Before it became famous for West Ham football club, it was famous for its home grown gangsters. Yes, they may have been tough guys, but a lot of women fell for these guys. It is still said that most East End gangsters had a heart of gold.
Today, this is one an up and coming part of London, and West Ham Football club Boleyn ground, is becoming developed into a shopping and residential area. I may have gone up in the world, but I can still remember sitting on the roof opposite the stadium watching the football. As a matter of fact, we used to make such a racket from time to time, that the Catholic priests from the old priest residential house, used to come out and shout at us.
We ignored them of course, and just carried on enjoying the game. I even tried out for West Ham FC, but my dad said there was enough money in football, so I went to university and studied law instead. When I was a little lad, there was always a lot of gangs in the area. They just to hang around in flash cars, and more than one E-type used to go missing on occasion.
A few days later, it used to turn up resprayed and with false number plates. The old East End that I used to know, is now all gone. This part of London has now changed totally, but I hear on the grapevine that you can still find the odd East London hoodlum around, and of course, there are still Upton Park escorts.
When I was a kid, it was tough for single girls to make money. Unless they wanted to go into nursing a lot of them used to work the streets. I know that it is tough for some ladies in this part of London, and when I meet them in court during criminal cases, I tend to go a bit easy on them. In a way, I think that we have lost a lot of the history of old London, and that we should perhaps celebrate this part of London.
