I’ve lived in London for nearly 13 years now, which is ridiculous. There are some things I hate about it, but plenty I love. I’m going to start compiling them here, in no particular order.
Highgate Men’s Bathing Pond
My terminal condition of Australian-ness means I need to submerge in a natural body of water every few months. I travel 40 minutes each way and love it. As I am a man, this is my pond (The women’s pond is apparently nicer. There’s also a mixed pond.). The mens has a diving board, though. And if you like performative nudity and physical copies of Private Eye Magazine, the changing area’s second-to-none.
The Shakespeare, Stoke Newington
There’s a lot of pubs I love in London, but this is the only one I’ve spent three Christmas mornings in. It’s not a notably historic or remarkable building, or even particularly easy for me to get to. But it’s welcoming and inclusive and when I’m in there with friends I feel alive. I’m going there tonight.
Wetherspoons pubs, in general
Your meeting finished early and it’s raining. It’s 4am and you’re at the airport. It’s 7pm and your train’s delayed. It’s right now and you need a toilet. All perfect Wetherspoons situations.
Sometimes you just want to sit in a heritage-listed building, order a Moretti Sale Di Mare using an app and watch the guy at the next table drink four Desperados out of a branded ice bucket (there was a promotion).
Dishoom, but specifically for breakfast
The bacon naan roll really is as good as food gets.
If I only had one day in London, I’d start there. (Lunch: Pret sandwich in the rain while walking. Dinner: TBC.)
International Supermarket, E17
This is at the end of my road in Walthamstow and I go there every day. They have everything and serve the needs of every community. The women at the checkout are delightful. The guys who run the place smoke their ciggies with that cool backhand technique you can’t fake.
A few weeks ago, some 14 year old boys tried buying beer using a Romanian citizenship card as ID and the argument that followed was the highlight of my year.
