In Queensway the signs, sounds, aromas, and habits are distinctly Middle Eastern, with only an occasional bowler hat to break the spell. Our correspondent records impressions of this lively Arab Diaspora. Ditmars Veiled women push baby buggies past dark cafes.
Market stalls offer quantities of dates and pomegranates.
Dark young men in white shirts sit and smoke strong cigarettes in the afternoon shade. Colonial accident or strange twist of late 20th century fate, the area remains a cultural oasis for London's Arab Diaspora. Any awareness of being in Britannia is temporarily suspended, as geographic reality gives way to cultural immersion and sense of place surrenders to impressions of the senses. Mohammed' s family had the unfortunate experience of going from Gaza to Kuwait and then, after the Gulf War, to Yemen. So, his attitude is philosophical, to say the least, as he uncrates oranges from Jaffa and talks about the weather.