Brick Lane on Christmas Day 2022

Merry Christmas to my fellow Blippers. I hope you’ve had a lovely day.

You see all sorts going on in this part of the East End of London. I thought everything contained in this pic sums things up well. Some amazing artworks, continually updated. Some certainty not suitable for Blip.

My best friend used to live in a flat which was just off Brick Lane. The flat was part of a converted church. Back in the day one of the Kray brothers got married in that church.

Maybe 15 years ago or so I learned about the 24 hour bagel shop, here I enjoyed some joking and silliness with people frequenting the place in the early morning hours.

This Christmas we hadn’t booked anywhere to eat a main Christmas meal so it felt quite interesting as I was aware we may not get a good choice of places to eat. So much is shut in central London on Christmas Day. I thought if we head to Brick Lane we could eat at an Indian restaurant and if absolutely necessary we could head over to Chinatown, if we we were desperate.

Saw a few interesting sights (one a bit scary, for me at least) near Brick Lane. Walked up through Wapping which I’ve never spent time in before. Felt like I learned a lot about the area. It’s not good for mudlarking, interesting pub exteriors and friendly small, local shops which were open. Certainly a place to buy amazing quality fruit and veg.

We ended up eating in a Lebanese (unplanned and coincidentally my fave food). MrH spotted it and suggested it after checking the online reviews. I think he secretly wanted kebab skewers! I was happy because we had lemon and mint drinks which were huge and freshly made and the chap who owned the place gave us free Lebanese tea at the end. Yummy.

I was sad to miss a call from my bro and parents but managed to catch up with my folks, sadly without the benefits of video as my phone just wouldn’t co-operate. They sounded good so that’s the main thing. I’ll manage a video call when I’m back home and know it works.

Felt sleepy early evening and watched some old quiz shows. Salt beef, mustard and geeking bagels for the evening meal (MrH is happy). Being restful now as tomorrow is the last full day here and I have a coffee with my name on it in Soho . Reduced tube service tomorrow so things may need a little planning.