Last week, my daughter and I spent a highly enjoyable evening at London's Saddlers Wells Theatre - a venue that appeared to be exceptionally clean, with well cared for washrooms which even include sanitary products for women - something I've not encountered anywhere previously. Sadly, something we'll also long remember about our evening is the disgusting state of the Bakerloo line tube train we suffered from Elephant & Castle to Waterloo while homeward bound, and Islington High Street which took us most of the way from Angel Station to the theatre. They were a disgrace and I felt ashamed of the mess parts of this once great capital city have now become.

Our tube carriage was in the centre and as all those we'd seen pass us as the train slowed were similarly decorated, we could only assume that the rear end had been vandalised too. I don't believe I've walked along Islington High Street for some five years. The deterioration of the environment since then, shocked me. I didn't take pictures of its obvious demise as it was dark and crowded with theatregoers. Plus it would have turned into a bit of a project as there was so much to capture. Think: pavements covered in an abundance of discarded chewing gum, (mainly around the station, but also in locations such as outside bars and cafés); full bin bags - some black, some see-through, appearing to have been deliberately placed against street furniture and in a couple of cases in small piles, (missed collection perhaps?) but two left in the pathway where they created a hazard; and loads of loose rubbish too.

Both sides were bad but the northern side had more gum and the southern side more rubbish. Different residents/clientele? What on earth is going on? Yes our trains and streets should be kept clean, tidy and hazard-free - my goodness we pay enough for the services! But why do folk think it's ok to daub a train with dodgy graffiti, or drop gum and rubbish around our streets, or leave full bin bags for others to negotiate until they're removed by the council? Morals anyone? In parts of the country, folk are fined for dropping comparatively small amounts of litter, such as a cigarette butt or sweet wrappers, (I recall writing about a woman fined for a cotton thread that had dropped off her jacket!) but others seem to be able to freely contribute to London's demise without fear of retribution.

There are surveillance cameras everywhere. Why are London's culprits allowed to get away with creating filth? And why isn't it being cleaned up? It's sending the message to others of low morals to come and do their worst. And they're responding in kind. Disgusting.