Covering 2,000 years of history in one place is no easy feat, but the Museum of London Docklands does it beautifully, keeping you rolling through the story of the River Thames right up to the contentious present day. A year ago, I moved to East London, and it’s been my perfect place. Living a 15-minute walk from the River Thames and the old Docklands means that I get to experience first-hand one of the fastest changing neighbourhoods in London. …
On a quiet side street off Brick Lane, a dark nondescript door hides one of East London’s absolute gems (and hardest places to get into). Step beyond the curry touts’ grasp to discover London’s global roots at the rarely open Museum of Immigration and Diversity at 19 Princelet Street. ‘You cunt. You shouldn’t even be living in this country.’ My mind was racing through the British dictionary stored in my head. The c-word. This was …
London’s old East End is changing fast, but some fantastic traditions have stuck. One of my favourites is at The Widow’s Son pub in Bow, where we gathered on Good Friday with hot cross buns to remember a sailor who never returned from war. East London has traditionally been a working-class neighbourhood, and even though that’s being scrubbed away at an ever-increasing rate since the docks were closed, you can still …
Since I moved to the UK nearly three years ago (!), I’ve passed through so many phases of obsession with British food. First it was curry and mango chutney and then it was scones and afternoon tea. (The romance with that one died quite quickly — the scene’s much less romantic when it’s just you at home wiping spilled clotted cream off your PJ bottoms.) And for quite a while …