Stoke Newington pubs

It's late on a sultry summer afternoon. It was one of those days when even a relaxing stroll results in a profusion of sweat. The only thing you can do on a day like this is find a pub, preferably with a shady beer garden. After walking the length of Church Street and narrowly avoiding being clouted by the business end of a three-wheeled pushchair I found what I was looking for. The pub is ensconced within a period building and boasts a small but perfectly adequate beer garden. The pub’s namesake, one of England’s greatest and most prolific writers, would have been proud of this place. There is a great selection of beers and the spacious interior has not yet been ravaged by a modern re-fit. As the cool breeze wafts soothingly across the garden you can’t help but imagine how Defoe gained his inspiration for Robinson Crusoe. The social schism of London is well displayed by this pub. Earlier in the night I had been in a very down-at-heel Turkish pub with a couple of old blokes, a dude in a suit and the barmaid, nothing else but tumbleweed for company. A quick walk through some housing estates plus a spectacular view from the top of a local towerblock led me on to the Shakespeare. Despite its proximity to the housing estates, the Shakespeare is exclusively full of the area's other - wealthier, younger, proportionately whiter - residents. A lively pub with plenty of seating, the interior decked out in traditional wooden style, the Shakespeare boasts interesting beers at expensive prices. I just wish it didn't have to be so exclusive, but it seems increasingly the case that different classes and cultures in significant parts of the capital do not mix anymore.

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