The Shop the Looters Ignored
The bookshop that looters didn't even touch.
Location: 70-72 St John's Road, Clapham, SW11 1PT
Description: On the worst night of 2011 London rioting almost every shop in Clapham High Street was looted by rioters - except, remarkably, one - the bookshop.
In one of the most telling images of the summer, looters stole TVs, camouflage shorts and iPods, but the Waterstone's branch in Clapham was left completely untouched.
The joke the next day was that the rioters do not know how to read. Simon, the manager of camping shop Blacks, watched it all from an upstairs window across the road, hiding in terror as hundreds of looters plundered his shop and the street outside.
They smashed our window, ripped the plasma TVs off our walls, took all our jackets and rucksacks. I saw them go into Claire's Accessories, break into NatWest, liberate our neighbours Toni & Guy of hair products. They carted off iPods from Currys, clothes from Debenhams, mobile phones from Carphone Warehouse. I was horrified.
But Waterstone's, directly opposite us was untouched. For the looters it was as if it did not exist.
When Waterstone's deputy manager Alicia Baiger arrived next day to a street littered with broken glass and debris, she was amazed to find that her shop - with its 199 Sony eReaders and three-for-two 10 paperbacks - had suffered not even a scratch.
What this free-for-all revealed better than any consumer behaviour poll could, is that many young people have no desire for books. Not even when they are apparently free.
Tours: The London Riots Tour
Themes: Retail
|
The bookshop that looters didn't even touch. |
Ranking This Month: 1046/2930
Pages Hit This Month: 8
Credits: Evening Standard
Other places nearby:
Tip-Top Umbrellas», 4.2km
Jimmy Greaves Sports Shop», 12.km
Labour and Wait...», 5.9km
Hamleys Toy Store», 3.7km
The Westfield London», 3.9km
The first ever Tesco», 10.km
Is This The New Portobello?», 3.5km
The Boxpark», 5.7km
Exchange Alley», 4.9km
Hackney Mafia Shoe Shop», 6.0km
Location Pinpointed:
pinpointing the forgotten and lost history of London
Shady Old Lady »» Car Reviews »» Classic Telly »» Peckish © 2021 The Shady Old Lady, Privacy Policy
