In a speech at the launch of the London Housing Design Guide this week, our “sexier than Johnny Depp� Mayor managed to offend a class of individuals who have thus far fallen under his radar. (Falling under the radar wasn’t terribly difficult for these folk, admittedly, being as they are between two and four feet tall).
“For too long we have built homes to indecently poor standards – fit neither for Bilbo Baggins nor his hobbit friends – and that is indefensible. The finest city in the world deserves the finest housing for its inhabitants….â€? announced Bozza at the conference in Croydon.
Considering that the hobbits ultimately saved Middle Earth by defeating Suaron and his evil hordes, claiming that London housing “wasn’t fit for hobbits� – and the intimation that they are somehow a lesser race than the humans living in London’s substandard housing – no doubt caused offence to these Halflings, had anyone been able to find one for comment.
To be fair to Bilbo Baggins, he had a beautiful garden and considering Boris’ first key design aim is to “focus on the spaces between and around buildings� he and the Design Guide could well learn a few lessons from the housebuilding policy of Tolkien’s favourite race.
So you have to ask – why is Boris asking the London Borough of Newham to build 5000 new homes, which will be built under the London City Airport flight path. And as for open / garden space – how you can you enjoy that with thundering aircraft jet. Even though the planes are smaller at London City Airport, they have to take off at a very steep angle due to being in a built-up area……