The Englishman enjoying his Father's Day pre-lunch pint.There's a new kid in the restaurant block in Crouch End, called Heirloom. Both the Englishman and I have been watching the changing shopfront of the restaurant on Park Road while walking past on our way into town on a Saturday, or passing … [Read more...]
Osteria Tufo in Finsbury Park, London
Photo by By: Sunil060902 (Own work) via Wikimedia CommonsEver since we've been in North London, for me Finsbury Park has just been a place to take the tube from. Lately, however, I've noticed that the area is undergoing a definite transformation.Just a stone's throw away from the station is the … [Read more...]
Crouch End Knowledge: Scarlet Rage Vintage
I have to come clean: I don't like vintage shops. The only good item I've ever got in a second hand shop (as they used to be called) was a beautiful Victorian christening gown for Son. And that was nearly twenty-six years ago. (Time flies). I still have it, for the next generation, and I truly … [Read more...]
Jazz and Swing in North London
Photo: BBC I've been loving the new BBC Two drama, Dancing on Edge directed by Stephen Poliakoff and starring the fantastic Chiwetel Eijofor and Matthew Goode, among other big stars. It's a story of a jazz and swing band in 1930's London, and the acting, direction, plot and above all … [Read more...]
Best Fish & Chips ever in North London
Last night, after the Six Nations Rugby, we couldn't be bothered to cook and decided to sample the fish and chips we'd heard a lot about in Muswell Hill. Toffs, on The Broadway is supposed to serve North London's best fish supper, so that's where we headed.Doing our usual 'fly-past' check, the place … [Read more...]
The Crouch End Festival 2013
This morning I had a great breakfast meeting in the award winning Crouch End cafe, The Haberdashery, with James Bridgman and Vicci Parker about next year's Crouch End Festival.The dates of the of the 2013 festival have now been set (7-16 June 2013), and the planning process is in full swing. There … [Read more...]
A Swedish Evening at The Haberdashery
I first noticed that The Haberdashery was a little different from the other coffee houses in our new London area of Crouch End because of this sign:It says, 'Unattended children will be given espresso and a free kitten.' I chuckled to myself all the way home - it was such a refreshing and funny sign … [Read more...]
It’s raining, it’s pouring…
For the first time ever, due to the low levels of rainfall, there's a hose-pipe ban in the UK this early in the year. The summer isn't even here, yet we are already suffering from drought. For my non-UK followers the ban means that we are not allowed to use a hosepipe to water our gardens … [Read more...]
Happy Father’s Day
We celebrated Father's Day in style: first Daughter made blueberry muffins for breakfast which she served with scrambled eggs and bacon and fried tomatoes.Father's Day breakfast.These blueberry muffins were still warm when we had them this morning. Then we made our way across North London to … [Read more...]
