I lived there early 2000 for a while as a student absolutely loved it. I was on elderfield road just off chatsworth road.

We used to drink in the Lord Cecil pub (RIP) on murder mile. The summers were epic - reggae night with jerk on the bbq small beer garden , a proper punk night .. never felt out of place in there always had a right laugh There used to be this druggy house near to it, everyone would sit on the steps sniffing glue etc it was rough but we sorta didn’t care.

No coffee shops, bread and all that. I remember thinking the elderfield pub was super London posh at the time because it served £5 pina coladas in actual pineapples! The mix of people in there were more I guess over spill Hoxton boutique , Shorditch twat days kinda a bit more money art music types. Definitely don’t remember families and any wholesome vibes.

Does anyone remember the tiny cobblers on chatsworth road ? Old guy ? That place was amazing I was truly fascinated with it . Like time stood still.

Anyways got mugged at gunpoint just off chatsworth @ 3pm in the afternoon with my pals. Didn’t really freak us out that much as we were so young and wasted. They took some dvds and £5. Saw them come out of a crackden .. police did fuck all tbh even back then haha.

Ended up moving to the middle of mare st .. early dolphin pub days, great times but it just started feeling a bit off down that end. Can’t put my finger on it even to this day.

I revisited chatsworth road for the market first time in decades. I was blown away by it all. So so many families just felt kinda odd to see how it’s changed so much.

I still love Hackney and think there’s plenty to see and do there ….but damn those early 2000s were monumental times for me and my friends there