May 2010 - Our city neighbourhoods are becoming no-go areas
When city living means dirt and danger, it's time to
return to community values. Jenni Murray OBE, the ex-Woman's
Hour presenter and Radio 4 broadcaster, has had enough of broken
glass, 4am parties and urban foxes
Conservative leader David Cameron described our society as
'broken'. I don't think I would ever go that far, but
somewhere along the line, standards of pride in one's
surroundings and concern for
the welfare of neighbours and
community have slipped - and we need, urgently, to bring them back.
Because of work, I spend part of my week in a London suburb, where
lads lurk on street corners. The glass in the bus shelter up the
road was broken months ago and has not been repaired, while my
basement flat - the Wuthering Depths, in contrast to the Wuthering
Heights of my home in the Peak District - has been broken into
three times. The old lady next door walks to and from the shops in
fear and even the little dogs I bought, partly as a burglar
deterrent, are now too frightened to go out into the garden. Two
weeks ago, they popped out for a pee in the dark early morning and
Frida, the smaller of the two, was attacked by a fox. She survived,
thanks to the intervention of her mate, Butch, who's a little
bigger and fearsomely protective, but was badly hurt.
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