shisha

i live on top of the edgware road.
the edgware road is the centre of middle eastern life in london.
little arabia. hummus and kebab. halal butchers, *sindbad* supermarket, church street bazar.
and *the old english gentleman*, traditional english ales and stout, right in the middle of it.
it's a thriving community. not a rich one, but a thriving one.
up and down the edgware road, you can find lots of shisha cafes, left and right. people smoke a shisha, gossip, relax, and some play backgammon (at an excruciating speed).
i sometimes go to andalo's and have a shisha. double apple is my favourite. they also have amazing fruit juices (ask for a fruit cocktail).
last week i ended up going to andalo's 4 times in a row, with different friends every time. my hair still reeks of the smoke.
but it's all going to be over on the 1st july. when the smoking ban is introduced in the uk it's shisha out everywhere. i asked andalo (who is kurdish and from northern iraq, god knows if his name is andalo, but that's what i call him) i asked him what he'll do from july.
a restaurant.
aha.
so presumably, up and down the edgware road, shisha cafes will be turned into restaurants.
all with hummus, vine leaves, kebab...
well, i'll go for the juices.