James FitzGerald

Fitz's portfolio - AKA bargain bucket of musings about culture in London.

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City envy: we want inflatable fitness classes like Manchester

New year fitness plans fallen flat already? Us too. But here’s one workout we reckon we could jump into… and we really mean that. Manchester’s Inflata Nation calls itself the country’s first inflatable theme park, and it offers hour-long ‘bounce’ classes designed to exercise every part of your body.

Think inflatable assault course (stepping stones, climbing wall), with one or two reassuring throwbacks to your sixth birthday party (slides, ball pit). While the sessions are available to all ages, there’s more to them than just leaping around like a wild child. Yes, all this is actually about giving a proper, well-structured test to your lats, glutes, and every other muscle you never knew you had.  

In fact, the instructors say just one of these high-intensity sessions can burn off some 700 calories. As we sit contemplating post-Chrimbo tummies wobblier than a kid’s bouncy castle, we just wish London had an equally exhilarating way to put the spring back into your latest fitness drive.

Photo: courtesy of Inflata Nation.

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A Londoner’s city envy

Tampere’s Moomin museum

London went mad for Moomins after the Dulwich Picture Gallery opened an exhibition about them. So just imagine how jealous we are of the whole museum that’s solely dedicated to those same hippo-like cartoon characters. Yep, it’s real, and it’s in Tampere: a city in their creator Tove Jansson’s native Finland. Inside are hundreds of her original books and illustrations, a super-cute model Moomin house, and even an answer to where the creatures’ ancestors came from. Go nose around.

Nairobi’s giraffe hotel

Now, we’ve heard of cat cafés, but these guys are on another level. At Giraffe Manor - an elegant, ivy-covered hotel in the suburbs of Nairobi - those titular animals are often seen poking their heads through the windows and trying to neck guests’ breakfasts. A herd of endangered Rothschild giraffes is kept on the Manor’s 12-acre site as part of conservation efforts. Kenya is a safari-lover’s dream – but who knew you could get up close and personal with the wildlife without even leaving your hotel?

Copenhagen’s street trampolines

Denmark’s capital is hardly lacking in bounce, but if Copenhageners seem to have had an extra spring in their step lately, it could be thanks to some playful urban design down by the harbour. A bunch of trampolines have been sunk into the pavements there to help cheer up a tired stretch of the Nyhavn waterfront – and we’ve seen kids and big-kids alike having a go. Stick a few of these on London’s streets, and we’ll be jumping for joy, too. 

Milan’s Wes Anderson-designed café

Living inside the rose-tinted, kitsch universe of a Wes Anderson film sounds like pure fantasy - but at least you can go there for a quick visit and slurp lattes. Inside Milan’s Fondazione Prada arts complex is a café designed by the director. Visually, it’s part Grand Budapest Hotel, part grand Milanese café from the 1950s or 60s: think Formica furniture, retro jukebox, pinball machines. Anderson says it’s somewhere to write a movie in. London’s coffee-shop laptop brigade – are you listening?

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Things you only know if you’re... Father Christmas

... According to Father Christmas. Yes, the real one.

Gift requests can be very imaginative

Kids ask you for all sorts of presents, whether in the grotto or by post (call me old-fashioned but I still prefer a hand-written letter to an email). They’ll ask me for cars and space rockets – real ones, they tell me, not toys. But not all children seem to be just in it for themselves. Perhaps the most touching request I can recall was a youngster who simply asked “for mummy to have a nice day”.  

Smile and wave: it’s like being royalty

I’m always surprised at how much star power that red suit wields. You have to be OK with crowds, queues of grotto-goers, and constant requests to take ‘elfies with fans. That life isn’t for everyone. During last year’s Hamleys Toy Parade on Regent Street, that was me on top of a double-decker bus (not my preferred method of transport, of course). The crowd there reportedly got up to about 800,000 people.  

It’s difficult to get too attached

As a seasonal worker like me, you can spend almost a year out of touch with people. Then, when you do come back to the grotto, you’re shocked to see one or two of the elves have had a growth spurt. That’s the point when you realise they’re probably a bit too tall to be a helper again in twelve months’ time. So, every job has its sad bits – even an otherwise delightful one like mine.

Delivering in London can be a treat

Lack of chimneys. Having to swerve my sleigh round the Shard. Getting lost on my Santa-Nav. There are plenty of challenges to doing Christmas deliveries in London. But the perk here is that you never quite know what grub you’re going to have left out for you. Sometimes it’s the classic mince pies and sherry, but often it’s smashed avocado on sourdough and a herbal tea, with organic carrots for the reindeer.

Fashions change, the beard is eternal

If you want to see the jolly little grotto inside my London HQ, come visit me in the east of the city. By the way, the hirsute hipsters round those parts have reassured me that the beard is not finished, whatever you might have heard in 2017. In fact, I’ll bet you see folks right across London imitating my whole look this December. (No, they’re not imposters: they’re just helping out by listening to all your Christmas wishes for me.)  

Father Christmas is appearing all over the world between now and December 24, including Ministry of Christmas at the Ragged School Museum, Copperfield Road, E3 4RR. Photo: Andy Parsons, Time Out

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Things you only know if you’re a... teacher

...According to the Secret Teacher. It's a noble old job

It's a 3000-year-old profession that’s basically not changed much. As the world gets more computerised, it's so important to have a real human at the front of the classroom, telling kids what life is all about. Proving to them there’s more to it than logic and finding a job. Having that kind of impact is enough to make the stress of exams, targets, and constant box-ticking feel worth it.  

Sometimes weird methods work the best

An old teachers' saying goes, "don't even smile till the end of your first year", because the class will see it as a weakness. But in actual fact, we all play good cop, bad cop at different times. For me, the promise of sweets is usually enough to keep order. Or I'll threaten to play a certain music video from the 1980s – it’s one that freaks them the hell out. 

Teachers have their own language

I always tell my students to use varied vocabulary. But ironically, I’m often slipping into clichés my own teachers used to say. And outside work, I hear myself talking in Ofsted jargon: saying an art gallery was "outstanding" or "needs improvement". Urgh! Fortunately, the kids teach you new words now and then. Badman, sozzlesquazzles, megalolz – now I know what those all mean.   

The staff room can feel like a battleground

Sometimes, there's a fantastic atmosphere in there. It’s like being in the trenches: there’s lots of bleak humour and preparing for some lessons feels like going ‘over the top’. But sometimes, it’s a lot more hostile. You end up getting into disputes about chairs. Teachers can be incredibly territorial. 

Even teachers have a life

The idea we go home at 4pm and have months of holiday is a myth. Too much marking and planning to do. But you have to make sure to unwind somehow. For me, getting to the pub on a Friday night with the other teachers is actually a big part of school culture. But we’ve all got different ways of switching off. A friend of mine has an unusual one: he just stares at a blank wall for a bit. Interview by James FitzGerald.

For more insights from the Secret Teacher, grab yourself a copy of ‘The Secret Teacher: Dispatches from the Classroom’, published by Guardian Faber. Consider it your homework.

Photo: Andy Parsons, Time Out

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Meet a homeless Londoner who’s using crowdfunding to turn his life around

Tony Elie, 45, was a victim of London’s homelessness crisis. Now he’s getting his life back on track – thanks to the generosity of strangers online.

I’ve been homeless most of the last ten years. You won’t have seen me out on the streets, because what people like me go through isn’t very visible. I’ve been in and out of hostels, sofa-surfing, or sleeping in cars. I’ve had nowhere proper to lay down my head, and have felt incredibly desperate at times. I’ve had odd driving and cleaning jobs, but often those only last a few weeks at a time.  

I’ve always liked opening things up and having a tinker with them. Easy to see why I liked the idea of being an electrician. A mate of mine does it and say he hasn’t been out of work for 20 years! I thought, that’s the quality of life I want. So, I managed to get started on an electricals diploma.

When I found out I couldn’t take out a loan to finish my training, I got worried. Luckily, that’s when a housing charity pointed me towards Beam. It’s a new online platform that uses the power of crowdfunding to get homeless people into training that’ll get them good, honest work.

I spoke to the founder, Alex, and we set a target of £4378: enough to cover the rest of my course, textbooks and everything. Now, when you’re in my situation, you get used to hearing things that turn out to be just too good to be true. I have to admit, I hadn’t even heard of crowdfunding before and had no idea if it would work. But pretty soon, I was using it to turn my life around.  

When those first donations and messages of support started coming in, I have to say I choked up a little. Suddenly there was light at the end of the tunnel after all. We made the target, Beam paid my college, and now I can finish my diploma. As for my donors, they can monitor my progress online and see how much of a difference they made. I think what they like about Beam’s method is that there’s a very defined goal for each member. Nothing’s ever just done on a whim.

There are people who walk past the homeless in the street and say, “I’m not giving them money; they’ve got to get up and try”. I actually understand why they say that. How do you know your pounds can or will really help that person? Drugs, alcohol, petty crime – I’ve been on the wrong train myself at times. I’ve spent time in prison, most recently in 2005. I take responsibility for all that drama. But it’s a past life. I’ve got a new positive direction.

I’ve started a voluntary job at an electricals firm and I hope they’ll ask me to work for them once I’m qualified. In eighteen months’ time, I want to be out of that hostel in Forest Hill, renting a place of my own. Your dreams have to be realistic at first.

One day, I’d love to have my own company, giving others the chance to work at improving their own lives. But for now, I’m focused on showing Beam’s other members the same love and generosity I’ve received. To all those people who helped me reach my funding target, I just want to say thank you - for not giving up on a stranger. Interview by James FitzGerald Photo: Andy Parsons, Time Out

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Six things you need to know about Amedeo Modigliani

No one liked him; he didn’t care. Get to grips with the classic bohemian bad boy before seeing the new Tate Modern show.

1. He worked hard, played hard

Amedeo Modigliani was born in Italy in 1884 and moved to Paris in 1906. He spent most of his short, hectic career there. At this peak, he could apparently churn out 100 drawings a day. Good job, too: he sometimes needed to pay for his meals with artworks when short on cash (which was pretty often). The few francs he did earn were quickly sunk on booze and drugs.

2. The man knew how to mingle

Pablo Picasso, Chaïm Soutine, Constantin Brâncuși… his crew was basically a who’s-who of the avant-garde world in the early twentieth century. Modi also took a cue from earlier Paris-based painters like Cézanne and Toulouse-Lautrec, and even African and Cambodian art. Chuck some unholy amounts of hash and absinthe into that mix, and you get a style that’s hard to put into a box.

3. He worked in 3D, too

Painting people with stretched features, almond-shaped eyes, and almost mask-like faces, Modigliani has some trademarks you can spot a mile off. But while he’s best known for working on canvas, he seems to have loved making sculptures most of all. He was so skint that he’d pinch stone blocks from building sites to use as materials. Thing was, his terrible health often made him too weak to spend much time actually carving them.

4. Even Parisians found him too rude

Ignored by the critics of the day and keen not to group himself with any movement, poor old Modi wasn’t exactly flooded with offers to exhibit his stuff in public. The only solo show he had in his lifetime was shut down by the police the day it opened. His paintings of nude women were labelled obscene because they showed pubic hair. Calm down, guys...

5. One of his muses was a Londoner

What he lacked in critical love or financial profit, Modigliani made up for in sexual conquests. He may have literally had more lovers than hot dinners. One of them was a writer from Hackney called Beatrice Hastings. The pair lived together in Paris and she posed for him a bunch of times.

6. His life ended in tragedy

Modigliani had been battling illnesses since childhood, and died at just age 35. His final love, Jeanne Hébuterne, killed herself as soon as she found out. Some reckon the crazy drama of Modi’s life has proved at least as memorable as his actual work. At the Tate Modern show, the most wide-ranging ever seen in the UK, you can judge whether the art matches up to the legend of the man.

Amadeo Modigliani at Tate Modern, November 23 – April 2, 2018

Image: Reclining Nude, 1919, MoMA, New York

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Most Googled: why are Londoners called ‘cockneys’?

The legend goes that to be a proppa’ Cockney, you’ve got to be born within earshot of the bells of St Mary-le-Bow church in the City. But where did that word describing Londoners come from?

“One of its earliest uses is by Geoffrey Chaucer, in around 1386,” says linguist Dr Susan Fox, formerly of Queen Mary University of London. “He uses the word ‘Cokenay’ to mean ‘a child tenderly brought up, an effeminate fellow’”.

At first, the term was used by country-folk to mock town-dwellers in general. But by the early 1600s, the phrase ‘Bow-Bells cockneys’ made it clear Londoners were the main target. People living near St Mary-Le-Bow (including in what we now call the East End) would have shared a way of speaking.  So anyone with that dialect may have been given the label.

And the view that city-types were soppy stuck around for centuries. “An 1806 dictionary links the term Cockney with a ‘feeble’ way of speaking,” Dr Fox says. Try telling that to Danny Dyer.      

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14 cracking things to do on Kennington Lane, SE11

What links Vauxhall with Elephant & Castle? For many years, what was an uninspiring question met an equally uninspiring answer: “the A3204”. But given that road connects Voho, Vauxhall’s flourishing gay village, with the resurgent cultural hub that is the Elephant, you’d be forgiven for reverting to the rather more refined “Kennington Lane” nowadays. It also unites some of Lambeth’s most striking urban scenery (even if the road itself is often a bit car-clogged).

Teetering Victorian chimneystacks to the north, once familiar to Charlie Chaplin, soon give way to grand Georgian terraces peppered with florists and cafes. Kennington’s not normally noted for its similarities with posh Kensington. Then again, not many know that SE11 was once something of a royal borough itself: the location of a long-vanished palace. Parliament was even held here in medieval times and this road is still popular with MPs since you can just about hear the chimes of Big Ben from here. (You know - when they’re actually chiming.)

If that’s sounding a little square, look to the Triangle: a growing diners’ enclave created by the Lane’s junction with Kennington Road. Here, it’s all Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking; delis and bars spilling down side streets; the buildings painted every colour of the LGBT rainbow. By the time you’ve reached Vauxhall, with its pubs and Pleasure Gardens - well, you’re truly in the pink.    

To eat

The veggie sharing platter at the Kennington Tandoori. The high-end Indian restaurant and takeaway delivered David Cameron his last meal at 10 Downing Street.

Sizzling seafood skewers from Little Lisbon on the Kennington Triangle. This petite tapas joint can get packed out with residents of Little Portugal journeying up from their Stockwell enclave.

A humongous full English ordered off the blackboard at Kennington Lane Café: a cheap ‘n’ cheerful, family-run greasy spoon.

To drink

London-brewed beers at the eccentric, taxidermy-filled, but above all comfy pub The Dog House. You’ll have no bones with this place.

A crisp G&T to round off a tour of the Beefeater Gin Distillery – just off Kennington Lane itself. Their recipe for the juniper-infused spirit has hardly changed since the 1800s.

A few cool ones in the beer garden at The Pilgrim, a lively corner boozer favoured by cricket fans spilling out of the nearby Oval stadium. They do loads of quizzes and live music, too – howzat?  

To buy

Gift-friendly arts and crafts from India at Shalimar Books. They specialise in literature from that country, as well as titles on world history and children’s books.

Bouquets, potted cacti, and other colourful curiosities to brighten up any windowsill from Windmill Flowers.

Spanish almonds, Canadian maple syrup, and other worldly produce to satisfy cravings you never knew you had at Sally White - Food Lover, just down Kennington Road.

To do

Swing by Toulouse Lautrec, a jazz bar and brasserie near Elephant & Castle. The music often wanders beyond just that genre; taking in funk, salsa, and R&B (sometimes all at once).

Book for one of the events at the Cinema Museum, and check out some movie memorabilia while you’re at it. Just off the Lane, it’s in an old Victorian workhouse once stayed in by Charlie Chaplin.

Meet alpacas, horses, and a whole menagerie of strokable creatures at the kid-friendly Vauxhall City Farm. It flanks the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.

One thing

Still standing proud at the heart of the local gay village, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern is beloved for its cabaret drag shows and legendary themed events, like Duckie - raucous rock ‘n’ roll with Amy Lamé.

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Things you only know if you’re a... sexual health clinician

... According to Dr Jey ‘J-Z’ Zdravkov, 30

A clinician’s got to be open-minded

We get patients coming to see us of all ages, genders, and orientations. I remember someone who’d been sent in by her BDSM master. She was wearing a lockable penis cage - but didn’t have the key. I had to give her a swab test through the bars of the cage. But coming across something like that really isn’t weird at all for people doing my job. Nobody’s here to judge anyone else.

There are big myths about sex out there

One of them is the idea that a contraceptive pill can stop women from getting STIs as well as stop them getting pregnant.  It’s just not true. We’re here to remind people to still use condoms.

HIV rates are dropping…

At my clinic at 56 Dean Street, the largest in London, we’ve seen new diagnoses fall by 40% two years in a row. I never dreamed that could happen! It’s partly thanks to PrEP – a preventative drug for at-risk men that we’ve been pioneering right here in Soho. The NHS is now doing a wider trial.

… But super-gonorrhoea is on the up

It’s only appeared in the last couple of years, and seems to be resistant to antibiotics. Which is a big challenge for clinics. One of the things we have to recommend to people who have it is to actually abstain from sex.  

Tinder’s not all bad

Yes, dating apps have made sex more available for lots of people. But what we say is that doesn’t have to mean extra risks. You’ve just got to be prepared to have a proper conversation with your partner about when you were last tested before sleeping with them. Honesty is always best!

Photo: Andy Parsons, Time Out

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Meet the 12-year-old CEO who’s founded a version of Time Out for tweens

Cool kid Jenk Oz just knew he wanted a tween’s answer to Time Out. The 12-year-old ended up becoming Britain’s youngest CEO.

When you’re an only child like me, you get used to spending lots of your time with adults. You get comfortable talking to them, and maybe you even start acting a bit like them too. So it actually didn’t feel too weird when I recently started up a company, employing people who are quite a few years older than me! I’m 12, and thanks to my website based in London, I’m now the country’s youngest CEO. It wasn’t something I ever planned, really.

At first there was only an idea. Me and my mum started emailing out a newsletter with tips of fun things for my school friends to do at weekends. I didn’t seriously think something like that could turn into a business. But I kept working on it anyway, and one day got to present it to my whole school in a show-and-tell. 300 kids and teachers: persuading all of them was my first big task. Luckily, they were really encouraging.

So the original idea became iCoolKid, a website telling 8-15 year-olds about all the cool stuff they need to visit, watch, listen to, buy, and sign up for – from DJ lessons to ping-pong tournaments. We get 4000 hits on some days, have 55,000 social followers, and employ seven staff. We were definitely inspired by what Time Out does. But there’s not much information out there for people my age. Why not? Generation Z want to go out and have a good time just like anyone else.

One of my favourite memories of my upbringing in London is getting to see some big West End theatre shows. Billy Elliot, Matilda, Wicked – the ones with child stars inspired me to get into performing arts myself. I’ve been playing music, dancing, and acting since I was 4 or 5 years old, and I was even in Idris Elba’s film 100 Streets. Interviewing Idris for my website was maybe the most amazing thing I’ve ever done.

My mum worked in banking and my dad’s an orthopaedic surgeon - they’re not creative at all; they would admit that. But their support has just been astronomical. I mean a money aspect, but also the work they put in. Mum is part of the business and her scheduling is so important to it all. She won’t let me break it! If I’m not at the iCoolKid headquarters because it’s a school day, I make time before lessons or during lunch to call the office. I like to pass on what the other kids have been talking about that day, since they’re exactly the right age for the website. The school are very forgiving of me spending time on this - there aren’t many others doing it.

I’ve always filled my free time with all sorts of London events like Comic Con - or with clubs and classes, from lessons in martial arts to graffiti art. It’s helpful that the things I love doing can feed into iCoolKid - because everything apart from schoolwork has to be one hundred per cent about the business. That’s how you make it as a young entrepreneur. But I know that one day, I’ll be too old for our target audience – then it’ll be time to put someone new in front of the camera! Interview by James FitzGerald Photo: Jenk Oz. Courtesy of iCoolKid.

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So you’ve never been to... the Old Operating Theatre?

Where do I go for a slice of gruesome London history?

How about Europe’s oldest surviving operating theatre? It was built in 1822, before the days of anaesthetics. Back then, surgical procedures needed a bit more – shall we say – soundproofing. Hidden up in the attic of St Thomas’ Church (next to London Bridge station), it was nice and separate from the Old St Thomas’ Hospital wards below, and free of rats. Perfect for storing medicinal herbs.

What can I see there?

As well as the theatre itself, a small museum displays weird medical curiosities from the past. Look out for vintage prosthetic limbs, Victorian adverts for cocaine, and an antique vagina spray-cleaner that looks more like a sex toy. Oh, and then there are the surgeons’ tools themselves: terrifying knives, saws, and hooks. The staff do ‘demonstrations’ now and then – bring a strong stomach.

Sounds bloody fascinating. Why else should I go?

This atmospheric space also gets used for special talks, horror film screenings, and from September 23 to October 7, it’s being used as a theatre once again. Not for amputations fortunately, but for a play, Rebel Angel, about John Keats. The poet was once a medical student at St Thomas’ Hospital.  

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City envy: we want robot bartenders like Las Vegas

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So you’ve never been to... Jazz After Dark?

In a nutshell

Gaudy, art-lined bolthole and shrine to Amy Winehouse: one for the Soho bucket list.

Where is it?

On Greek Street, so just round the corner from Ronnie Scott’s jazz club. This place is more low-key, without skimping on the late-night good times.

What’s the vibe?

It’s a tiny place – even the musicians themselves spill off the stage - so prepare to be squashed in like notes in a super-hectic sax solo. Amy Winehouse’s old hangout is a bit like the late star herself: imperfect, but impossible to take your eyes off. The décor is best described as ‘1980s futuristic’.

What makes it a great venue?

It’s like strolling into a jam sesh the whole world’s been invited to. You’ll see funk, R&B, soul, and Latin from across the planet (maybe all at once). And did we mention that in the daytime it’s a gallery? The walls are filled with the owner’s paintings of celebs who’ve come through his door.

Who’s the most famous person spotted there?

Amy, Amy, Amy. She first showed up demanding a job behind the bar – only to be given a gig instead. Show after show followed, and so did noughties A-listers like Pete Doherty and Kate Moss. A VIP ‘room’ (cubby-hole) features a sofa that Winehouse supposedly wrote tunes on.

What’s the booze situation?

Glasses of wine (£5.95) and bottled beers (£4.35) are typical, but at £7.95 for cocktails, you’ve paid much worse in Soho. No prizes for guessing who the Back to Back is named after.

What’s coming up?

Part of the fun is just popping in, but if you’re after something specific, book ahead to bag the best seats. September has shows from two European vocal talents: Cheri Lyn (Sep 14 and 28) and Patricia Elizabeth (with the Rocca Brothers on Sep 8). Trumpeter and singer Karl Charity returns to the venue on Sep 23.

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So you’ve never been to... The Dublin Castle?

In a nutshell

Rowdy, beer-sloshing pub backroom is one of the top places in North London to see tomorrow’s rockstars.

Where is it?

Five minutes up the road from Camden Town tube. It’s where Irish navvies building the local canals and railways came in Victorian times came to splash their beer money.

What’s the vibe?

Unlike some of the slightly shambolic live music nights in this part of town, gigs at the Dublin Castle are serious business. The staff pride themselves on sound quality, and when this place bounces, it really bounces. We’re talking sweat condensing on the walls.

What makes it a great venue?

Reassuringly resistant to change, the Dublin Castle has been family-run for three decades and has barely had a single spring clean in that time. But as the venue that helped kick-start the careers of Blur, The Killers, and countless newer acts, it’s always had something forward-looking about it too. Years after the supposed death of coolness in Camden, that’s all the more valuable. 

Who’s the most famous person spotted there?

Two-Tone tunemakers Madness got a weekly slot here in 1979 after pretending to be a respectable jazz band. Singer Suggs is still Castle royalty, and sometimes pops in to muck about behind the bar and pour himself drinks – a prank copied by the late Amy Winehouse.

What’s the booze situation?

You’re in Guinness territory. Pints are £4.90 - or it’s extra for something local from Camden Town Brewery. Doubles are a fiver. A barman tells us, “I think we might do wine as well”.

What’s coming up?

Plenty of girl power. All-female Irish ska crew Skatuesques visit on Saturday 9 September, while Friday 22 brings Anglo-Japanese punk from the Mikabomb ladies. Trash-rock journeymen The Cannibals (who had a place in John Peel’s sacred record box) play their last ever gig here on September 30.

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So you’ve never been to... The Water Rats?

 In a nutshell

An unfussy boozer whose teeny backroom stage is graced by the occasional megastar.

Where is it?

Just a quick scurry from King’s Cross station. Traditionally this isn’t the smartest part of town – but sometimes grungy is great.

What’s the vibe?

A key pitstop on London’s indie circuit, this place hosts just about anyone who’s going somewhere. The pub’s split into two rooms - bar at the front, stage at the back – and you can normally tell how well the band’s performing from the size of the queue at the bar. A typical crowd contains students, one or two headbangers, and often a curious backpacker from one of the nearby hostels.

What makes it a great venue?

That’ll be the awesome history. There’s been a watering hole on this site since Tudor times, although the present establishment started life as a Victorian music hall. Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx once visited; how’s that for a rock venue getting a bit ‘bolshy’?

What’s the booze and food situation?

Ales start at £4.60; it’s extra for lagers on tap or bottled craft beers. Because half the pub is a comfy seating area, the grub is more than just an afterthought. Heck, you can even get a full English brekkie here if you want to. (Throw in a Bloody Mary and that’s £15.)

Who’s the most famous person spotted here?

The Water Rats hosted Bob Dylan’s first ever UK performance, back in 1962, and the Pogues and Oasis are among others who’ve made their London debuts here. Oh, and earlier this year, Katy Perry chose it for an intimate London show. (And she liked it.)

What’s coming up?

Garage rockers Avalanche Party are set to bring the place down on Saturday September 2, while Boston’s dancetastic Ethiopian jazz ensemble Debo Band visit on Sunday October 15. Or for something different, hurry down before the end of August for a Camden Fringe comedy night.

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Sixteen awesome things to do on Blackstock Road, N4 & N5

Acting for years as a massive funnel for Arsenal fans to pour down to reach the old Highbury Stadium, this street has long been a place where passions run high. Gunners-themed shop signs leave you in no doubt whose territory this is in footy terms – but the explosion of red and white is also a show of community spirit in what is now a culinary and cultural hotspot.

It’s a road of two halves. Defending from the north end: a proud lineup of chippies, offies, butchers, overflowing hardware stores, and bustling North African delis. This is the London high street you can’t believe still existed. Meanwhile, advancing from the south, it’s the London you’ve been told to hate, but secretly envy: here a petite florist’s, there a kooky antiques-dealer; everywhere a brunch to be scoffed. It’s these slightly odd match-ups that make Islington truly Islington.

It’s had to work especially hard to shake a reputation of being a nothingy passageway linking two much better places: Stroud Green and Highbury. Growth here was slowed by the Hackney Brook - which cut it in half until it was covered over, first with wooden planks; its course obscured to this day. Now, when the new stadium spills out on a matchday, it’s impossible to imagine this once-rural route as part of anything other than a big and boisterous metropolis. 

Eat this

‘Scran’ (grub) from Blighty Café, which dishes out hearty Commonwealth-inspired brekkies including The Winston and The Gandhi.

Tortellini, tagliatelle, or tiramisu – or preferably some combo of all of them – at rustic Italian eatery Little Sardegna. 

Garlic or falafel naans: a cheap ‘n’ cheerful snack from Baban’s.  This local institution sells nothing but naan from a shop so tiny it’s practically just a hole in the wall.

Drink this

Guest gins from the ever-rotating spirits menu at the Bank of Friendship, an over-21s pub with a shaded garden for summer and a roaring fire for winter.

Locally-made Square Mile coffee at the Highbury Arts Club. This place – technically on Highbury Park Road, actually - somehow manages to be a café, a venue for art and music, and tapas bar.

Craft beers from the likes of Hackney, Battersea, and of course, Islington - from wood-panelled watering hole The Woodbine. The iconic Art Deco walls of Arsenal’s former East Stand loom nearby.

Buy this

A basketful of British spuds, cauliflowers, and berries from organic grocery Seasons & Blossoms, where the aromas are heavenly.

A retro suitcase - and other stuff you never knew you needed - from Eighty-Seven. One of several antiques shops nearby, this is crammed with wacky framed pictures and furniture.

Well-thumbed paperbacks to make yourself look brainy on your next tube journey - from second-hand bookshop House of Hodge.

Do this

Head south to flip burgers on Highbury Fields, one of the few green spaces in London to let you fire up a barbie in the summer months.

Give the pottery wheel a spin at Clay Time, where you can simply drop in and sculpt or paint unique gifts for others.

Get cosy for a screening at Ink@84, a bookshop-café that turns into a miniature art house cinema at night.

If you only do one thing…

Characterful corner boozer The Gunners is lined floor-to-ceiling with Arsenal memorabilia - but you don’t have to be a footy fanatic to fit in. They also do live music and comedy (often in hilarious combinations).

[jamesfitz789]

K-pop, bibimbap and taekwondo: it’s the best of Korean London

It was after the 1988 Seoul Olympics that Koreans decided they really wanted to see more of the world. London has become home to Europe’s biggest community of Koreans - and while that word is mostly used to describe the people and culture from the South, you do also come across some who’ve fled here from the regime in the North.

Unlike Chinatown, right in central London, Koreatown has grown up in the peaceful suburb of New Malden. Some estimate there are as many as 20,000 Koreans living in this understated enclave on the Surrey fringe. Why? Because some big businesses like Samsung, and the original embassy, were based here for a while. Koreans sure like convenience!

Now though, you can find K-this and K-that all over London – be it restaurants, supermarkets, and even K-pop dance classes. We call it the Korean Wave! The Korean Cultural Centre near Trafalgar Square organises big celebratory events as well as daily activities, from taekwondo classes to lessons in bojagi and jogakbo (traditional crafts), which I teach myself. As a Korean Londoner, I enjoy a multicultural lifestyle but when I want to feel close to home, these places give comfort to my soul – and my tummy. Yoojin Kim. Interview by James FitzGerald

Do it like a Korean – Yoojin’s tips

Our tradition of anju encourages sharing dishes (oh, and alcohol too) with as many friends as you can squeeze round a table. To many, Korean food means barbecue-it-yourself restaurants for meat-lovers. But our Buddhist culture also means that vegetarian cuisine is key to any good menu. One of my regular spots for veggie bibimbap and namul is Arang in Golden Square. But if you’re still craving the unlimited ‘KBBQ’ experience, get down to New Malden’s Kimchi Village: a buffet place with a queue often stretching out the door. In this part of town you can also hide away in a noraebang (Seoul-style private karaoke booth) or get coffee-in-a-can and other groceries unfamiliar to Brits at the H-Mart superstore.

London’s Korean culture will just keep on flourishing this year. The K-Music Festival begins on 15 September at the Union Chapel in Islington. If you thought our only style was ‘Gangnam’, wait until you hear opening act Black String - who fuse jazz with traditional folk instruments. And don’t miss the Korean Film Festival, which gets underway in October. Horror is our best-known film genre - and I can’t wait for Bluebeard, with Cho Jin-woong, the charismatic star of Handmaiden.  

Did you know?

You may notice square, metal chopsticks in Korean restaurants - a unique tradition. The metal helped the ancient nobility to detect poison in their food.