The best way to describe East London is to say that it caters for everyone's wishes and has a really fascinating vibrancy. It even has its own language known as Cockney rhyming slang eg if you need some "cash" a true Cockney would say " need some sausage and mash" ? There is even an ATM withdrawal machine in Leytonstone that now offers its services using this slang, so if you want to see the balance of your a/c on the "screen" it says "Charlie Sheen" and if you want to take out £50 "Nifty", or for £30 it says "Dirty", £20 "Horn of Plenty", £10 "Speckled Hen" & £5 "Lady Godiva". The first festival celebrating the Cockney language and diverse culture was held first in July 2013 by the Cockney Heritage Trust and showed that Cockney is not "brown bread", that is "dead" !You can explore the East End for days and days, go to the street markets or have a meal in a local pub that has been operating for 500 years, where Dickens drank a few pints and Sir Ian McKellen is now a part owner, or visit the Prospect of Whitby, the oldest riverside tavern dating from 1520 and watch the world sail, or steam, by on the river Thames. Diversity also applies to the architecture, you can see Stepney's oldest house at 37 Stepney Green, built in 1694 and occupied by Lady Mary Gayer, an East India merchant's widow (see her initials wrought into the front gates); later on it was a Jewish care home, then a craft school and now a family home again - often used as a location for TV & filming. The Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast some of the world's most famous bells, including the Liberty Bell & Big Ben and in 2012 cast the largest bell in Europe in honour of the 2012 Olympics - it weighs 27 tonnes and featured in the Opening Ceremony, it is inscribed with a Shakespearian quote from The Tempest's Caliban "Be not afeared, the isle is full of noises".Fancy a bit of culture, maybe go to Wilton's Music Hall, which is the oldest surviving music hall in the world dating back to the C19th, or just a good film at our local picture house - in one screen you can sit on a sofa for 2 and have a drink, which was formerly a theatre dating back 150 years called the Paragon. Charlie Chaplin performed here in 1909 before Hollywood beckoned. It has excellent coffee from the boys & girls at Nude Espresso in Brick Lane, as well as delicious pastries from the nearby Rinkoff family bakers (100 years old).Or fancy shopping - you don't need to go into the West End as you have luxury shops in the City, near to St Paul's Cathedral, at One New Change, London's newest shopping destination or pop down to Stratford (two stops on the tube) to Westfield, claimed to be the largest shopping mall in the whole of Europe.There are plenty of independent retailers too - including the best for men's fashion in the UK chosen by Telegraph Magazine, this is Present (140 Shoreditch High Street, London E1), the place that sells things that men want in an environment that isn't intimidating. Clothes are the mainstay, but they have the genius factor of including books on fashion, bicycle saddles and a great espresso bar.Transport - good public transport 24/7 for buses and now there are cycle hire racks following on from the successful scheme that Paris has enjoyed for years. We have the Overground, the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) and London Underground service (celebrating 150 years of service in 2013). The District tube line was opened in 1868 and serves our local stations at Stepney Green and Whitechapel, the upgrade of the tube network is well advanced and in 2013 air-conditioned carriages were introduced to this line - this autumn (2015) sees the introduction of the 24/7 tubes over the weekend on several lines.2012 was the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and a new 60km walking route, marked with 500 glass pavement discs along its length, from Buckingham Palace through East London, including Vicky Park's 218 acres, to the Olympics site in Stratford via many of the city's most interesting landmarks (& under the Thames at Woolwich) was opened by The Queen. It is a new pedestrian & cycle route known as the Jubilee Greenway and a permanent monument to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Detailed maps of the Jubilee Greenway and other London walks can be downloaded. The owners of Stepney House know the area well, having lived in the East End for almost 15 years and will be more than pleased to share their knowledge with you to make your experience special. They might be living in their separate loft apartment within Stepney House but they are always available by email or text.
