Jacob Dresner, Toyshop Owner on Oldhill Street
By day Jacob is selling toys to the local Jewish community as it prepares for Chanukah. By night he stays...
Parish
up and down the Kingsland Road
Our Whitechapel Foundry Bell (1773)
The Season of Advent, with its themes of apocalyptic dread, makes me a bit jumpy. First we had the sonic...
Speed Awareness Training
A few weeks ago we buried Richard. We loved Richard. The church service lasted nearly two hours as people stood...
on the clapton commons map
This week High Vis jackets started appearing on Clapton Common as the hoardings went up around the long abandoned toilet...
“Clean” by Michele Kirsch
Clean: here’s a good book to take with you into the business end of Lent – a story of “addiction, recovery,...
six billboards on clapton common, hackney
A mayor, a bishop and a rabbi walk onto the site of the abandoned toilet block on Clapton Common ....
Keep Taking the Juice
Richard is what you could call an “artisan Hackney juicer” – and the humble cucumber is his fruit of choice....
Mother of all Ceilidhs
Mothering Sunday: it’s also called Laetare Sunday which means Rejoice! in Latin. That’s obviously not our habitual reflex for Lent (more...
To Romania with Van
This is Vishinel. He is a Romanian man in his late 30s who has been coming (and going) to the...
Monica Stewart – the call of the midwife
You may not know Monica Stewart but it’s entirely possible that if you were born in or around London’s Paddington...