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Arful Nessa, Gardener
Click here to book Delwar Hussain writes about his mother’s horticultural activities in Puma Court Arful Nessa in her garden in Puma Court My mother is the first to admit that when it comes to...
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Tom Fellows, London’s Oldest Cabbie
Click to book Here is Tom Fellows at eighty-six years old, squinting into the light with a half-smile that betrays a circumspect nature honed by a lifetime driving a cab around London. Tom has seen...
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Betty Levy Of Petticoat Lane
Tours include tea and freshly baked apple strudel at the Whitechapel Gallery. Click here to book Betty If you walked through the Petticoat Lane Market in the nineteen-twenties, you would frequently...
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John Allin, Artist
Tickets available for The Gentle Author’s Tour of Spitalfields this Saturday 12th September. Click here to book Gun St, Spitalfields John Allin (1934-1991) took to painting while serving a six month...
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David Mason, Wilton’s Music Hall
Tickets available for The Gentle Author’s Tour of Spitalfields next Saturday 12th September. Click here to book When I arrived to meet David Mason in the bar at Wilton’s Music Hall, the only person...
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Derrick Porter, Hoxton Poet
In 1971, Photographer David Hoffman moved into a squat in Fieldgate Mansions in Whitechapel and found himself at the centre of a lively and vibrant community. Learn the full story and visit Fieldgate...
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So Long, Martin White
Textile Consultant Martin White died on Thursday aged ninety-five. After the loss of his business partner Philip Pittack from Covid in 2020, Martin continued running Crescent Trading, Spitalfields’...
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Tom Vowden, Stained Glass Conservator
Click here to book for my next Whitechapel Tour on Sunday 23rd August. Tour includes tea and apple strudel at the Whitechapel Gallery. One of my favourite places in the East End is Bow Church, so it...
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Terry Barns, Knot Tyer
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR TICKET . For all those with a fascination with ropes and knots, the Whitechapel Gallery is currently hosting the ROPERY, a free exhibition offering visitors of all ages the...
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Henry Silk’s Still Life
Click here to book for The Gentle Author’s tours . In 1930, basketmaker and artist Henry Silk sits alone in his sparsely furnished room in Rounton Rd in Bow surrounded by few personal possessions. He...
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A Visit From Viscountess Boudicca
Click here to book for The Gentle Author’s Tours Viscountess Boudicca Ten years ago today, on August 3rd 2016, Viscountess Boudicca was decanted from her council flat in Bethnal Green to Uttoxeter....
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Fred Iles, Meter Fixer
Book now for my tours through August, September & October . . Fred & Marie Iles with Smudge Fred Iles was born half a mile from his allotment in Stepney and his wife Marie grew up in Garden St...
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Summer At Arnold Circus
Huge thanks to Farokh Talati, Head Chef at St John Bread & Wine, for so generously baking this magnificent Apple Strudel for the guests on The Gentle Author’s Tour of Whitechapel this Sunday....
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Marie Iles, Machinist
Click to book for The Gentle Author’s tours . Apart from memorable excursions outside London as an evacuee, Marie Iles lived her entire life within a quarter mile of Stepney and it suited her very...
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At The Smithfield Institute
Click here to book for The Gentle Author’s Tours Jack Hanlon gives a rare insight into the fascinating lost world of the Smithfield Meat Trades Institute… The correct way to sharpen a knife From...
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Sheila Bell Of Great Eastern Buildings
Click here to book tickets (Click on this photograph to enlarge it) Can you spot Sheila Bell in this photograph of the residents of Great Eastern Buildings celebrating Victory in Europe Day at the...
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David Carpenter, Maker Of Glass Eyes
Click here to book tickets David Carpenter In the nineteenth century, artificial eyes were sometimes made of lead-based glass, so if the owner were to walk in extreme cold temperatures and then enter...
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Phillip Lucas, Collector
Click here to book tickets ‘I think I have a pronounced hunter-gatherer instinct’ portrait by Lucinda Douglas Menzies When I visited Phillip Lucas in his 1725 house in Spitalfields that he has been...
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Cecile Moss Of Old Montague St
Click here to book for The Gentle Author’s Tours Cecile aged four Although Cecile Moss lived in Old Montague St for fourteen years, this is the only photograph taken of her in Spitalfields, and it...
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Phyllis Bray, Artist
David Buckman author of Artists of the East London Group recalls the forgotten artist, Phyllis Bray. Celebrated for her murals at the People’s Palace in Mile End, Bray was a significant talent and an...
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