Spitalfields Life: In the Midst of Life I Woke to Find Myself Living in an Old House Beside Brick Lane in the East End of London

 

 

Drawing comparisons with Pepys, Mayhew, and Dickens, the gentle author of Spitalfields Life blog has gained an extraordinary following in recent years, by writing hundreds of pen portraits of a diverse array of people who live and work in the East End of London. Everything you seek in London can be found here—street life, street art, markets, diverse food, immigrant culture, ancient houses and history, pageants and parades, rituals and customs, traditional trades, and old family businesses. Spend a night in the bakery at St John's; ride the rounds with the Spitalfields milkman; drop in for a pint at the Golden Heart pub; and meet the jewel thief who crossed the Kray Brothers, the mudlark who discovers treasure on the banks of the river Thames, the window cleaner who sees ghosts, or the master bell-founder whose business was first started in 1570. Join the bunny girls at their annual reunion party; meet the wax sellers of Wentworth Street; and pay a visit to Holmes and Watson, the Spitalfields City Farm pigs. Truly all human life is here.