sclater street, bethnal green, london

this carved stone street sign on the first floor of a house in the heart of brick lane market says "this is sclater street 1788", and is accompanied by two modern signs, one of which is the result of a late c20 attempt to dress the area up as a little bengal. in the past spitalfields has been home to various groups of incomers, all of whom have moved on , assimilated to some extent, and added another strand to england's mixed race. living in ghettos never helped people get to understand and accept one another, and this sign, rather than being symbolic of respect for bengali culture, seems a little patronising to me. still, if it makes people feel at home that's fine.