Sadiq Khan is exceedingly fond of ‘diversity’, not least the word itself. Perhaps as a result, London’s Mayor is willing to overcome his aversion to Donald Trump, even when the US president is looking increasingly like a menace to global peace and stability.
“I think it’s important to show those people who believe the contrary that diversity is a strength, not a weakness,” Khan said. “I’d invite President Trump for a good curry in Brick Lane.”
Warming to his theme, Khan told LBC:
“I say in a non-patronising way, a lot of prejudice comes from pre-judging, and actually one of the joys of the great city of London is our diversity. If President Trump comes to London, it’s an opportunity to show President Trump the joys of our diversity…What I’d invite him to do is spend time in Trafalgar Square, maybe on St. Patrick’s Day or Lunar New Year, or Eid in the square, or Diwali in the square”.
I’m sure those celebrations would be marvellous to experience, though a far cry, one might think, from Trump’s comfort zone of Mar-a-Lago, cheeseburgers and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. But a curry on Brick Lane as the ultimate showcase of London’s dynamic “diversity”? Really?
For years, Brick Lane has been nothing but a kitsch tourist trap, a simulacrum, a cartoon of diversity with potency only for those reading decades out-of-date guides and relying on very dodgy advice and enduring but stale legend. A curry on Brick Lane is like going to Buckingham Palace or Tower Bridge, except without the substance.
Of course, you can’t blame the vendors of Brick Lane for doing the hard sell then laughing all the way to the bank as American and European tourists dutifully bring their own bottles of Cobra and fork out £15 for the pleasure of a smallish dish of oily lamb curry or bhuna or biryani. But that doesn’t make it attractive. Among the worst offenders on Brick Lane – a road that is also a bit of an extension of Shoreditch with noisy, uncomfortable bars and dubious “street art”, “installations” and “vintage fashion” – are Famous Curry Bazaar, Muhib Indian Cuisine and Aladin Brick Lane.
Let’s be real. London is packed with large communities of foreigners, all with their own food cultures, and there is therefore a lot more to this melting pot than a cheap curry. A less cynical mayor might not push the age-old and by now over-branded connection between London and Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian immigration. He would take Trump to the Nigerian eateries of Peckham, the Polish cafes and shops of Ealing and Finchley, and the superior Turkish equivalent of Brick Lane: Green Lanes or, even better, those of Arcola Street in Dalston.
But if “diversity” must be shown off by way of the curry house, why does Khan not suggest taking his desired new friend to the soaring heights of one of the luxury outfits in Mayfair, Marylebone and Knightsbridge? The Coke and fries-guzzling Trump might be just as happy with the vivid, crunchy offerings of Michelin-starred Tamarind or Gymkhana as the heavy, slightly dry but also very greasy naan of the curry house.
In the end, none of it may come to pass; I’m struggling to picture Trump, Vance and crew descending from the heights of Balmoral, where Charles is to host him, to the lows of any ordinary eatery in London, Brick Lane or not. Then again, if Khan really wants to impress the Donald, while also giving him a lesson in the glories of “diversity”, then he might do better just taking him to McDonald’s in Oxford Street – all of life, after all, goes there, and the President would at least like the food.
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