Eight years and three thousand stories ago, I published my first post in these pages. What a journey it has been and what sights we have witnessed. Already, I am approaching a third of the way towards my ambition of ‘at least ten thousand stories.’
Today – as it has become my custom upon this anniversary – I present my annual report looking back over the past twelve months.
One of the wonders of writing and making an account of life is that, even as it makes you aware of loss and time passing, it accumulates to create an ever-growing stack of pages. I take consolation that, thanks to my writing, I am able look back and revisit the people and experiences which I have cherished through the last eight years. Even if they are gone from the world, they will always reside here in this record.
When I began to write stories in the pages of Spitalfields Life, it was never my expectation or intention to become a publisher of books or get involved in politics. Yet both these activities have become an integral part of my work, offering challenges and rewards in equal measure.
This year, I am especially proud to have launched the writing career of Julian Woodford by publishing his debut book The Boss of Bethnal Green. Julian’s brilliant account of the breathtakingly appalling life of Joseph Merceron, the eighteenth century gangster and corrupt East End politician, proved to be a major work of biography, which was recognised as a significant contribution to the history of London by glowing reviews in the Evening Standard, the Times, the Times Literary Supplement.
This spring, I published a handsome new illustrated edition of AS Jasper’s compelling memoir of growing up in the East End at the beginning of the twentieth century, A Hoxton Childhood, accompanied by the first publication of the sequel The Years After, detailing the author’s struggle and eventual triumph in the Shoreditch cabinet-making trade. If anyone ever wonders why it is we need a National Health Service, proper Council Housing or legislation to ensure decent working conditions, they should read this candid and heart-breaking account of life in the world before these things came into existence.
More than two years have passed since five hundred of you joined hands around Norton Folgate to save it from demolition. Readers frequently ask what has become of British Land’s threatened development in these streets. The answer is that the campaign and the Spitalfields Trust’s Judicial Review, challenging Boris Johnson’s ‘calling-in’ of the development over the heads of Tower Hamlets Council, postponed matters long enough for the European Referendum to happen. Overnight, this office development became no longer financially viable and, subsequently, British Land saw an 85% fall in profits. In Spitalfields, people say that the consequence of the Referendum was, ‘We lost Europe but we saved Norton Folgate.’ Yet, as long as the planning permission stands, the door remains open for the revival of this hideous scheme when the economy improves.
We can celebrate two notable successes in conservation in the past year. Largely due to letters of objection written by readers of Spitalfields Life, the murals in the Royal Exchange were saved when the developer withdrew their application to bisect these magnificent paintings. Similarly, the historic Still & Star in Aldgate ( the last ‘slum pub’ in the City of London) was given a reprieve from demolition when it was granted Asset of Community Value status.
Thus another year passes in the pages of Spitalfields Life.
As the season changes and the summer fades away, there is much to look forward to this autumn and I hope I will have the pleasure of meeting you at one these forthcoming events.
14th SEPTEMBER: A HOXTON CHILDHOOD AT V&A BETHNAL GREEN MUSEUM: Celebrating our new edition of AS Jasper’s classic East End childhood memoir, we present an evening of readings from A Hoxton Childhood & The Years After and an interview with the author’s son, Terry Jasper. Additionally, Derrick Porter, Poet of Hoxton, will read a selection of his poems and Henrietta Keeper, Belle of Bethnal Green, will sing. Click here for tickets.
10th OCTOBER: LAUNCH OF EAST END VERNACULAR AT NUNNERY GALLERY: There will be a special viewing for Spitalfields Life readers from 6-8pm of Bow Arts’ exhibition The Working Artist: The East London Group at which I will introduce my new book East End Vernacular, Artists who painted London’s East End streets in the 20th century. Make a note in your diary and watch this space for further details.
4th & 5th NOVEMBER: BLOG WRITING COURSE IN SPITALFIELDS: I have been running these courses for five years now and it is an enduring delight to spend a weekend with readers in an eighteenth century weaver’s house in Fournier St, and hear the wonderful ideas and stories that people bring. With delicious lunch served by Leila’s Cafe and cakes baked by the Townhouse to eighteenth century recipes, we always have a lot of fun. Click here for more information and email spitalfieldslife@gmail.com to book.
Over the next week, I shall be at the printers overseeing the production of EAST END VERNACULAR and, in the meantime, I will be publishing favourite posts from the past year until I resume with new stories on Monday 4th September.
Click here to order a copy of THE BOSS OF BETHNAL GREEN
Click here to order a copy of A HOXTON CHILDHOOD & THE YEARS AFTER
Click here to pre-order a copy of EAST END END VERNACULAR
You may like to read my earlier Annual Reports