In the noisy bustle of London’s West End, I have been looking for sanctuaries of quietness and contemplation. I found them in the back alleys and doorways of Chinatown.
At night, when the countless restaurants compete for tourists and theatregoers, throngs of visitors collide with Chinatown’s tight-knit ethnic community. By the time the restaurants open, some of the kitchen staff have already been working since early morning. Many of them are recent immigrants who speak little more than a few words of English. Some will have clocked more than 60 hours when the week is over.
Portraits of Larry Love (aka Rob Spragg) and The Very Reverend Dr. D. Wayne Love (aka Jake Black).
Founded in Brixton 1995, Alabama 3 achieved success when the producers of hit TV series The Sopranos chose the track "Woke Up This Morning" for the show's opening credits.
The King
Alf Engers set his first cycling record in 1959 when he was just 19 years old. His 25-mile time trial record stood at 55 minutes and 11 seconds.
Nineteen years later, Alf did it again, establishing a British 25-mile (40km) record of 49 minutes and 24 seconds in 1978. In doing so, he became the first rider to beat 50 minutes and the first to average more than 30mph (48km/h). The record stood until the 1990s.
Nicknamed 'The King' for his dominance, Alf's career in cycling was never plain sailing. Alf never completely saw eye to eye with either The British Cycling Federation or Road Time Trials Council.
He frequently clashed with both bodies because of his attitudes towards cycling and bike building. His style of cycling – near the centre of the road – when the roads being used were open to the public and not closed annoyed the authorities (how dare he!).
Similarly, Alf and bike builder Alan Shorter were among the first to experiment in creating lightweight bikes, drilling holes into brakes, frames and chain wheels – all at a time when challenging the status quo was frowned upon.
