Working-classex-Londonersoftenfeel
thattheyarekeepingupoldurbantradi-
tionslikethosedescribed(andromanti-
cised) in Peter Willmott and Michael
Young’sinfluential 1957 study“Familyand
KinshipinEastLondon”.ForMsCanham,a
keyaspectofEastEndlifewasnotlocking
yourdoor.Bythetimesheleft,thathadbe-
comeimpossibleinLondon,butit couldbe
doneinThetford.Shedescribestheestate
whereshelivesas“abitoftheoldLon-
don”—especially in summer, when im-
promptuballgamesbreakoutandtoddlers
runaroundinloosenappies.
Sometimes these sentiments come
acrossasresentmentand despairabout
modernLondon,whichhaschangedstag-
geringlysincethemigrantsleftitforThet-
ford,becomingbothricherandlesswhite.
Localfeelingsaboutthecapitalareinter-
twinedwithnegativefeelingsaboutimmi-
grationandtheEuropeanUnion.
Inthe1990sPortugueseimmigrantsbe-
gantoarriveinThetfordto takejobsin
packinghousesandfactories.Thencame
easternEuropeans,andhalfa dozenshops
sellingthefoodtheylove(mostofwhicharenowrun
byIraqiKurds).Inthetowncentre,thoughnotonthe
estates,Englishisnowonelanguageamongseveral.
In 2004 theEnglishfootballteamplayedPortugalin
theEuropeanChampionship.AfterEnglandloston
penalties,a PortuguesepubinthemiddleofThetford
wasattackedbyiratenatives.Politicsbegantochange,
too. The town’s working-class residentshad made
Thetford aLabourredoubtina Conservativeregion.At
thelocalelectionsin2015,though,thenationalistUn-
itedKingdomIndependencePartywonthemostvotes
intwoofThetford’sfourwards.A yearlatertheparlia-
mentaryconstituencythatincludesThetfordvotedto
leavetheeuby67%to33%.Thatmadeitkeeneron
Brexitthannine-tenthsofBritain.
ButThetforddoesnotwanttobea xenophobic,lit-
tle-Englandsortofplace.Thatwouldcontravenean-
otherCockneyideal—thespiritofmongrelism.Carla
Barreto,whowasborninPortugal,drawsa distinction
betweenimmigrationanddiversity.Theex-Londoners
arehostiletotheformerbutcomfortablewiththelat-
ter,shesuggests.
InMay 2019 shewaselectedtothetowncouncilas
anindependent.Knockingondoors,shelistenedto
peoplecomplainabouttheeu, thendeclarethatshe
seemedallright.“Wedon’tgetmuchgriefthesedays,”
aversa Portuguese-speakingteenageboywhohasac-
quireda flawless1970sLondonaccent.
Wasallofit—thefactories,theestates,theCock-
neys,thefights—reallyworthit?Ata meetingofthelo-
calhistorygroupinThetford’slibrary,twodozenpeo-
ple,mostofthemfromNorfolkfamilies,arguethatit
wasnot.Thetfordwasjustfinebeforetheexpansion,
theysay.Itcouldhavechosena muchquieterpath,
stayingsmalland preservingitsoldbuildings and
shops.Overtime,it mighthavebecomea prettydormi-
toryvillageforcommuterstoCambridgeandNorwich.
Perhapsthatistrue.Butthosewholovethecrooked
timberofhumanityshouldbegratefulthatThetford
wenta differentway.
*The EconomistDecember 21st 2019 Displaced Cockneys 712 from applicants who attended inner-London state schools.
London’s state schools now post better exam results than
schools in any other region of England and Wales (those immi-
grants again)—but Thetford’s state schools look like those of the
capital half a century ago. In 2019 the average 16-year-old in every
one of London’s 32 boroughs got better exam results than the aver-
age pupil at Thetford’s only state secondary school. There could be
many reasons: there is a private school in the town and higher-
achieving state schools nearby, all of which may cream off the am-
bitious. But one of the reasons appears to be social pressure. One
Thetford woman says that when her daughter won a scholarship to
the private school, she turned it down. She could not face walking
through her estate in a private-school uniform.
Working it
Culture is not just something you have. It is also something you do.
If they had wanted to, the Londoners who moved to Thetford could
have adopted local habits. They could have switched allegiance to
Norwich City. They could have settled for modest funerals. Al-
though the migrants were probably stuck with their speech pat-
terns, their descendants could have dropped the Cockney dialect.
Instead, many speak it more strongly than their parents do.
Frankie Dean has done more than most people to define and
shape Thetford culture. He grew up in the town, as the son of mi-
grants from north and west London. He now lives a few doors
down from the very first council house built for a London migrant.
When not working for British Telecom, Mr Dean (pictured above)
is a rapper known as Franko Fraize. He raps about ordinary things
such as a checked shirt he really likes and the agony of supporting
the England football team. The video for one of his songs, “Hand
Me Downs”, shows him going out to buy a pint of milk. “Oi Oi!” is a
hymn to Thetford council-estate life with all the trimmings: white
trainers, Adidas threads, boxing gloves, satellite dish.
It is hard to rap in Cockney, which is less precise and percussive
than mle. But Mr Dean is determined to sound different from oth-
er rappers. He wants to represent his home town, of which he is
immensely proud. He also wants to remind Londoners of a world
that they have lost. “When I go to London, it’s like I’m bringing
their culture back to them,” he says. His Cockney accent is authen-
tic. But it is also a badge and a sales pitch.