London Bus Rides - Part 2

East End - Shoreditch

I asked my Engliish colleagues which neighborhoods I should avoid and then made sure I visited each and every one of them.  Brixton was to be avoided at all costs and close behind was the East End - which is said to be rough around the edges.  I took a bus from Brixton to Shoreditch and found it to be in the middle of the classic gentrification.  

In a well-choreographed dance, the artists arrive first followed by the restaurateurs, the fancy shops and finally the developers.  Shoreditch looked to be close to the final phase.

However,  a lot of the wonderful "phase 1" street art still exists.

It's everywhere.  On every wall and every shop shutter..

The new mixes with the old in this mural of  Charlie Burns a local neighborhood hero who had many careers, one of which was fixing fights for the Kray brothers in the 1950's.

I spent most of my time walking around, ignoring the shops and taking in the art.

I finally succumbed to cold and wind and took refuge in a swank coffee shop, the same kind of coffee shop you see in the same kind of gentrified neighborhood all over the world.  In defiance, I ordered porridge and the waitress gave me a shocked look.  Hey, it's on YOUR menu....

When I arrived back at my hotel room I found 4 small birthday cakes awaiting me.  I was pretty sure who they were from and was positive when I read the message.  Only one person in the world who calls me Dopey.