Arnold Circus - E2

Whenever I am walking from Spitalfields to Columbia Road I try and cut through the back-streets and it was on one such journey a few years ago that I stumbled upon the lovely Arnold Circus.  Arnold Circus is a circular road in Shoreditch on which stands the Boundary Estate - which must be one of London's handsomest social housing schemes, built around 1900.  If only they kept building them like that...  In the middle of Arnold Circus is a wonderful park, with a mound (created from the rubble of the slum that the Boundary Estate replaced - how cool is that?) and a bandstand.  What is extra cool about this is that the locals have a really strong community spirit and formed The Friends of Arnold Circus in 2004 to make sure the park lived up to its potential as a public space and not just a junkie-hangout.  Boy did they succeed - take note Boris, take note Dave C, this is community and the "big society" working as it should.  All power to them and long live Arnold Circus.