We went to Leicester on Saturday and used the old Silver Arcade to cut through from the market to Dominoes toy shop. The Arcade, Victorian terraced with glass bricks on the metal walkways, is now pretty much dormant - all of the upper tiers are closed off, with shops only occupying the ground floor area. I remember when Black Cat Books were in there, top floor, far corner - it was a cracking shop, full of old books and toys and other treasures, which fitted perfectly with the architecture around it. BC Books moved out a long while ago (and have now shut down, sadly, but still have an online service) and the shops dwindled until there were virtually none left. Apparently, the people who own the Arcade are planning to do it up and attract new shops, but we’ll see.
Anyway, as we walked through and I looked up and the sun caught the skylights and the glass bricks and Dude said “Wow”, it suddenly occurred to me that this could be the location for a set piece in my new novella. I don’t know how yet (though I do know at least one thing that will happen), but it feels good that things are starting to fall into place (as architecture, you see, inspires a lot of things in my writing).
And this is a picture I took, looking back towards the market.
Anyway, as we walked through and I looked up and the sun caught the skylights and the glass bricks and Dude said “Wow”, it suddenly occurred to me that this could be the location for a set piece in my new novella. I don’t know how yet (though I do know at least one thing that will happen), but it feels good that things are starting to fall into place (as architecture, you see, inspires a lot of things in my writing).
And this is a picture I took, looking back towards the market.
Hope it does get rejuvenated, as it's a lovely building. I used to visit in my teen years for the alternative clothing shops :-)
ReplyDeleteIt had some great shops in there, didn't it? I can't say I ever did an clothes shopping in there, but I passed most of them - and had a peer in - as we headed up to the BC, or the record shops or, much later, a place that only sold old Star Wars toys.
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