Travel

There’s a tree I sometimes notice on my way to my boxing gym. It stands on an unsightly corner near the junction of Barking Road – which has the dubious honour of the eighth unhealthiest street in London – and one of the grubby arteries that feed into it. The tree sits amid ugliness: overflowing bins from the chicken shop opposite, shards of glass from a smashed car window, a makeshift fence from unfinished building works, a fly-tipped cooker and fridge, and litter that rolls past like tumbleweed. In many ways, it’s a quintessential East London scene: a vast expanse of grime punctuated by striking beauty. The post A life lived inside: reflections on my mother’s past appeared first on Atlas & Boots.