From the Edge was originally an occasional blog about living in the North of Waltham Forest – on the edge of London. Here, on the border with Essex, between the North Circular and the M25, development gives way to Forest and city becomes suburb. Starting the blog in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics, as the light industrial areas of the Lee Valley become a destination for the world, and questions of access, ownership and surveillance were debated, from the edge was intended to be a space to explore those themes. Needless to say I wasn’t the only one interested in these topics, and the original site’s posts looked at some of the work of artists and writers who were documenting and inspired by these interesting times. In fact for a while it felt as though everyone you saw walking in the forest or marshes must be writing a book or blog about the way it was changing: Marshland, Out of The Woods, Edgelands, Strange Labyrinth, A Dream Life of Hackney Marshes, Changing Places……maybe it wasn’t a ‘scene’ but Edge of London Psychogeography was certainly a theme of the second decade of the century, and one that continues today.
Whilst the writers and artists of the examples above got it together enough to write books, make albums or sculptures, the blog was sporadic and often forgotten…..but it has always stayed live, and so, for the time being at least, I’ve decided to revisit it and write once again. The original themes and ideas still bubble away and surface in posts, but the site is also a home for my thoughts about traditional folk music – and particularly the culture and music of Traditional Tune Sessions, as well as broader explorations of culture and community. I’ll always be happy to chat about collaborations or posts from others and ways the site might evolve.
Thomas Hardy
From The Edge 