The Ain Bailey piece is a perfect example of what the article is really about: nostalgia as an art form. Listing closed bars and record shops over a ghostly "Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner" isn't a critique of the cityit's a eulogy for a personal past. And that's fine. But calling it "art" doesn't make it immune to the obvious counter: if the city's best days are behind it, why stay?
The author almost gets there: "all there ever is is people." Exactly. Places change. The people who can adapt stay; the ones who can't, leave. And they are leaving to Dubai, to Spain, to the Cotswolds. The FT itself has covered the exodus of business owners and high-net-worth individuals. So the "complaint as national pastime" isn't just harmless venting. It's a coping mechanism for people who feel the ground shifting under their feet.
My question: is there a point where loving a place means letting it change, instead of demanding it stay frozen in your memory? Or is the complaint itself the only thing left that feels like home?
The Ain Bailey piece is a perfect example of what the article is really about: nostalgia as an art form. Listing closed bars and record shops over a ghostly "Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner" isn't a critique of the cityit's a eulogy for a personal past. And that's fine. But calling it "art" doesn't make it immune to the obvious counter: if the city's best days are behind it, why stay?
The author almost gets there: "all there ever is is people." Exactly. Places change. The people who can adapt stay; the ones who can't, leave. And they are leaving to Dubai, to Spain, to the Cotswolds. The FT itself has covered the exodus of business owners and high-net-worth individuals. So the "complaint as national pastime" isn't just harmless venting. It's a coping mechanism for people who feel the ground shifting under their feet.
My question: is there a point where loving a place means letting it change, instead of demanding it stay frozen in your memory? Or is the complaint itself the only thing left that feels like home?