I’ve lived in Walthamstow since the summer of 2012. Before that, I was next door to the Hawley Arms in Camden and went to parties where Amy Winehouse would get kicked out.
Walthamstow is everything that’s good about London: it’s tolerant, diverse and kind. Its name means “Welcome Place” in Old English, and it feels very friendly. There are layers of people: old Cockney, Indian and Pakistani people and then it’s also been gentrified, and all the layers co-exist.
