Entertaining a visitor to your hometown is always a great chance to see it through the eyes of a tourist.
Last evening, spent with my American friend HiC, provided just such an opportunity. From his hotel, the new Hilton near London Bridge, we took a bendy-bus through the City to the Istanbul Iskembecesi restaurant in Dalston - a family concern that dishes up such Turkish delights as traditional tripe soup and melt-in-the mouth borek pastries. It's to be found about a mile north of this piece of public art created by erstwhile aerosol-terrorist (turned celebrity darling ) Banksy.
HiC and I, returning from our cheap and delicious meal of mirth and mixed mezes, were approached by a hobo who asked us for 10p. My experience has proved that this often leads to being asked for more and then insulted when returning a refusal. It's pretty rare for the crackheads of Dalston and Hackney to smile sweetly and say "thanks". It's not Green Gables, y'know.
Not to mention the fact that flashing a wallet on the Kingsland Rd in the dark of night is just beggin' for trouble. So, we shrugged and walked on, invoking a venomous shriek of 'fucking fags' from said crackhead.
HiC is a seer and sage of rare merit, hailing from Marin County, close to San Francisco. There, the word 'fag' is used with a kind of fond nostalgia - it's been such a long time since anyone really bothered about anyone's sexuality in that part of the world (other than, of course, for obvious reasons) that it's passed, via neutrality, into the lexicon of hilarity.
What is amazing that it's an American word that's found its way, via rap music, onto the streets of slum London, where it's used by crack addicts to insult visiting queens.
Last evening, spent with my American friend HiC, provided just such an opportunity. From his hotel, the new Hilton near London Bridge, we took a bendy-bus through the City to the Istanbul Iskembecesi restaurant in Dalston - a family concern that dishes up such Turkish delights as traditional tripe soup and melt-in-the mouth borek pastries. It's to be found about a mile north of this piece of public art created by erstwhile aerosol-terrorist (turned celebrity darling ) Banksy.
HiC and I, returning from our cheap and delicious meal of mirth and mixed mezes, were approached by a hobo who asked us for 10p. My experience has proved that this often leads to being asked for more and then insulted when returning a refusal. It's pretty rare for the crackheads of Dalston and Hackney to smile sweetly and say "thanks". It's not Green Gables, y'know.
Not to mention the fact that flashing a wallet on the Kingsland Rd in the dark of night is just beggin' for trouble. So, we shrugged and walked on, invoking a venomous shriek of 'fucking fags' from said crackhead.
HiC is a seer and sage of rare merit, hailing from Marin County, close to San Francisco. There, the word 'fag' is used with a kind of fond nostalgia - it's been such a long time since anyone really bothered about anyone's sexuality in that part of the world (other than, of course, for obvious reasons) that it's passed, via neutrality, into the lexicon of hilarity.
What is amazing that it's an American word that's found its way, via rap music, onto the streets of slum London, where it's used by crack addicts to insult visiting queens.
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