No.1 The Grove Tavern, Walthamstow I like the Grove for three reasons: 1) It has proper locals, 2) Sunday night is ‘song night’ and 3) I used to live opposite. The Grove is a small square boozer on the corner of a late Victorian terrace. […]
D&D, Role playing, none of it interested me. There were about half a dozen kids at my school who lived this life. These were the kids you never saw at lunch hour. As soon as the bell went, they scurried away. It was a great ploy, the thugs would[…]
Trivial Inaccuracies Chris once said I was the only person he knew who tried to land on the brown squares on a Trivial Pursuit board. That’s true, without the brown I would be far less competitive. So, inaccuracies get my goat. This question tu[…]
Tuica Of all the booze I brought back from Romania (including this tasty little goer), the strangest is Romania’s national drink, Tuica. Brewed from the latest technology tuica stings your throat like grappa’s crazy cousin. Basically, it[…]
Franz Ferdinand’s Car The material remains of my childhood library rest in a dank loft in my parents’ garage. Whenever I visit, I rummage. My favourite book (as a kid) was a Pan paperback called Stranger than Science. Last month I found[…]
Brazil win Copa America A strange final, full of fluctuating tempos. Perhaps tiredness caught up with the players, but at times it resembled training, Argentina keeping possession and Brazil just keeping their eye on them. The final few minutes were […]
Routemasters in Finsbury Park “Basically, it’s a tank without a gun barrel” said a man in a white shirt with yellow armpits. This was considered insightful judging by the nodding it produced. Routemasters are being phased out[…]
One of the world’s most beautiful bridges at Mostar in Bosnia has been rebuilt.[…]
Sky Travel This channel is back on track. It really lost its way for a while. I’m not sure if the concept of travel was misunderstood, but three months ago that indispensable guide to Florida, Baywatch: Miami was on every night. If you were aft[…]
The Independents’ That Summer column has now been running for a decade. Writers contribute holiday tales where the only criteria is a memorable experience. From awkward fumbles with French exchange students to getting arrested in awkward places[…]