ARCHIVES...

(The new) Gridskipper is reinstating the (original Gridskipper) archives/maps so you should be able to find most of my old London posts and those of all the other cities - albeit in a slightly different format.

COMING AND GOING...

Going to bed too late and waking up too early. Too tired to sleep. Yesterday morning walking in hot sun on the beach in Dorset, looking out to sea; the promise of a perfect day. But I had to go to the dentist so I hacked it back up the motorway to London in four hours (the petrol cost more than my flight to Italy) listening to this. I was five minutes late for the dentist - shoving my way past dawdling Sloanes - shells collected on the beach that morning still in my pocket. The dentist showed his contempt for my lateness and let my teeth pay for it. Ow. A posh cyclist shouted at me for crossing the road and by reflex I told him to fuck off. The Friday before a bank holiday, the city buzzing with pent up aggression waiting to be released pint by pint. Wandering around like a zombie, wanting to sit down but not wanting to sit down anywhere there. At home, still not unpacked from Italy, washing waiting to be done, a to-do list too long to write, cats to be reassured I'm not leaving again. Siiiggggghhhhhhh...

p.s. I know some of you had bookmarked some of my Gridskipper posts (and those of its many other talented and good looking contributors around the world.) But now that Gridskipper has been turned into a travel guide about The Hamptons by its new owners, those bookmarks will probably get you an error message or a blank page. I meant to say save the posts to your computers/scribble the info on a piece of paper earlier but I didn't quite know how to phrase it; hence my previous cryptic post (rainbow's end / rainbows end. It all hinged on the apostrophe you see.) If you've lost Gridskipper posts of mine that you were hoping to use as a guide when visiting London, feel free to email me and I'll send you the info. Also feel free to email me if you happen to be in charge of hiring writers for a gig as cool as Gskip was. (Unlikely but worth a try.)

*EDIT* the maps are back!

RAINBOWS END...

this, this, this and indeed this.

Me? I know nothing.

J'ADORING! [EDITION MAISON]...

The Fosse bathroom light was a birthday present. J'adore...

I've always lusted after the Love pillowcases from Lush Designs. I've mentioned their stuff a couple of times on Gridskipper and their studio is around the corner; so I bought a pair, just to (ahem) support local business. The lovely Lush ladies are going to open a shop in Greenwich market - you know, before the whole thing is re-developed and turned into hideous flats. Why do people visit Greenwich in their droves? Oh yeah, the market...

*p.s. I Gridskipped where to buy cool magazines in central London. Read it here.

{photos by me}

I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO LIKE THIS...

I wrote this piece for Gridskipper about film locations in London. Don't worry, it's not all Bridget Jones and Four Weddings/Notting Hill - though those bastards do seem determined to redraw the entire capital to fit their sanitised, ethnically cleansed, sappy vision of how London should be. Hey, people seem to love it. HATE THOSE FILMS. (The most insulting thing anyone has ever (innocently) said to me was that the character of Bridget Jones reminded her of me.)

There are so many things I wish I had known before; like the location of Holly Golightly's apartment in Breakfast at Tiffany's (East 71st street.) Of course I've stood outside the NYC Tiffany's window holding a pretzel and a coffee, wearing a black Givenchy evening gown at 5am. Kind of. Without the coffee or the pretzel or the dress or the 5am.

Read the London piece here. Just don't EVER go to Thamesmead.

1,2,3,4,5...

photo by me

1. I'm having some Paris nostalgia on Flickr. It's a good nostalgia, the kind where you revel in reverie, knowing that you could pop over there if you really wanted to. Did you know Paris is only 200 odd miles away from London?

2. They say writing well is the best revenge.

3. I have achieved closure on the plaid top issue (see below). Thank you Paul & Joe sample sale - 30 quid! I'll post a picture soon.

4. Gridskippage:
Cute Fluffy Animals Want You to Visit Them

My previous piece on Independent Boutique Cinemas in London got lost in the ether for a week; then it was published without the date being updated, not on the front page but buried under 20 pages of content. So feel free to click on it a few hundred times. (Julia I think you'll like #2)

5. The celebrations to mark the week of my birth (yes, week, why what's unusual about that?) have begun...drinks at Tate Modern members bar and a tipsy reel around the Man Ray/Picabia/Duchamp exhibit last night...

THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER WORD FOR RETRO...

Due to my atrocious time management issues I spent Friday evening finishing a piece about decadent retro stylee speakeasy type basement bars and supper clubs that are kind of like stepping back in time to the 1940s or 50s. Etc. Yeah, titles aren't like my bestest skill, unless they're long and rambling and random. Editors love me for this.

After tapping away about cocktails and punters ravishingly dressed in their best 1940s get ups I was desperate to go out; but it was too late to go anywhere. I consoled myself by making an elderflower martini or two...

Equal parts elderflower cordial, gin (Bombay Sapphire or Tanqueray) and Martini Dry in a cold glass. After two of these I thought Eva Longoria was the wittiest, most hilarious guest Jonathan Ross has ever interviewed.

Trawling for images I stumbled upon the photography of Socrates Mitsios (who took this picture) on Flickr. Amazing.

p.s. For those wanting to know, my hair looks something like this.

GRIDSKIPPING ALONG...

I forgot to mention my very favourite ever Gridskipper piece so far called Getting Serviced in London. Not those kind of services silly, but the title doesn't hurt the Google referrals. It's just that I am a wee bit obsessed with finding a dry cleaner who doesn't destroy my clothes, a shoe repairer that doesn't just tack on the first bit of heel they find lying around even if it doesn't match etc etc. But did you know there's actually a place that will pick up your clothes at the end/beginning of each season, repair and dry clean them, then store them until you want them again. They'll even send an item by taxi immediately if you suddenly want to wear it. Genius if you've got the dosh which I haven't.

Next up is Peace and Quiet in central London - kind of self explanatory really. Do you ever get a sudden attack of city fatigue? I only get it in London. I'll be walking down Oxford Street or wherever and I just can't go any further. The crowds, the tourists, the noise, the grime. I want to be physically removed and put somewhere quiet for a while to rest my brain.

GRIDSKIPPY CHRISTMAS...

I keep forgetting to mention what I've been doing over at Gridskipper.

As you know I am something of an expert on Christmas shopping, having a large extended family for which at the last count I had to buy THIRTY FIVE presents for. (Due to a cunning master plan put into practise last year, of point blank refusing to do the shopping for the first time in fifteen years, thus making others realise the ridiculousness of it all; we have slashed the present giving (and receiving) and guess what? No one really minded and Christmas feels just as Christmassy, if not more so now. And I have more time to buy better gifts. And less achy arms.)

But, what to do with all this knowledge of gift buying?

I have helpfully compiled a guide of places to buy cool Christmas (sorry - Holiday*) pressies for under £50 in London; which if I do say so myself is...well I'm pleased with it anyway.

Then, somewhat linked in my mind at least, there's a guide to London's Cosy (Cozy*) Drinking Dens where I shall be resting my weary legs by the open fire supping a pint of Guinness and eating packet after packet of salt & vinegar crisps as I survey my loot of just TEN presents this year. Ten, pah! Easy.

*I use US English on Gridskipper...confusing for my brain!

WHY DON'T YOU...?

...is of course the title of Diana Vreeland's famous Harper's Bazaar column in which she invited readers to wash their child's hair in champagne or to turn an old ermine wrap in to a bathrobe.

It was also the name of a kids TV programme in the 1980s; the title song of which went "Why don't you, why don't you, just switch off your TV set and do something less boring instead" which always struck me as a strange sentiment at the beginning of a TV programme. Maybe that's why it's not on anymore.

If you're in London this weekend why don't you:

* Go to the Cheshire Street and Friends Christmas shopping evening on Friday. I went last year, I think I blogged about it - yep. Mulled wine, mince pies and good design make a lovely combination. Shelf have got some new Shinzi Katoh stuff (pictured) which I get very excited about.

* Go to the Open Studios at Cockpit Arts in Deptford this weekend. On Gridskipper this week I profiled some of the designer-makers showing at the Open Studios, which is on all weekend. Again, I went last year and got loads of inspiration and a few gorgeous, unique Christmas presents - you end up doing that one for you, one for me thing. You can read my piece on it here or browse all the designer-makers and artists at Cockpit Arts here.

* Be in a film with Jude Law on Friday. When I went to see The Darjeeling Limited at the cinema, before Hotel Chevalier (the Wes A. short before the main film) they showed another short with Jude Law buying some fish from Applebee's at a deserted Borough Market, then standing outside and kind of wandering round. The film was quite arresting once all the females in the cinema had stopped muttering about Jude Law being a smarmy git. (Not that he was acting a smarmy git kind of role.) All I got from the short was that it was something to do with Tate Modern and then it said Friday, 30 November 11.30am. That's all. Well after a bit of investigation it turns out that if you go to Borough on Friday at 11.30am (and I'm usually there around then) they're going to re-enact the whole thing with whoever turns up. Clever marketing eh? I'm quite intrigued as I don't know how they're going to be able to film effectively just before Friday lunch time with tons of people spilling out of The Market Porter pub and masses of people visiting the market; as well as the additional people who've come along because of the film and oh, all right then, possibly the Jude Law factor.

DV image
Jude image

P.S...

I am talking a load of pants over at Gridskipper. Frankly darling, I am now so enamoured of this lingerie range that I would consider throwing out all my highly sentimental items of lingerie if only someone would buy me this orchid print robe...

COVER BLOWN BY SELF...

Now I'm just GIVING away all my hard learned secrets and wealth of knowledge over at Gridskipper. This week it's How to Stay Chic on the Cheap. Freeloading blaggers get over there now. Apologies to anyone who previously thought I ever paid full price for anything in London...

*image is of the beautiful and amazing illustrator Ester Pastel...she's chic, not cheap.

KEY WORDS...

OK people: here is my latest piece for Gridskipper. Unfortunately it does not feature lap dancing clubs, sex, brothels or anything to do with douchebags. It's merely an informative piece on East London's darling Cheshire Street. I am learning. I should have stuck with calling my piece about shoe designers "Shoe PORN"...Oh well, popularity was never my main concern.

BONJOUR FOR A SECOND...

Hello loves, just nipped off to Paris to catch the tail end of fashion week. Also - total unbloodymitigated surprise disaster - the internet is broken where I'm staying. Not that I had loads of work to do or anything...back to the computer on Thursday. Until then you can see where I've been waxing lyrical on my two Mastermind specialist subjects: shoe designers and cafes.