Susie: ‘The whole place was freezing, people working from home, the elderly, the vulnerable … left in the cold.’
‘I could see the fun and games taking place in the air for the Olympic Games… I also saw the smoke billowing out of Grenfell.’ May 2021
‘I was hoping because of COVID some office block would be turned into homes, even temporary accommodation, but where’s the money in that…’ June 2021
Susie is a 54 years old nanny, who lives with her son, who is in his twenties, on the top floor of a 19 storeyed block of flats In EC1. Their block had the same kind of cladding as Grenfell, which was removed, but they ‘have no fire exit, just one set of stairs … and no fire extinguishers on any of our floors either. Many residents are transient; they are placed by the Council, may be on benefits and are afraid to speak. However, Susie became so worried and frustrated with the current management of their block that she volunteered to become the liaison officer between the residents and the building manager. During lockdown while people were confined to their homes the communal heating in their block was turned off, but she rallied the other residents, and together they were successful in fighting the Council to put it back on again. She loves living in the area and appreciates ‘the local history, but she is also afraid that ‘we live too near to the City and greed will end up winning the day’.
