Lady of the Dump

Walking around the back streets of Shadwell today, it suddenly dawned on me how deprived the area really is.  I mean, you can see that it is a dump any day, but there are lots of places in London that are a real dump without feeling poverty stricken, like Bayswater for example.  No, Shadwell is a proper, Tower Hamlets par Commercial Road, dump. And it has always been.  It has hardly changed for over a century, it is too close to Whitechapel for comfort and has the characteristic "streets in the sky" council flats.  Apart from being full of rubbish and stinking of human pee/greasy chips, Shadwell has the feeling and look of a deprived area.  However, what made me realise how poor the area really is, is that you see no beauty whatsoever.  There is not even the beauty of a dilapidated graffitied urban house, the sharp beauty of modern glass or even crumbling historical buildings.  No, just grime.  Grimy people, wearing grimy clothes, going around with grimy faces, doing grimy business.  No smiles.  No laughter.  No civility.  Just grime.