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Sophie’s world<br />
Photo: Claire Lawrie<br />
will be a toddler. Some didn’t<br />
believe she’d make it to the<br />
terrible twos, what with all<br />
those teething problems and<br />
the sleepless nights. This spoilt<br />
infant has partied more in two<br />
years than I have my whole life.<br />
Seems she’s just a Whitechapel<br />
girl that can’t say no to poetry,<br />
music, cocktails, film nights and<br />
dancing. Phew!<br />
All the East End Girls I know<br />
have been the same, and so<br />
have the boys. If you believe<br />
in psychogeography, that sort<br />
of energy rises out of our<br />
streets and up through the<br />
souls of your feet, and is an<br />
ageless phenomenon we pass<br />
on. Neighbourhoods, like the<br />
human body, are graffitied with<br />
the scars of ageing , worn with<br />
the history of living and none<br />
more so than the East End.<br />
Sophie Parkin<br />
Be proud of your age – it comes with<br />
experience, writes Sophie Parkin<br />
Getting older is something that<br />
happens to everyone; but only<br />
if we’re lucky. Of course, there<br />
are disadvantages – the lack<br />
of physical pursuit ("Nice tits<br />
love") can come as a relief. As<br />
the wonderful George Melly<br />
quoted Socrates, on losing his<br />
sexual appetite, "It’s like being<br />
unchained from a lunatic."<br />
You might have to be older,<br />
with a past, to appreciate this<br />
sentiment of falling off the<br />
merry-go-round.<br />
Soon I will be 55, I know it’s<br />
a shock to me too, and my<br />
club, my baby, Vout-O-Reenees,<br />
We are living in an ancient<br />
place, older than the Romans,<br />
even if some developers are<br />
treating her like the new girl on<br />
the block. They may garland<br />
her with the trinkets of glass<br />
and steel – we know she’s been<br />
loitering in Gin Lane longer than<br />
anyone else; with her saucy<br />
minx tricks she’ll be here long<br />
after they fall.<br />
So when your birthday comes<br />
along and you're moaning about<br />
your fading tattoos and scarred<br />
knees, smile even when it puts<br />
another line on your face. Be<br />
proud of your age because with<br />
it comes experience and<br />
wisdom – and because you’re<br />
worth it.<br />
Sophie Parkin is the proprietor of<br />
vout-o-reenees.com<br />
18 LOVEEAST
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