With the advent of the Hollywood blockbuster the ghost cellars along the Portobello road scream out to be set free from the darkness and to be returned to their former glories. Back to the days when they were filled with light and the sounds of having fun and when every wall and every floor vibrated to the music. Reggae, Ska, Jazz, but above all there was an influence of the Caribbean lifestyle. From Ladbroke Grove through the Portobello Road and on to the All Saints Road and beyond until Notting Hill Gate, it was the same, Life! People travelled from all over London to be part of the vibrant music and the Caribbean scene.

Now as I walk along the Portobello Road and with most of the shops gone and replaced by trendy clothes shops I no longer feel the throbs of positive energy rushing up to engulf me from the cellars below my feet. I look around and shops that were once full of music and were used as social gatherings, are now trendy coffee-houses! Only two shops still remain to carry on with the tradition, Culture Shack and Peoples Sound Record Shop.

Most of the pubs bear no resemblance to what they once were, The Market Bar being possibly the only exception to this, but even that has undergone major changes over the last five years. Don’t get me wrong there are still a few of the old places left, The Globe in Powis Square, and a few good new ones The Ion Bar in Ladbroke grove, Neighbourhood, formerly Subterania, and a handful of others have all survived, but I fear for their continuous survival as with each passing year the trend for change will eventually take them over.

This was once an area that was avoided by the trendy folk, like the plague! The Notting Hill area was known as the Brixton of North London, a place you only went to if you had to! How times have changed! Hollywood moved in and made a film. Hollywood moved out and suddenly prices went up, for both businesses and residents, many locals moved to other areas in west London. What I look at now as I stand on the corner of Portobello Road and Tavistock Road, is the result of an invasion, a total culture change!

posted: march05