Where in London is home for you and
what do you most love about it?
I live in Hackney, East London, and I love the mix of
cultures. Where I live, we have big East and West African
communities – Ghanaians, Nigerians, Ethiopians,
Eritreans. Visiting Ridley Road Market on a Saturday is
a fantastic way to understand the cross cultures in the
area. You can buy everything, from goat meat and sheeps’
heads to a pair of tights or a headscarf. It’s the beating heart
of the community; it gives Hackney its colour, and I don’t
mean that in a racial sense, I mean it in an energy way.
So, where would you take us to best show
o your neighbourhood?
You’d have to come to the Spurstowe Arms. It’s a cosy pub
that does a mean roast on Sunday. I’m trying to cut down
on meat but their lamb roast is hard to resist. And the
puddings are pretty special too. For brunch, Hash E8 on
Dalston Lane is the place to go. If I want to treat myself, I go
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also an eel and pie and mash shop called G Kelly that is so
great, and so East London. Oh, and you’d have to come
with me to the Hackney Carnival in September. It’s East
London’s version of the Notting Hill Carnival – there are‘Notting Hill
Carnival is
my Christmas,
nothing else
feels so free
and fun!’
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of summer and the way to go out with a bang.
Talking of the Notting Hill Carnival, we hear
you’re a regular at the event?
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different to the Notting Hill we have come to know from
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communities together.
What tips do you have for a first-timer
heading to Carnival?
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breakfast as I know I’m going to eat well. Some vendors set
up in the same place every year but people also create
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It’s so spiritual; to be honest it feels magical. People get lost
in his music.Clara Amfo presents the mid-morning show on BBC Radio 1 and has
launched a podcast, This City, in which she explores London through the eyes
of some of the capital’s most famous residents. Here, she gives us her own
take on London and the places and experiences she holds close to her heart