I lived in Clerkenwell and the Barbican from teenage through mid 20s and I loved walking through the market. Sometimes if up early or pulling an all nighter to study I’d go walk there at 4am to see all the traders in action. This is truly a damn shame.
I used to pop into SoS bar adjacent to Fabric on a Sunday morning for brunch. Somewhere I have a video of my cutlery being vibrated across the table by the bass from Fabric, so I guess they were still hard at play at 11am...
Smithfields used to be where the discerning drinker went to get a very late (or very early) pint in the local pubs as they had special licenses to cater to the market workers coming off shift. By the time I lived in the city the late licensing rules had been relaxed though.
I think only at the level that in the books Narnia is reached from our world via magical portals, so it's a reasonable reference to make when discussing portals.
