The King of Peckham

I went to a pub in Peckham yesterday called The World Turned Upside Down, to join a fellow author, George Major, for the launch of the first volume of his autobiography, The Hidden Whistle and Flute. George has reigned as the Pearly King of Peckham for 50 years, and as a cockney myself (born in City Road), I've known him for over 20 years. I admire greatly all the work he's done for charity as well as his local community. His book tells the story of his life since he was crowned Pearly King as a costermonger in the East End - a sort of Del Boy, before Del Boy was thought of. Two amusing incidents occured during the launch. A young lady called Jade came up to me and said, "Don't you remember me?", and I have to confess I didn't. She said "We had our photo taken together ten years ago". I still couldn't remember her. But then she confessed she had been 9 at the time. The second incident was that George kindly introduced me as the Mayor of London, and hoped that I'd be re-elected. I suppose if you're royal, you're allowed to be a little out of touch. The warmth and camaraderie at the pub reminded me of the strength of these communities, with granny aged 87 right the way through to great granddaughter aged 2, present for the book launch. I hope the book is a great success.

The photo shows me with (left) George Major, The Pearly King of Peckham and President of the Pearly Guild, and other Pearly Kings and Queens and members of the Guild. In 1998, the Pearly Guild awarded me the unique title of Honorary Pearly King in recognition of my contribution to charities.

COMPULSORY CREDIT: UPPA/Photoshot Photo UGL 015251/B-12 09.09.1998 Photographer: © uppa.co.uk