I have been living in the East End from the day I arrived in London and I have always preferred it to the less characteristic West. In Dalston, we had a spacious, cool house which was converted from an old factory, but the surroundings were a bit scary and we were never keen to go out after dark. I was always tempted by some of the best kebab shops in London, nevertheless.
It was not uncommon to hear stories about people being stabbed to death at the number 38 bus stop during the day and some guy opening fire at the local McDonald’s. We felt much safer when we moved to a gated community in Bow, where we swapped the exciting area and exotic restaurants for a communal garden, swimming pool and gym.
Both of these places are mentioned in Tarquin Hall’s Salaam Brick Lane, which I was totally engaged by. It took me less than a week to finish this amazing description of East Enders’ lives; I could hardly put the book down and when I came to the end, I really wished I had read it slowly.
I was fascinated by most of the stories and was particularly interested in reading the East End references including the famous (or infamous) Kray twins. As I used to hang out around Brick Lane, it was nostalgic to read about the curry houses, the Jewish beigel (bagel) bakeries, Spitalfields and the Columbia Road Flower Market.
I may go back this weekend.
hey i still remember the salt beef bagel !! the best!! cant find it in hk