Last night we went out to celebrate George Woznicki’s birthday with beer and a curry. Sadly, George, who was a good comrade and fellow trade unionist, is no longer with us.
We started off with a toast to George (see below) at the Matchmakers in Roman Road, E2. The pub is named after the huge Bryant and May factory which is just a few hundred yards away. This was the scene of the famous “Match Girls strike” of 1888. The strike was about appalling health & safety, poor pay and excessive “fines”. By coincidence on Monday it is the start of European Health and Safety Week (I’ll post separately about this). At the time it was a famous victory. The socialist reformer Annie Besant lived locally and helped support the strike. There is a nice housing estate near by named after her.
The Bryant & May buildings have now been turned into expensive flats, a so called “gated community”.
I doubt that many of its modern day residents frequent the “Matchmaker” on a Friday night, which is a pity since its cheap prices make for an interesting cliental.
Eventually we finished off in the Bengal Classic in Westferry, E14 – top nosh. George would have loved it.
The Bryant & May buildings have now been turned into expensive flats, a so called “gated community”.
I doubt that many of its modern day residents frequent the “Matchmaker” on a Friday night, which is a pity since its cheap prices make for an interesting cliental.
Eventually we finished off in the Bengal Classic in Westferry, E14 – top nosh. George would have loved it.
