Which is more "Brixton" - west or east of the A23

[IntoStella]

My brain has flipped out - I was thinking it was North up the hill - doh! Of course it ain't.

Up isn't always north.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

IS - you're standing in the middle of Brixton Hill road - to the left of you is St Matthew's Church/Mass, to the right of you is The Fridge.
Which direction is The Fridge in?






If you say west, it's a big dunce cap for you for the day

Right hand side which is East

but if you about turn then it's the other way round /

 

[Orang Utan]

 

[Orang Utan]

Right hand side which is East

but if you about turn then it's the other way round /

You're just confusing things now.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

You're just confusing things now.

Well I did say directions confuse me. I even have to look at my hands to remember which one I write with to tell me which is left and right

So, Elm Park is West then?

 

[Orang Utan]

Elm Park is east

 

[IntoStella]

So, Elm Park is West then?

No, you're east. Remind me never to go orienteering with you and orang.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

No, you're east. Remind me never to go orienteering with you and orang.

I know Elm Park is East, it was YOU who said I was West

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

You're on the west, you East Claphamite. (But along with me and Minnie's big posh Brixton Hill houses.)

I must apologise sincerely to Intostella, YOU didn't say it at all. It was someone else that said it


and while I'm apologising, doesn't Orang have anything he'd like to say to me? I'm waiting

 

[Orang Utan]

and while I'm apologising, doesn't Orang have anything he'd like to say to me? I'm waiting

Er....ummmm....er....










sorry

 

[IntoStella]

When Lang Rabbie started this thread I bet he never dreamt it would turn into a sort of Troggs Tapes of map reading.

He must be banging his head on his desk, though whether in mirth or despair it's hard to say.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Orang - you live by the Trinity. You are on the WEST frigging side of the A23.
Central London is to your north, Brighton to your South.
For gods sake man get a grip!!!

and I'm STILL waiting for an apology

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Er....ummmm....er....










sorry

Sorry, I couldn't quite see that

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

When Lang Rabbie started this thread I bet he never dreamt it would turn into a sort of Troggs Tapes of map reading.

He must be banging his head on his desk, though whether in mirth or despair it's hard to say.

So, er... how exactly do you tell which way you're facing if you've got no building etc. to guide you - say if you were in a field and could see nothing but grass and sky?

 

[IntoStella]

So, er... how exactly do you tell which way you're facing if you've got no building etc. to guide you - say if you were in a field and could see nothing but grass and sky?

You could look on the tree trunks to see which side the moss was growing.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

You could look on the tree trunks to see which side the moss was growing.

You're joking? *starts to wonder*

 

[Pie 1]

So, er... how exactly do you tell which way you're facing if you've got no building etc. to guide you - say if you were in a field and could see nothing but grass and sky?

The Sun. Rises in the east, sets in the west.
Buy a keychain compass.

 

[IntoStella]

You're joking? *starts to wonder*

Not at all. If it is too overcast to see the sun, as Pie says, you can tell which way is south because that is the side of the trunk the moss grows on*. I shit you not.

*Unless you are in the southern hemisphere, which I don't think Elm Park is

 

[IntoStella]

SCOUTING RESOURCES

And no beastliness!!!

Even without a compass or the sun to give direction you can get an indication of north adn south from plants. They tend to grow towards the sun so their flowers and most abundant growth will be to the south in the Northern Hemisphere, the north in the South.

On tree trunks moss will tend to be greener and more profuse on that side too (on the other side it will be yellowish to brown). Trees with a grainy bark will also display a tighter grain on the north side of the tree trunk.

If trees have been felled or struck down the pattern of the rings on the stump also indicates direction - more growth is made on the side towards the Equator so there the rings are more widely spaced. There are even species of plant known for their north-south orientation.

 

[Pie 1]

you can tell which way is south because that is the side of the trunk the moss grows on*. I shit you not.

There's actually a great example of this in London at the IMAX theatre in Waterloo.
There are cables that are attached to it all the way around (360 degrees) & all the cables are covered in some sort of ivy/creeper except the ones that are on the side of the building that faces Waterloo bridge - i.e. North.
Check it out next time you're passing.

 

[Bob]

If you live in the southern hemisphere then frequently south is at the top of maps.

And apparently (according to Robert Chambers - godfather of participatory development and all round guru) London is virtually the only place in the world that people orientate their mental maps of their neighbourhoods on a north-south axis - everyone else does it around what's important to them....

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

If you live in the southern hemisphere then frequently south is at the top of maps.

And apparently (according to Robert Chambers - godfather of participatory development and all round guru) London is virtually the only place in the world that people orientate their mental maps of their neighbourhoods on a north-south axis - everyone else does it around what's important to them....

didn't understand a word of that

 

[IntoStella]

didn't understand a word of that

Don't worry -- you live in the northern hemisphere. Honest. The southern hemisphere starts at Streatham. The equator is at the summit of the hill.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

The Sun. Rises in the east, sets in the west.
Buy a keychain compass.

Yes, but I always forget which way it is, I get them mixed up

Actually, I have thought about buying a compass many a time. In fact, there's a travel shop a couple of doors away from me. Wonder how much they are :
I saw the sun setting once smack at the end of New Park Road. So New Park Road's west then?

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Don't worry -- you live in the northern hemisphere. Honest. The southern hemisphere starts at Streatham. The equator is at the summit of the hill.

Oh, that's OK then Don't want to start sounding like an Aussie

 

[Pie 1]

I saw the sun setting once smack at the end of New Park Road. So New Park Road's west then?

That end is, but in the morning the other end of New Park road is East...

< dons protective goggles in anticipation of Minnies brain exploding>

 

[clandestino]

Orang - you live by the Trinity. You are on the WEST frigging side of the A23.
Central London is to your north, Brighton to your South.
For gods sake man get a grip!!!

thank you.
i've just been shouting those very words at my screen!

 

[IntoStella]

thank you.
i've just been shouting those very words at my screen!

I was starting to think I was going mad (don't say it).

Remember when Mark Thatcher got lost in the Sahara? D'you reckon a certain Trinity Gardens dwelling urbanite might have been his navigator?

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

That end is, but in the morning the other end of New Park road is East...

< dons protective goggles in anticipation of Minnies brain exploding>

ah shut up you

 

[Bob]

didn't understand a word of that

All I'm trying to get at is that maps are an entirely arbitrary way of presenting the world. For instance:

Why should north be at the top of maps? Up for most of us is perpendicularly into space, down into the centre of the earth.

Why should maps be centred on western Europe rather than, for instance, the international dateline in the middle of the Pacific?

There's a very good episode of The West Wing ('Somebody's going to emergency, somebody's going to jail') that explains this in an amusing way:

http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/EpisodeReviewPage/showid-189/epid-30401/blockid-6/