There’s more to Shoreditch than Street Art
This is the year of London tours for me. Back in February I was lucky enough to be invited on a London historic pub tour for a friend’s birthday and was surprised at how much fun and interesting these little rambles actually are. Then when another friend suggested a Shoreditch street art tour, it was booked in less than an hour.
Yesterday we were up with the sparrows and off to London’s hipster hangout to see that ‘there’s more to Shoreditch than Street Art’. Peter Berthoud educated our group of about twenty, leading us through the streets we thought we knew quite well and brought to life the history of the area, with snippets of street art that we probably would never have noticed normally. I especially loved Christian Naagel’s mushroom installations, sprouting from the most unlikely buildings.
We walked down Club Row and heard about the animal market that used to bring business to the area. Barely a skip and a jump from Arnold circus which was once a no-go-area until Arthur Morrison’s novel Child of Jago encouraged the council to take some action. Then across to St Leonard’s church where we were lucky enough to bump into the Reverend who gave us a mini tour of his own and we saw (and heard) the bell from the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons – ‘bells of St Clement’s’. We then crossed the road and got a glimpse of a hidden Banksy at Cargo and then traipsed down Curtain Road, just before the heavens opened, admiring the graffiti before finishing up at the pub.
For more information about Peter and his tours visit his website http://www.peterberthoud.co.uk
Whose Boots Are Those Shoes? 
Saw the ‘shrooms today too, did a bike ride along Regents Canal with a pit stop at Duke St Bar & Kitchen, home of Beavertown Brewery, and the historic Grapes at Limehouse.