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Colin O’Brien’s Pellicci Portraits (Part 3)

December 14, 2012
by the gentle author

Contributing Photographer Colin O’Brien & I were back at E. Pellicci, 332 Bethnal Green Rd this week. Colin had ham, egg & chips and I had steak pie with mash, then we both finished it off with syrup pudding & custard. Yet somehow we also managed to fit in these portraits of the other diners at London’s best-loved family-run cafe, our fellow refugees from the frost outside.

Thomas Felton “I come to Pelliccis a couple of times every week for a fry-up – especially when I have a hangover, like today.”

Giles Allen – “I’ve been coming to Pelliccis once a month for five years.”

Frankie Charles “I’ve been coming to Pelliccis for twenty-five years. I’m local and I’ve been coming here all my life, I come every day when I can.”

Vicky Prior “This is just my second time but I can see I’m going to become a regular.”

Samuele Mori & Elena Andreucci – “We are Maria Pellicci’s cousins and we just arrived from Tuscany.”

Edward Andrews – “I’ve been coming to Pelliccis nearly every day for thirty years.”

Helen Radia “I live in North London and I first came to Pelliccis five years ago, so now I come every three or four weeks.”

Kevin Rowland of Dexy’s Midnight Runners –  “I first came in here in the eighties.”

Ling Chang “My second time at Pelliccis, I  like it very much.”

Frank Østervold – “I’m a Norwegian from Bergen, so every time I am in London I come here. I work in the music industry and I’m a Tottenham fan.”

“Posh Malcolm” Browning – “My first time in here!”

Mr Mondo, also known as “Meatballs Dave” – “I come to Pelliccis for the social and the best chips in London. I’ve only been coming for two years but it feels like a lifetime – in a nice way…”

Rodney Archer – “I come to Pelliccis every Wednesday and Saturday. On Wednesday I am the gay mascot for the Repton Boxers and on Saturday we bet on the horses.”

Pauline Harris – “I’ve been coming to Pelliccis once a week for over forty years.”

Nevio Pellicci – “I started coming here on Saturdays when I was ten, and all the old folks would give me a pound and I’d go home loaded.”

Photographs copyright © Colin O’Brien

You may like to take a look at

Colin O’Brien’s Pellicci Portraits ( Part One)

Colin O’Brien’s Pellicci Portraits (Part Two)

and read these other Pellicci stories

Maria Pellicci, Cook

Pellicci’s Celebrity Album

Pellicci’s Collection

Maria Pellicci, The Meatball Queen of Bethnal Green

Colin O’Brien at E.Pellicci

and see these other Colin O’Brien stories

Colin O’Brien, Photographer

Colin O’Brien’s Clerkenwell Car Crashes

Colin O’Brien’s Kids on the Street

Gina’s Restaurant Portraits

Travellers’ Children in London Fields

Colin O’Brien’s Brick Lane Market

Colin O’Brien Goes Back To School

At Colin O’Brien’s Flat

8 Responses leave one →
  1. good-tree permalink
    December 14, 2012

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE these Pellicci Potraits!
    Please keep them coming. 🙂

  2. Libby Hall permalink
    December 14, 2012

    What a lovely series of portraits this is!

    How good it is to see people looking relaxed and happy about having their photographs taken.

    The Gentle Author, Colin O’Brien and Pellicci’s are obviously a combination that produces contentment.

  3. December 14, 2012

    libby says it for me!

  4. andrea permalink
    December 14, 2012

    Delightful, warm portraits.

    I’m sensing that at Pellicis, even having a hangover is a joyous occasion!

  5. Vicky permalink
    December 14, 2012

    Colin O’Brien, Master of Portraits.

  6. Pamela permalink
    December 15, 2012

    I’m in Perth Western Australia and I really, really want pie and mash at Pellici’s!

  7. December 15, 2012

    I didn’t recognise Kevin Rowland but there was something about his demeanour. On my third visit to his photograph I noticed his nail varnish and I’m enjoying the contrast with his stern expression.
    PP

  8. Ling Chang permalink
    December 28, 2012

    This is Ling Chang.
    I’m so glad to see people & mine’s portrait here.
    Actually, I am a visiter from Taiwan .
    With my daughter , we went there for Brunch. It’s a really nice place. Food , people are all good. I love there so much.
    And I ‘d like to say Colin O’ Brien is a Fantastic Photographer. I was relaxed while he took this picture. It’s an unforgettable experience for my journey.

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