spitalields & bricklane

We woke up to blazing sun and blue skies, temperature forecast 7C-4C, ouch! You stretched and cycled, I lizard lounged and swung my attention between the rash in my hands and news about the war in Ukraine. Hmm, give me something more cheerful, please. 

Ready in 10 minutes. Great. If you want to go and get your bike we can save some time. No, it's o.k. I'll wait - I was busy photographing my hands to add to my visual diary of a month+ of rash mutations. After 10 minutes - amazing, you did not procrastinate - we walked to Hoxton Hotel to pick up my bike from the basement with a small diversion to THE CUT to check the 2nd floor flat opposite the theatre which is currently for sale for 600K.

Cycled to a chilli breeze up London Bridge to Liverpool street where we parked our bikes to begin part of the Spitalfields & Whitechapel psychogeography walk from 'London's Hidden Walks' - your favourite trilogy. We checked the Synagogue on Sandy's Row, spotted a breathtaking and immaculate warehouse conversion between Bell Lane and Tenter Ground and then continued our walk to 56 & 58 Artillery Lane to admire two Grade I listed buildings, both built in 1705 - shop dating from 1756 - for the Jourdains, a family of successful Huguenot silk merchants who had fled France.

You pointed the Women and Men signs on the Night Refuge and Convent across the road built in 1868 as temporary shelter for the poor in Spitalfields which was in use until the 1970s. Between August and November 1888 when the Whitechapel murders terrorised East London by Jack the Ripper, all five of the official victims - some claim as much as 11 - were near destitute prostitutes who lived in this area. Mary Jane Kelly - the 5th official victim, is believed to have lived in the Refuge when she first arrived in London in 1884. 

We checked the beautiful Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor on Brune street and the ornate Moorish Market on Fashion street originally built by Abraham Davis in 1905 to compete with the shops at Petticoat Lane but it was never successful and it's now a Fashion College.

Went up Bricklane in search of a coffeeshop, we said hi to the cute poodle-cross-Welsh terrier (I add, not epistemologically verified because I know you will question its validity), passed the enormous beigel shop queue - this is ridiculous, they're not that great you said, I must admit I love their cream salmon bagels and croissants - and made our way to Gecko for an oat flat white with MOMA barista edition instead of the usual Oatley. Niiiiice.

You looked around and cringed at the architecture which I positioned to be a mix of African & Mediterranean. The basement, a real surprise when visiting the toilets, enormous and unexpected ceiling height. If it wasn't for the strong smell of damp, I could consider having coffee if packed upstairs. You had my Gail's mini-smoked salmon sandwich and a protein rich KETO cake from Planet Organic. I tried a bit and decided to wait for the big event: GF Spaghetti Bolognese!

We traced our steps back to Bricklane and I smiled looking up:

ASPIRE TO INSIPRE OTHERS
AND THE UNIVERSE
WILL TAKE NOTE.

Turned around and saw the big bird on the brick wall which also pleased me. Admired and photographed once again - I appear to be doing this once a year in the past twenty five - the outstanding Georgian properties on Wilkes, Princelet and Fournier streets mostly dating from the 1750s and belonging to Huguenot silk weavers.

We walked into a shop on Fournier street, checked the gallery at the back through a stunning small courtyard and down the steps to an enchanting original Georgian kitchen which served coffee and cakes. Pity we had just been to Gecko. You said 'I don't like dark places, I like light' and I thought o.k. I will return with Karen and Anne who will definitely love the atmosphere of this moody Georgian basement. Must not forget the two ceramic cups I spotted on the ground floor. Friendly shop owner - you said Scottish, I always seem to confuse the Irish and Scottish accents unless of course it's Glasgow - he has been running the shop for ten years and has added the café in the basement, open every day except Mondays.

Above number 37 you showed me the original fire protection badge which was a common sight on the 18th century when there was no national fire service and households paid insurance for their homes to be protected against the risk of fire; the badge was proof of their policy.

You thought we missed the Jamme Masjid Mosque but we didn't. It was the only place in the country which had been used as a place of worship for Christians (French and English), Jews and Muslims.

You said it's freezing and I couldn't agree more so we skipped Whitechapel for a sunnier day - you kind of need Whitechapel in the sun to soften the grit and doom - so we cycled back via Tower Bridge to stop at the beautiful Planet Organic I had visited the day before. Apologies, read the sign. Darn, why is it shut?

We went passed Southwark Bridge Road to spot the top floor flat with the view of the Shard and the City asking in excess of 500K. Quick stop at the Co-Op for water. You carried on to Sainsbury's in Elephant and I went back home to PH to begin writing up this story.

At 4pm we feasted on bolognese with the best organic minced meat so far, must get the same from now on and stock up on that lovely smokey bbq sauce we ran out of. Thanks for the fresh thyme Cutie.

spitalields & bricklane

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