The history of back slang: the covert language of the East End
Think Cockney rhyming slang was the only covert language of the Victorian-era East End? Introducing back slang, rhyming slang’s lesser-known,
East End Cockney
Meet Chris Ross, the East End poet keeping Cockney culture young
We talk to Chris Ross, the Cockney poet taking social media by storm with his poems about everyday life in
A cockney holiday: East Ender’s favourite seaside haunts
With foreign travel likely off the cards this year, we rediscover the seaside holiday destinations that East Enders have long
Cockney rhyming slang history: the roots, the rhymes and the reasons
Ever fallen down the ‘apples and pears’? Have you had your ‘barnet’ chopped recently? Called a mate on the old
The real history of ‘Knees up Mother Brown’
The exact origin of ‘Knees up Mother Brown’ is unknown, but by the 1800s it had become a popular song in East End pubs and bars.
The real history of the Pearly Kings and Queens
The Pearly Kings and Queens are a famous symbol of cockney culture and the second oldest charity in London, but what’s the real story behind the Pearl monarchy? How are they still spreading the original Pearly message? And how much do the suits really weigh?
The faces, emotion and passion of West Ham football fans
Local resident José’s photography project ‘Faces of West Ham’ records the faces, emotions and passion of The Hammers.
Book Review: ‘Krays: The Final Word’ by James Morton
‘This boy has been beaten by beasts’ are the first words in Krays: the Final Word, spoken by a Thames Court magistrate investigating the assault on a boy called Roy Harvey who was allegedly beaten with chains by the Kray Twins and their friend Patrick Aucott in Mare Street, Hackney.
Book review: ‘My Dad, the Guv’nor’ by Kelly McLean
Tabitha Potts reviews My Dad, the Guv’nor, Kelly McLean’s autobiography about growing up as the daughter of Lenny McLean, the
Before they were kings: the boxing careers of Ronnie and Reggie Kray
The Kray twins worked hard for their infamy. The East End gangsters were behind all manner of murder, armed robbery,
‘Black Widow’ Linda Calvey on the realities of East End gangster life
Flowery dress. Red toenails. Bleached blonde hair. Linda Calvey, 71, doesn’t exactly scream East London gangster when we meet on
The Kray Twins’ notorious Double R Club on Bow Road, now Enterprise Car Rental
The Double R Club was a notorious night-club on Bow Road named after and owned by the former gangsters, the
