London trades on its reputation as a haven for misfits — the Paddingtonism that “In London everyone is different, and that means anyone can fit in”, has fed into the culture of a melting pot metropolis which anyone who doesn’t feel at home in their provincial small town or conservative country can move to and let it all hang out.
When I was growing up in London in the Nineties and Noughties every neighbourhood had its legendary characters. They were woven into the fabric of city life (or dug under it in the case of the Hackney Mole Man).
