On my return to the house having been away for a few days I pop out to the shops to get bread and milk.
At the end of my road I meet and am embraced by an Iraqi friend who lives a few doors down. We’re joined by an Indian couple who also share our street. Out onto the main road, the Pakistani Butcher waves as I pass his shop window, the Somali bakers raise their arms in acknowledgement and the British fishmonger gives me a smile. The Syrian guys in the newly opened falafel shop ask me when I’m going to try a chicken shwarma and the shopkeeper in the An Noor supermarket asks if I’ve had a good break.
Who says life in the inner city is soul-less and unfriendly?
World community is right here on our doorstep