Salaam Brick Lane

London has been a cosmopolitan city since the Romans founded it in 43 AD. Refugees and immigrants from all over the world have settled there through the centuries.

Like many before them, the latest arrivals have set up camp where the most affordable housing in the city can be found - today’s East End.

The following excerpt drops us into a London taxi making its way to the author’s new East End lodgings in Brick Lane, rented from his Bangladeshi landlord, Mr Ali. It is a journey through cultures as well as streets, the scene of Tarquin Hall's attempt to understand the New East End.

Read more in Access to International English, pp. 132-137. Then do the tasks in the textbook and on this website.