Gentrification is one of the biggest vibe-killers facing London today. Longstanding communities are being ravaged by Good Hood pop-ups, bespoke cheesemongers, and new branches of Soho House. Fried chicken under £7 a portion is banned. There’s a gallery showing avant garde photos of 1970s Brooklyn where the “Gold 4 U” shop used to be. No one is allowed to say “Asda” in public.Indeed, one Londoner in the rapidly gentrifying borough of Lewisham noted an extreme marker of social change this week, when he spotted a live lobster walking down the street.
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South East London local Jonny Donmar came across the crustacean on Wednesday morning while making his way to work. The animal appeared to have escaped from a seafood market and was enjoying his new-found freedom with a stroll. Donmar posted a photo of the crustacean to online forum Reddit, along with the caption, "I saw a live lobster walking down the street in Lewisham on my way into work [to]day."Fellow Reddit users speculated about how the lobster had found its way there, with one suggesting that he “probably forgot his oyster.” Another posted: “Imagine escaping your fate and then realising you're in Lewisham.”According to the Evening Standard, Donmar later realised that the lobster was, in fact, a crayfish.A grimy city pavement is not exactly the natural habit of lobsters or crayfish, so MUNCHIES reached out to animal charity RSPCA for information on how the lost critter could have been helped. (Or cooked?)A spokesperson for the charity said: “If you find a crayfish, we advise that you don't drop it in the nearest pond or river until you know what species it is, but take it somewhere where it can be identified such as your local authority's environmental department.”