed London. Created a more fragmented, unconnected society with little consideration for everyone else. That's the new London. The London of future mental health problems – a city without shared small values or a real sense of collectively and connectivity. When you peddle the idea that young guys stabbed on Primrose Hill should be regarded as a nothing in the greater picture, you reveal your insensitivity as well as a complete lack of connection and humanity. You too have been infected by the new technology. It's an ‘I'm Alright Jack’ narrative. Essentially your peddling polarisation and peddling negativity. Rather than looking at how technology has made London a colder, more atomised and alienating place. (Flashmobs in Clapham etc) and come up with strategies revealing how we can make London a more humane place (with real connection, rather than an atomised consumer dystopian petri dish) you go for the simple ‘I'm great, other people are deluded’ narrative.”
🗣️ “Being female, I am particularly grateful that I live in London. We have a lot of freedom here to live, love, work and express ourselves. Dubai?! I am more concerned about the erosion of our civil liberties and right to peaceful protest than the level of crime in our city.”
🗣️ “London seems to be worse where I live. More drug addicts and drinkers.”
🗣️ “I’m a huge defender of London - I’ve loved her for over 35 years and have never lost the buzz I get here. But, her face is changing, people are taking the piss and getting away with it, disrespecting authority and clouding the skies for others. I live in Primrose Hill and am shocked at the violence recently, but I’m also shocked at the lack of any police presence – needed more and more since lockdown, and the chipping away at the edges of society. A bit like creeping tar, it won’t stop until it reaches an obstruction. The public have had enough, and the phrase ‘anti-social’ doesn’t cover it. How can we cut funding for police on streets, close police stations (which in themselves were pillars of security and presence) yet increase our multicultural population and not expect any adverse effects? Bring back the police stations. Traffic and 20 mph speed limits have become money making opportunities – the stats prove that. Your newsletter is great, btw.”
CAMDEN CURATED
Top ways to eek the maximum out of local cultural life. Am I right?!
Bowie Nights
MUSIC: 🎶 The latest big ticket multimedia spectacle to land at Lightroom opened this week, using the three-storey-high screens to bask visitors in the sounds and images of David Bowie in You’re Not Alone. With material curated from thousands of hours of film, its an indulgent deep dive into the archive of this untouchable pop icon, but did you know there’s also a series of events to catch in the weeks ahead too? Bowie Nights sees graphic designer and Bowie collaborator Jonathan Barnbrook give a talk on Tues 19th May, Miranda Sawyer interview six Bowie photographers (Tues 26th May) with podcaster Adam Buxton and a Bowie-0inspired cello recital by Peter Gregson lined up for the months ahead.
EXHIBITION: 🎥 There’s a special screening of the acclaimed ANARCHY! McLaren Westwood Gang alongside the launch of Soho ‘73, an exhibition of street photography taken in the area at the birth of punk, taking place at the Museum of Soho inside Dean St’s bohemian hangout All Is Joy next Fri 1st May. Meanwhile cross-platform music collective Noise of Art’s head honcho, Ben Osborne, launches Slack City Radio London and his new show on the station.
FOOD: 🤯 There’s a fairly unique chance to tickle all five senses at HERE at Outernet on Tues 5th May where Michelin-star chefs will prepare a six-course meal soundtracked by big room electronica heroes Bicep at Sensora. It’s all in aid of The Brain Tumor Charity, and tickets (priced at £375) are already sold out, however there’s a chance to win a pair by pledging a tenner in the next couple of days.
MUSIC: 🎛️ The Roundhouse Three Sixty Festival is in full swing this weekend with the might Detroit techno originals Carl Craig and Octave One Live tonight, Fri 24th Apr and a pay-what-you-can party from Situation Dance with Annie Mac, Benji B, Yazmin Lacey, Kash Jones + Femi Koleoso on Sat 25th. Both events have vanishingly few tickets left - if you‘re quick.
ART: 🖼️ The 16 interdisciplinary artists and curators that make up the newly formed Palace Cinema Art Collective have their firs show in their new Kentish Town gallery home on Fri 25th Apr with a free private view of House Warming, which then runs all weekend.
FOOD:🌶️ Swish food hall Arcade is opening a third London site fairly near their Tottenham Court Rd original. This time its the former TGI Fridays spot in deepest Covent Garden, with flat iron and smoky spatchcock at Solis and smash burger from Manna amoung the hall highlights, plus standalone outlets for Southern Thai specialists Plaza Khao Gaeng and an exciting Greek Cypriot taverna from ex-Kiln/co-owner of Singburi, Nick Molyviatis. Doors open to everything on Fri 15th May.
COMEDY: 🎭 Seven Dials club Comedy Carnival hosts a showcase of international stand up comedy this Sat 25th Apr, featuring outspoken Irish comic Mary Bourke, Scott Capurro, Sam Picone and the entertaining David Ward on MC duties.
MUSIC: 🪩 You’ll need to venture just over the river for this one 😱 but the prospect of 500 free drinks, the start of a bank holiday weekend and al fresco bangers courtesy of Guilty Pleasures and Flexin’ means the return of the South Bank’s annual food and cultural programme Between The Bridges next Thurs 30th Apr is one for the calendar, I’d say.
BOOK NOW
🥕 Celebrate the arrival of Spring and its fresh harvest of vegetables on Sat 9th May as local sustainable food champions Vegbox and Eat Club team up for Seasonal Surprises, a cooking workshop followed by a community meal, at Calthorpe Community Gardens. You’ll learn to prepare some simple, delicious, seasonal dishes and then meet fellow local food enthusiasts around the table afterwards.
PARTNER
Clicking our ad network messages is one simple way you can support Camdenist at no cost to yourself, so here’s this week’s ad - do your best, clickers!
Slow down aging at the biological level.
Aramore is a completely new approach to skincare—one that helps your body produce more NAD+, the vital co-enzyme responsible for our cellular health and how we age.
See firmer, more radiant, more resilient skin in just 28 days. Get 20% off your first order with code NEWSLETTER20.
📈 You’re one of our 8k+ highly engaged subscribers.
Want to speak to all the others?
We can offer your business year-round support, achieving more success from your communications, content and networks. Just reply to this email and we can tell you more about how we can help. There’s 20% off introductory offer on our affordable annual business community plan, too.
Your feedback, suggestions and requests are always welcome: [email protected]
Camdenist runs on the beehiiv platform. If you are thinking about launching a newsletter of your own, or wanting to see improvements in your current email messaging tools sign up for free today with no credit card required and you’ll get 30% off your first 3 months if you do proceed.
If you’d like advice on engaging newsletters, websites and content campaigns for your own audience, just reply to this email and I’ll get right back to you. 📤