Little Ben

Looking For a Friend

by mike whyte

Awww, Little Ben!!! Known as 'the runty little brother' to the ever-so-grand Big Ben, it can be easy to sneer at the black-and-gold clock tower. In fact, many people will probably not even be able to tell you where it is, or that it even exists..."what? Little Ben? Are you havin' a laugh?" Well, to those in the Victoria area, or passing through on the way on to bigger and better things--spare a thought for Little Ben, standing silently on a junction in front of Victoria Station. You may be ... Continue

Camley Street Natural Park

Green Get Away

by mike whyte

Donning your wellies may seem a strange thing to do anywhere in London--but in Kings Cross? I know--I know, you may think I have just arrived from another planet, but it's true--and I've seen it! If you wander past the wonderous St. Pancras building, and head past the industrial wastelands of the redevelopment of Kings Cross you will find an oasis of calm that is really, well wild! Camley Street Natural Park is free to the public, sells ho ... Continue

Frank's Cafe and Campari Bar

A Bitter View

by Claire Storrow

Most people do not like Campari. Granted, its flowery bitterness can be like a mouthful of mothball to the uninitiated. But for me this was the main draw to Frank's Café & Campari Bar--not that it's a pop up and situated on the tenth floor of a multi-storey car park in Peckham--the elevator of which only goes up to the sixth floor--or that on its opening this year (last year was its first) tout de Londres' artscene headed by J(anus) Jopling was there. No, I wanted a bar that served only ... Continue

Oliver Bonas

For the Girl Who Has Everything

by Claire Storrow

Oliver Bonas is my friend. Whoever he is. Recently I met a girlfriend having forgotten her birthday during the previous week. I needed something for her and I needed it fast--I needed something that did not scream "I just picked up the first thing I saw".  Luckily for me Oliver Bonas is a godsend for these kinds of moments. I guarantee (boys take note) you could buy practically anything in here and your girlfriend/aunt/sister/mum/niece/best friend/cousin/wife/daughter would be chuffed to bi ... Continue

Viktor Wynd's Shop of Horrors

Where The Wild Things Are

by Claire Storrow

In October 2009 there were strange goings-on at 11 Mare Street. Deliveries of body parts, jars containing foetuses, stuffed animals and other curiosities were being deposited at the front door at an alarming rate. Indeed this was the opening of Viktor Wynd's Shop of Horrors, a destination that has attracted attention from the London news, fashion bible ELLE, and the esteemed New York Times. Three years in the making, this lovingly created museum of the macabre seemed like a shaky venture back&nb ... Continue

Datte Foco

Dating and...Pizza

by Claire Storrow

Datte Foco is a phonetic spelling of "datti fuoco", a friendly Roman insult in the great Italian tradition meaning "go set yourself on fire". This being a pizzeria we can assume it's a reference to the pizza oven or there is the idea that it sounds a little bit naughty especially since the subtitle of this pizzeria is "A pizza and love joint". I am known here as "Aarron's girlfriend" because Aarron introduced me to the place and more often than not I come here with him. For the record I am not A ... Continue

Brompton Cemetery

The Walking Dead

by Lee Mannion

It's not unusual for a sense of guilt to settle on a person when walking through a cemetery. But why? The dead wouldn't want you to apologise for being alive. It's not like you're rubbing it in by wandering among them, alive alive oh. Neither are they likely to care if you put your feet on their oblong of remembrance; they're dead after all remember. Decorum would probably dictate that sunbathing was out, though it hadn't stopped the stripped down couple glorying in a rare blast of English su ... Continue

Mudchute Kitchen

Fresh Air. Fresh Food.

by Joel Northcott

London now has places where food miles are so short that the animal you pat or the plant you pick--no exaggeration--will later end up on your plate. When the sun comes out Mudchute Farm must be one of the happiest places to enjoy locally-sourced produce. Part of the attraction of this place is that you can never be sure about the menu. Meals might be a farmhouse breakfast with free-range sausage and mushroom, or carrot, ginger and apple soup with homemade bread, and pastries include brownies, ... Continue