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CONTENTS

CONTENTS ISSUE 01 NOVEMBER 2021

There’s no place like home.

from the editor

e all have favourite stories. They stay with you forever. Two that are seared in my psyche are The Wizard of Oz and The Alchemist. The story told in Paolo Coelho’s The Alchemist is about a young boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried near the Pyramids. He returns emptyhanded only to discover that the gold was to be found in his home the entire time. Like Dorothy who found that she had the ruby slippers - her way home - all along, Santiago had the treasure all along too. On one level these parables convey the value of the journey rather than the destination, but they also share the wisdom that the happiness we seek is to be found under our noses if only we could see it. Similarly, we can all get caught up in chasing the bright lights of the city and neglect to see the treasures that lie in our neighbourhoods, the place we call home. Whether we are born and

bred here or whether we have chosen to live here, this corner of London is where we spend most of our time. Yet, in this fast-paced world focused on attainment, it’s often easy to miss the simple pleasures of home that bring us joy on a daily basis. That’s why we launched The Slice. It is the first independent magazine dedicated to the borough of Tower Hamlets and unites our four existing online neighbourhood titles – Roman Road LDN, Bethnal Green LDN, Whitechapel LDN and Poplar LDN. The Slice is a news and culture magazine that will help you get more out of where you live, whether it’s finding a new place to eat, discovering the history of a building you pass each day, learning about the different cultures that make up our communities or simply finding a great local exhibition to visit or club to join. We hope The Slice will make your home life that bit richer.

Tabitha Stapely Editor-in-Chief

Inside this issue 04 / WHAT’S ON 08 / CALL THE MIDWIFE 11 / THIS IS HOME 14 / RINGSIDE: BLOOD & SOLIDARITY 20 / REGENTS CANAL 24 / ALTAB ALI 30 / EAST END READS

ABOUT US The Slice magazine is published by Social Streets C.I.C, a social enterprise using journalism to strengthen the local community. We provide opportunities in the creative and media industries to local people including trainee schemes, school and college placements, internships, writers in residence programmes and citizen journalism. Email hello@socialstreets.co for more information.

MASTHEAD Editor-in-Chief Tabitha Stapely Partners Manager Emily Cramer Designed by Katie Wilde Jessica Lockett Published by Social Streets C.I.C

FOLLOW US: To get news and events from where you live @ROMANROADLDN @ROMANROADLDN @POPLARLDN_ @POPLARLDN @BETHNALGREENLDN @BETHNALGRLDN @WHITECHAPELLDN @WHITECHAPELLDN

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What’s On

Yoko Ono MEND PIECE exhibition

CLOSES 19 DEC 2021

CLOSES 9 JAN 2022

WHITECHAPEL GALLERY

Drawing upon the Japanese tradition of kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pottery using lacquer mixed with precious metals such as gold and silver, the exhibition invites visitors to ‘repair’ broken fragments of ceramic cups and saucers with some simple materials. Once ‘mended’, the pottery can be displayed along the shelves on the walls. Visit Whitechapelgallery. org for more info.

Bow Arts x gal-dem,

BOW OPEN SHOW Artist, curator and galdem founding member, Leyla Reynolds has selected 24 artists for Bow Arts’ annual Bow Open Show at the Nunnery Gallery, all responding to her title ‘Aboutface: regroup, reorganise, reimagine’. Visit Bowarts.org for more info.

Red Riding Hood

27 NOV - 31 DEC 2021 27 NOV - 31 DEC 2021

Winter Festival

MUSEUM OF THE HOME From Halloween to Hanukkah, Diwali to Lunar New Year, the Museum of the Home is marking these winter celebrations that punctuate our cold winter months.

Backyard Cinema Christmas Extravaganza

TROXY

1 - 31 DEC 2021

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THEATRE ROYAL STRATFORD EAST

The festival is designed to explore themes of light, kindness, warmth and colour, as well as unpacking some of the complexities people face during this season; such as loneliness and family life. Visit Museumofthehome.org.uk for more info.

Backyard Cinema is taking-over East London’s Troxy, transforming it into a Christmas Movie Palace featuring non-stop singing, dancing, music and performance followed by your pick of three classic Christmas movies (Elf, Home Alone or Love Actually). The double-bill will feature George the Poet and live performances of the soundtracks by the Some Voices choir. Visit Troxy.co.uk for more info.

Baby Broadway Christmas Special POPLAR UNION

Sing along to wellknown seasonal show tunes from hit musicals and Christmas films, with a theatrical spin expected from their ensemble of West End performers. Festive fancy dress is encouraged as well as singing, clapping and dancing along. Expect bubbles, bells, flying babies and puppetry. The event is open to all ages from new-borns to grandparents. Visit Poplarunion.com for more info.

12 DEC 2021

Pack your basket! Red Riding Hood is coming to Theatre Royal Stratford East. This pantomime adaptation of the children’s classic Little Red Riding Hood will take you into the deep dark woods. Directed by former actor Robert Shaw Cameron, the live play will feature new songs, comedy, and colourful costumes. Suitable for families, young and old. Socially distanced performances are provided as an option. Visit Stratfordeast.com for more info.

WHAT’S ON

4 DEC 2021

Urban Makers ECOLOGY PAVILION

Urban Makers East will be returning to the Ecology Pavilion this November for their annual two-weekend festive maker’s market. The market will host 50 different designers each day selling sustainable and ethical

Christmas gifts, decorations, homewares, jewellery, art, candles and accessories. They will also be carrying out a selection of workshops, with festive treats and hot and cold drinks being served throughout the day. Visit Urbanmakers.co.uk for more info. 27-28 NOV / 11-12 DEC 2021

Christmas Run VICTORIA PARK

The Santa Fun Run may have been cancelled this year but RunThrough is still holding its annual Christmas Run 5k, 10k and half marathon in Victoria Park. Starting at 9.30am at St Marks Gate, you can still spread some Christmas cheer by donning an elf hat or shoes. Victoria Park’s flat, wide paths make this one of the most popular locations for races. As with all RunThrough races each mile will be marked out and there will be marshals around the course to keep you going all the way to the finish. Visit Runthrough.co.uk for more info.

4 FEB 2022

5 DEC 2021

The Vanished East End

Winter Market

TH ARCHIVES

BOW ARTS

Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives is holding an exhibition of photography by Tom Hunter, Diane Bush, Mike Seaborne, Brian Griffin and Syd Shelton. The work highlights the huge social and economic changes undergone by the East End, including the now vanished industrial landscape and the deregulation of the financial markets. Visit Ideastore.co.uk for more info.

Bow Arts Winter Market will offer locally-made, unique gifts and artworks from a selection of 25 different stalls featuring local designers, makers and artists. This one-day event will include drop-in family-friendly activities including warming mulled wine, fresh mince pies at Bow Arts’ Nunnery Cafe. Held in Bow Arts’ Victorian courtyard surrounded by artist studios, discover their network of local artists while celebrating the festive season. For more info visit Bowarts.org

A Child in the Snow

W O RD SU P PL IED BY IN D IV ID UA L CO N TR I B U TOR S

WILTONS

From the writer that brought you Wilton’s ‘Christmas Carol’ and ‘The Box of Delights’, Elizabeth Gaskell’s seasonal ghost story will be adapted and brought to life this festive season for the very first time at Wilton’s Music Hall. A nurse, recently back from the front of Word War I, is haunted by her experiences. When she finds herself at a séance, recalling memories of a lonely childhood Christmas on the Northumbrian moors, she unearths a dark secret. Visit Wiltons.org.uk for more info.

26 NOV - 31 DEC 2021

Foreverland New Year’s Eve party TROXY

Party organisers Foreverland will be transforming Troxy into a magical space for New Year’s

Eve and hosting a musical club event to celebrate the end of the year. Expect confetti eruptions, pyrotechnic displays and headline DJs for a scintillating kaleidoscopic explosion of the senses. Visit Troxy.co.uk for more info. 31 DEC 2021

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Teviot Estate:

WHAT COMMUNITY-LED REGENERATION FOR PEOPLE LOOKS LIKE With the overwhelming majority of local residents backing proposals for the regeneration of the Teviot Estate, Poplar HARCA and Hill Group are leading the way in community-led urban design.

We all know that revitalising districts is a complex, longterm business. Successful urban design isn’t just a matter of creating shiny new housing that looks good in brochures. It must also deliver more and better-designed affordable housing, improved green spaces, and investment into existing services and infrastructure. The most forward-thinking place making projects are also investing in enterprise schemes to build the foundations of long-term prospects of the local economy. And the very best schemes ensure existing communities are not pushed out but rather are placed at the heart of the design process, bringing their own local knowledge to the table. One example of how this kind of urban regeneration is done well is right here on our doorstep in Tower Hamlets. Housing association Poplar HARCA and developer Hill Group are working on the redevelopment of the Teviot Estate in Poplar. You would not be blamed for not quite being able to place the Teviot Estate as it’s tucked away between some major infrastructure. If you’ve walked along the Limehouse Cut toward the Bromley-by-Bow Tesco you may have caught sight of it as you glance to the south just before walking under the A12. Part of it lines the A12 opposite Poplar Works, the fashion studio also set up by Poplar HARCA, the London College of Fashion, UAL and The Trampery. On paper the scheme is wide-ranging. It wants to deliver circa 1,800 new homes, create new green spaces, new shops and new infrastructure. What is more impressive though is the community engagement the scheme has already attracted. There was an 81% turnout of residents in the Teviot Estate to vote in a ballot on the proposed regeneration and of those 86% were in support, showing that the plans T HE S L ICE  0 6

have been made in response to local need. Looking more closely at the proposal it’s not hard to see why there has been such widespread support – it is delivering a number of initiatives that will offer tangible improvements to the quality of life of local residents, improving not just their lifestyles but also attracting visitors to the area. As part of the proposal, Tower Hamlets Council, Manorfield Primary School and Poplar HARCA are working together to improve the canal and green spaces. Physical changes to the environment such as a cycling hub and the opening up of green spaces, are intended to encourage exercise and play, better connect cycling and walking routes and bring people together. Plans for a new pontoon, with storage for boats and equipment, aim not only to revitalise activity on the canal, but highlight the existing connection the canal provides with Bartlett Park and Olympic Park. Funded by London Marathon Charitable Trust, with match funding from Poplar HARCA and Hill as part of their Teviot social value programme, it will also include teaming up with Thames 21 to clean up the canal and plant reed beds, encouraging more wildlife and making the area more picturesque. Improvements to the little green at the centre of the estate will include creating family-friendly grow beds and boxes, child-friendly wildflower space and a community greenhouse to grow herbs that the estate’s café can use. A multipurpose mobile vehicle will become the focus of the green, offering

PARTNER CONTENT P H OTOG R A P H S TOP R IG H T T HE T E V IOT R E SIDE N TS’ ST E E R IN G G ROUP A R E IN FLUE N C IN G DEC ISION S AT E AC H STAG E OF T HE R EG E N E R AT ION BOT TOM R I G H T R E SIDE N TS OF A L L AG E S A R E HE L PIN G TO SHA PE T HE DE SIG N S FOR T HE IR FUT UR E T E V IOT

 You

can find more information about the future Teviot regeneration proposals online: Teviot.commonplace.is

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coffee and food but also the potential to welcome popup services including a GP service, library and healthy ice cream van. The ultimate goal of the improvements is to realise improved community health and wellbeing. With 535 homes currently within Teviot estate, this regeneration will see a potential increase of well over 1,000 homes in Tower Hamlets. With full re-provision of the existing housing, and at least 35% of these new homes as affordable housing with an aim to provide more, this scheme will provide much-needed affordable housing for East Enders. All eligible residents who want to stay living on the Teviot Estate are being given the option to do so. Designed primarily for the benefit of existing residents, the Teviot Estate looks likely to become a sought-after corner of East London delivering what is often most valued – community.

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The real Poplar stories behind BBC’s

Call the To celebrate ten years of BBC’s Call the Midwife we share the reallife stories of the Poplar residents who inspired the storylines of the award-winning show. WOR DS R UBY F LA NAG A N

They were by my mum and dad’s side when they had to turn off my brother’s life support. They came to the funeral and they never left them. Now if that doesn’t tell you about our community and how much they were a part of our community then I don’t know what will.

n the TV show Call the Midwives a convent of religious sisters, along with a handful of young midwives, live in Nonnatus House in Poplar, East London, and work in the community providing district healthcare and delivering babies. Written by Heidi Thomas, the concept of the show is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, who herself worked as a young midwife in the 1950s and 60s East End. The real Sisters were the Religious Sisters of Saint John the Divine and were based at the St Frideswide’s Mission House on Lodore Street, which still exists. The Sisters of Saint John the Divine were established in 1848 in Fitzroy Square near Euston and were trained as nurses and midwives in Germany. T HE S L ICE  0 8

They have worked in maternity homes and hospitals across London since then. The Sisters were invited to Poplar in the 1880s by the Church of All Saints Poplar to work in the East End community. In the period of the 1950s and 60s, the Sisters and midwives became an iconic part of the East End, with many from the community describing them as an integral part of life in Poplar. ‘It was exactly like what they show you on the telly, they rode around on the bikes, the midwives in their uniforms and the nuns; and the nuns look exactly the same too’ says Jean Whitelock, now 79 years old, who had two of her five children with the Sisters in 1964 and 65. ‘The young nurse was sitting at the

end of my bed knitting, whilst I was having my daughter, she kept turning occasionally to check on me, but it was a long 28-hour labour. She kept telling me not to push and the nun arrived to help. I couldn’t take the pain anymore. I pushed and they screamed no at me, and then she arrived,’ Jean says. ‘My husband was sitting on the stairs outside the flat with my mum and my sons were in bed, and the nurse went outside and asked him if he wanted to see his daughter. All my neighbours were coming back from bingo and they all cheered and clapped.’ Valerie Vanderson, now 73, had her son Darren in 1970 with Sister Monica and her labour with Darren was particularly traumatic for her. ‘She was just passing by, we had such a lovely relationship, she popped in for

POPLAR

P HOTO G R A PHS : K IN D LY S U PPLI E D BY RELI G I O US S I ST E RS O F S A I N T J OHN TH E D I VI NE

Midwife a cuppa and she told me I didn’t look right so examined me and told me I was well on my way,’ says Valerie. That happened on Thursday lunchtime and Valerie's son was born on Saturday morning. ‘She never left my side, not once.’ Valerie’s son was born not breathing. ‘Sister Monica picked him up and smacked him and nothing. She picked him up at arm’s length and dropped him onto the bed and still nothing and I just started to panic. She then got a syringe and jabbed him in the back and that was it – he finally started to cry.’ Valeria says that she would never have coped without the support from Sister Monica. Jean and Valerie praised the Sisters and the midwives for the work they did, not just for them but for the community as well. Jenny Brookes was born in Poplar in 1969 and her mother worked as a cleaner at the mission house for 12 years between the 50s and 60s. The Sisters helped raise Jenny for the first decade of her life. ‘I was taken down Chrisp Street Market by Sister Monica in my pram, and all the nuns

came to watch me when I was Angel Gabriele in the Nativity at school. And they were by my mum and dad’s side when they had to turn off my brother’s life support. They came to the funeral and they never left them. Now if that doesn’t tell you about our community and how much they were a part of our community then I don’t know what will.’ Without exception, the women we interviewed all praised Call the Midwife for its accuracy of the birth scenes as well as the other work the Sisters and midwives undertook in the community. Sharing countless stories, it was clear how loved and appreciated the nuns were in the East End. ‘Of course, we watch it every week’ says Valerie, ‘You’ve got to love Trixie haven’t you?’ laughs Jean. The only criticism of the show was the representation of Poplar in the early series. The women said that the show made the residents of Poplar look dirty. Jean says ‘We were proud and there was never a person in Poplar who didn’t take pride in themselves or their homes. We worked hard and our homes and ourselves were always as

clean as we could be.’ The 2021 series of Call the Midwife saw Poplar enter 1966 with the World Cup in full swing. With the news that the BBC has commissioned series 11, 12 and 13, Call the Midwife will be heading into the 1970s very soon. ‘The ’70s gave us lots of change in Poplar’ says Valerie, ‘I think they will focus on the removal of the slums, and the standard of housing increasing. I think it was the 70s that was the start of the so-called modern era of Poplar.’ Call the Midwife has been a hit across Britain for the last decade for representing the real lives of real people living in Poplar at the time. What makes it especially loved in the East End is that the local community can see their own lives represented in the show, with many still cherishing their own memories of the Sisters and midwives. Thankfully, the Sisters and midwives worked around the East End until about 1988, so we can expect there to be a few more series still to come. Originally published on Poplarlondon.co.uk

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Yoko Ono MEND PIECE exhibition Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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of choice

This is

HOME

High Street HOME

ON THE

Discover the best independent shops and eateries near you.

CAKE: HITTING THE SWEET SPOT

P HOTO S : PA R B I N A B EGU M BY PA R B I N A BEG U M. OT H ER PHOTO S BY S O CI A LST RE ETS C.I.C OR SUP P LIED BY CONT R IBUTOR S.

o, what do you look for in a cake? I read somewhere that baking is good for mental health. The focus that is needed in measuring ingredients counts towards one of your mindful moments a day. Not only that, the precise control needed in baking can help you feel that, despite all else in your life going to pot, it’s you in control of this mixing pot. For me the sweet spot (pun intended) is that balance of moist, sweet and just, cakey. I have recently been dabbling with organic ingredients. You haven’t lived until you have tried my pure bean vanilla cake. Organic butter on the other hand was a bit of a miss. It didn’t soften even at room temperature, and it zapped a lot of the wonderful flavours in my pistachio Bundt cake. Cake in British-Bangladeshi households are just as big as in every other community. Decorated party cakes are the go-to for birthday parties, mendhi parties, weddings and walimas. Naked cakes, fondant cakes, floral cakes, drip cakes - the prettier the better. In my family, cakes are mostly a post-lunch flex. It becomes, quite literally, our afternoon tea (okay sometimes maybe evening tea because our lunches start at 3pm). A favourite is the classic Victoria sponge. Our lunches are always rice and curries (emphasis on the plural), all day every day. And now imagine; that vanilla sponge laced with fresh cream served with a hot cup of tea. We like our tea brewed on the hob with cinnamon bark and bay leaves. Just what you want after that hefty meal - a sugar crash after a food coma. Saturday dawots done right (dawot means invitation). I love to decorate with flowers, which I pick up from local florist Kelly’s in Shadwell and Columbia Road Market. Immersing myself in the floral flourishes is a relaxing way to end the project (there’s that mindfulness thing again). Making cakes that taste as beautiful as they look is not bad life at all.

Parbina Begum, local resident from Limehouse, makes cakes to order. Instagram.com/ parbysfortea

THE BUXTON BRICK LANE

The Buxton still feels very new. It opened just before the pandemic so has only recently got into its stride. Walking into this historic period building is a visual treat. Nestled on the corner of Osborn St and Brick Lane, The Buxton is both a bistro and a hotel. Windows surround the entirety of the pub, letting in a dazzling amount of natural light in the daytime - and great opportunity for people watching over Brick Lane. Above the ground floor cocktail bar and restaurant is the hotel, which has 15 bookable bedrooms and a rooftop for hotel guests, also used to grow herbs for the kitchen and bar. Popular with nearby city workers and East End creatives. Find The Buxton at 42 Osborn St, London E1 6TD.

While Poplar has its fair share of Indian restaurants, one in particular stands out. With its friendly service, mellow atmosphere and, most importantly, good curry, Poplar’s Ravaa Fine Fusion rivals the curry houses on Brick Lane for its authentic taste of India. This family-run restaurant offers a fusion of Indian and Nepalese cuisine and has a plethora of five star Tripadvisor reviews. A meal for two, with two starters, two mains, a side and two drinks, comes in at under £30, so this is a great spot for those on a budget. This hidden gem of a curry house proves that there are some great finds if you stray away from the popular spots and head off the beaten track. Find Ravaa Fine Fusion at 11 Pennyfields, London E14 8HP.

Read the full review by Gulistan Elidemir on Whitechapellondon.co.uk

MUM LIKES THAI FOOD GLOBE TOWN

A new Thai restaurant has opened in a former cocktail bar and offers the experience of dining at home with a Thai family. Smooth jazz music, dark-wood paneled walls, a cosy fireplace, and multi-coloured glass parrots: you’d be forgiven for thinking this is the latest vibey cocktail bar to appear on The Roman. But it is, in fact, the inside of a new Thai restaurant in Globe Town. Mum Likes Thai Food opened up in January 2021, taking over the premises in former cocktail bar Nola. It operates as a fully functioning sit-in restaurant, as well as continuing with the takeaway service it focused on during lockdown. Find Mum Likes Thai Food at 107 Roman Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 0QN. Read the full review by Victoria Miller on Romanroadlondon.com

RAVAA FINE FUSION POPLAR

Read the full review by Ruby Flanagan on Poplarlondon.co.uk

GLASS HOUSE BETHNAL GREEN

It’s hard to miss the fabulous illustration of high-heeled buxom womxn on the glass front of Brick Lane’s new shop, Glass House. Considering all it has to offer, nor should you. Serving the area’s marginalised communities, Glass House is an exciting addition to eclectic Bethnal Green. The Glass House Projects is the umbrella to three unique venues in the heart of Shoreditch: The Common Press, a bookshop and cafe; The Commons, a multimedia events space; and The Common Counter, a soon to be restaurant and bar. They are all underpinned by their commitment to intersectionality and inclusivity. Find Glass House at 118 Bethnal Green Road, E2 6DG. Read the full story by Lily Wakeley on Bethnalgreenlondon.co.uk  T HE SL ICE  11

Canalside:

WELCOME

TO THE EAST END

RIVIERA

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LOCATED AT HERE EAST, THE FORMER OLYMPIC MEDIA CENTRE, CANALSIDE IS NOW A BUZZING HACKNEY WICK RIVIERA FOR MORNING LARKS TO NIGHT OWLS. W OR DS V I CTOR I A M I LLER

PARTNER CONTENT PH OTOGRAPHS S HOT BY ROSE PALMER LEF T DAY TIME: BRU NCH AN D LU NC H CRO WD TOP RIGHT NIGHT TIME: DINING UNDER T HE STAR S B OTTOM RIGHT CHAR LIE GEN ER AL MAN AGER , BREAKFAST CLUB

way from the university and office campus that makes up much of the digital hub that is Here East, Canalside has possibly the best camp spot of all in Hackney Wick. If you’ve ever ventured a short walk north of the hubbub at Crate and BargeEast, you will have stumbled on the oasis that is Canalside, a welcoming line of shop fronts with pretty awnings, bordered by a wide boulevard of trees and grassy knolls, and enjoying a west-facing view over the River Lea. During the day, it’s a friendly, family-oriented hotspot. The expanse of outdoor seating is perfect for families with little ones who can run around without the worry of cars, roads, and traffic. There may be the odd bicycle that zips past, but these are usually the Deliveroo riders collecting orders from the family-run Italian Gotto Trattoria or Randy’s Wing Bar. And this is one of the appeals of Canalside: the plethora of small businesses who call this patch their home. Just behind Canalside, in the former Broadcast Centre, you’ll find Saint Espresso providing local workers with their daily caffeine hits. A gentle waft of freshly ground coffee hangs deliciously in the air thanks to their onsite roasterie. Heading back to Canalside, sitting on a bench overlooking the canal with rushes and long grass on the bank, it can feel worlds away from the centre of the capital. Such is Canalside’s secluded, bucolic feel that bikes and children’s colourful scooters casually lean against the sides of benches or are propped up by tree trunks. If you are looking for something a little more substantial for a leisurely meal there is Breakfast Club, a mecca for all brunch aficionados, or try MOTHER, the vegan café and food shop. Having opened its doors in 2016, MOTHER is an established and well-cemented part of the Canalside community. Hanging spider plants, wooden tables and benches, and large windows with light flooding in, give this café a Scandi vibe. By late afternoon, with the sun beating down on the sandy-hued gravel path, and light dancing

You’ll find London sourced ale at The Lock Inn and, sweetly, it links up with neighbours Gotto, who do their food.

fleetingly on the water, this could be renamed the East End Riviera. During the evenings, Canalside’s secluded setting is breathtaking. Twinkling lights are strung on tall London plane trees and these mirror the stars above on a clear night. Yes, you read that correctly – actual stars that elude the amber haze that pollutes London. Our minds were just a little bit blown too. Bars and restaurants are animated with friends catching up on long outdoor benches over after-work pints. You’ll find London sourced ale at The Lock Inn and, sweetly, it links up with neighbours Gotto, who do their food. Sit at their solid steel bar or on a Chesterfield single sofa, and watch the world go by from their wide-open doors. If you thought that Canalside is all about food and drink, you’d be wrong. There’s enough here to fill a mini day-trip away, right on our own doorstep. For an early morning shock to the system (or indeed, at any time during the day), then Australian high-energy gym F45 is calling-out. For something a little less challenging, Four Quarters is pure nostalgic fun. Who knew that cocktails and retro arcade games from the 80s and 90s would be a winner? For adrenaline junkies, Evolve combines surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding in the forms of its electric skateboards. If F45 is for fitness, Four Quarters for unadulterated fun, and Evolve for the adventurous, then Aura Organics Spa represents the zen of Canalside. Using alternative medicines including Ayurvedic and Chinese, you can enjoy unusual treatments such as a Honey Quartz deep cleansing facial. Contained, cosy and convivial, Canalside feels like something of a secret despite being only a short 500 metres away from the bars that line the adrenalin-fuelled Hackney Wick Horseshoe, and a mere eight-minute walk (yep, we timed it) to Hackney Wick Overground. THE SL ICE  13

SID W OR DS

F REDER ICK O’ BR I A N

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TA BIT H A STA P ELY

RING

BETHNAL GREEN

Considered the home of British boxing, a night at York Hall shows that boxing is in the very DNA of East Enders. 

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BLOOD & SOLIDARY at York Hall boxing

THE SL ICE  15

T The main event is ringside at York Hall boxing. You’d do well to find a more varied cross section of London life. All races, all ages, all classes – all gather to share in a night of boxing, in its brutality and its beauty. For all the spectacle, these nights are deeply social occasions. The crowd ebbs and flows like a tide, flooding into the bar between bouts to exchange stories, meet old friends, or drink with the fighters after their bouts. There is an East End core in attendance, but each night ultimately reflects its fighters. Fans and entourages assemble from across the

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P H OTOG R A P H S TOP R IG H T R E D IS T HE COLOUR BOT TOM LEF T DR E SSE D FOR T HE OCC A SION BOT TOM M IDDLE C E L E B R AT IN G A WIN

country. Fur coats and track suits and flat caps adorn an unlikely cast of characters. There are no age requirements. Prams are commonplace. Children scuttle past blood flecked canvas in quiet awe. They are the calmest ones there. It is not a place for coddling. The dignity of the fighters holds authority over everyone. Community does not feel like the right word to describe what goes on at York Hall. Solidarity is closer to the mark. From fighters to punters to ring girls, all present bleed into the unrepeatable electricity of the night. We attended a British Warriors Boxing event at York Hall. There will never be another like it. Or the one after. Or the one after that. Originally published on Bethnalgreenlondon.co.uk

BETHNAL GREEN

LEF T V E TE R A N B OX E R E WA N (A . K A . J OC K ) W I TH G R A ND S O N HE N RY DECO U RC E Y

THE SL ICE  17

CLASSIFIED ADS SHOPS SNAP SNAP is a colourful, independent store on Roman Road, in the heart of East London. We sell contemporary greeting cards, and gifts including books, jewellery, candles, stationery, homewares, prints, frames, balloons and more. Open six days a week.

BIG BEANS Big Beans is a local cafe in the centre of Globe Town Market Square, serving breakfast, lunch, and afternoon treats. Weekday specials include Shepherd’s Pie, beef stew, curried goat, grilled chicken, and sea bass. Big Beans breakfasts at weekends. 106 ROMAN RD, GLOBE TOWN, E6 3SR. INSTAGRAM.COM/ BIGBEANSE2

465 ROMAN ROAD, BOW, E3 5LX. SNAP-STORE.COM

CCL FINE FOODS A unique shop at the heart of East London. Pop in and try our delicious products: Caviar, Truffle, Foie Gras, Gifts and Party Packs at affordable prices. Come and visit us! 138 CAMBRIDGE HEATH RD, BETHNAL GREEN, E1 5QJ. CAVIARCLASSIC-LONDON.COM

VICOLO ROMANO Specialising in sourdough bases made in-house, Vicolo Romano is a pizzeria focused on Mediterranean traditions, quality products and great service. Since opening in 2016, we have embraced our artisanal Roman roots with our guiding principle: quality without compromise. 420 ROMAN RD, BOW, E3 5LU. VICOLOPIZZALONDON.COM

GALLERY CAFE Based in St Margaret’s House, Gallery Cafe offers low-cost vegan dishes, locally-ground coffees, vegan sweet treats, and healthy juices, as well as hosting an exciting programme of live events and monthly art exhibitions from up-andcoming artists.

21 OLD FORD RD, BETHNAL GREEN, E2 9PL. STMARGARETSHOUSE. ORG.UK

SYMPOSIUM Symposium is a family-run restaurant, wine bar and deli, with a focus on Italian products and produce. It has an extensive range of organic, biodynamic, orange and minimal intervention wines alongside East London Brewery craft beers. Book us for a private party. 363 ROMAN ROAD, BOW, E3 5QR. SYMPOSIUMLONDON.CO.UK

COMMUNITY GROUPS FOUR CORNERS Are you aged 14-25 or over 50, live in Tower Hamlets and are interested in learning about photography? Into Focus is a free 12-week course with rolling recruitment, taking place at Four Corners. 121 ROMAN ROAD, BOW, E2 0QN. FOURCORNERSFILM.CO.UK

THE FRIENDS OF MILE END PARK FOMEP is an independent group for those who care about our park so everyone can enjoy it. We organise monthly litter picks in the park on the second Sunday of the month and seasonal activities such as bulb planting. Get in touch for more information. MILE END PARK, BOW, E3 5TW. FOMEP.ORG.UK

BOW FOOD BANK Bow Foodbank supports over 700 Tower Hamlets families every week with emergency food for those in crisis. More than 300 local volunteers are vital to running our foodbanks at Bow and Bethnal Green. We welcome support via LocalGiving and donations of food are always welcome. BROMLEY-BY-BOW COMMUNITY CENTRE, ST LEONARD'S STREET, E3 3BT. BOWFOODBANK.ORG

EAST LONDON COMMUNITY BAND Come to the Shadwell Centre to meet London’s friendliest band any term-time Friday evening, 5.30-8.30pm and join one of our music-making groups. We are open to all ages and all abilities and offer subsidised lessons for under 30s.

THE SHADWELL CENTRE, 455 THE HIGHWAY, LONDON E1W 3HP. EASTLONDONCOMMUNITYBAND.CO.UK

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INTOUNIVERSITY IntoUniversity Bow is a local learning centre offering educational programmes that support young people to achieve their aspirations. We’re looking for mentors and volunteers, so get in touch to make a difference in your local community today. ST PAUL'S CHURCH, ST STEPHEN'S ROAD, BOW, E3 5JL. INNTOUNIVERSITY.ORG.

BROMLEY-BY-BOW CENTRE A pioneering charity that combines an extensive neighbourhood hub with a GP practice, café and a beautiful park. We offer many free servies inluding employment support, learning, and activities that promote health, wellbeing, creativity and connection with others. ST LEONARD’S STREET, BOW E3 3BT. BBBC.ORG.UK

LONDON COMMUNITY LAND TRUST (CLT) We campaign to build genuinely and permanently affordable homes that are owned and run by local people. The homes are priced according to local earnings, ensuring that people are no longer priced out of the neighbourhood they grew up in. Visit online or at CLT at St. Clement’s. 136 CAVELL ST, BOW, E1 2JA. LONDONCLT.ORG.

FRIENDS OF MEATH GARDENS A community association established to make Meath Gardens better for our community and wildlife. We hold regular volunteering events to plant trees, shrubs, and bulbs and other tasks to make Meath Garden a beautiful space for everyone. SMART ST, BETHNAL GREEN, E2 0SN. FACEBOOK.COM/ FRIENDSOFMEATHGARDENS

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020 8088 2478 THE SL ICE  19

A window into life on the

Regent’s

Rose Palmer's portraits of boat owners shot through their windows encapsulate the cocoonlike cosiness of a narrowboat on chilly autumn evenings.

canal

W O R DS SIVA TH A N G A R A JAH

hen Rose Palmer, a documentary producer and photographer, moved to Mile End in the middle of the pandemic, she became intrigued with the canal boats on her walks along Regent's Canal while she was on maternity leave. She explains the genesis of her idea to take photos of people inside their houseboats from outside their window: 'My husband cycles to work along the canal and he mentioned one day that he liked peeking through the window at people settling down for the evening on their boats.' And so this project captures houseboat dwellers in their quiet evening routines through their window panes. Taken in November, Palmer wanted to capture the cosy feeling of being huddled in the warmth during the colder months. 'I wanted to capture intimate scenes of people’s autumn evenings on the boats. The project worked well because I took the photos while social distancing and through a barrier of glass, so everyone felt comfortable.' To get these photos, Palmer knocked on the doors of canal boat homes and asked if she could take their photos through their windows. 'Almost everyone said yes, which I wasn't expecting!' She says. Palmer explains that it was strange,

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PHOTOGRA P H S S HOT BY RO S E PALME R

My husband cycles to work along the canal and he mentioned one day that he liked peeking through the window at people settling down for the evening on their boats.

ROMAN ROAD

 Looking in, looking out.

and sometimes lonely, to be on maternity leave during lockdown. She reflects how much it meant to be able to bring the baby along when she took photos, and to meet new people, if only through the safety of windows. These photos are a delicate interplay of light reflecting on and through windows, which was no easy task as Palmer had to find the right time of day to get the lighting right. 'Too early in the afternoon and there were too many reflections on the window, and too late and the low light made it really challenging. So I found the best time was just before dusk and I liked how at that time you get the contrast of the warm light inside the boat with the cooler light outside.' Originally published on Romanroadlondon.com

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W OR DS

Altab Ali: A LBERT TOT H

The murder that changed the face of Whitechapel In the year that the Bengali community celebrates fifty years of independence, we remember Altab Ali, whose murder proved a turning point in Whitechapel’s campaign against racism and fascism.

hitechapel is one of the most diverse communities in Britain; this has been true since the time of William of Orange. The area’s multicultural history began with the influx of French Huguenots in the 1700s, through to Jewish refugees in the late 1800s and then Bangladeshis from the 1950s onwards. Now in 2021, approximately 25 per cent of the UK’s Bangladeshi diaspora live here. Those coming from less diverse parts of the country may be struck

T HE S L ICE  2 4

W OR DS A L BERT TOT H

by the cosmopolitan cityscape of Whitechapel. The daily markets are filled with the cries of traders of all ethnicities as they sell their wares shoulder to shoulder. The East London Mosque, the largest mosque in Europe, is just a short walk away from the grand St George-in-the-East church, built in 1729. Huguenot houses grace the streets of Spitalfields and Jewish shop signs still adorn long-forgotten buildings. But for the locals of Whitechapel, this is the norm. On a day-to-day basis, it is a place of strong multi-ethnic cohesion. People from all backgrounds

live, work and socialise together, their similarities a cause for unity; their differences for celebration. This is Whitechapel as we have come to know and love it. But it hasn’t always been so. While the Huguenots, who fled France when Protestantism was outlawed in 1681, were largely warmly welcomed, Jewish and Bengali migrants were met with racism and discrimination. For the Jewish community, this reached its peak with the infamous Battle of Cable Street in 1936, a series of clashes that took place in the East End between the fascist Blackshirts, led by Oswald

WHITECHAPEL

Racist attacks such as these were unfortunately prevalent at the time. The National Front, a far-right facist party, was gaining support across the country for its racist populist agenda. On the day Ali was murdered, the party gained 10 percent of the vote in Tower Hamlets.

P HOTO G R A PH: AC T I VI STS O N T H E P ROT E ST M A RC H I N 19 7 5 O RG A N I SE D BY EA ST LO N DON’ S B E N G A LI CO M MU N I T Y FO LLOW I N G TH E M UR D E R O F A LTA B A LI © PAU L TRE VOR 2 021 .

Mosley, and anti-fascist protestors including local Jewish residents. Perhaps less well documented is the racism faced by the Bengali community in the latter half of the twentieth century. In the year that the UK’s Bengali community celebrates fifty years of independence, we look at a seminal moment in Whitechapel’s fight against racism, and one that united the East End in its fight against racism and fascism. THE MURDER OF ALTAB ALI On 4 May 1978, as Ali, 24, walked home from work on Adler Street, alongside St Mary’s Gardens, he was attacked and stabbed by three teenagers. Ali was dead on arrival at Royal London Hospital. Ali was a local textile worker, just making his way home. At trial, his three killers would later admit they attacked Ali simply because he was a “Paki”. Racist attacks such as these were prevalent at the time. The National Front, a far-right facist party, was gaining support across the country for its racist agenda. On the day Ali was murdered, the party gained 10 percent of the vote in Tower Hamlets. In 1970s Whitechapel, it was not unusual for racial slurs to be shouted at people of colour on the streets, nor for racist violence to regularly occur. Catalysed by parties such as the National Front, a small but dangerous contingent of Britons, were empowered to direct their discontent at an easy target – immigrants. This was a difficult time for many Bangladeshi immigrants living in the area. The regular acts of racist violence and discrimination caused constant tension in the community. For too long, the issue was not adequately addressed by local authorities, leading many to feel completely helpless. The murder of Altab Ali was a turning point for anti-racist campaigning in the area. It sparked an unprecedented backlash against the racism that had underpinned the last decade.

1978: THE TURNING POINT Ten days after his killing, 7,000 protestors marched behind the coffin of Altab Ali towards Downing Street. The event was organised by several BritishBangladeshi youth groups, including the Bangladeshi Youth Movement. Through these organisations, young British-Bangladeshis could effectively organise anti-racist action. They campaigned to protect the British-Bangladeshi community as well as to increase Bengali representation in British politics. Their members – largely second-generation Bangladeshi immigrants – were demanding to be equal citizens and to live without fear in the country in which they were born. After a number of sit-down protests by these groups, the National Front was driven out of their offices near Brick Lane within the year. In 1982, the first Bengali politicians were elected to Tower Hamlets council. They were the independent candidate Nurul Haque and Labour’s Ashik Ali. Nearly thirty years later, in 2010, Rushanara Ali would be elected as the Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, making her the first person of Bangladeshi origin to be elected to the House of Commons. The area has also undergone several changes in the past three decades to celebrate the multiculturalism that has come with the changing community. A standout event was the completion of the East London Mosque in 1985, giving Whitechapel’s Muslim population a place where they could commune.

Ten days after his killing, 7,000 protestors marched behind the coffin of Altab Ali towards Downing Street.

Later, in 1997, the southern portion of Brick Lane (famously home to many Bangladeshi-owned restaurants) was officially renamed “Banglatown” by the Council. A year later, St. Mary’s Park would also be renamed as Altab Ali Park, a tribute to the man whose murder sparked a whirlwind of change in Whitechapel. ANTI-RACISM IN WHITECHAPEL TODAY Today, there are a number of groups that operate in Whitechapel and elsewhere to encourage community cohesion, promote Bangladeshi heritage, and combat modern day racism in all its forms. NijjorManush is a national independent campaigning group that aims to educate and empower BritishBangladeshis in the UK. The group has recently ramped up their campaign against the proposed redevelopment of the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane into a shopping mall. They describe the plans as ‘social cleansing’, arguing that it threatens to displace Brick Lane’s long standing Bangladeshi community. Of course, community cohesion is an ongoing process and several local groups continue their work to empower British-Bangladeshis and promote their heritage including the Bangladeshi Youth Movement, which campaigns for better housing, training and employment, and The Swadhinata Trust, which works to promote Bengali history and heritage amongst young people. Thanks to years of tireless campaigning, Whitechapel is now much more diverse and tolerant than it was just a few decades ago. However, when we talk about the history of anti-racism anywhere in the world, it should not go unstated that the record is still being written. Groups like these still need our support to continue the work of those that came before, furthering the cause of racial equality in Whitechapel and beyond. Originally published on Whitechapellondon.co.uk

T HE SL ICE  25

an Road m o : The R

‘ bounce b ack ’ high street

Emerging from the darkness of the pandemic, Roman Road is celebrating a stronger, brighter high street.

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PARTNER CONTENT PHOTOG R A P H S A BOV E LIAM, ROMA N ROAD M A R K E T © WE DG L E Y SN IPE S LEF T CO LO UR FUL WO MAN , ROMA N ROAD M A R K E T © WE DG L E Y SN IPE S

hile sadly lockdown meant some shops did close their doors for good, the nation has re-emerged from months of being grounded in our neighbourhoods with a renewed respect and appreciation for the small businesses that work tirelessly to serve our needs, from food shops and pharmacies to local eateries and gyms. It’s the tenacity and courage of those small business owners and street traders who courageously rose to the occasion, many pivoting their businesses overnight, that has inspired local community development organisation Roman Road Trust to organise a series of projects that celebrate Bow’s Roman Road as a high street. The events spreading over the coming months will celebrate Roman Road both past and present. ‘It was amazing to see how successfully our Roman Road businesses adapted during the pandemic,’ says Rosie Vincent, Managing Director of Roman Road Trust. ‘This next year is about Roman Road continuing to ride the postlockdown wave and celebrating our precious high street.’

P HOTO G R A PHS : W ED G ELEY S N I PE S

FLY-ON-THE WALL SOCIAL MEDIA DOCUMENTARY

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of Roman Road Market? Who puts out the barrows, who’s been there the longest and who owns that big, blue vintage van? This autumn, Roman Road Trust will document the day-to-day life of Roman Road Market and its traders in a fly on the wall (or stall) social media documentary. They’ll be snapping and showcasing the wonders, bloopers and true East End cheek including interviews with market traders asking them the all-important questions like ‘What is the best way to pack a van?’ or ‘What time do you wake up to get here? Be sure to get the inside scoop straight from the horse’s mouth by visiting Roman Road Trust across their socials @romanroadtrust and searching #rediscoverromanroad.

ARE E-CARGO BIKES THE FUTURE?

Climate change has become the focus of the worlds’ attention with national and world goals for saving the planet, and the pandemic has only helped us to focus on this issue. In Tower Hamlets it has been uplifting to see the smallest businesses adapting quickly to help tackle the climate issue including the adoption of e-cargo bike deliveries. Harking back to the days when deliveries were made on push pedal bicycles, the e-cargo bikes are a modern retelling of old-fashioned village life. On Roman Road, Peckover Butchers and G Kelly Pie & Mash began to use e-cargo bikes for deliveries to customers. It was so popular with both businesses and customers that the Roman Road Trust is now working with Tower Hamlets Council to fund a wider e-cargo bike scheme. Would you be interested in a weekly delivery of Roman Road’s best? Or maybe you’re a business who would like to jump on the e-cargo bandwagon? Get in touch with Roman Road Trust.

ON THE TRAIL OF THE HERITAGE TRAIL

Local history brings a deeper appreciation of the events, people and places that helped form the unique DNA of our community. Have you ever spotted the blue plaques on buildings or next to landmarks in Bow? The plaques were part of the Bow Heritage Trail that was created in 1990 by Bow Neighbourhood but over the years many have become neglected, broken and some are not as relevant to today’s East End life. Roman Road Trust is teaming up with Queen Mary University, Tower Hamlets Council, English Heritage, and not-for-profit publishing company Social Streets C.I.C to revive, modernise, and improve access to the blue plaques of the Bow Heritage Trail. What to expect? Queen Mary University (QMUL) will be undertaking the audit and research of the plaques. The Trust will work with local residents to re-design new trails to reflect more local themes. Finally Social Streets C.I.C will be building a dedicated website for the Bow Heritage Trail to help people enjoy the trail.

CHRISTMAS IS BACK ON!

Last year Christmas was cancelled, but this year it’s back, bigger than ever. Look out for a 20ft Norway Spruce Christmas tree popping up this November in Gladstone Place outside Tesco and the IdeaStore Bow, E3 5LH. It will be adorned in golden lights and giant baubles as well as handmade decorations and festive wishes from local school children. Roman Road Trust will be holding Roman Around the Christmas Tree on Saturday 11th December where local people are invited to create their own decoration for the tree. If you would like to know more information about any of the above, or to volunteer for Roman Road Trust, please get in touch at: hello@ romanroadtrust.co.uk or follow them on @romanroadtrust. The Rediscover Roman Road project has been funded as part of the Welcome Back Fund from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

THE SL ICE  27

PARTNER CONTENT

to publish by next spring. It showed me An exhibition the importance of language, but also its by poet Stephen involvement in politics Watts and artist and everyday life, in Hannes Schüpbach Bangladeshi, Yiddish and subsequently celebrates the Somali cultures. poetry of Jewish, In 2000 and 2001, I shadowed the Royal Somalian and London Hospital’s Bangladeshi Community Health languages. Advocates, the hospital’s interpreters, without whom a lot of patients couldn’t speak eet to their doctors. Stephen For the Somali and Watts, Bangladeshi Advocates, East poetry was so close London-based poet, to the surface of their language activist and lives, much closer than translator. Photographs it has become in wider of his lived spaces in English culture. It was East London, together not at all a difficult with pages of his onthing to ask about poets going Bibliography and their cultures. They of Modern Poetry in immediately recited English Translation things. for the forthcoming I’ve done a lot of exhibition Explosion residencies in Tower of Words with artist Hamlets schools, most Hannes Schüpbach, with many Bengali opens in January at the speaking, Sylheti Nunnery Gallery. speaking children. I Here Stephen reflects worked for several on his time in East terms in those schools London and how it has and got to know the impacted his work. kids and teachers. I got ‘I first came to East to understand what London in 1974 but was going into their came to live here in lives and that was 1977. My partner at the going into my poetry. time taught English as For 40 years “It showed me the importance of language, a second language to I’ve worked with but also its involvement in politics and young, Bangladeshi UK Bangladeshi migrants, plunging organisations and everyday life, in Bangladeshi, Yiddish and me into Bangladeshi writers, forming culture. I had been subsequently Somali cultures.” strong friendships involved in Bangladeshi with poets. In 1980, I culture before; at started working on the university in 1971 I talking in Yiddish. bibliography, separately but in parallel organised a conference on the War of I realised that one of them was to all this. Independence – estimates vary, but Avrom Stencl, a great figure in British That’s what brought me to Tower it is generally accepted that 1.5 to 3 Yiddish writing. He spent time in Hamlets and Whitechapel, and though million died, having a strong effect on Berlin in the 20s and 30s, managed I’ve thought of leaving, I never have.’ British Bangladeshis and Bangladeshi to leave in ’36, came here and died in Approximately 1900 pages of migrants. I immediately understood ’83. I realised I had heard him talking Stephen’s ongoing bibliography will be that literature, poetry, and language Yiddish in 1978/79. I vowed then I would mounted onto the gallery’s walls as a were part of much wider struggles. translate some of his poetry. About 20 background for Hannes Schüpbach’s I was also aware of the Jewish years later, with a young Yiddish poet, photographs, creating a ‘storehouse of East End, still there in remnants. I we did; publishing a book of Stencl’s language’, reflecting Stephen’s passion remember going to the old ABC Café poetry in Yiddish and English. for poetry in every tongue. in 1978/79. Often there would be three We are now working on his Explosion of Words opens 28 or four old men, as old as I am now, Whitechapel poems, which we hope January 2022 at Nunnery Gallery.  Portrait of Stephen Watts

Explosion of Words:

the poetry of the

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BOOKS

Reads

EAST END

Reviews of our favourite books about the East End.

BY CLAI RE EVA N S

KRAYS: THE FINAL WORD BY JAM E S MO RTO N

BORN FIGHTER

THE SECRETS OF THE HOMEFRONT GIRLS

BY RU Q SA NA BEGU M

BY K AT E T H O MPSO N

This well-written and gripping historical mystery novel, set in the East End of 1882, features the engaging central character, Cage Lackmann. Known as the Poet of Whitechapel, due to a poem he published as a young man, Cage is a good-looking charmer with a way with words, which he puts to use defending criminals as a barrister. Author Claire Evans vividly depicts a vanished London, from an abandoned inn by the railway tracks in Kilburn to the shabby taproom of the brothel in Whitechapel. The Victorian city of her imagination is a morally ambiguous one where right and wrong are not always distinct. It’s an intricately plotted novel with a strong sense of time and place but it is the central character that will stay with the reader.

‘This boy has been beaten by beasts’ are the first words in Krays: the Final Word, spoken by a Thames Court magistrate investigating the assault on a boy called Roy Harvey who was allegedly beaten with chains by the Kray Twins and their friend Patrick Aucott in Mare Street, Hackney. This was the first time the Krays were to make an appearance in court records but the case was dropped. As the author points out in this thorough examination of the history of the Krays, fact and legend have become entangled and often ‘the tendency has been…’When the legend becomes fact, print the legend’”. This book attempts to separate the factual grain from the legendary chaff and is a fascinating story of two of the monsters of the twentieth century.

Born Fighter is the autobiography of Ruqsana Begum, an East End girl from a traditional British Bangladeshi background who went on to become a Muay Thai world champion, a model for Adidas and Gymshark and the designer of one of the first sports hijabs. Begum grew up in a third-generation Bangladeshi family in Tapp Street, Bethnal Green, where she lived with her parents, grandparents, sister and three brothers in a threebedroom council flat. She tells her story with honesty, verve and wit. ‘Fight or flight? Outside of the ring, it’s always the latter, especially when it comes to my family’. After reading this fascinating memoir, the reader will agree that Begum is, as her book’s title states, a born fighter.

This book is a love letter to East London. If it were a more romantic form of love it might shrug off the area’s flaws but ‘noxious, industrial’ Stratford is reflected back at us through glasses wiped clean of any rose tint. ‘Bethnal Green had its blind beggar, Bow its bells and Whitechapel its Ripper, but Stinking Stratford made stuff’. This is no small task when 1939 slips into war and it’s the factory women who are expected to keep up the homefront. Thompson explores the consequences of a system that neglects the people at the edges of society, making their lives more precarious, and ultimately more dispensable. We are introduced to Snowball, a gentle yet homeless veteran who, discarded by society, finds some compassion in this corner of East London.And central to the plot are the female characters who get pregnant out of wedlock and are forced to make impossible decisions. When Thompson writes that ‘Down the Shoot, everyone is somebody, we all count’, we feel the true impact of those words.

Read the full review by Tabitha Potts on Romanroadlondon.com.

Read the full review by Kate Morse on Romanroadlondon.com.

T HE S L ICE  3 0

B O O K COV E RS A RT WO RK SU PP LI ED BY CON T RI B UTO R S.

THE GRAVES OF WHITECHAPEL