19 Princelet St - The Home Of All Our Hopes

Today to help Paul, celebrate his birthday, we visited the 'Museum of Immigration & Diversity, housed at 19 Princelet St, London E1, in the heart of Brick Lane.

Outside the entrance was the engraving which reads "The home of all our hopes", as seen in this photo.

This place is truly amazing dating back to when the Huguenots first arrived to London's East End fleeing persecution from Catholic France in 1572. Waves of other immigrants - Irish, Jewish, Asian, Caribbean, Somalian to name but a few have followed the Huguenots to settle in, and to help shape London into the multicultural city that it is today.

'Suitcases & Sanctuary', the current exhibition at the museum, explores themes of immigration and identity through the eyes of school children, combining this with thought-provoking works by artists & historians.

One of my favourites was the following quote in a battered suitcase which read:

"All of us are immigrants or descended from immigrants, it just depends how far back you look".

I think all of us need to remember this before we start blaming all our problems on those who came after us!!!