• I WAS walking at an old man’s stumbling pace along Dean Street, Soho. I then halted.

Two large Union Flags were situated high in front of one of the establishments there. I was immediately uneasy.

The rainbow flag seems common in Soho. It shouts out a proud and true solidarity among the diverse and marginalised members of the gay community. But the Union Jack?

This sorry symbol is associated with a political chauvinism that doesn’t have time for the poor, for outsiders, for those deemed to be alien.

Perhaps it’s an emblem of Empire that sits ill with the jubilant rebel character Soho is alleged to possess.

I traipsed on morosely. It was late evening and the oppressive shadows were everywhere in the heart of Soho.

ZEKRIA IBRAHIMI
Mackenzie Close, W12