#RIP to the General Havelock in #Ilford. Once, Ilford was a place to move when you'd made it. Now, it's little less than a demoralising, run-down area as well as a cemetery of pubs. The crime and disorder in Ilford is genuinely far worse than you think.

@BritainsPubs @LostAndLivingPubs

I miss the days of old-school warehousing units and Scrapyards like that of Stratford, Leyton, and Canning Town years ago. Today, such sites look like Amazon distribution centres. But when I was young, these run-down places were the best way for people to start businesses of their own. I saw many people from low to high income backgrounds making the best of the scraps they'd been given. Such sites gave private owners the ability to have a good distribution point to the rest of London. They'd also be near their homes in east London or a short journey from its suburbs. Now, massive organisations completely monopolise the few places we once found refuge. Yes, they were gritty, but such is life. We still loved them.

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The Kings Arms is a beautiful pub situated on the almost perfectly preserved street of late Georgian workers. This #Lambeth estate is one of the few places that maintains an essence of charm. It's used for various filing projects. I've said many times that the only reason this place is used for television so much is because it's the only place that still looks like London. Try filming James Bond on modern Oxford Street and it will quickly become apparent how ugly our city has become.

25 Roupell St, #London #SE1
@BritainsPubs
@LostAndLivingPubs