LOCAL MAN ATTACKED, CARRY ON DRINKING.

Its interesting to see how the area is treated in the media, according to local paper the Paddington Mercury stall holders and locals were ''in shock" after a man was attacked in Portobello road last Thursday night, "nothing like this has happened before" a market trader of six months was quoted as saying, No quotes from long term traders were included, is that because they might tell a different story?

STALL HOLDERS NOT WITNESSING ANY CRIME, RIGHT.

The tone of the article is in stark contrast to many years of previous media reporting in the area which painted the Portobello area as akin to a wild west town, the pubs were full of villains (one Portobello pub was once dubbed by the press 'the most evil pub in Britain'), drugs were/are rife (well, actually that isn't too far off the truth), pickpockets were on the job en Mass and crime was at such high levels that the very fabric of society was at risk of tearing itself apart, yet in the last few years the media reporting in the area has had a massive face lift and the result of that is an overall drop in the hysteria of news reports.

That's not to say that crime has changed overall in the area, but the biggest change is the perception in the eyes of the press, now the area is one of those places in where it is cool to be spotted in, take the recent example of Kilburn lane just north of Ladbroke grove which very closely mirrors what happened to Portobello road a few years before, for many years Kilburn lane was thought of and portrayed as a murderous place, it did lead up to Kilburn proper after all. But now it is desirable to visit its bar's and restaurants, and the reason for this is not a drop in the crime rates or CCTV keeping the place clear of unworthy elements, the reason is super jun.... sorry, super model Kate Moss. Moss was a visitor to the 'Paradise' bar just up from the junction of Ladbroke grove and Harrow road (a classy location if ever there was one), this pub/bar was visited by MS Moss a few times until her visits were reported in the media, once it had been reported that Moss was seen drinking in the bar the place was packed (all though Moss was not to be seen drinking there anymore), no more was Kilburn lane a place to fear that was only ever safe to drive through during daylight hours, the very people who said it was a dump now said it's a lovely place, perception is everything, and now that people with lots of money want to visit the area is safe for everyone, regardless of what happens on a daily basis.

One thing i haven't read in all the articles about Portobello that have appeared recently is that this area is known as Gotham city because 'they' (whoever 'they' are) are all out robbin', a bad pun i know but also a telling one, by this i don't mean to say this area is an out of control no go zone, but nor is it safe to leave your front door open, i just wish the media would report the area in an honest and balanced way or not at all.

Now that Portobello is fashionable in the eyes of the general public and not as just as an area where artists and musicians live it has become important to bring 'em in no matter what, and bad publicity is verboten even if it is true.