Bianca

“…just hearing the seagulls all the time. It feels like you are by the seaside…in a different area outside of London.”

Bianca in conversation with Lizzie, April 2021.

Bianca, originally from Romania, came to live in Royal Arsenal Riverside in Woolwich in 2020, having moved to the UK in 2012, via Spain. She works in marketing and is also a film director and screen writer (https://biancaluciarus.ro/).

Bianca submitted photographs and a map (see below) for this project, providing a starting point for our conversation in June 2021. Bianca is a river enthusiast and loves the brilliant sunsets in Woolwich. She enjoyed exploring Woolwich on her daily walks during the pandemic, and this project fed her fascination with the older buildings such as Woolwich Town Hall, and the abandoned MV Royal Iris boat by Thameside Studios. Bianca feels safe and welcomed by her neighbours in Royal Arsenal Riverside, though at the time we talked she didn’t yet call herself a ‘local’, saying she needed longer to get to know the area. Bianca loves the local green spaces but feels there should be more for families. She talked about the great travel links here but worried that the arrival of Cross Rail would put house and rental prices up. She was excited about Woolwich Works but also worried about lots of tourists in the area.

Bianca talked about being by the river and escapism. In her words…

“I come from a large city in Romania, which was by the river as well. It’s called Klos. It’s in Transylvania. So I was born in a very cultural city by the river. So I’m used to having some water (laughs) in my city. And then my grandmother used to live in a village where there were like five lakes and we always had water around us. And then I moved to Spain and lived like almost in front of the sea. So I lived by the Mediterranean Sea as well. I think I always liked spaces that have a bit of water, and green space, it feels like you can dream about not being lost in a very large city and considering London is the largest in Europe and probably the fifth in the world. It feels like you actually can be anywhere just looking at all the parks and just closing your eyes and just seeing the ships and the river wherever it feels like you can escape the crowdedness that comes with the city kind of a thing. So it’s not like you’re stuck indoors, but in a way, it’s like, there is nature just in front of you. And you know, you can, with a few steps, you’re there. And my building is oriented towards the river. So each time I work, I can see the ships, and I feel like I’m anywhere I could think of, like, I could be in Bangkok, I can be anywhere, actually, you know. So I think I really love places that gives you an opportunity to dream about and probably is because I’m always dreaming and creating worlds.”

© Bianca Rus / Lizzie Fort / part of Woolwich Wandering, 2022