Thanks Hackney

Dear Hackney,  

I would like to thank you for not letting me down.  You see,  everytime I tell people that I am from Hackney,  there is a slight gasp and shudder as they contemplate how on earth I have managed to survive living in such an infamous area. They wonder if I have been a victim to robberies and thefts, to gangsters and crime lords or whether I myself am part of the remnants of the Kray twins crew. (I’m not.) 

So yesterday when I was forced to lock my bike up on Dalston Kingsland high street, I was quite afraid that upon my return from university,  I would no longer find it in one piece. As I wheeled my punctured bike to lock it up, I contemplated wheeling it all the way home but I didn’t have enough time for that. So after praying for its safety, I hopped onto the bus which for once did not let me down. (Unlike the train I am currently on which keeps on stopping due to ‘a problem in the tunnel ahead’.) 

Happily, on my way back from uni, I could see my bike still standing there in all its punctured glory and I was able to take it home via the Bicycle Ambulance Service AKA my dad’s car. 

So dear Hackney, thank you for not letting me down. I can continue to tell people that the only problems I have had with you is my home being burgled twice, a shooting on my road when I was a child, a couple stabbings on the main road and oh not to mention the police chase which resulted in a pile up in front of my house. 

Apart from that Hackney,  we are doing well. 

Until Next Time 

A Worried Student