Nowhere have I encountered such a dull, monotonous fabric of life as here. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX— Henry Miller Long before the sun has risen Behind the International Finance Centre, In the formal ‘Sitting-out Area’ Of the Western District Community Centre, From the only tree that grows on Third Street An Asian cuckoo cries its mating call Through … Continue reading The Air-Conditioned Nightmare
Author: Simon Elmer
The Housing Crisis
On 20 May, 2015, the following text appeared on the website of Architects for Social Housing under the title ‘Manifesto’: ‘Architects for Social Housing (ASH) was founded in March 2015 in order to respond architecturally to London’s housing “crisis”. We are a Community Interest Company that organises working collectives of architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, urban designers, … Continue reading The Housing Crisis
The Housing Crisis: Finance, Legislation, Policy, Resistance
The Housing Crisis: Finance, Legislation, Policy, Resistance by Simon Elmer Hardback: £35.00 Paperback: £20.00 Look Inside Description First published between 2015 and 2019 on the website of Architects for Social Housing, the London-based architectural practice, the articles collected in this book analyse the financing, legislation and policy behind the UK housing crisis, as … Continue reading The Housing Crisis: Finance, Legislation, Policy, Resistance
Gweilo
Ghost man, I haunt these sweating streets Invisible to the Cantonese, Extras in Hong Kong’s zombie-flick Addicted to their smartphone screens. Capacitative touchscreen glass Is the only contact they will risk, While synthetic girls walk unseen By the liquid-crystal junkies. Eros in a medical mask, Drained of desire, surrogate of lust. Pixelated sterile orchid That … Continue reading Gweilo
Hill Road Flyover
The Hill Road flyover in Shek Tong Sui was completed in 1981. True to the architectural principles of the Swiss architect, Le Corbusier, the flyover lifts the traffic off the road and into the air, freeing the former up for the pedestrians, which include the numerous schoolchildren in this neighbourhood. The columns are masterpieces of … Continue reading Hill Road Flyover
Another Year
‘My body is dying, but my brain is still good.’ How should a man meet his death, but with terror and equanimity? Tell us now the story of the Sixth Age of Man: The age of his regrets, lived more in the past than the future; The age of his decline, when the blood in … Continue reading Another Year
Geisha
One can only visit Kyoto for the first time xxxxxxxxOnce in a lifetime xxxxAnd we are virgins in the hands xxxxOf a Japanese courtesan. Near the canal, in a tempura restaurant, xxxxOur pleasure is so apparent xxxxThe chef, a master of his art, xxxxxxxxVisits our table. And the barman who serves me Japanese whisky xxxxxxxxIn … Continue reading Geisha
Dark Dance
Impulse, instinct, memory or my will Flexes the muscle that contracts the tendon That pulls together two bones in my skeleton: And so I move, slowly, out of this space Into another. And as if risen From ashen death, faces whitened, heads shaven, Lipstick of blood at the corners of their eyes, Clothed in the … Continue reading Dark Dance
Bizarre Theatre
Strange behaviour Two men playing at romance But what artistry! — Tokyo, January 2025 • • • • • The etymology of kabuki is contested. Some say its three characters, ka-歌 (‘song’), bu-舞 (‘dance’) and ki-伎 (‘skill’), indicate the composite character of an art that contains elements of music, dance and drama that would usually … Continue reading Bizarre Theatre
A Tokyo Queue
Restaurant or shrine Not a sign the place is full But how you should queue — Tokyo, January 2025 • • • • • The queue in Tokyo, whether at a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine, outside a restaurant or shop, into a museum or through an airport security check, and which can stretch for … Continue reading A Tokyo Queue
A Communist in Hong Kong 