The Death Of E 1st Avenue!

[Michael Alexander]

Took my best friend for his walk this afternoon, walked down the E 1st avenue, the house where I grew up in since 1972-1991, stood empty...... I entered the yard...... I should'nt have, everything was dead, the tree's , the grass..... the back gate open........ the windows covered in a milky mist.......... As i stepped back into the avenue, I suddenly had to start counting, out of the 12 houses on our street, 8 houses stood abandoned...... dead and empty, their human gems long since gone..... The Spencers, The Longmores, the Gilbeys, The RObertons, The DuPlooys, The Van Ecks, The Viljoens............... All long gone names of a memory of a street......

(All the eggs, are vacant homes along my street!)

[Andrew Darné]

Bummer Mike. Carry on up 1st towards the petrol station and you and shadow won't have enough digits between you to keep count of the empty houses.

Cycling back home through the residentials tonight I find more familieis that I thought had left town but in fact have only moved house.

[Michael Alexander]

So I grabbed my camera, and headed off town to 1st avenue, with the intention of photographing my old house....... "Ag! What the heck!, ", I thought to myself, "let me take a snap of all the empty homes along 1st avenue, it might be interesting"...... Holy cow...... if somebody in the company cannot see a massive marketing opportunity here in honestly improving the sustainability of Oranjemund and contributing to the local economy, then they should stop telling everyone that we are doing everything in our power to sustain the town after the diamonds finish...... COZ! YOU AIN"T

Have a look at your fixed assets rotting in the damp namib wind.....

You took Billions out of this corner of the country........ put something back into my town!!!!!

[Michael Alexander]

You may see an end of an era and these are merely the casualties of the great diamond war that occurred here.... I do not, I see housing for 38 retired couples on one street in my town, 38 couples that would indirectly create 23 jobs in Omund, that would contribute N$ 100 000 per month.........

[Michael Alexander]

an endless row of misery.....

[Michael Alexander]

SOme of these gardens have the most beautiful tree's, perhaps planted 40 years ago....... without water.... they will die.....

[Michael Alexander]

How difficult can this be? Does everyone else out there understand this?

[Michael Alexander]

Empty as far as the eye can see , and the scary part..... there are 16 more avenues to go....

[Michael Alexander]

 

[Michael Alexander]

 

[Michael Alexander]

Have you ever seen so many empty homes going to waste on one long street?

[Alfred Boehme]

and when Andrew moves there will be another one for you Mike

[Michael Alexander]

I was thinking of doing 2nd avenue next week....

On another connected point, I counted 5 Advance trucks in town again this week..... and it's only wednesday......

I though the bleeding had ceased......

[Andrew Darné]

Mike... don't you like my curtains or what? 35 -1st is still occupied bro.

Note Alf's comment... "WHEN ANDREW MOVES..." I'm still living there!!! We won't say for how much longer though.

Ahemm... didn't you once stay in 12th Avenue? Have you taken your CAMERA down that lane recently...?

[Michael Alexander]

That photo was taken for JohnWilson..... he used to live there back in the 70's and thought that the house might have been demolished...... it was with the set I took on the day and is also posted under TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH.......