Katie Harland – 14th December 2011
As Christmas nears, I find myself thinking how this first term at SCA has shot by. Although it has been incredibly fun I find I am greatly looking forward to a the oncoming week of lie-ins, Christmas shopping and hopefully building a gingerbread house that puts Beckingham Palace to shame.
As I walked in this morning, seemingly unfazed by the fact that a police line had been set up opposite our school, I found my reflecting on what it meant to be working in Vauxhall. I remember coming for my interview day and being baffled by that fact the school appeared to be set up in a church, something it would seem that continues to flummox mentors on a day to day basis. Why would a creative course want to place its self out here I found myself asking? Most of the agencies I’d heard of seemed to be nestled away in Soho or Shoreditch. These in my mind were areas that inspired and fostered creativity. They had a buzz. The people wore turned up trousers, leather jackets and colourful thick-framed glasses. A far cry from the tracksuit clad mob I passed cotching on the wall outside the school.
However I have converted, now I have seen the light. I’ve grown to love Vauxhall. Something I thought I’d never declare. Now I know this may seem a little elaborate, don’t get me wrong I’m not now looking for flats in the area or coming in on Saturdays and Sundays just for the sheer love of it, but there are little perks to working here that really make my day.
For one, the satisfying feeling I get each morning on the tube when I change to the Victoria line at Victoria, Southbound. Apparently something that a very small percentage of people do! It is a rare and wonderful moment in London to have a whole tube; chock a block full of straight faced and suited commuters empty before your eyes as you board. Leaving you enough seats to change every ten seconds in an elaborate game of musical chairs if you so wished, or recline (rather uncomfortably) across a whole row.
Who would also turn down the daily entertainment of coinciding the walk from the tube to the school with the closing time of one Vauxhalls vibrant gay clubs. Swarms of ‘bears’ and rather dubious characters spill out into the park, as you find yourself weaving through them. On the one hand feeling rather sheepish about the fact that you are on your way to work as their night continues, but on the other a little smug about the fact you’re clean and fresh, while they are beginning to resemble to some extent the characters from Dawn of the Dead.
I find Vauxhall also offers the perfect break when you need to get out as well. Whether it’s being defeated by a burger the size of your face at the Black Dog, paying an arm and a leg for a slice of cake three tiers high in the teahouse or brain storming (or if we’re being politically correct, ‘thought showering’) in the playground, Vauxhall certainly has character, you cant deny it that.
One episode I will never forget was my visit to the bondage shop whilst doing research for our agency name Spank. After all, Sir John Hegarty stumbled across his legendary tagline ”Vorsprung durch Technik” for Audi whilst visiting one of its factories, so our team decided to take our research one step further. What happened in the shop I can only describe as an outrageous charade on everyone’s behalf. While the shop owner proceeded to flick though various dominatrix costume catalogues for inspiration, confessing that we were ‘making him blush’, I found my self absent-mindedly playing with some leather cuffs; struggling to say something constructive about the homoerotic imagery being pushed my way. It was shortly after this that Charlie poked me and pointed out the robust looking cage on the floor. The sort of cage you could fit a grown man in. The whole experience however took an alarmingly surreal twist when the shop owner dressed Olly in a leather jacket. In an effort to consciously try and keep up the pretence that this was perfectly normal, everyone began vigorously agreeing with the shop owner’s enthusiastic gestures, commenting that the jacket really did look great on Olly and why hadn’t he considered buying one before? When we finally came round to the fact that we had really been in this shop too long, we said our goodbyes and we a little surprised to hear the robust German shop keeper declare, ‘You’re velcome back ven ever you vant!’
It’s something that I think is a really strong quality of the school that we are encouraged to actively get out and interact with aspects to do with our briefs. It is this same attitude that caused Martin and I to take a trip to the Vauxhall farm and find our self knee-deep in chickens and rabbits, and countless expeditions to other places with other groups. After all, the best leaning comes from first hand experience.
So to conclude, as this term draws to an end, I am happy here in Vauxhall. I now embrace the fact we’re not strategically placed in a trendy location like every other agency. We’re Spank, and we’re different.
