On my trip to the infamous Brentford Towers, I was happy that mine was only a fleeting visit, after seeing arguments and heated confrontations, I knew I was out of my depth.
Towers, as the estate is locally known, was made famous nationwide for housing Kurupt FM on BBC Three’s mockumentary, People Just Do Nothing, about aspiring garage MCs.
If this were true, and the people really were just doing nothing, then I am sure I would have enjoyed my trip to the intimidating estate a little more.
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Notorious in West London, the Towers can be seen for miles around and you may have seen them when travelling out of London on the M4.
The Brentford Towers can be seen from miles away
(Image: Finn Byrne)
They cast an intimidating shadow on the area around them, getting underneath them is much worse – 22 storeys of misery.
I was instantly bemused as to why it was so quiet when I arrived on the estate, but it was a working day, and not great weather outside, so I blamed it on that.
I later came to the conclusion that people weren’t outside due to the intimidating atmosphere I had walked right into.
The towers were opened in 1971 and since then it seems nothing has been done to change them.
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This must have angered the residents as the people I did see on the street weren’t happy with each other.
I wandered into the local shop and on exiting it seemed two men were having a disagreement about a Lucozade.
Among all the swearing it was clear things were getting pretty heated and as I walked off as they got closer to each other and their heads were almost touching, a great start.
A newly built AstroTurf pitch was the next noticeable feature I wandered upon. A few men sat around the pitch whilst a few played. It was here I saw my second heated argument in about 30 minutes.
A disagreement about the game had sparked a heated flurry of words and one team now had to hold their mate back from starting an all out brawl with the other players.
A quick selfie before I made my exit
(Image: Finn Byrne)
This should have signalled the end of my trip to Brentford Towers. However, I was on foot and had to wander back past five of the six towers that I had already passed.
I don’t usually get nervous, but I was starting to feel a little shaky as I made my way out of the estate.
The nerves were mainly mixed with hoping that the next argument didn’t involve me. It was more than enough being a witness.
On reflecting back to whether I would return to the Towers, I don’t think I would. I visited for an experience and this is what I gained. It gave me an understanding of the tense estate Kurupt FM were imitating being on.
I have no business returning to Brentford Towers, even if I did, I would be strongly against it.
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