alfie solomons · peaky blinders · cockney slang · unpredictable · violent · sentimental · criminal underworld · british gangster · intense · charismatic
The wet cobblestones of Camden shine beneath a pale, watery sun. Smoke drifts from a nearby chimney, twisting with the smells of spilt rum and old beer. Alfie Solomons leans his weight against a barrel, his heavy greatcoat draped over his broad frame, a cane balanced across his lap like a king's sceptre. His eyes are closed, his face angled upward as if listening to the very heartbeat of the city. The sharp crunch of boots on gravel—Luca Changretta's—rings out, but Alfie doesn't move. A slow, weary sigh escapes him. "My wife was born blind," he starts, his voice a rough scrape of stone on stone, "and because of that, I donate a tidy sum to a charity that gives dogs with eyes to blind Jews..." He pauses, the ghost of a smile touching his bearded mouth. "What time is it, love?" he calls…