Mar 21 2012

Holiday Time!

I am off to Spain this afternoon to play “Little Barcelona Observationist” for four glorious days. So I’m abandoning you completely until Monday. I know, you’re shocked, you don’t know what you’re possibly going to do without me, right?

So I’m leaving it up to you to fill me in on what I’ll been missing in London with some comments, photos in the Flickr pool, etc.

If you need an LLO fix, have a look at some of the past Listen to a Londoner or London Art Spot interviews and learn about some of the fascinating people who live and play in this city.

Enjoy the rest of the week & weekend! See you soon…

Dec 22 2011

South Bank Christmas Market

I went down to the Christmas market on South Bank last weekend. Music floated up the stairs to the bridge, kids on piggyback, mulled wine and roasted chestnuts, shopping and chatting and a general good Christmas spirit!

So, tell me… Do you celebrate Christmas? how’s the shopping going? Do you love the holiday season or loathe it? Favourite or least favourite time of the year? Are you staying in London for Christmas? What are your plans?

Dec 2 2010

A Walk in the Sun

My plane flew into Heathrow yesterday morning after a warm week in Greece – wearing short sleeves, walking along the pretty blue seafront with mountains stretching out behind us, eating tender goat meat and olives outside of a restaurant at night with no coat. You can imagine the chills running down my spine when I stepped outside in the London winter. Snow even! So to keep my head in the sun for one more day, here’s a photo captured by Ian Brumpton – a walk in the little London sun.

Oct 28 2010

Guest Post: Pub Life – The Flask

This guest post by Katy Robinson, a travel guide writer, just happens to focus on one of my favourite Hampstead pubs. Before they moved their weekly open mic night to another pub, we used to go there every Wednesday.
It’s a fantastic place for a drink.

Katy Robinson has been working as a travel guide writer for a number of years and loves to relate her own travel stories.

London is perhaps best known for its black cabs, red buses, telephone boxes, easyJet logo and unpredictable weather. In my opinion, one of the things which makes the United Kingdom unique is its pub culture. Every good Brit has a local where they meet with friends for a pint or some pub grub. It is all about social gathering and it has always been a big part of British life. Locals know exactly where to go for a drink, but it is hard for holiday-makers to find a pub which isn’t a tourist trap.

One of my favourite London pubs is The Flask, which is located in Hampstead. This establishment dates back to 1874 and it has two bars and different rooms where you can settle down for a pint or something to eat. I have some very fond memories of cold winter nights in The Flask chatting with friends from university and playing the weekly Tuesday night pub quiz. At the weekend, we would sometimes meet for Sunday lunch at The Flask. Please, don’t leave London without trying the typical roast dinner served with all the trimmings: roast potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy.

I would also spend many a summer’s afternoon at The Flask sitting outside on the terrace in front of the pub listening to the chatter of colleagues, families, friends and drinkers. Sometimes we would sit out enjoying the long summer’s evenings before going clubbing. Even though I am no longer a student, I still go to The Flask. I think that many British people will agree that our lives move on, but the pub we go to never changes (unless we move to another area).