Live. Love. London

Love the quirky messages on the London Underground x

Prince Harry you are my London Legend of the week, and in strong contention for London Legend 2012. 

Strip billiards, bear hugging naked girls and racing an Olympic Gold Medalist. Lad.

Make Harry King - everyday will be a mash-up of the Jubilee and the Hangover!

A cheap eat in Highgate Village!? “No, it’s not possible” I hear you cry!

Yes, despite the abundance of models with miniture dogs (namely Daisy Lowe), actors in tweed and tv celebs doing coffee, there is a posh cheap eat. And it’s appropriately called The Angel. 

As you walk into the pub at the top of the hill you cannot help but feel you’ve escaped from the trawls of London and entered an countryside escape. Open fires, cosy couches, leather booths and sneaky corner hide-aways galore. Being in Highgate village I had prepared myself for the drinks menu to only include wine to be from Jesus’s own stash and beer imported from specialist a German brewery. As for the food, nothing less than what Prince Harry was being served on a pool table in Las Vegas.  

I held my breath when asking for Crabbies they only had Jeremiah Weed Root Beer, but that was a mere £3.50! Do we dare look at the food menu? Lo and behold 2 courses for £10 and 3 courses for £13!! A reasonable set menu which was full of food to wet the appetite enough for us to give it a whirl.

A Whitebait starter, posh Haddock Fingers and Chips and ahhhmazing Lemon Cheesecake later and I am stuff, satisfied and dreading the catch with this bill. No, I was wrong - £13 each plus drinks. Shocker.

I am happy to say I can stuff my face and drink for under £20 whilst snooping at rah celebs in Highgate Village!

Love vintage london

If you enjoy dressing up to the nines, going to nice club and sipping on G+Ts, this place is NOT for you! 

A regular night out in Shoreditch with some friends led me to this hidden ‘treasure’. A free underground club hidden from street view, the only thing indicating its existence is a chalkboard sign on the street. You descend down into a sawdust ‘under construction’ cave where the floors are concrete and the bars are made of MDF. Walls are grey and covered in posters and flyers of local gigs. Sounds grimey, it is, and it’s fantastic. 

3am arrival and it’s packed to the brim with a banging live DJ set making the crowd insane. Fuelled by cheap beer, spirits and whatever thizz and shiz was being passed around, it doesn’t stop until 5am.

Unmissable for those who want cheap underground fun ‘til the early hours and experience a whole new level of shabby chic.

Rough Trade - Brick Lane

The smell of old vinyls, all music from around the world from all generations, headphones with a CD changer, piles of flyers with local events and a cake stand. This is my slice of heaven.

And not to forget the vintage black and white working photo booth. Classic.

The escalator at Angel Underground Station, the longest in London.

Length - 197 feet (60m), vertical rise - 90 feet (27m).

Ran all the way up. HELLS YES I DID!!!

Photo: flikr.com

Picnic on Primrose Hill. Spring has definitely sprung…

Photo: flikr.com

I <3 Covent Garden. 

The cobbled streets, the boutique shops amongst labelled fashion, and pubs/bars and restaurants galore for an evenings out…it’s just a London lovely. 

But after a morning of shopping all I wanted was a nice quiet lunch with a good magazine. Armed with the latest Glamour Magazine, I seeked out a cafe where ‘eating solo’ wouldn’t appear weird. So just off Shaftesbury Avenue I found Thai Square, a lovely food court that had an array of food to choose from, and not just Thai food despite the restaurant title. 

So with a delicious giant cous cous salad and spinach quiche, I chilled out and was not disturbed once, despite it being lunch time ‘rush hour.’ Apparently in the evenings it’s even better, especially in the summer with its outdoor court area with seating and heaters. So for those who have shopped ‘til they’ve dropped in the day, to post work chill-out…this is a place to try.

constellationnoise asked: Thanks so much, I'm so excited for my trip.
I'm staying at St. Pancras in London
What top ten things (in your opinion) should I see? Especially the "real" London.

Heya! Of course as you’re coming to London you should see some of the big sites. Apart from those, the top 10 things I think you should see for what I consider as the ‘real’ London are:

1) Camden Town and the Stables Market. And the Camden Catacombs

2) Brick Lane Market (on Sundays)

3) Visit Old Street/ Hoxton Square bars one evening

4) Covent Garden

5) Wander around/ eat in Little Venice

6) Visit ‘The Vault’ if you’re into music and memorabilia 

7) China Town 

8) Go to Proud (Camden) Madame JoJo’s (Piccadilly) or Cargo (Old Street) to see great live music

9) Borough Market

10) Go to Fabric (or an underground club) one night if you’re into that sort of music. Or go out in Soho….it’s just immense anywhere you go!

But for the more ‘touristy’ things to do, these are musts as I still think they represent the best of London:

1) Natural History Museum (my favourite place!)

2) Sir Francis Drake’s ship 

3) Abbey Road 

4) Must see London Zoo

5) Leicester Square at night

6) Visit Harrods

7) Madame Tussauds

8) See a play at the Globe Theatre

9) The British Museum 

10) Changing of the guards of Buckingham Palace

If you need anymore ideas let me know! King’s Cross is a great place to be staying…lovely bars, central and of course can see Platform 9 3/4!! For events/ festivals going on for the time you are staying it’s best to go to www.timeoutlondon.com as it is really up to date and always gives me ideas!

Hope you have a great time!

Love London x

Source: flickr.com

Simmons-Kings Cross

My friend gave me the debrief of an ‘exciting fun place’ and ‘get creative’. Exciting creative place for drinks…mmm…challenge. After a little hunting I found Simmons at Kings Cross described as a ‘kooky cafe come bar’…perfect!

Luckily there was only 2 of us, as this place can seat about 14 and have 10 standing. Swinging cats: not recommended. The bar had an array of beers, spirits and snacks including cheese toasties!  My friend and I found some empty old armchairs and gazed in amazement at array the furniture and sporadic decor of lamps, pictures and stacked beer can art! It was just the ticket for a mid week quirky drink and catch-up, and the toasties were lovely! 

Whilst in a bit of a tizz about what get for my friend’s son’s 1st birthday, Art4Fund was suggested to me. Despite my poor paintbrush to eye co-ordination skills, I thought why not!?

I entered cafe come art studio bustling with groups, families individuals knee high in paints, brushes, stencils and stamps obviously having a whale of a time! The place it shelved floor to ceiling with blank ceramics, from teapots and plates to fairy ornaments and piggy banks!

After a quick run down of the system, I went for a simple tea cup. After using an array of colours and stencils I created something reasonably arty, and definitely unique! And any mistake was thankfully wiped away as if never happened to make the ‘perfect’ masterpiece. What made the experience was the atmosphere of fun, laughter and relaxation to the extent I am already planning my next ceramic creation! 

http://www.art4fun.com/

Pillarcats

An awsome new band I saw at the Slaughtered Lamb in Farrington. Very alternative, mellow with a powerful voice. The video above was taken at the Slaughtered Lamb when I saw them with some friends. 

Slaughtered Lamb also deserves a shout out - small dark basement venue with random 60’s furniture and typical British Food… perfect if you want to discover and enjoy and appreciate new music on Mon-Wed evenings!

I am ashamed to say until recently I had never been to Proud, Camden. The venue is amazing, as it is location the 200-year-old Grad II Listed Horse Hospital in the Stables Market. 

I’ve heard during the day that it’s a nice place to go and chill and have food. The reason I went there was to see a friend’s ban perform and I was really impressed! Apart from the main venue, there’s also indoor stables converted into little snugs with poles in the middle. 

Very cool, unique and a must to go and see any sort of live music most days of the week

  The amazing stables!