In this week’s GO! & Express, we carry two stories about a very interesting book, The Fishy Smiths.
One is an interview with the author himself themselves and the other is a review of the book.
The reason I bring this up is because it reminds me of a conversation I had while I was covering the re-opening of the East London Aquarium a few weeks back.
I was discussing the various things that there are to do around East London, when the other person, who shall remain anonymous for now, remarked how a lot of East Londoners don’t know that much about East London.
It was an interesting comment, and while it never made it into the final article, it still stuck with me. Since then, I’ve mulled it over often in my mind and talked it over with friends and family and it’s proven to be quite a potent observation.
Back in May, I covered the release of a book titled called Imonti Modern, which documented the history of East London during the 1950s and ‘60s.
While the book itself was engrossing, what struck me most was how a lot of it came as a surprise to people I knew.
I think that perfectly demonstrates my anonymous friend’s point. As The Fishy Smiths proves once again, the city of East London has a rich and fascinating history that sadly goes unrecognised by a lot of residents. And it’s not just history either.
Another interesting comment I picked up while at the aquarium was from a 16-year-old girl who said she had last visited the aquarium when she was just three years old!– almost 13 years ago!
While there are certainly problems within our city, we must not forget that there are a lot of good things here too.
East London is a city bursting with life, just waiting to be discovered.
