See the Capel Bedyddwyr Cymreig

Your author likes to collect the churches of different cultural communities in London, and one interesting example which appeared on a recent walk around Fitzrovia is the Capel Bedyddwyr Cymreig, a Welsh chapel on Eastcastle Street, W1.


The chapel is the main London Welsh Baptist Chapel, and was built in 1889, a time of great movement to London by just about everyone, including those from Wales. As London became home to the largest Welsh community outside Wales itself, churches like this one were built to serve that community.

The chapel is now Grade II listed and is noted for its classical facade and corinthian colonnade portico screening front, which sounds impressive.

For more, see http://www.urban75.org/london/capel-bedyddwyr.html

Buy whiskies at Milroy's of Soho

Founded in the 1960s by brothers John and Wallace Milroy, Milroy's of Soho, on Greek Street, started life as a wine merchant. However, we are told that as the market for single malt whisky developed, the brothers became London ambassadors, and have been serving the people of Soho with fine whisky ever since.


When your author passed by yesterday afternoon, the shop was just gearing up for one of its regular whisky tastings - at a very civilised 5pm - and the team who manage the store today appear to be just as passionate about good whisky.

The store brands itself as the place to go for whisky in London, and your author is not able to argue, and if budgetary constraints prevent the purchase of anything as pricey as the 50 Year Old Highland Park at £10,000 a bottle, there's always Johnnie Walker miniatures for £2.50 a pop.

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

Explore the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition

Billed as the largest open contemporary art exhibition in the world, The Royal Academy's annual Summer Exhibition is always an interesting insight into the world of new art, and is now in full swing at Burlington House, on Piccadilly.


The exhibition has been running since 1769, when it began in a warehouse on Pall Mall, and the modern exhibition draws together a huge range of new works by various artists, curated by an rotating committee of Royal Academicians, with different people curating rooms.

It really is a great insight into what's going on in art, and when your author visited on Thursday, he was impressed by the sheer range of works covering every wall. Although, his inner London-knowledge-seeker was a bit too mesmerised by the models of future crossrail stations in the architecture room to be healthy.

This year's exhibition runs until 15th August. For more information, see http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/summerexhibition

Drink at the French House

A favourite of many of those who work around Soho, the French House styles itself as a bohemian hangout, and maintains its gallic stubbornness so well that it even refuses to serve beer in pint glasses.


Originally opened by a German, and subsequently owned by a Belgian, it wasn't until the Second World War that The French House took on its Frenchness, apparently being patronised by Free French Soldiers looking for a nice bar. It is even said that Charles De Gaulle wrote his famous speech, "À tous les Français" in the pub.

The French House subsequently became popular with local artists and writers, who enjoyed the bohemian style of the bar, with Brendan Behan, Dylan Thomas, Francis Bacon, Daniel Farson, Lucian Freud and John Mortimer all having apparently popped in at some stage.

The pub, which had previously been called The York Minster, changed its name in the 1980s, becoming The French House. Today it is known for its attractive downstairs bar, its wines and cocktails, and its atmospheric upstairs dining room.

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

Buy choice cuts at The Ginger Pig

Ginger Pig is a posh butchers with branches in Hackney, Marylebone, Borough Market and Waterloo. They aim to provide meat from the best, happiest animals, raised on Grange Farm, East Moor Farm and Blansby Park Farm in the North Yorkshire Moors.


Whether its Longhorn cattle, Tamworth pigs, or Dorset, Texel or Swaledale sheep, it's all jolly nice, and it's available all over town from well-trained butchers who know what they are doing.

And if this sort of thing really excites you, The Ginger Pig also does Butchery Classes under the tuition of their team of skilled butchers at the Marylebone store, but as with the meat itself it comes at a price.

For more information, visit http://www.thegingerpig.co.uk/

_{^Picture © alex_lee2001 used under Creative Commons^}

Drink at the Windsor Castle, Marylebone

If you're a royalist, or a fan of British eccentricities, the Windsor Castle, on Crawford Place in Marylebone, is everything you can hope for in a pub. There are trinkets and photos everywhere in the pub, all commemorating something or other, and it's a lovely spot to spend an evening.


A celebration of everything British, from the Queen Mother wall, to the handlebar moustache club photographs, the door is even guarded by a model Welsh Guard, in a sentry box. It's so British they even do genuine British Thai food - none of that American muck here.

If you want to thoroughly examine all the walls, it is probably best to arrive a bit earlier in the day, to give yourself time, and space, to take it all in, but you will probably drive yourself crazy trying to see it all. Probably best to just get a drink. You deserve it.

For more information, head over to the fantastic fancyapint.com

Dine at the Wallace Restaurant

Set in a glass atrium that is also home to the Wallace Collection's sculpture garden, the Wallace Restaurant is a French brasserie, which promises seasonal dishes with imported French ingredients.


Part of Peyton & Byrne's extensive museum and gallery cafe arsenal, the Wallace Restaurant is undoubtedly an atmospheric place, even if the main menu is a bit beyond your author's means.

The restaurant is open daily from for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, and also for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. For more information, visit http://www.thewallacerestaurant.co.uk/.

See the Soho Square Gardener's Hut

Though Soho Square was laid out in 1681, it wasn't until the end of the 19th century that a distinctive half-timbered Gardener's Hut was placed at the centre, which according to local legend contained the entrance to a secret tunnel that links to Buckingham Palace.


The most recent hut was, it is thought, built by the Charing Cross Electricity Company in the 1920s, to hide an electricity substation. Today, the two-storey hut is a Grade II listed structure, and is maintained by Westminster City Council. Architecturally, the shed is, we are told, an octagonal market cross building in the Tudorbethan style.

For more information, visit http://westminster.gov.uk/myparks/parks/soho-square/

Visit the Harcourt, London's Swedish pub

London is blessed with many cultural communities, and the Swedish are no different. One notable example of life in Swedish London is the Harcourt, a short distance from the Swedish Embassy, in the same road as a Swedish Church. For a few years now, the Harcourt has been London's Swedish Pub.


Many their bar staff are Swedish, and they sell Swedish Cider, show Swedish sports, host Swedish events and serve up Swedish food. It's all rather Swedish, and it's also a nice pub on a quiet street with decent prices.

For more click here or visit http://www.theharcourt.com/.

Buy books at Daunt Books, Marylebone

If you're looking for that last minute Christmas present, you could do worse than try the original Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street. A travel bookshop, with books arranged around the store by country, Daunt's main Edwardian store is known for its long oak galleries.


Its dark green and oak frontage, and beautiful interior with William Morris prints and skylights, have led to its being described as the most beautiful bookshop in London in the Daily Telegraph, and during the day the skylights also help to make the interior light and welcoming.

This is the perfect travellers bookshop. For more, see http://www.dauntbooks.co.uk/

Investigate the Malt Whisky Room at the Vintage House

Situated at 42 Old Compton Street, in the heart of Soho, the Vintage House is a family business, founded during the Second World War. The quintessential off-licence, it is excellently stocked, claiming to offer the World's largest list of malt whiskies.


During his time here, owner Malcolm Mullin has, apparently, sold wine to The Beatles and cigars to Angelina Jolie, mixed with legendary London gangsters, been shot at, and had a front row seat on all goings on in Soho for nearly forty years.

Alongside the whiskies, which are mostly to be found in a special room at the back of the store, the Vintage House also sells Armagnacs dating back as far as 1879, and an excellent range of fine wines, Cuban cigars, Liqueurs and other spirits.

Prices are as you might expect in this area of town, but if you're looking for something special for Christmas it is an excellent bet. For more information, click here.

View Lorenzo Quinn's Give & Take III

Installed in November 2009, Lorenzo Quinn’s Give & Take III is a four metre tall bronze sculpture which was placed in West London's Berkeley Square to coincide with the opening of Quinn’s solo exhibition, Equilibrium, at Mayfair’s Halcyon Gallery.


Originally intended to spend only six months in the Square, and be removed in May, it was still there two weeks ago when your author popped by, and is presumably still there now.

The sculpture took more than a year to create, and is cast from bronze and brass, weighing in at around 1,300kg. For more information, click here.

Attend a carol concert at St Martin in the Fields

This evening, the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields give one of their first Advent concerts with the Lord Nelson Brass Quintet in what is being billed as a 'vibrant celebration of Christmas'.


They will be playing seasonal favourites including O Come, All ye Faithful, Joy to the World, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, from about 6pm.

It's a bit steep, with entry costing £18, or £21 with mulled wine and a mince pie, but this is tourist central, and they have a fairly captive audience. For more information on the concert, which lasts around an hour, click here.

_{^Picture © James Cridland used under Creative Commons^}

Wander the Great Gallery at the Wallace Collection

The Great Gallery at Hertford House, the home of the Wallace Collection, and is home to many of great seventeenth-century paintings from the Old Masters.


The paintings in the space were collected from various European schools by the 4th Marquess of Hertford, and other members of his family, and are now exhibited daily for free as part of the Wallace Collection's unique offering.

Here, you can see paintings like Frans Hals' The Laughing Cavalier, Titian's
Perseus and Andromeda and Rembrandt's Titus, the Artist's Son.

The collection is free, and is open from 10am until 5pm, every day except 24th, 25th and 26th December. For more information on the Great Gallery, click here.

Visit Kiwi Fruits, the New Zealand Shop

Situated directly beneath New Zealand House, in the Royal Opera Arcade, Kiwi Fruits is a shop which began in 1983 and aims to supply homesick New Zealanders with everything they might need from the motherland.


Most of their offerings are imported directly from New Zealand, with everything from books to food, magazines, native wood crafts, ceramics, souvenirs and jewellery. They even stock traditional bone and pounamu carvings.

Aiming to be a home away from home for New Zealanders in Europe, your author really enjoys these type of shops. It is always very interesting to see people from any country try to create a piece of home in a new land.

For more on Kiwi Fruits, see http://www.kiwifruitsnzshop.com or pop in.

Browse the art at the William Weston Gallery

Founded in 1967, and named after its owner, the William Weston Gallery is located in the Royal Arcade, W1, and prides itself on being the longest established specialist gallery in England dealing in European and British Master Prints.


It is a commercial art gallery, but boasts that works which once hung on its walls are now in more than 50 museums and public collections around the country, and that Mr Weston himself is often called upon to act as a consultant and valuations advisor for 'proper' galleries and museums.

It's a pleasant little space, and only takes a few minutes to browse the works on offer, unless you're trying to prove that you really know about art, in which case you have to stare for ages. All the works, when your author popped in last week, were sadly beyond his means, but probably best that it is left to other people to buy them anyway. They will appreciate them more.

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

Shop for hardware at David Penton & Son

David Penton & Son, otherwise known as Penton's Hardware, is a great little hardware store that sells everything from screws to stepladders, as well as electrical and plumbing wares. Established in 1841, it has now been serving loyal locals for nearly 170 years


Your author has always been a fan of independent traders, and during a walk over the weekend was pleased to stumble across it, and some other excellent little shops, on Marylebone Lan, W1.

The window, and the interior, are absolutely brim-full of all different kinds of hardware, and if there is anything they don't have they are more than happy to order it in for you.

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

Escape the crowds at the Carpenters Arms, Seymour Place

A short distance from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street, and Edgware Road, the Carpenters Arms, in Seymour Place, W1, is a great little pub that provides a haven from all those people buying things they don't need.


Apparently established in 1776, and rebuilt in 1872, it is owned by Market Tavern, a small family-run pubco, with establishments in various places.

It claims to be home to the London branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, and whilst your author isn't sure if this is correct, it does have some fantastic ales on tap and the array of pump clips on show is a testament to this.

It's also a sport pub, but not in an overbearing way, and when your author was last in it had a mixed crowd of after-workers and all-dayers pleasantly whiling away their time.

For more, see http://www.markettaverns.co.uk/The-Carpenters-Arms/index.html