Buy Olympic tickets*

For those like your author who have been either too unlucky or too lazy to get their hands on any tickets to one of the sporting events that is taking place in London in the summer, today offers another opportunity to pay for tickets to the London Olympic Games.


We are told that a fairly staggering 900,000 tickets will begin to go on sale today from 11am, initially only to those who have already applied and been rejected for tickets. These representing contingency tickets, those returned by punters who no longer want them, and those that no one wanted in the first place.

Numbers include 47,000 for athletics in the Olympic Stadium and a further 70,000 tickets to skulk around the Olympic Park 'soaking up the atmosphere', which all begs the question why we were hyped into over committing to tickets we couldn't afford this time last year.

For more, see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9251955/London-2012-Olympics-900k-remaining-Games-tickets-up-for-sale-to-previously-unsuccessful-applicants-from-May-11.html

_{*Providing you meet the various incomprehensible conditions for the various sales of different categories of tickets which take place at various different forthcoming dates, one tranche of which is today}

Book a London at Dawn Photography Tour

One morning last month, your author rose at an ungodly hour to spend some time at the invitation of professional photographer Anthony Epes and black cabbie & certified tour guide Nick Mortimore touring the City of London. Joined by a small but determined ragbag team of London writers and journalists, it was an interesting way to observe the City as it woke to face another day.


Unlike many such things, the tour was both interesting and rewarding, with Mortimore a very knowledgeable London guide with plenty of information and London insight - gleaned from 25 years driving London's streets from North to South - and Epes brimming over with photography skills. The tour left Tower Pier and made its way up past the Tower of London and on into the City, past Bevis Marks and the Gherkin, and off towards Spitalfields before your author had to break away to bike into work.

Yes, the tours are expensive, and yes you have to get up whilst it's still dark and travel across London as the birds are only just beginning to stir, but seeing London in the early morning is a great experience, and often motivating oneself to do so needs a reason, so it helps to have the passion and interest that Mortimore and Epes offer in bags.

For more on their tours, see http://www.londonatdawn.com/

Drink Pigs Ear at the Pig's Ear

In some areas of West London, the age of the £4 pint is already upon us, and if you want to avoid it you should probably stay out of them altogether. Having said that, your author did pay this amount for a pint recently and felt it was acceptable.


Uley Pig's Ear is a beer rarely seen outside the wilds of Gloucestershire, and whenever your author sees it elsewhere he is always impressed. When chance took him out of his comfort zone to Award Winning Chelsea Gastro Pub the Pig's Ear a couple of weeks ago, where the beer brewed by Chas Wright with Cotswold Spring Water is a welcome regular, it was a pleasant surprise.

The pub is nice enough, but for any other beer it would be overpriced and full of Chelsea types. However, for a slice of home on a dark autumnal evening, it seemed good value.

For more about the pub, see http://www.thepigsear.info/

Drink by the fire at Egerton House

With the weather getting worse and the days getting shorter, your author finds himself increasingly looking for escapism, and so it was that he recently took up an invitation to spend an evening by the fire at Egerton House in Knightsbridge.


This isn't your author's usual habitat, but there is something magical about London's townhouse hotels, and Egerton House, built in 1843, is a five star hotel with just 28 rooms, giving it a wonderful feel but pushing the price of a beer by the fire beyond to £6, which is firmly in special occasion territory when the hotel isn't paying, as it was on this evening.

Having said that, an evening sat on the cosy sofa in front of the fire is something special, and the service and stories of head barman Antonio help to make it seem much less sterile and institutional than many London hotels.

For more, see http://www.egertonhousehotel.com/dining/bar

_{^Picture © Red Carnation Hotels^}

Window-shop at the Pullman Gallery

Established by Simon Khachadourian, and opened in 1998, the Pullman Gallery in St James' specialises in late 19th and early 20th Century objects, at prices that are well beyond the sorts of prices that ordinary people like us can afford.


Nevertheless, there are some interesting art deco objects on display, and so your author would suggest this is the sort of shop where window-shopping is appropriate. They can't stop us looking in the windows, can they?

The Pullman Gallery prides itself on having a good selection of Art Deco cocktail shakers, but also stocks all manner of fairly pointless frivolities like bar and smoking accessories, small-scale sculpture, automobile bronzes, scale racing car models, vintage posters and car mascots.

For more information, see http://www.pullmangallery.com

Stay in the Hendrix Suite at the Cumberland

Unlike Diamond Geezer, your author is open to occasional onslaughts from PR bods, especially when he gets to see things he might not otherwise. So, the other day he took up an invitation to take a tour of the Hendrix Suite at the Cumberland Hotel. The suite was unveiled in September to pay homage to the famous guitarist, who stayed in at the Cumberland shortly before his death in 1970.


To be honest, the result is a little odd. Billed in a carefully-worded release by the PR company as 'the famous Jimi Hendrix suite at the Cumberland Hotel, Marble Arch, once Jimi Hendrix’s luxurious place of residence', it turns out that Mr Hendrix never actually stayed in this room, just another on the same floor. So, there isn't very much history and some designers have installed a range of very garish décor, which is supposedly reminiscent of the Hendrix era.

However, the suite does overlook Oxford Street, and is light and airy with two bathrooms. It will certainly appeal to some, even if the price tag of £399 a night (according to the Telegraph) is reasonably high. If you fancy giving it a try you can even win a night at the hotel by entering a competition before 15th February.

To visit the competition page, click here.

Meet the animals at the Clore Rainforest Lookout

Opened in 2007 at London Zoo, aka ZSL, the Clore Rainforest Lookout allows visitors to get up into the rainforest canopy, face to face with tamarins, monkeys, marmosets, lemurs and pygmy marmosets. There is also an opportunity to wander at ground level and experience life on the forest floor.


Your author is constantly boring friends by talking about how London can provide all that life can afford, especially on grim wintry days like we have been having recently. However, as you trudge the street complaining of damp feet, or pointlessly press buttons in your featureless office, it's worth remembering that within half an hour you could be walking in the rainforest right in the middle of London.

Unfortunately, this being London Zoo, it can cost up to £19.80 per person to visit in peak season (full price list here), but a lot of that money does do towards conservation. ZSL London Zoo is open every day of the year except Christmas Day. For more information, click here.

_{^Picture © Louise Ireland used under Creative Commons^}

Drink at the Stafford's American Bar

The American Bar, at the Stafford Hotel in Mayfair, dates back to the 1930s, and since the 1970s has been the venue of an interesting tradition. Started when West End hotels began looking to the increasing American market arriving by ocean liner, it is now more famous for the tradition of guests leaving personal gifts for the hotel, which have over the years covered the walls and ceiling.


Your author popped in the other night with Rajul from London Hotel Insight, and found a spot amongst all the paraphernalia for a very pleasant drink, attended to by Benoit Provost, the head barman who has been at The Stafford for 12 years. The tradition began, we are told, when the walls were so bare that an American guest gave Benoit's predecessor a small wooden American eagle. This was duly followed by an eskimo, given by a Canadian, and a Kangaroo, given by an Australian.

Today, the bar is covered with yacht club flags, signed photographs and historical artefacts. These are kept alongside glasses which various royals have used on their visits, model aircraft from pilots who drank at the bar during the Second World War, given on their returns, and photographs of Nancy Wake, the highest decorated woman of the Second World War, who drank here when it was run by Louis Burdet, famous for his time as a leader of the French Resistance.

The only downside is the cost of drinks. This being a hotel in Mayfair, a pint is at least £5, so it's currently more like drinking in the Euro-zone than in America, and there is also the dress code - Jackets are mandatory for men. All this, and your author can't help wondering who will be the first hotel to beat the rush to designate a "Chinese Bar".

For more on the American bar, and see some better pictures, click here.

Dine in the Gallery at Fortnum and Mason

For National Afternoon Tea Week last week, your author had a very pleasant Afternoon Tea at the Gallery Restaurant, at Fortnum and Mason on Piccadilly.


The Gallery is on the mezzanine floor, overlooking the Fortnum's famous Food Hall on one side and has windows on two sides overlooking Jermyn Street and Duke Street on the other.

Many of the dishes feature items from the famous Food Hall, and the staff are excellent. The restaurant is open Monday to Saturday, 10am until 6pm, and Sundays from noon until 6pm.

For more, see http://www.fortnumandmason.com/the-gallery.aspx

Take it slow with the Slow London Guide

There's a lot of rushing to do in London, so sometimes we all need to take it a little bit slower, which is why your author was delighted to receive a free copy of the Slow London Guide recently. The book, part of a series of Slow Guides, is devoted to looking at London from a slower pace, without all the running from place to place usually involved in touristing, or living in a capital city.


Based around themes such as nature, taste, touch and travel, the concept is supposedly how you can get the most out of your time by fretting less, and examines some slow delights around town such as knitting groups, nature reserves, deck chairs, gardening, boat trips and DIY.

Your author's only criticism is the sheer volume of ideas packed into the guide, which also includes trips outside London, and even long distance sleeper trains. Whilst the guide has some brilliant ideas, it is rather busy at times and isn't as relaxing a read as it should be.

But the message is clear, slow down and you might enjoy life more. If only your author could make himself follow that mantra a bit more.

Slow London retails at £12.99, and for more you can have a look at their blog at http://slowguides.com/london

Take tea at Fortnum and Mason

Afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason, the department store established in 1707 by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason at 181 Piccadilly, is an institution. Afternoon tea is served from 12noon to 6.30pm, Monday - Saturday, or until 4.30pm on Sundays.


St James' Restaurant, on the fourth floor is one of London's most famous spots for Afternoon and High Tea, with teas specially selected from teas from around the world, and even a regular pianist.

It's not cheap, however, with prices ranging from £32 to £38 per person. Still, it's ok, and they were doing fine in your author's eyes until he read that they request that 'both sexes lean more towards elegance' in dress. That doesn't really mean anything at all.

For more, see http://www.fortnumandmason.com/stjames-restaurant.aspx

_{^Picture by Rich B-S^}

Eat at the Cinnamon Club

Your author is a very frequent visitor to Westminster, and has always wanted to visit the Cinnamon Club restaurant, housed in the Grade II listed Old Westminster Library, so when the kind people at The Cinnamon Club and LastMinute.com offered him the opportunity to come for a free meal and write a review recently, it couldn't be missed.


The Cinnamon Club prides itself on its Indian haute cuisine, using age old recipes and ideas and combining Indian ingredients with local produce and Indian cooking techniques with European design. Your author still doesn't quite know what that means, and was worried readers might not be able to afford the dizzy heights of the £75 tasting menu, so he kept to choices from the low end of the menu, and house wines.

The Smoked loin of lamb with Chettinadu curry sauce, however, was still very impressive and the friend with whom your author dined described her Crab risotto with truffle cappuccino and pan fried king prawn as 'the best thing [she'd] ever eaten', so we can certainly thank Executive Chef Vivek Singh and his team for their work. The front of house staff and waiter Nicholas also come highly commended for their attentive service.

The restaurant has a reputation amongst journalists, lobbyists, Senior Civil Servants and anyone with an expense account which is hard to dismiss in an area with a real dearth of stand-out restaurants. The former Library is also a great setting and there's even the chance of spotting a journalist or politician at the next table. Indeed, your author had his own eyespyMP moment on his visit when he noticed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Shaun Woodward eating at the next table.

The Cinnamon Club is markedly above your author's usual price range but if you stick to the lower end of the menu, it seems to be present something a bit special at a realistic(ish) price. It is certainly deserving of a return visit. For more, see http://www.cinnamonclub.com/

Rent the Hoover Building

Today's article was going to be just another "Admire the..." until your author realised that the wonderful Hoover Building, in North West London, appears to still be available for rent. The 31,443 sq ft Art Deco office building on the A40 Western Avenue dual-carriageway, was designed by Wallis, Gilbert and Partners and completed in 1932.


The building was granted Grade II listed status in 1980, and was in use until the late 1980’s. The factory was built to produce Hoover vacuum cleaners but also manufactured electrical equipment for aircraft and tanks during the war. Whilst part of the original factory is now a Tesco, it would appear that the self contained 'Hoover Building' which faces onto the road, and underwent a full refurbishment in 1997, is still available to anyone in need of the space, as long as they have money to burn.

A website which appears to be touting for potential occupants claims the current rent is £480,000 per annum, but it appears running costs and business rates would set you back another few hundred thousand pounds. Your author thinks its probably beyond his means at this time.

For more, see http://www.hooverbuilding.co.uk/

_{^Picture by stevecadman^}

Wander the Royal Arcade, Old Bond Street

Built in 1879, the Royal Arcade in Mayfair links 8 Old Bond Street with 12 Albemarle Street. Originally known as "The Arcade", it was renamed "The Royal Arcade" after Queen Victoria bought some items from a shirtmaker named H.W. Brettell, who had opened his Shirtmakers at Number 12 the Arcade in 1880.


The arcade's freehold is apparently owned by a trust in the name of Reginald M Phillips, who was a Brighton based property developer, philanthropist and award winning stamp collector who donated his collection to the nation.

For more information, and a list of shops, see http://www.mayfair.org.uk/shopping/royal-arcade

_{^Picture by garryknight^}

Go shopping in Britain's first shopping arcade

Opened in 1819, Mayfair's Burlington Arcade was Britain’s very first shopping Arcade, and still claims to be the longest covered shopping street in England. You have to be pretty rich if you want to build a shopping arcade in Mayfair to stop people throwing stuff over your wall, but that's apparently why Lord George Cavendish built the Burlington Arcade, so sick was he with passers-by throwing oyster shells into his garden.


The arcade is pretty upmarket, and there is little the likes of your author would realistically want to buy. It is pretty, however, and its smart uniform shop fronts and a glazed roof are given even more charm by the uniformed Burlington Arcade Beadles who patrol the length in top hats and tailcoats, claiming to be the smallest police force in the world.

When the arcade opened, the Beadles were hired to ensure that no whistling, singing, playing of musical instruments and running took place. These rules were reputedly to stop thieves and pick-pockets from communicating and fleeing, but the carrying of large parcels, opening of umbrellas or use of babies’ prams in the arcade was also forbidden.

These rules are still enforced to this day and your author can certainly vouch for it, having faced the wrath of a senior Beadle and narrowly avoided ejection whilst attempting a test whistle in December. For more on all aspects of the arcade, see http://www.burlington-arcade.co.uk/

_{^Picture by Phil_Parker^}

Go to a wine tasting at Harrods

Harrods food halls are as famous as the rest of the store for the depth and breadth of their offerings. You can get almost anything in the world you want if you have enough money to spend, so it should be no surprise that their wine cellar is also well stocked, and they want to show it off.


The wine tasting events at Harrods are monthly, and offer you the chance to taste a different type or region of wine each month, with a selection of canapés and the chance to pick up certain wines at an exclusive 10% discount. Your author still thinks it will all still be terribly expensive.

Tickets to wine tastings cost £25 per person. For more information, and to book, call 020 7893 8777, or see the Harrods website here.

_{^Picture by sonictk^}

Take a carving class at Simpson's-in-the-Strand

Simpson's-in-the-Strand, beside the Savoy Hotel, was opened in 1828 as a chess club and coffee house called The Grand Cigar Divan. It went on to establish a reputation as the "home of chess", attracting everyone who was anyone in 19th century chess. Famous customers have included Vincent Van Gogh, George Bernard Shaw, Benjamin Disraeli, William Gladstone and, of course, the man who seemingly ate at every London establishment at one time or another, Charles Dickens.


The restaurant specialises in traditional British fare, and joints of meat are delivered to tables on silver-domed trolleys and carved there. In fact, so much part of Simpson's is this that they offer weekly 'carving classes', admittedly at a hefty cost £150, on Sundays throughout the year.

Under the tuition of chef Gerry Rae, student carvers receive a 90 minute lesson, practising on a variety of joints, and are then given a presentation carving knife and fork, a certificate of competence and lunch. Following this, friends and family of the student are encouraged to come for post lesson lunch where the carver can show off their new skills.

For more information, visit http://www.simpsonsinthestrand.co.uk/classes.php

_{^Picture by phototram^}

Tour Spencer House

Built for an ancestor of Princess Diana in the 1700s, Spencer House was returned to its original style by one of the Rothschilds in the 1980s.


Sure, for most of us that sounds pointless and like there's no reason for visiting, but you never know who's reading. Maybe someone who loves Princess Diana loads and loads...

The house is open every Sunday, except during January and August, from 10.30am - 5.45 pm by guided tour and tickets cost £9. Your author promises to try to find something better to do tomorrow, as this sounds a bit dull!

_{^Picture from wikipedia^}

Eat ice cream at the Queen's grocery shop

Right in the centre of town, opposite the Royal Academy, Fortnum & Mason, at 181 Piccadilly, was established in 1707 by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason. The store has held Royal Warrants for over 150 years, and specialises in food fit for kings.


Whilst this is not ordinarily your author's thing, he has previously been tempted by sweet-toothed friends to the the Parlour Restaurant, on the First Floor. The Parlour specialises in overpriced ice creams, but they are certainly a cut above a 99 and there are a range interesting flavours on offer.

For more information visit the website at http://www.fortnumandmason.com/Our-Restaurants/Parlour-Restaurant.aspx.

Click here to see the location on a map.

See the Cabinet War Rooms

In the heart of Westminster, beneath the Treasury Building and opposite an imposing statue of Clive of India is a small doorway, made a little more conspicuous nowadays by the sandbags and the sign.

This is the entrance to the Cabinet War Rooms, where Winston Churchill and his cabinet spent much of the war. Part of a larger complex which runs beneath much of Whitehall, the rooms were the heart of Government during the Blitz, and it was here that many of the decisions which led to eventual victory were taken.

Churchill and his family and private staff lived down here for long periods of time and had their own suite of nine rooms, now called the Churchill Suite, and Churchill famously had a special telephone scrambler system with which he spoke directly to President Roosevelt disguised as the Prime Minister's lavatory.

The underground complex was designed with the prospect of widescale bombings of London in mind and is covered by a thick layer of concrete up to three metres thick.

The war rooms are interesting, but are almost eclipsed by the Churchill Museum which also shares the site. This gives a fascinating insight into the life of the man himself.

The price is a little steep at £12.95 a head, but worth it in your author's opinon for the combination of two museums and the insight into the subterranean lives of the war time leadership.

For more information visit the website at http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/.

Click here to see the location on a map.

*Edit* - IanVisits raises the prospect of visiting another, less well known, subterranean London War Cabinet bunker here (full details here).

^{^Picture from Wikipedia under Wikimedia Commons^}