Florists VPL

Gill & Pam with Karen & I
Originally uploaded by Nina Pope

This week in Jaywick I learnt that "can you see my Oasis?" is basically the flower arrangers equivalent of "does my bum look big in this?".

Jaywick Carnival

Jago-wick

House opposite the pub
Originally uploaded by Nina Pope.

Last weekend we fancied a day out of London and decided to go to Jaywick, situated on the coast in Essex and the only small piece of the East Anglian coastline I have never been to before.

I was sort of prepared for the place as a couple of years ago I toyed with the idea of applying for a job as the arts officer there ... God knows why I have no desire to be an arts officer but I did have an odd feeling that I wanted to work in Jaywick. In the end the pay was so low (even by arts standards) that I could almost not have covered my travel costs to get there ...

ANYWAY having visited on Saturday I'm not altogether sure what an arts officer might offer the place. It does have some amazing homes, and a fascinating history but I suspect it also has a pretty amazing set of problems - as evidenced by the high standard of burnt out houses, rubbish and dog shit around - even by Hackney standards the place is undeniably a mess.

Jaywick beach
Originally uploaded by Nina Pope.

I've read lots of accounts of the great community spirit there, but I have to say it might be hard to find. The sheer density of cctv cameras bristling from some of the more loved seaside homes didn't point towards great community cohesion.

Oddly it made me think of the novel I'm reading at the moment about 'Old Nichol' the Jago 'slum' that once stood where East London's Boundary Estate now stands. I'm currently trying (with Mr. P&M) to make a 'song' there for the bandstand on the central circus. Through our search for musicians I get to see lots of different people there trying different versions of community spirit. They may still have a problem with dog shit on the circus but it's come a long way since 'A Child of the Jago' was written by Arthur Morrison in 1896!

Morrison's novel caused a scandal at the time and he was accused of dramatising the problems in the area. Now though it's commonly felt to be almost documentary in nature as a work.

The Jago as a place was somewhere that people could easily 'disappear' and you couldn't help but feel the same about Jaywick. I've been wondering what a novel/documentary would make of life here in 2008.

Martello tower/art center/fortress!
Originally uploaded by Nina Pope.

As we were leaving I saw the Martello Tower where I'd have been based if I'd got the job. I don't think I could have stuck it - it seemed more like a fortress than an 'arts centre' - isolated and windswept at the end of a caravan park where every window displayed a sign that all valuables had been removed. Not really the right spot to really get to know Jaywick from.