Listen to a Londoner: Emily Webber

Listen to a Londoner is a weekly interview post with people who live (or have lived for a while) in London. If you fit the bill and want to be interviewed, give me a shout at littlelondonobservationist@hotmail.co.uk. Always looking for new volunteers.   

Emily Webber,
(Photo by Mike Laurie)   

Emily is a native Londoner. You’ll most likely find her cruising around London on her bright green Vespa seeking out cool photos for her blog London Shop Fronts.

LLO: How long have you lived in London?
EW: I was born in London, so pretty much all my life. I grew up in the south east but crossed north of the river to east London.   

LLO: What gave you the idea to start your blog, London Shop Fronts?
EW: It started when I was taking photos of my local area in 2004. I always found them fascinating and an interesting insight into an area, its history of affluence and diaspora. In 2008, I finally put some online, which sparked my interest to take more. Shop fronts are fascinating for so many reasons and as the collection gets bigger it only gets more interesting.       

LLO: Which shop front that you’ve captured is your favourite so far?
EW: I couldn’t choose just one. I have so many I like for many different reasons. The first photo I posted on my blog was Get Stuffed (taxidermy) in Islington and probably my favourite types are Cafes, Launderettes and Chinese takeaways. These seem to have the most original signage and layering of history.  

  

  

LLO: Favourite place in London to take your camera?
EW: I am never without my camera, so everywhere! But I’m most excited when I find a new street full of independent shops that I haven’t been to before.  

LLO: Somewhere in London you’d like to explore but haven’t had a chance yet?
EW:  I’d love to get the chance to see some of secret London, the places that are locked most of the time like the closed underground stations (see http://underground-history.co.uk). Last year I got the chance to explore Savoy Cafe (http://www.flickr.com/photos/emilywebber/sets/72157619950686676/detail/) which has been closed since the 80s, it was an amazing chance to see something that has hardly changed since the 50s.

LLO: Loving the bright green Vespa! Have you found it to be the best way to get around the city?
EW: I love my vespa for many reasons and it really is a great way to get around. It beats sitting on a bus or a tube and of course looks great.

LLO: Best London discovery?
EW: London has so much to offer once you start exploring, I love summer walks along the canal to the parks and marshes around Hackney and Walthamstow.    

LLO: What’s your favourite London shop?
EW: I do a lot of my shopping online and I particularly love finding unique stuff on Etsy and eBay.    

LLO: If I only had one night in London, where would you tell me to eat and drink?
EW:  Cocktails at Saf then dinner and drinks at Bistrotheque.

LLO: Describe your perfect Saturday in London.
EW: Probably start with brunch in Springfield Park cafe if it’s warm and sunny, then out (on the vespa) for some photo taking, then back to Hackney’s numerous pubs for some drinks with friends. 

Thanks Emily!  

For more Listen to a Londoner posts, click here.

Cat and Coffee at Scootercaffe

This one is thanks to trailerfullofpix, the newest member of the Little London Observationist Flickr pool.

The caption reads:
“Scootercaffe, formerly a scooter shop (Scooterworks, which relocated in Bermondsey) and coffee bar with a resident cat. Now it’s just a caff with a cat. Lower Marsh Street.”

Anyone ever been here? Worth a trip? People on Qype think so. It got all 4 or 5 star reviews from everyone! Live music mid-week on Tuesday and Wesnesday and you can have a conversation over cocktails in a candlelit basement. There are, apparently, about 4 cats and tip money goes to their food fund (not that they probably don’t get enough of that from roaming around the place all day…) Qype reviews also tell me they have free films there on Monday nights.

Think I’m going to have to go down and scope it out!

Listen to a Londoner: Alex Pink

Listen to a Londoner is a weekly interview post with people who live (or have lived for a while) in London. If you fit the bill and want to be interviewed, give me a shout at littlelondonobservationist@hotmail.co.uk. Always looking for new volunteers. 

Alex Pink, 32

Alex spends most of his time taking pictures, but he also enjoys riding his Bianchi, and his vintage Vespa.
He loves exploring new parts of London and indulging in all that the city has to offer.

LLO: How long have you lived in London?
AP: 5 years

LLO: Tell us about your blog, Snapshot London.
AP: I have been taking pictures for a few years now and I’m driven by observational and documentary type photography. I have an interest in the overlooked/unloved/the imperfections of this fine city. London is forever changing and I believe it’s important to document my time here. The blog came about from a love of taking pictures of London and a conversation with Emily Webber (London Shop Fronts).

LLO: Favourite part of London to take a camera?
AP: East London

LLO: Somewhere you’d like to explore with a camera that you haven’t yet?
AP: Detroit, USA.  It has the most stunning collection of pre-depression architecture in the world. And with a fair percentage of the city being run down, industrial and decaying, I can’t wait to go visit.

LLO: What’s your favourite London snapshot that you’ve captured so far?
AP: I always find it difficult to a pick a favourite of anything but I took this shot around Whitechapel last summer.

LLO: If I only had one night in London, where would you tell me to eat and drink?
AP: Il Bordellos in Wapping (Italian restaurant) followed by drinks in the Captain Kidd for views of the river and Canary Wharf.

LLO: Best place to hang out on a Saturday night?
AP: Hackney. It’s awash with decent boozers.

LLO: What’s the coolest thing about your postcode?
AP: The Wapping Project, and the river.

LLO: Favourite London “discovery”?
AP: Monmouth Coffee. It’s a life changing caffeine hit.

LLO: Most random thing you’ve seen in London?
AP: I once walked past 2 people smoking cigarettes in the street at 7am on a Monday morning; both were completely naked.

Thanks Alex!

For more Listen to a Londoner posts, click here.