The London Traveler

I rather like those histories of everyday things – ‘Latitude’, the story of spice, the history of salt. Exhibitions of locks and keys from the middle ages, or the furniture exhibitions at the Geffrye Museum, fascinate me.
So an exhibition of desks is a must! As a writer I spend most of each day at one, and it isn’t beautiful.
When I daydream, I imagine myself sitting at a fine Louis XIV desk with curvy gilt legs, or a lovely Restoration bureau…
“8 Desks” is a bit more modern but equally stylish. Jean Prouvé and Jean Royère’s almost minimalist, strikingly modern desks …read more

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With an hour to kill before we saw a play, we were stuck at the British Library and wondering where we could get a pint of beer. Euston Station actually has quite a good pub, but we didn’t fancy that, so instead we headed north off the Euston Road to the Somers Town Coffee House.
The whole area reminds me of Arts & Crafts with its neat little houses, and this pub is no exception. A really delightful exterior, and an unspoiled interior with wood panelling, a nice wooden bar, and four handpumps serving up real ale. At less than £3 …read more

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I enjoyed a free lecture at the National Gallery a couple of days ago.
If you read the arts columns in the papers you might know that the National Gallery, together with the National Gallery of Scotland, is appealing for money to buy a rather lovely Titian – Diana and Actaeon. To support the campaign, the gallery has organised a number of little mini-lectures that show you Titian’s paintings.
The Diana and Actaeon is displayed in Room 1 of the gallery, just off the main staircase, together with another Titian painting which already belongs to the gallery, painted later in the artist’s …read more

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I was near Victoria the other day and had a spare few minutes – so I went into a shop that wild horses usually couldn’t drag me into. The Royal Mews Shop, at the back of Buckingham Palace.
Some of the merchandise confirmed my worst fears. Horrible royal tat. There might not have been any corgi covers – but there were tapestry bell pulls (you need one, obviously, to summon your servants) and a book of royal family photos from the 1920s I can’t imagine anyone except my flag-waving grandma being interested in.
But there were also some rather nice souvenirs. China …read more

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I couldn’t resist this news story. The story itself – a car crashes while it’s being chased by police – is nothing special.
But the photo is sheer class. I wonder if this interesting parking technique – definitely not covered in the driving test when I was learning to drive! – could hold the solution to all London’s parking problems?

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Boris Johnson has just announced plans to deliver a London rent-a-bike scheme, similar to Paris’ successful ‘Velib’ programme.
It’s got a lot of good press. There will be 6,000 bikes – okay, that’s a bit behind Paris which has 10,000 – and they’ll be at 400 locations across the city.
But it’s not going to happen overnight. Manufacturers have only just been asked to tender for the project and Boris will also need to get London Boroughs and the Royal Parks to agree where he can put the bike parks.
What really gets my goat though is that the press doesn’t seem to …read more

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One of the nicest smells in the world, I think, is the smell of roast chestnuts wafted towards you on the chill wind in a grey London street.
And the taste is marvellous. The creamy flavour of the chestnut flesh, with the smoky taste of the crisped up skin where the peel has split and the flesh has begun to burn. It’s very different from the smoothness of marron glacé – candied chestnut; instead, it’s earthy and packs quite a punch. And you’ll be chewing away for a couple of minutes – the slightly floury, heavy flesh is not light-weight food.
The …read more

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You have a couple more days left to register your interest in RCA Secret 2008.
This intriguing art sale features postcards which have been painted or decorated by numerous artists, some well known (Grayson Perry, Tracy Emin,  Paula Rego and Anish Kapoor feature this year) and some less so. Musicians and fashion designers have also created some of the cards. There are 2,700 works available this year.Britart, photography, printing, there’s a huge selection of different styles and media.
You pay £40 and you take your choice. But you don’t actually know who painted which card, so it’s a bit of a lucky …read more

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Christmas markets are traditional in Germany and Central Europe, where you’ll find all kinds of Christmas goodies on sale – gingerbread, gluhwein, marzipan stollen, Christmas decorations. There’s a huge Christmas markets in Nuremberg, for instance.
Greenwich Market will have a special Christmas  Market running from  December 10th. There will be mulled wine for adults and for the kids, Santa will be in his grotto (at a small charge of £3 per child) from 20th to 23rd December.
There will be a huge Christmas Market in Hyde Park, too. It’s open from 22nd November all the way to 4th Jauary 2009, 10 am …read more

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Insider London is just launching a new tour – Innovative Interiors.
I blogged about Insider London’s green tours a while back. This new tour takes you from classic British design interiors to funky futurism – from clutter to minimalism and back again.
The tour takes in the high points of the West End, from Piccadilly, through Soho (home of the movie industry) to luxurious Mayfair.
Tourists are  promised, among other delights, an indoor thunderstorm and a golden cave.  With 15 sites visited, the three hour tour gives a fascinating view of the capital – and guide Cate Trotter can arrange cocktails or even …read more

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