Citizen Journalist, Author at Roman Road LDN

Book review: ‘The Nature Seed’ by Lucy Jones and Kenneth Greenway

November 3, 2021February 1, 2022 Citizen Journalist 232 Views 6 min read

With help from The Nature Seed, our book reviewer Helen Simms discovers the joy of looking, connecting, and bonding with

Footbridge connecting Old Ford Road with Fish Island, East London.

Open Letter: ‘A Bridge Too Far’

September 15, 2021January 13, 2022 Citizen Journalist 491 Views 4 min read

In an open call to the community, Citizen Journalist Ben Priestley argues against the London Legacy Development Corporation’s plans to

Fanny Rollo Wilkinson, first female landscape gardner in the UK who designed Meath Gardens in Globe Town.

Wilkinson was the UK's first female landscape gardener and designed Meath Gardens.

Suffragette Fanny Wilkinson: the UK’s first female landscape gardener who designed Meath Gardens

September 5, 2021June 10, 2022 Citizen Journalist 667 Views 4 min read

Fanny Wilkinson designed 75 of London’s green spaces, including our very own Meath Gardens. Citizen Journalist Kate Rutland explores her life

Turn A Blind Eye by Vicky Newham book review.

Turn a Blind Eye by Vicky Newham review – the body count mounts in Mile End

July 12, 2021January 14, 2022 Citizen Journalist 533 Views 2 min read

Our reviewer Tabitha Potts casts her eyes over Vicky Newham’s debut murder mystery Turn a Blind Eye, twisting and turning

Two women dressed in red with white headdressings stand in front of industrial Stratford, while war planes fly overhead The Secrets of the Homefront Girls

Secrets of the Homefront Girls by Kate Thompson – ‘beauty was their duty’

July 3, 2021January 13, 2022 Citizen Journalist 349 Views 4 min read

A love letter to East London, The Secrets of the Homefront Girls shows how everyone counts whatever their gender, class

Black and white newspaper image of Chief librarian Anne Cunningham (centre left) receiving the books including The Colour Purple, with campaigner Paul Barlow (left).

Chief librarian Anne Cunningham (centre left) receiving the books including The Colour Purple, with campaigner Paul Barlow (left). Courtesy of Paul Barlow

The Globe Town Library that defied the government to keep LGBTQ+ books on our shelves

June 28, 2021September 17, 2021 Citizen Journalist 455 Views 4 min read

Citizen journalist Kate Rutland finds out how the Globe Town Library’s fight against Margarets Thatcher’s ‘anti-gay’ legislation, earned their place

A woman strolls down a path through through Meath Gardens in East London

The Great Eastern Parks Route: how a forest garden developed into a greenway

June 16, 2021January 13, 2022 Citizen Journalist 516 Views 4 min read

Campaigning to protect and enhance green spaces has never been more crucial. Citizen journalist Stefania Di Cio` looks into how

A black-and-white photograph of Stepney Union Workhouse on a grey, overcast day. Leafless trees in the foreground.

A view of the Stepney Union Workhouse, Bromley-by-Bow.

Inside the Stepney Union Workhouse, home to East London’s poorest children

June 4, 2021January 14, 2022 Citizen Journalist 637 Views 5 min read

Citizen journalist Kate Rutland dives into the records of the Stepney Union Workhouse to unearth the lives of the pauper

Pelican Cottage in the 1970s when the yard was Bates Scrap Metal Merchants, a few years after Marion and her parents had left. The front door is bricked up and the house left in disrepair.