Ginger & White in Soho

Finally, a beautiful Saturday afternoon! Obviously, it was a day to be outdoors, so Jorge and I decided on a wander around Soho, partly because of Yelp’s photo contest that Alex mentioned last week, and partly because I have a new camera and Soho always makes for some interesting shots. I gathered up my new Lumix with it’s tiny little 20mm lens and we headed for land of sex, drugs and rock n roll. There wasn’t much of any of the above, but we stumbled on a lovely little place for tea and cake: Ginger & White.

Their first shop opened in Hampstead in 2009, followed by one in Belsize Park and finally this one trickled down from NW3 to W1 and was planted on the peaceful, pedestrianised road, Silver Place. Inside, the calm continues with tables snaking around the main counter, along the front windows and tucked into the back corner. It’s small, but in a cosy way.  To maintain its British atmosphere, one wall has its signature Union Jack.

Also, small toy minis and London buses were placed around on surfaces.

The counter display was mouthwateringly tempting, plates stacked ginger cakes, chocolate desserts and savoury sandwiches. We didn’t stay for lunch but certainly had our fill of dessert. Jorge had a slice of scrumptious lemon cake with raspberry topping and icing drizzled over the top.

Being more of a coffee person, he also enjoyed a cappuccino. It was pretty.

I had a rich chocolate brownie.

It washed down nicely with English breakfast tea from a bright red teapot.

The sugar was served in this lovely red tin.

For those non-coffee/tea drinkers, there’s also a fridge stocked with old fashioned Victorian lemonade, ginger beer and various juices.

The counter was staffed by two friendly guys:

And had a sign with a lyrical flashback to the 80s: “Frankie Says Relax”.

Also, they have a pretty awesome floor.

It’s a bit more tucked away than the others on the W1 coffee trail: Fernandez & Wells, Foxcroft & Ginger; Sacred, etc. And although there were not many people to people watch (which, of course, was part of the reason for its charm), I always thoroughly enjoy a window seat.

Coffee at The Bridge in Shoreditch

Wandering in to The Bridge on Kingsland Road in Shoreditch is like stepping back in time, to the Victorian era. It’s dark with an old school glamour and plenty to keep your eyes busy.

 

The curtains are drawn, a purple glow coming through the windows behind them, rumpled sofas and fushia pink upholstered straight-backed chairs are scattered around upstairs.

 

There’s a sign in the hallway that reads, “Happiness is not a destination, it is a way of life.”

 

This sign was appropriate as I was there with my good friend Carolina who really does live by that motto. Every time I see her, I go home feeling refreshed and inspired.

We ordered some hot chocolate, cappuccino and cake to share and then cozied up in a little corner for a few hours chatting away the afternoon.

The whole place is full of old photographs, vintage neon adverts, Tiffany lamps and gilt mirrors everywhere, curtains woven through the ceiling beams.

The photos didn’t come out great as I had my phone and it was quite dark, but you get the idea!

 

As you can see, they had plenty of delicious looking cakes to choose from!

 

There’s also a bar so if you fancy a glass of wine instead of a cup of tea, the option is yours.

 

A great little place to catch up with friends and definitely somewhere I will return.

 

Note – they use an old fashioned cash register and only take cash so stop by the cash point and stock up before you go!

The Bridge
15 Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, London E2 8AE

Listen to a Londoner: A Final Word

I was a Londoner for the last four years. It taught me infinitely more about the world and myself than I ever could have expected to learn if I hadn’t gone abroad. These four years, I will never, ever forget. But what it also taught me was that there is so much out there to explore and so I’m moving on to new adventures. Here I will use this last Listen to a Londoner to turn the tables and answer some questions from you guys.

Q1: Where is your next adventure leading you?
LLO: First to New York to see family and friends for about a month then a one-way ticket to Colombia for as long as it takes to decide whether I can make it my next home.

Q2: Will you ever move back to London?
LLO: Never say never, but as much as I do love London, I don’t have any plans to at the moment.

Q3: What is your reasoning for leaving?
LLO: There are a few reasons. One, for love and the invitation to move to Colombia. And two, because I need a change of pace. I need to feel grass on bare feet, look up to the sky at night and see stars and walk out of my front door without the chance of being trampled by commuters or hit by a double decker bus. I need a bit of stillness.

Q4: Was finding a job difficult in London?
LLO: While I did freelance work on the side occasionally, I had two main jobs while in London and both of them found me. I posted my CV on Gumtree and got called up for interviews. Granted that was back in 2007 and then 2008, so the situation is different now, but it’s not impossible if you’re flexible.

Q5: What brought you to London years ago?
LLO: Curiosity and obsession, I suppose. In 2004, I spent a semester abroad living it up in Knightsbridge and travelling on weekends so I had this idea of London as an ideal place. After I graduated I immediately came back to London to relive that fantasy, but of course real life kicked in!

Q6: What is the most influential part of London to you?
LLO: Not sure if you mean area or aspect, but if you mean area, definitely all around Brick Lane and if you mean aspect, then the diversity without a doubt.

Q7: Will you continue a blog where you are going?
LLO: Yes, it will be just like this one but in a different location. I will post the link in an entry here when I get one so check back around March or so. To bridge the gap, I have another blog now called Little Photography Observationist. Feel free to stop by and say hi!

Q8: How easy is it to make friends in London?
LLO: It’s very easy to meet acquaintances and people to hang out with. You meet them through flatmates, other friends, work colleagues and at random. But to make real true long-lasting friends is a lot more difficult because everyone seems to be on a visa that runs out sooner or later and they leave to be replaced by new friends. London is a transient place and though the people you meet are incredible and influential, they don’t always stick around. I was lucky and ended up with an incredible group of girls.

Q9: What is your favourite coffee shop?
LLO: I don’t drink coffee, but have two places I love to go for tea that also have coffee: Sacred Cafe on Ganton Street and 1001 Cafe on Brick Lane – both have amazing atmosphere, though very different from one another, delicious tea and yummy snacks. If I were to go for coffee, Monmouth is good and I’ve heard great things about Flat White in Soho, though I’ve never gotten around to going inside because it’s always too crowded for my taste.

Q10: Where is your favourite place in London to be alone, think, and escape the crowds?
LLO: A walk in Hampstead Heath is brilliant for all of that. The Thames path that runs down the southwest portion of the river is nice as well. Of course, these are summer activities, so in the winter, I will go down to the basement of Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street or have a hot chocolate in Scootercaffe on Lower Marsh Street near Waterloo.

Q11: As a writer in the city, what in London has inspired your writing the most while you’ve been here?
LLO: The diversity of the people and the details that are a result of this mixture of lifestyles – the smell of kebabs mixed with curry mixed with Japanese food and South African BBQ, the many languages that mingle in the air when you walk through a crowd, the tolerance and openness to try new experiences, the music of Jamaica and Ireland and India, celebrating the customs of all different cultures. There is a world in this city.

Q12: Top 5 things you will miss?
LLO: In no particular order and not including people:
1. Savoury muffins and relax tea at Sacred Cafe on Ganton Street
2. Street art around Shoreditch and Brick Lane
3. Diversity, people watching and walking around aimlessly with my camera
4. Walking through the market with a choice of lunch – Tibetan, Ethiopian, Moroccan, Brazillian, Japanese, Peruvian, Chinese, Indian, South African, Colombian, Jamaican, Finnish. You name it.
5. The amazing and always changing shopping options!

Q13: Where is your favourite bookshop in London?
LLO: Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street, Stanfords in Covent Garden and the Book and Comic Exchange in Notting Hill. The first two have excellent selections of travel books and cultural fiction and the third has that old musty bookshop smell and second-hand treasures galore.

Q14: Top thing you will look forward to leaving behind, and why?
LLO: Easy. Crowds and chaos. While they make London what it is, they can also drive you crazy if you don’t get away sometimes. It gets annoying trying to go shopping with umbrellas poking you in the eye, people stepping on your feet and having smelling armpits at nose-level on a hot summer tube ride. I’m looking forward to some personal space.

Q15: What song or album would you consider as your soundtrack for your time here, and why?
LLO: I’ll just give you a few unrelated songs even if it’s cheating: Prodigy – Out of Space which reminds me a of a few crazy house parties and bonfires we’ve had; Is this Desire by PJ Harvey for a similar reason; anything Oasis after anoter house party that involved everyone singing along; U2’s One and Set Fire to the Third Bar by Snow Patrol and Martha Wainwright for some great gigs and of course, anything by The Stayaways – a local band I grew really close to and have seen them live more times than I can remember.

Thanks again everyone for all of your comments and encouragement and stay tuned for another blog coming up in a few months. In the meantime, check out Little Photography Observationist.

Cheers,

Steph

Listen to a Londoner: K Anderson

Listen to a Londoner is a weekly interview with a Londoner – someone who lives in this city, born here or elsewhere. If you’re up for being interviewed, email littlelondonobservationist@hotmail.co.uk.

K Anderson, 28

K Anderson plays ‘lesbian music by a boy’ – confessional, conversational songs about the important things in life – getting older, bad sex, and needing a special someone in your life who can shave your back hair for you.

LLO: Which aspects of London life most influence your creativity?
KA: I think the randomness of London life is what is most inspiring. Turn a busy street corner and you could walk into a makeshift market, a film shoot, a drunken punch up or a protest march – you just never know. Speaking of random, the other day I ran into a girl who I went to primary school with on the other side of the world. My head is still spinning about that.

LLO: Where are you from originally, how long have you been in London and what brought you here?
KA: This is always a bit confusing: I was born in Scotland, but emigrated to Australia with my family when I was 8, and then moved to London when I was 22. My friends in high school were obsessed with Oasis, and I was obsessed with the Spice Girls, so England was the obvious place for us to plot our escape to. I was the only one who actually managed to move here, though…

LLO: Tell us about the making of your video for “Shrug”. Lots and lots of feet…
KA: I carried a video camera with me for a few months, and sheepishly asked all of my friends to dance for me when I caught them in a good mood.  I wanted a light and breezy video to go with ‘Shrug’, which is one of those toe-tapping songs disguising a sinister lyric. The hook of the song – ‘You want to call what we do love, I want to call it dirty sheets’ – keeps getting me into trouble with prospective romantic partners…

LLO: Favourite place in London to spend a Saturday night out on the town?
KA: My favourite club night is ‘Unskinny Bop’, which is held at The Star of Bethnal Green. They always play totally random songs, and so you find yourself dancing to tunes you haven’t heard in years and years. Expect Betty Boo followed by The Temptations, Fuzzbox, and The Backstreet Boys. Amazing!

LLO: What’s the best part about living in your postcode?
KA: I live in Stoke Newington, and although there are a number of pushchairs to avoid when walking down Church Street, I don’t think I would want to live anywhere else. There is a real sense of community here, and everyone I meet is fiercely proud of this little village. Oh, and there’s an amazing vegan stall at the local farmer’s market.

LLO: I hear you’ve been inviting people into your big new bed. Tell us more.
KA: I’m slightly modest when talking about my music, but if you start me talking about my bed you won’t get me to shut up! It’s a super-king-size, and I have been madly in love with it since I bought it last year. I started a video series, ‘In Bed With K Anderson’ as a way of not only showing it off, but the talents of my many singer/songwriter friends. The premise is simple – people come over and sing a cover of a recent hit song in my bed with me. It’s been such an inspiring project for me, and it’s great to discover they way other people approach music making.

LLO: While you were in bed singing Rihanna/Eminem cover, you wore a t-shirt with iron-on letters that says “vegans make better lovers.” Are you vegan? If so, what’s your favourite place to go out for vegan food in London?
KA: I am, indeed, a vegan. I would have to say that my favourite place to go in London for vegan food is RootMaster (www.root-master.co.uk/) – it’s an old routemaster bus which has been converted into a bustaurant (see what they did there?), and has delicious pizzas. Oh, and the cheesecake is quite delicious too.

LLO: What’s your favourite unique London discovery?
KA: Candid Café, which is behind Angel station, is just lovely. In an area which is riddled with Starbucks, Café Nero and Pret a Manger, it is nice to find a little, unique space which sells plenty of varieties of teas and has proper, worn-in couches to spend an afternoon lazing in. What’s especially good about it is that there’s almost always a place to sit!

LLO: You just launched your album, The Overthinker. Why should we immediately pick up a copy and have you thought about what’s next?
KA: ‘The Overthinker’ is a snapshot of London life for an unsure 20-something year old; someone who is no longer cocky enough to believe the world will bend at his whim, but also not yet fully comfortable with the person he is becoming. It is at times awkward, brash, and comforting. At all times, though, it is honest. Perhaps too honest.

For the future, I am most looking forward to doing more writing – bringing out an album is hard work! Before that, though, there will be more ‘In Bed with K Anderson’ sessions and music videos to accompany songs on the album. I will also be hitting the road soon, visiting different parts of this country with my guitar on my back…

LLO: What’s your favourite place to play a gig in London?
KA: I love playing at the cabaret venue Royal Vauxhall Tavern, because it has a proper stage, lovely sound, and a really appreciative audience. Oh, and it’s probably one of the only venues I play at in London which has its own dressing room. It may not be swanky, but it’s rather fun telling people that you have to go to the dressing room to get ready.

Thanks K!

For more Listen to a Londoner posts, click here.

Gifts from Colombia

W’s parents are in London for a month. Yes, they brought him a big box of “hormigas” straight from the source in Colombia. These ones were caught and toasted by his mother, rather than the ones I found packed and sealed in Selfridges. Seeing as the hormigas post was so popular a few months ago, I thought I’d share a few other bits of Colombian culture that they brought my way. It doesn’t involve giant toasted ants, but prettier and sweeter things instead.

This lovely bag and change purse were handmade by his sister. She should sell them, really, but she just makes them for friends.

These sweets come from Mogotes, soft and powdered sugar-coated. They’re strawberry (fresa) and they brought me a second box that is the flavour of apio, which, according to my Spanish dictionary, translates as celery!

This is Arequipe, also called dolce de leche by non-Colombian Latinos. It’s rich and delicious, a dessert and a spread. The bottom layer is soft and gooey and tastes like caramel and it’s covered by a guava-flavoured layer that looks and tastes a bit like a big circular Jello Jiggler. It’s sold by street vendors in Colombia along with a flat wafer called obleas. The night W’s mother gave it to me, I tried it on a piece of fruit which is another popular way to eat it. It can also be drizzled over ice cream if you heat it up. Very sweet!

W’s other Colombian friend’s brother is also in town, coincidently. Though he doesn’t speak any English either, he was lovely when I met him and gave me a few tastes of his home country as well.

This is a Supercoco lolipop, “El bombon con mucho coco!” He also gave me a Colombina Coffee Delight sweet, seeing as Colombia is so famous for its coffee.

And speaking of coffee, I think it’s about that time. Adios!