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At St Michael & All Angels, Shoreditch
You walk through the door and it as if you walked into the mansion of Charles Foster Kane – such is the overwhelming collection of unlikely paraphernalia that you encounter when you visit St Michael...
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Scything On Walthamstow Marshes
Raf Szafruga, heroic scyther In celebration of Lammastide, which marks the beginning of the grain harvest, Contributing Photographer Colin O’Brien & I went along to join the mowers wielding...
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Ruth Franklin, Sculptor
Mr & Mrs “It’s only in later life that you become interested in your family,” Ruth Franklin admitted to me when I visited her exhibition of sculpture CURLERS & CUTS in Whitechapel yesterday,...
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Closed House Weekend
Stop The Blocks is staging a Closed House Weekend as a means to draw attention to the catalogue of contested sites in the East End. The aim is to highlight how public space is being closed for private...
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Barge Racing On The Thames Estuary
Barge racing season on the Thames Estuary Crossing the marshes beyond Faversham at night, heading towards Oare Creek, my heart leapt in anticipation to see the mast of the Thames Sailing Barge...
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King Of The Bottletops At The Farm
For a second summer, Robson Cezar, widely known as King of the Bottletops has been artist-in-residence at Spitalfields City Farm, and so Contributing Photographer Sarah Ainslie & I went along to...
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Roy Wild, Hop Picker
Yesterday, I returned to visit my pal Roy Wild from Hoxton who formerly worked in the Bishopsgate Good Yard and he told me about his days hopping in Kent, more than half a century ago There is Roy on...
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Old Mother Hubbard & Her Wonderful Dog
Courtesy of Jemmy Catnach of Catnach Press, it is my pleasure to publish this early nineteenth century shaggy dog tale of the devoted Mother Hubbard – believed to be by Sarah Catherine Martin You may...
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At Victoria Park Model Steam Boat Club
Spitalfields Life contributing photographer, Lucinda Douglas-Menzies became fascinated by the Victoria Park Model Steam Boat Club while out walking in the park. Over successive Sundays, her interest...
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At JC Motors, Haggerston
Leonard Maloney “I’ve spent my whole working life here in the arches,” Leonard Maloney admitted to me, when Contributing Photographer Sarah Ainslie & I went to visit him at JC Motors in Haggerston...
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Old London Trade Cards
Is your purse or wallet like mine, bulging with old trade cards? Do you always take a card from people handing them out in the street, just to be friendly? Do you pick up interesting cards in idle...
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At Sandwich
I spent my week away from Spitalfields Life working on the Cries of London book but – before summer ends – I decided to take advantage of the sunny weather yesterday with a trip to Sandwich “There’s...
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At Samuel Pepys’ Library
I paid a visit to Pepys’ Library in Cambridge recently as research for my Cries of London book You cross the bridge over the River Cam in Cambridge – the one from which the city takes it name – and...
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A New Scheme For Norton Folgate
Could this be the new Truman’s Brewery? Today I open the next chapter in the story of Norton Folgate by introducing the Spitalfields Trust‘s scheme for renewal of this overlooked ancient quarter of...
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A Plaque For Nina Bawden
Islington Council is unveiling a plaque for my friend & mentor, the novelist Nina Bawden, at midday on Friday 11th September, at her former home, 22 Noel Rd, N1, and you are very welcome to attend...
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Cries Of London Woodcuts
Alongside celebrated artists who drew Cries of London - Marcellus Laroon, Francis Wheatley, William Marshall Craig & John Thomas Smith – there is a parallel tradition of works by anonymous...
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The Curious Legacy Of Francis Wheatley
Linen and cotton tea towel by Lamont Even if you do not know the name, it is unlikely you do not know the work. You may have seen his prints being sold off cheap at car boot sales and charity shops,...
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Mychael Barratt’s Mile End Mural
Every time I walk down Mile End Rd, my attention always wanders to Mychael Barratt‘s mural high on the wall beyond Trinity Green Almshouses, conjuring the presiding spirits of this corner of...
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The Ruins Of The Fruit & Wool Exchange
This is a view I never expected to see – Christ Church, Spitalfields, peering through the ruins of the London Fruit & Wool Exchange. Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, is personally responsible for...
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Hop Picking At Lamberhurst
Flossie Reed & Vi Charlton Contributing Photographer Colin O’Brien & I joined two coachloads of East Enders on a trip to Kent last week for a spot of hopping at Little Scotney Farm, courtesy...
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