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COVID: Lockdown Stories (2020-2021)

Lines

for Charlie Burke, by Elif Soyler The first time Charlie speaks to me we are about one hundred miles apart, but we share a grey, shadowy sky. Out of his window, in his flat in Stratford, the East London skyscrapers of Canary Wharf are smothered in a low-hanging fog. The neighbourhoods of the East End… continue reading »

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Invisible London (2017-2019)

Nine Lives, for Ferdinand Maxwell

From the life of Ferdinand Maxwell By Erica Masserano — 1, 2: Barbados What Barbados is like? Summer throughout the year, sunshine every day. I was born there in 1941. Growing up there is a lot better than what I see the kids doing who grow up here. My dad was police and my mom… continue reading »

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Stories Against Loneliness (2016)

Butterfly Effect, by Nicola Peard

The one thing about change is that you rarely see it coming.   —   Most of the time, it’s already here.   First Beat – Sixteen Years Old When I found the first patch – just behind my right ear, concealed by the hair that would be there for a while yet – I… continue reading »

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EastLife (2014-2015)

The Best Thing Since Fried Bread, for Ellen Shrimpton

From the life of Ellen Shrimpton By Sam Dodd — I met with Ellen with the intention of talking to her about her grandmother, Vesta Fay. I’d heard tales about the old-time East End wartime music hall performer, a woman who dressed as a man and smoked on stage, entertained the locals and gave the… continue reading »

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