The Kingpin

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280 – September, 2026

By Lee Connor

My Irish grandfather was a true rapscallion, a loveable rogue who spent a lot of his time ‘wheeling and dealing’ around East London’s (in)famous street markets at Petticoat Lane.

The historic market is still there (it dates back to the 1650s), but it is now far reduced from its heyday back in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s.

Then, it was filled with ‘cheeky chappy’ cockney traders, selling a wide variety of goods; almost anything you could possibly think of could often be found here, often at a much-reduced price and ‘no questions asked.’ Aside from the clothes, food and furniture stalls, at this time, one could also buy animals.

I remember my uncle taking me there on a Sunday morning and I would be amazed at the chickens, ducks, exotic birds, monkeys, tropical fish, puppies, and kittens for sale.

In fact, my granddad once appeared at our house with a Persian kitten from the market, which, he claimed, when leaning over its pen, had “ran up the inside arm of his jacket”.

Apart from this gorgeous (and very much loved) cat, the only other memorable gift he ever gave me as a child was a book, and this too had also come from the market–probably in the same manner as the kitten!

It was a book on pedigree dogs, which must have dated back to the 1960s, and it was filled with colored photographs of various breeds. How I loved that book, thumbing through it until it quite literally fell to pieces.

One particularly memorable photograph was of the subject of today’s piece–the Miniature Pinscher.

I can still picture it: standing foursquare, defiant.

With sparkling eyes, it was such an eye-catching little dog.

However, this was certainly a Min Pin with a difference, as it had dropped ears and…it was blue and tan!

More on this controversial topic later…

Click here to read the complete article
280 – September, 2026

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Posted by AnthonyA on Sep 28 2026. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.