We'll see why and which kind of people choose such special houses!
Hola amigos, ¿viviríais en un barco? Esta es la pregunta de hoy. Como los alquileres son cada vez más caros en Londres, mucha gente está eligiendo esta otra opción: "vivir en un barco".
Veremos por qué y qué clase de gente elige ¡estas casas tan especiales!
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| Añadir leyenda |
Info from Speak Up Magazine.
Up to 10,000 people live on boats in London. Some have luxury houseboats in expensive marinas but others follow a simpler way of living on refurbished old boats. Many are permanently moored while others wander the canals and waterways.
THE THAMES
People have lived and worked on the River Thames for hundreds of years. Many people have come to understand the Thames, with its tides and moods.
"Being on the water, where you move up and down with the tide, you have a different view all the time, you're not always in the same place. You have that feeling of connection with the way the world is turning."
COMMUNITY
Today, more than half the world's population live in urban areas and this can distance us from nature.
Some people living on boats think that they have the best of both worlds: "All the things London has to offer and living on the Thames in the middle of London, you can enjoy a place in nature, too.
Nine Elms Pier has a community of about 100-120 boat-dwellers. Some have creative jobs, such as film-makers and artists, but there are also nurses, government workers and an air stewardness. It is one of the few places in London where everyone knows their neighbours.
THE MODERN WORLD
On the pier, you can find a vegetable garden, picnic tables and a little swimming-pool.
People help each other with the boats repairs, building or planting. It's more like a rural village so this contrast between the old world and the new can be a problem.
At Nine Elms, a modern development threatens the colourful assortments of houseboats.
People who are now living there hope that this alternative way of London living will survive for future generations.
WORD ON THE WATER
This picturesque second-hand bookshop, also known as the London book barge, is based at Paddington and travels the Grand Junction Canal with its eclectic selection of books.
There are also floating cafés, a vintage clothes boat and a sandwich barge on the waterways of London.
DID YOU KNOW...
That the Thames is a tidal river? In London, the water level of the river rises and falls up to 7 metres with the tide.
THAMES BOATING COMMUNITIES
**Downing Roads Moorings, near Tower Bridge. This is one of the London's oldest remaining river moorings and houseboat communities. The walkways between the moorings have been turned into floating gardens.
**Hermitage Community Mooring. This cooperative built its own mooring on the Thames at Wapping as a home for 20 historic vessels, many of which are inhabited.
**Cadogan Pier. An example of the uncertainty of boat living, nearly all the residents of this houseboat community in Chelsea have recently been evicted by Russian property developers.
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VOCABULARY
-TO REFURBISH: restaurar.
-TO MOOR: atracar, amarrar.
-TO WANDER: ir de un lado a otro.
-WATERWAY: canal, río navegable.
-LOCK-KEEPER: encargado de esclusas.
-MOOD: estado de ánimo, humor.
-MOORING: amarre.
-TO EVICT: desalojar.
-BOAT-DWELLER; residente en un barco.
-PIER: muelle.
-TO THREATEN: amenazar.
-BARGE: barcaza.
SO, I ASK YOU THE QUESTION AGAIN: WOULD YOU LIVE ON A BOAT?
HAVE A NICE DAY MY FRIENDS!!!
SEE YOU!!!
