“My name is Gione Bobeldijk and I’ve been living in the centre of Amsterdam in the disreputable Warmoesstraat since 1997.
I’ve seen the neighbourhood change from a working-class district with independent retailers into an area with franchisees of bigger brands, such as burger bars and Nutella shops. That’s bad news for the area’s diversity. In the old days an old grandma still ran the oldest barbershop in Amsterdam just opposite me, but she has disappeared too. Just like the old Karbeel owned by the renowned sisters, as I called them, where you could still get a bag of sugar if you’d run out at home.”
