It’s hard to imagine that Portobello Road was once a winding country path which connected the district of Notting Hill in the south and Kensal Green in the north. While the neighbouring area of Paddington was intentionally developed with upmarket residences, Portobello Road developed erratically. The area of Portobello provided affordable terraced accommodation to rent and a ‘shop front’ for traders to sell to their wealthy neighbours in Paddington. It attracted the rag and bone men of the day, and more brick-a-brack and antiques dealers followed. The market was defined and it is as quintessentially English today as it was nearly 300 years ago when it was a green lane.
Today it’s a trendy, vibrant and iconic retail and leisure experience. The vendors and their wares are characterful and diverse and that is why on Saturday - the market’s busiest day - I got off the train at Ladbroke Grove and had a decision to make.
Was I going to do some vintage shopping, enjoy the atmosphere and café vibe or take photographs? I did a bit of all three, to be honest. I bought some upholstery fabric, had an interesting collagen pastry with a coffee in a very Zen bakery and came home with ‘At Last’ ringing in my ears from the speaker blasting out the wonderful sound of Etta James in the Spring sunshine.
These images, from one of London’s most famous streets, were chosen because they reflect the colours and energy of the wonderful Notting Hill community.
