Started January 2010 [by Jack Thurgar]

This is a scrapbook dedicated to the study of London's weeds and the wild places where they grow. Wildcornerz also looks at the languages, cultures and mythologies that develop in these cracks.


What is a Wildcorner?

A Wildcorner is a term referring to a gap that has been left to grow wild in the city. The term encompasses every wild piece of land no matter the size, from large disused sports grounds to small patches of commercial wasteland, to a crack in the pavement. As long as this gap in the man made landscape harbours some kind of weed, then it is considered a Wildcorner.

Wildcorners and Wildcorridors* are dotted all over the capital and vary in content, depending on their location and history. One thing most have in common, is that they are normally restricted in someway from public access or boarded off and hidden from public view altogether. In this blog we focus particularly on the Wildcorners of south east London.

* Wildcorridor; a word used to describe a channel or pathway that runs through an urban landscape, which facilities the propagation and growth of weeds. This includes railway sidings, rivers and canals.



Urban and Suburban Weeds

By the term 'weeds' we are of course referring to the cities wild plants and flowers. But their are also two other weeds that grow in the city.

'Graf' like its botanical relation, has many families and strains. Both of these weeds can often be found together, sharing many qualities including their adaptive nature and unregulated status. Both in many cases, originally entered and populated the city using the railway network.

Another 'weed' that historically flourishes in London is invisible and uses the tops of tower blocks to propagate. Pirate radio like its weed relatives, grows away from the public eye and is constantly adapting to exploit these same gaps across the cities FM radio spectrum, fighting and flourishing in-between the commercial stations.

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Thursday 19 April 2012

The infamous Dark n Cold tapes 2000 - 2002

Just having a little Youtube trawl for classic moments from the original Dark n Cold vids. Found a few uploaded.
 They were first just available on VHS from the small clothing store in Soho. The videos were made as a means to promote there clothing range but they were made with love and were/are deliciously underground and budget.
http://www.suspect-packages.com/merchandise/videos/index.php

The first two volumes; 'Uk Untapped' feature various uk hiphop artists of the time [the later volumes were more jiggy and then grime influenced] and pioneered the beautiful thing that is a great mc freestyling to a camera. No mic, no crowd. Just a beat and a camcorder. It is a true celebration of the art form at its most pure. Beautifully simple, intimate and exciting.
They were doing what [the now award winning, massive] SBTV have built on with their 'F64' series on Youtube but they were shottin it, on VHS tapes back in 2000!
 These short videos are like folk recordings, capturing various underground street legends of the time.
Here are a few;

 Skinnyman from Finsbury Park


Surplus - underground Mc from Bristol



Chester P - legendary freestlyer from Highbury

Fallacy - A South East London General [shame its only a little sample of his sick bars here.]


Skeme and Big P - from Deptford and Pecks respectively. 



 .. and Skeme again, still doing it right on the 'UK Legends' series for SBTV last year.




Tuesday 17 April 2012

Walking Wastelands


The Lewisham Natureman; King of Weeds, can be seen trotting through this wildcorner in Lee High Road, where he appeared and then mysteriously vanished once before. 
I first spotted the spirit from the top deck of the 321 bus at night, his golden antlers shining through the dark as the bus roared past. 
I revisited the corner again the next day for a closer look. This corner is sealed off from the street and is only accessible by our friend the river Quaggy. It is just along the river from the newly built Hindu temple [behind Nando's] and is right in the heart of Lewisham. 
This time hes body appears to be moving in a space inside the wall, like the brick and plaster were a thick liquid ooze. Or he is changing his colour like a chameleon to match the yellow and green stripes of the former car dealers.