And now I can't stop thinking about Ian Nairn

 I found the little wall he had a sit down on after interviewing that doctor. It's even littler now.

 I was inspired by No Two The Same to stroll to Pimlico this evening, retrace the faltering steps of Ian Nairn, and check out the housing estates.

 The Churchill Estate still seemed to be working nicely. The Mighty Fin used to rehearse musicals here in the hall on the corner, but I'd never before ventured beyond these bollards.

 There was a lot more green than estates are given credit for. Brutalism doesn't have to look shit when it rains. There are cobbles once you leave the road, and bricks, and bark, and they all were gleaming tonight.

 By the time I got to the Lillington Estate, it was darker.

 It's on Vauxhall Bridge Road, where I used to go to school, so, again, an area I should have been familiar with, but I'd never ventured in.

 It's more labyrinthine than the Churchill Estate, which is a hard quality to capture on camera, especially if the light's poor. I found a "sensory garden" but, again, my photo didn't really do it justice, so this isn't it.

 I discovered today that the term Brutalism comes from the French term for concrete: Bréton brut, and so has absolutely nothing to do with brutality, which makes sense to me, but is unfortunate. This sign says "Caution: Bees".

 These estates' biggest mistake was probably just believing the earth beneath them would stay still, which is why the cracks appear, and the paving stones go wobbly. But it's naivety rather than neglect and, I think, the opposite of brutal.

 And it was a nice day for it. But now I need a sit down.