What are the streets of London paved with?

tower bridge, a photo by ultraBobban on Flickr.

As the rays of sun struggle to peer their way through tall buildings and trees as the autumn equinox approaches, I find myself looking at the social and income deprivation that surrounds our beautiful capital.

It all depends on where you run but like most South Londoners, you can't run far without crossing postcode borders, from classy big houses with gates to tenement facades and new-build legoland houses. Occasionally there is a bin upturned and unashamedly emptied across the pavements by festering foxes. Litter provides a good indicator as to the social deprivation of an area; whether from the dumped mattress or from cans of super strength lager or half eaten boxes of chicken and chips.

What I noticed as I was on my 7th run in 7 days earlier this week was the amount of men, mostly middle aged, drinking on the streets while walking, possibly home from work. London doesn't usually faze me but once I had my eye in, I could spot these ruddy faced fellas from a way away and then smell them as I strode by, avoiding litter and dog faces on the way.

The concentration of these chaps centred on areas of income deprivation so I ponder when running the indices of income deprivation now need to include these poor lost souls. I need to add that to the index of number of chicken shops per street, litter and dog faeces. A new method to the game of Map My Run