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East life<br />
Portrait by Lady Ray<br />
Gladys Hunt at her Bethnal Green nursing home<br />
Gladys Hunt, long-time resident of Bethnal Green, shares<br />
her memories with Esther Raymond<br />
Recently I met Gladys Hunt, 85 years young,<br />
relaxing in the lounge of Silk Court nursing<br />
home in Bethnal Green. Sun-lit, sitting in a cosy<br />
chair and sipping a cup of tea, Gladys recalls the<br />
heroism of her late husband, James Frank Hunt,<br />
as well as her memories of life in Bethnal Green.<br />
Dressed in a pale blue cardigan, with perfectly<br />
manicured fingernails, this beautiful lady smiles as<br />
she remembered the East End of old.<br />
What was home life like in the East End?<br />
We had a good time at home and at school; great<br />
teachers and a caring community of people that<br />
looked out for one another. We lived above a<br />
cobblers. I was born on top of a shoe-making<br />
machine, right there, in the house. My husband<br />
worked in the cobblers, and my Dad worked on<br />
the rail roads. We were a close family and when<br />
the raids were on, our neighbours would come<br />
over to ours and we would all huddle together,<br />
sometimes sleeping on the floor to keep warm<br />
and feel safe.<br />
What did you love most about life back then?<br />
We enjoyed nights out dancing. I was never a<br />
good dancer but my husband James showed me<br />
how to dance. He was a small man but he could<br />
4 LOVEEAST
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