Art & Culture
Memory Lane is a Bumpy Road
Has Drag always been with us? Is it a new phenomenon? Where did yesterday’s others feel safe? And who doesn’t love a jolly good sing song?
Certain pubs in certain areas attracted certain clientele. If your establishment was close to the docks, you can be sure gay men, drag acts and strippers are amongst those pushing open the double swing doors. Every generation’s youth believes they invented the only alternative scene worth knowing about, to most young dragsters the past is as blurry as a cloudy pint of stout.
The pubs have gone, the bricks and mortar reduced to powder but the ghosts live on. New railway lines, new apartments and Netflix feature front of stage. Planes land where ships docked, a different type of trade show excels in Canning Town.
Listen to Chamonix Aspen refashion songs with her own words to evoke the experiences of the heroic and plucky girls with a little bit extra. Tolerance never looked so good, would it be a straightforward night out or a gay old time.
It’s the weekend and the barrels are beckoning; the port is full of lemons and the piano lid is up.
For your visit
Food & Drink
Heroica Lounge
It's a bus, it's an Italian restaurant; you decide whether to order pizza or pretend to drive.
Outdoors
Royal Victoria Gardens
These 19th-century pleasure gardens are still a delightful place to watch the river go by.
Community
University of East London
UEL's docklands campus is known for its state-of-the-art sports facilities and formiddable reputation.
