[Angel Lane was torn down in 1970. For a map and guide to Angel Lane at the time Michael lived there, see http [NOT https]://jcgl.orpheusweb.co.uk/history/Stratford/AngelLane/AngelLane.html.
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I learned to play the piano by ear at my stepfather's pub after leaving Mersham le Hatch.
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The narrow street was a market street with "stalls" parked on either side of the street running north and south. I don't remember the names of the shops, but I do recognize the Theatre Royal, a place I frequently visited. When the penniless actors and actresses came in the pub for a half-pint of ale, I'd never charge them if my stepfather wasn't around. I understand from "Bristol Old Vic" actor (Darren Hill) from Chicago (originally from Blackpool) who I once met in Raton, New Mexico, that director Joan Littlewood took charge of the Theatre Royal and rehabilitated the entire operation. If I remember correctly, Irish playwright Brendan Behan's " The Hostage" was staged there, although I didn't see it. The "cockney" description for the traders in Angel Lane was "barrow boys". The houses that were torn down were built in Queen Victoria's reign, I believe, and needed replacing. So much of the London I once knew has been demolished. The railway upon which I once trespassed has been demolished and replaced with houses and high rise apartments. I've lost count of the number of pubs that are no longer purveyors of wine, beer and spirits. They've been turned into offices, apartments or other commercial enterprises. My Aunt Millie's beautiful Inn in Edgeware, Middlesex called the "Leather Bottle", can no longer be recognized as a pub. This syndrome is akin to the demise and disappearance of the dinosaurs.