'The Boutique Sessions' - big sound in a tiny Bethnal Green charity shop

I’m running late. Skip out of Bethnal Green tube—past the Children’s Museum —first right down Old Ford Road—the public baths on my left—next, the Gallery Café—and now: AYOKA Charity Boutique. Excellent. Ten, fifteen minutes late; not so bad.

I lurch through the door with little grace, blushing under the gaze of an elegantly adorned manikin in faux fur poised in the far right of the store. It’s cosy. Rails of clothes track the walls with vinyl and book cladding in one corner. A bouquet of vintage scarves tempts me by the cash register alongside hand-crafted jewellery by local artists.