Pelicans and Parrots
A new curiosity shop that was once home to a travel agents is now a place to find for intriguing gifts. I’m really enjoying their blog at the moment.
Head to 40 Stoke Newington Road, N16 7XJ.
Everyone in Dalston is Weird.
Spotted on Sandringham road - a man dressed as a ninja (or burglar) who stands silently touching a tree in his front garden every morning at around 8am.
Thank you @bicameralman!
Unlikely objects discarded by the residents of Bentley Road, in the last few weeks.
A selection of gas canisters; most of a bathroom; a large saucepan crowned with an upturned bowl featuring a sport-related print; some kind of pole with a stand at each end; a childproof stair gate.
Recent sightings by followers of @dalstonisweird (pt. 2)
@dml_82 @dalstonisweird cycling back in the rain on tuesday near the canal i overtake fellow cyclist carrying ice hockey stick - on a pink unicycle
@alec_hill @dalstonisweird Peggy Patch woman wheeling 3 lifelike dolls round in a pram pretending they’re her babies #dalston#mentalist
@benmetz Imperial stormtrooper spotted cycling towards dalston!#backtotheeighties @dalstonisweird
@fuzzycontext @dalstonisweird Guy wearing a witch’s hat starin intently at @OxfamDalston’s footbal window. Can’t tell if long hair under hat is his.
The Jilted Viscera of Ridley Road Market
Ridley Road Market is a notoriously perilous terrain to negotiate without finding oneself drowning in a sea of market stall excrement, slipping on a decaying piece of exotic fruit or sinking into a vat of discarded pigfoot. Regarded by most Dalston residents as a local treasure, it is best avoided if of a nervous disposition, have ever feared being attacked by an African cucumber, or are averse to offal in all its many forms.
Last Tuesday as I entered the Kingsland Shopping Centre, I almost bumped into a very tall man with long, neat dreadlocks, who was inspecting a raw liver, which he had held up to his face. Deep in concentration, he obviously had not noticed (or perhaps didn’t find interesting) that it was oozing blood all down his arm.
A couple of days ago, @redbuttondesign posted this delightful picture, taken in Ridley Road Market:
It reminded me of a cameraphone pic I’d taken on Stoke Newington Road in December 2008.
If you have any meat-related anecdotes or photographs to add to the collection, please email or @reply me…
3rd June 2010
Awaiting the no. 30 bus at the stop on Balls Pond Road closest to Dalston Junction I was joined by a tracksuited lady who, in the manner of a stereotypical policeman, enquired, ”Allo allo allo, what’s goin’ on ‘ere, then?”
“I’m not sure what you mean”, I replied.
Winking, she commented, “That makes two of us then, luv…”
With that, she rocked back on her heels, beamed and began whistling the theme from Coronation Street until her bus arrived.
Rob Monk found himself accosted by a woman as he attempted to enter his flat on Kingsland Road last Friday, who pointed at him and declared, “Equal opportunities! 007!”
And then, by way of explanation; “I’m from Brixton”.
Weird Dalston Retweets
Here’s a selection of other people’s weird Dalston observations, which I retweeted on Twitter. Follow @dalstonisweird for more.
RT @OxfamDalston No other way to say this…high-quality gimp suit, £60. http://twitpic.com/1lrnsj
RT @brittneybean Just had a non-drug related meeting scheduled in a hydroponics shop in Dalston. Ah-mazing.
RT @Laffers People watching in Dalston. A-frickin-mazing!!! - indeed it is.
RT @tancopsey Dalston hipsters can be a bit weird. Notice the shoulder-cat…. http://tweetphoto.com/21772628
RT @UatecUK Dear people of Dalston. The pavement isn’t a nice place for ANY of your bodily fluids.
RT @paulpoetry RT @TheJBo: The man in First Class Dry Cleaners on Dalston Lane insists Joanna Lumley and Paul McCartney are regulars.
RT @alec_hill @dalstonisweird Bearded lady shouting “i wasn’t arguing I was talking to my god” to the map at the bus stop #dalston
RT @welshkaren We have a singing preacher on the #149 bus. #dalston
RT @tricktheflow Guy in the stags head dalston (who looks like Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood) is accompanied by a great dane. #Onlyinlondon
RT @RobboRobson On a bus out of Dalston after successful photo shoot day. Very odd place.
RT @missLoubou A man just try sell me “Prada” sunglasses in dalston for £150 an sed he just got it from Selfridges but it was in sainsburys bag!!
RT @deadlypeople More Dalston strangeness… http://twitpic.com/1g1duh
RT @Dalstonpeople Who in Dalston found a DVD about a 911 conspiracy theory on their doorstep this morning? They were on most people’… http://bit.ly/dyi3C5
RT @danhancox on the 243 earlier i saw some graffiti accusing tony blair of killing both david kelly and princess di, @dalstonisweird
RT @WSProject @dalstonisweird Gotta love London Bus stories… I was on a 67 the other week, and I can’t be sure, but I think a man actually bit a baby..
RT @Palomafaith: did anyone in dalston see ufo’s or strange lights in the sky last night at about 8pm?
RT @dadsfave There is a rudegirl screaming christian empowerment speeches over a really loud PA by MaccyDs st Dalston Junction.
“Welcome to Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries” - this banner has recently appeared on the fence of Princess May Primary School on Stoke Newington Road. Seems like an extremely inadvisable place to store your mountain of fire (and/or miracles), if you ask me.
