Brockley: Icon needed

There has been too much talk of carbuncles lately. Time instead to talk about icons.

Since the Brockley Road MOT garage bit the dust, Brockley's most prominent landmark has been erased. The graffiti that wrapped its Coulgate Street walls featured in a thousand amateur rap videos, blogger articles, Time Out reviews and more. In lieu of many iconic spots, those walls were the face of Brockley.

The graffiti represented Brockley's recent past, not just because it was a nice visual near the station, but because it captured the shabby, home grown, amateurish quality of the area. The DIY spirit that shaped the area's culture. The triptych opposite the Barge also reflected the importance of the local Afro-Caribbean community - or at least, it represented what a white middle class person tends to celebrate about black culture - Maya Angelou, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley to the fore. Black culture with a hippy filter - nothing could have been more Brockley circa 2007. As time moved on and Jimi vanished, a hipster-friendly alternative took his place alongside Maya and Bob. These walls were an evolving reflection of the local populace.

Now we must ask: What represents Brockley in 2014?

What is the new icon we can all rally behind? What image should fill our Facebook banner and our Twitter avatar? We've always tended to go the lazy route - using images of Hilly Fields, because nobody could be uncheered with a tree. But Hilly Fields, for all its wondrousness, is a bit dull and from most angles looks like most other parks. The Rivoli is our most celebrated building, but mostly for its innards - our icon needs to be accessible always.

So suggestions please? Serious or flippant. The best idea will represent Brockley on our social channels and, maybe one day, on our redesigned homepage.