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SE1 shops feature in ‘Shit London’ book

London SE1 website team

The owner of an Elephant & Castle kebab shop had reacted with disappointment to the inclusion of his takeaway in a new book of pictures of urban grime and decay.

SE1 shops feature in ‘Shit London’ book
SE1 shops feature in ‘Shit London’ book

A picture of Sonny's Kebabs & Chicken in New Kent Road is included in Patrick Dalton's new book with the caption "Finger lickin' bad, Elephant & Castle".

"The picture is hardly a reflection of the shop's interior state and cleanliness," says Lefteris Garofalakis, owner of Sonny's.

"The council's regular and thorough health & safety checks, coupled with the continued support of our clients, tell a different story.

"It seems the picture is trying to convey the general state of neglect seen around Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre."

The book also includes an image of pigeons roosting on the roof of Tai Tip Mein noodle bar at the Elephant, as well as a depiction of the Heygate Estate seen from the platforms of Elephant & Castle Railway Station.

Two Waterloo scenes are also included: the graffiti-damaged fascia of Fishcotheque in Waterloo Road, and the Alaska Street counter of the highly eccentric (and now closed) Enis's cafe – though unfortunately this is captioned as Efe's.

Patrick Dalton started Shit London as a Facebook group before turning it into a blog and now a book.

'Shit' is defined by the author as meaning "unspecified item(s), 'stuff', 'thing(s)'".

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