BES Assignment Six - The East End

For this East end walk, I made sure that I went on a Sunday; mainly because the markets were my main interest within this assignment. I have not been to many covered markets, and it seemed like these markets were going to have more arts and crafts items, which I have not seen much of at other markets. Before we get to the markets, I will talk a little about the other things about the East end.

So I just now noticed how close I work to the East end. One of the coffee shops I work at, Liberty of Norton Folgate, is right across from Folgate street (hence the name). I wasn’t even aware that that was the East End of London, and that Brick Ln. was so close. Anyways, the Georgian houses were beautiful, and London’s quick change act struck once again. Just by turning one corner, I went from skyscrapers created from glass and steel to Georgian houses frozen in time. This is one of the great things about London; every street could be a new world. Dennis Servers’ House was closed, but it would have been interesting to step back in time. Just seeing the candles by the front door felt a little odd and out of place, but that is the magic of it. I did not stop in any of the churches as I must say, I am a little sick of exploring churches. The next stop was Spitalfields Market.

Spitalfields was a nice market. There were a ton of clothes stands, and many homemade crafts/art being sold. I enjoyed looking at the homemade items, and thought about buying a few; I thought again and saved my money. I did pass a doughnut stand, and that was so tempting! I haven’t had doughnuts since I have gotten to London. It was an instant craving when I saw them. Although this market was great, the next market was by far the better one; probably because of all the food!

This market was also a covered market, and the first thing that hit me when I walked in was the amazing smells! Half of the market was taken up by food stands from all different ethnic backgrounds. There was Chinese, Indian, Lithuanian, Spanish, Jamaican, and more. I am adventurous with my food so this was like a honey hole! I had to make three trips around the stands to finally decide what I wanted. Luckily there were a few stands giving out samples to help me decide. I ended up going with some lamb curry; it smelt great and the sample melted in my mouth. I have no regrets about getting it, but I had a sample of the Lithuanian food that was delicious! I put this market on my list to go back to so I can try the Lithuanian food, and of course, the many baked good stands they had there as well! The East End was a great place to spend a day. The cultural diversity of the area is something everyone should experience.