There was a wall between the gardens, and arches below the train track that ran from Brixton to Loughborough Junction, and we would run along the wall, using it as a pathway to the other gardens, and play in derelict houses. The trains were regular and loud, but to us it was normal, so when they stopped for a bank holiday the silence felt eerie. My partner reminds me that even now I find it difficult to live in complete silence. She’s always walking into empty rooms where I have the radio blaring. I grew up with trains and planes passing overhead, brothers ranting, music playing, mother shouting – and I cannot sleep without an audiobook playing. I’ve lived a loud life.