Islington
Islington is an old area of london, situated between the City, Hackney,
and Camden
to the South, East and West, and Holloway and Tottenham to the North.
Islington is a funny old mixture. Upper Street runs from the Angel,
to Highbury Corner (football fans will know well), past a number of Pubs,
Restaurants, Theatres and Antique shops, many in the same building at once!
The Kings Head is a famous place for theatre, pub meals and so on. The
Slug and Lettuce is a standard meeting place before goign to see films
at the Screen on the Green. The Red Lion is another Theatre pub of note.
Islington Town hall is a rather fine example of some sort of architecture,
as is the Baptist Chapel, where occasional Jazz concerts have been held.
Once, Islington housed one of the great homes of British Rock, the Hope
& Anchor, alas no more. The likes of Siouxie & the Banshees, the
Eurythmics, Elvis Costello and so on all made some of their earliest appearances
here (along with Dingwalls and the Roundhouse in Camden town, one of the
victims of property wars in the 80s).
Islington has some very 'rough' areas, particularly up the Essex Road,
but is rapidly becoming gentrified. Whether this is a good or a bad thing,
can only be answered by the visitor, or the occasional writer in residence
such as Douglas Adams.
Islington & Camden
have had their share of problems, and the antics of their largely left
wing local governments have led to the monicker, "Peoples' Republic Of...".
In fact, both these areas have not only very high unemployment, but some
of the best inner city state schools in England.
