On London Latest: Capital pride

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On Saturday, I royally knackered myself by travelling first to Dagenham Dock to see the place that is no longer to be the new home of Billingsgate and Smithfield markets, then rendezvoused in Vauxhall with my friend Denean Rowe for a street reconnaissance whose purpose must remain extremely secret (though not for long…) before spending a couple of hours wandering around Trafalgar Square and Soho, soaking up the vibe of Pride.

I found this last stop on my excursion rather moving, not only because I can remember when Pride, now a huge and firmly established celebration, was still in its fragile infancy, but also because I found myself, unplanned, in the vicinity of the Admiral Duncan pub on Old Compton Street, where, in 1999, a nail bomb planted by a neo-Nazi killed three people, including a pregnant woman, and injured 79 others.