A Street Away

by Ruri Kanematsu

 

UCL’s Bloomsbury campus is surrounded by buildings of classic European architecture on every corner of a big street. The walls are a pristine white, striking alongside red bricks and blue doors with numbers written on top to finish the look - an objectively odd color combination, but somehow it works. The arch and pillars that frame the midnight blue door and a carved bust that accompanies them are reminiscent of the Parthenon and architectural buildings left behind by Ancient Greece. The gold-plated house numbers mounted on the door add to the luxurious effect, and expensive cars of vibrant colors line the street in front, embodying the stereotype of the posh London lifestyle.

 

I turn on a smaller street where the sleek, modern UCL hospital stands tall. Across from it are houses significantly less extravagant than the buildings previously seen on the main roads. The houses are made of brown, tired looking bricks. There is no space nor any fences to separate one from another, and I imagined slices of a huge loaf of bread compressed together in a plastic sleeve, uniform and continuous. The street is dead empty in comparison to the main road I walked by. A few pedestrians pass by from time to time, dressed casually in comparison to the luxurious fabric and well-maintained loafers of the businessmen’s attire, carrying groceries in one hand and a bag slung over their shoulders. The strong juxtaposition reminds me of the fact that lives can vary so much just a street apart, the bustling and expensive contrasted by the domestic and mundane. Just by turning to a different road, our sights change drastically.

 

In front of the hospital, many health workers wearing their scrubs rest on benches decorated with colorful flowers and thick green leaves. Their tired and gloomy facades are sobering in contrast with the sunny, cool, and clear weather that, for the tourists that surround me, seems to only be instilling happiness in their hearts. What must they have experienced today? Just a few streets ahead, cafes, shops, and bookstores line both sides of the street under the shade of trees. The buildings are fashioned in classic Gothic architecture with beige walls and windows lined with golden railings. Tourists, office workers, and school children fill the pavements, leisurely strolling as they enjoy the view of the city. Behind the glitz and glamour, the bustling streets of Bloomsbury campus, health workers and trainees who chose to pursue this career are working hard to keep the city safe and ensure the continuation of activities in the Bloomsbury area.