'Hopping' captures the lost period from the 20s to the 50s when the East End of London wandered out to the eastern fringe of Kent, and shows how each place was forever altered by the other.

Gilda O'Neill has gathered together her memories and personal recollections of growing up in the East End of London. It was a time of unbelievable hardship and devastating change; yet also of great pride, kindness, courage, resilience and humour.

Welcome to the East End. Life in Cockney London was tough in the post-war years. The government's broken promises had led to a chronic housing shortage, rampant crime and families living in squalor. But one thing prevailed - the unbeatable spirit of the East End, a tight-knit community who pulled through the dark times with humour and heart. Drawing on both family history and her own memories of growing up in the 1950s and '60s, as well as her working...

Ray Winstone's amazing talent for bringing out the humanity buried inside his often brutal screen characters - violent offender in 'Scum', wife-beater in 'Nil by mouth', retired blagger in 'Sexy beast' - has made him one of the most charismatic actors of his generation. But how do these uncompromising and often haunting performances square with his off-duty reputation as the ultimate salt-of-the-earth diamond geezer? The answer lies in the East End...

Nanny Pat has always been the heart of her family, and her children and grandchildren regularly pitch up at her house for a cup of tea, a slice of her famous sausage plait and some wise advice. Now, with her trademark warmth and humour, she evokes the colourful East End world of her childhood.