1893: Bruxelles. 1989: Paris. 2012: Londres.

Moules frites mega chain with humble Brussels roots and a massive presence in France (not quite to the extent of, say, Pizza Express here in the UK but that’s a pretty good analogy), Léon de Bruxelles takes a leap across La Manche to have a go at British (and presumably Euro tourist and expat) punters with a new Soho restaurant.

Adding to the nine Chez Léon eateries in Belgium and close to 70 Léon de Bruxelles sites in France,
Léon takes over the old Med Kitchen location at the nexus of Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue. Set in the bustling heart of London with a cavernous space to fill, the restaurant seemed to be doing a pretty good job of placing bottoms in seats during our Friday evening visit with a steady stream of customers flowing in and for the most part appearing especially pleased when leaving. And if those customers were fans of moules frites and Belgian beer, it’s easy to see why they enjoyed Léon so much.

The restaurant does breakfast, lunch and dinner and features a ‘something for everyone’ kind of menu. But the best (only?) reason to visit this place is for the mussels … which are excellent. Served in large cocottes with perfectly crisp frites on the side along with a basket of bread for sopping up all the savoury sauce, Léon’s moules frites are available in a range of ten different styles – from classic Marinière to Ardennaise (with white wine, crème fraiche, smoked bacon and mushrooms) to mussels in a light Madras curry sauce – and priced between £11 and £16. Londonist can vouch for the Ardennaise and the Madras options (we’ll be back!).

What better to accompany the famed Belgian duo than a Belgian beer? Léon’s own micro brewed house draft (6% ABV, £3.50 for a half pint) is commendably cloudy choice and goes well with a number of selections. Spirits, cocktails, wine, soft drinks and a Belgian-centric but international (you can get a Guinness or a Corona for example) beer list round out the drinks menu.

Room for dessert? Yep you guessed it, Léon’s got waffles from £3 (covered in icing sugar) to £8 (for a banana split extravaganza) along with an assortment of other sweet treats.

Service is especially friendly and keen to accommodate (if still getting the hang of things after a soft launch a week or so ago). The setting is comfortable and attractive. The location is about as convenient and central as they come.

Léon de Bruxelles is located at 24 Cambridge Circus, WC2H 8AA.

Photo/Chris Osburn 

A new initiative in Soho is trying to cut down on plastic waste by only giving customers a straw on request. Although the wee tubes make up just a small fraction of the total amount of plastic crap that ends up in landfill and (due to the ease with which they end up down drains) oceans, they’re an easy single-use item target that could make more of us stop and think whether we really need to use all this stuff.

So far, 18 restaurants have signed up, including Barrafina, Randall and Aubin, Wahaca and Ducksoup. And although it started in the heart of London, the message is already spreading as far as Shoreditch (Pizza East), Somerset and Berlin, where they take recycling very seriously.

Now the campaign needs to tackle a small stumbling block – McDonald’s, with its 3.5m drinks-with-straws a day – and they’ll really be onto something.

Photo by emmlpop from the Londonist Flickr pool

The gallery closed in September 2010, anticipating 14 months of nomadic existence, but its work has continued with off-site exhibitions (like the Deutsche Borse Prize at P3 and the site specific Soho Project), a satellite shop and print sales outlet on Warren Street and an ever excellent talk and events programme.

Six months later than expected, the revamped gallery will open its more welcoming doors in May with the hope that the ground-floor cafe — which will be run in partnership with Soho star deli, Lina Stores — will make the Photographers’ Gallery a busy, buzzy place to hang out.

Edward Burtynsky’s large-scale photographs from his widely acclaimed series OIL and video and sculpture work from Raqs Media Collective will adorn the exhibition space, which has been extended by two storeys. Sandwiched between the main exhibition spaces a ‘studio floor’ has been introduced, specifically designed for the education programme and creating a dedicated space for talks, workshops and archive study.

Controversy has attached itself to the new building during the renovation work. The gallery was accused of copyright infringement by photographer John Goldsmith after the architect unwittingly used one of his images in promotional material for the new building; not the gallery’s fault, but embarrassing nonetheless. Furthermore, in the past 18 months the V&A has also opened a new photography gallery, while work is underway on a London branch of the National Media Museum. Some have suggested that the Photographers’ Gallery is out of touch with the contemporary photography world, and questioned whether, given the increase in competition, a dedicated gallery is really necessary. We’ll find out in a few months time.

Artist’s Impression of the Redeveloped Photographers’ Gallery © The Photographers’ Gallery, London /CGI created by Maganglo Ltd.

Tom and Ed Martin, the dudes behind ETM Pubs (The Cadogan Arms, The Well, The Gun and more) have “injected new life” into The Angel & Crown, a pub that’s been at 58 St Martin’s Lane since 1727. The opening marks ETM’s West End debut. There’s a decent selection of cask ales such as Sambrook’s Junction, Adnams Bitter and Spindri as well as rotating guest seasonal brews and craft bottled beers like Dark Star Espresso Stout from Sussex. The menu (pheasant sandwich with parsnip crisps, Clonakilty black pudding Scotch eggs, Herdwick mutton hot pot; braised rabbit…) is decidedly British. Two and three course pre-theatre menus are available daily between 5pm – 6.30pm and a post theatre menu is also available between 10pm – 11pm for a late night supper.

Bistro du Vin Soho has launched an afternoon tea with a “putting the G back into the T” option offering a gin and tonic served from a China cup. Prices start at £14.50. Teas come from Miller Harris and Canton Tea Company. All teas must be booked in advance.

Charlotte’s Bisto in Chiswick (our interview with Chef Wesley Smalley here) is hosting a Game Night on 23 January from 7pm. Londonist has had a go at Smalley’s menu and reckons it’s a winner of a feast. Among the dishes to be served, we hold Smalley’s venison tartare, anchovy sabayon, pickles and crudites and bitter chocolate in very high regard. Drinks will be served upon arrival followed by a sit down seven course menu “celebrating seasonality, quality local produce and modern British cooking at its best.” Wesley will join guests in the dining room after dinner to talk about the menu. Tickets cost £58 per person. There’s an additional £38 for the wine pairing.

On Wednesday 25 January from 6.30pm at Whitechapel Gallery, artist Hannah Collins will discuss “the crossover between the visual and culinary arts” with famed elBulli chef Ferran Adrià. The event will launch the publication The Fragile Feast: Routes to Ferran Adrià by Hannah Collins. Last we checked tickets were still available and priced from £7.

Clerkenwell’s Argentine steakhouse, A La Cruz, is hosting a cordero entero (whole lamb) winter supper club on 1 February from 7.30pm. Slow cooked on a traditional Argentine asador for four hours, the crispy and succulent lamb’s the star of the feast. But your £40 ticket also gets you a plate of three starters, a taster of beef fillet from the charcoal grill, accompanying sauces and for dessert panqueques filled with dulce de leche. Gorgeous. Septima wines will be specially selected to match the meal and available to buy by the glass or bottle on the night.

Photo/Paki Nuttah

If you lack the ‘Master’s Degree in City politics’ required to play the City of London Board Game, how about a more esoteric, meandering, booze-fuelled challenge in the shape of Soho! – the most peculiar board game from those nice people at Smoke?

We featured it in Santa’s Lap last year but since Smoke say it’s still available, we couldn’t resist punting it your way again. It’s still £15 p&p and if you get moving quick, you can probably get it in time for Christmas.

While you’re placing your order, stick some back issues of Smoke in your sack too.

More Londony Christmas gift ideas are compiled here.

Just a quick post to say if you’re around Soho tomorrow morning (14 December) from 8-10am, Giraffe Bar & Grill (11 Frith Street, W1D 4RB) is offering one free meal along with soft drink or hot drink from the resto’s new “Wide Awake Breakfast” menu to each guest with no purchase necessary. Meal choices include country ham, aged cheddar and smoked tomato bloomer butty, a sweet waffle topped with Greek yoghurt, fresh strawberries and orange blossom honey, a “brekkie burrito” of scrambled eggs, chorizo, jalapeno chillies, cheddar cheese, avocado and salsa wrapped in a tortilla or the bangers and eggs (fried or scrambled) on a toasted doorstop of bloomer.

Photo/Alex_Pink 

Dusty "O" and the cast of the Soho Cares Christmas single

If you’re looking for a community project with a difference, step forward the crew behind the seasonal single Christmas In Soho by Dusty “O” and the Soho Cares Singers.

Like a gay Band Aid, the song gathers together a chorus of luminaries from the London cabaret scene including professional controversialist David Hoyle, the Trannyshack Gurlz and the song’s co-writer herself Dusty “O” (David Hodge to his mum) alongside quite a few locally-based professional musicians like Dead or Alive’s Jay Jon, 1960s star Mari Wilson and the Mickey Mouse-alike Marc Massive.

Written by BoiSounds Music, the song was recorded at Ray Davies’ Konk Studios in Hornsey while the video was filmed in the Barbican’s Victims Of Glamour. We haven’t seen the final version of the latter but the behind-the-scenes footage makes for interesting viewing.

As well as the singers giving up their time for free, this project was made possible through donations from The Yard, The Edge, Ku Bar and Circa as well as donations from Soho establishments plus a bring and buy sale at Madame Jojo’s.

You can purchase the song at iTunes from today, proceeds from which will go towards the non-profit organisation Status set up to encourage people to get tested for HIV.

Little Knitted Nel by Deadly Knitshade

Stitch London supremo, Deadly Knitshade, shares workspace with three of those responsible for the book at the Fleece Station in Depford. She kindly filled us in on the story:

It’s about a gal growing up in London. Her dad was inspired to name her Nel after she was conceived under a billiards table in a London pub.

The book features the Notting Hill Carnival, Dagenham (you can even see the Ford factory in the background of one pic), a lovely London bus garage, St Pauls, some peeks at 60s London shops and styles, and a scene set in the chaos of the July 7th bombings. It’s also a glimpse into the suburbs of London’s past and present with old school corner shops, Wimpy, cinemas, school playgrounds, and greasy spoons. The ever-present double decker bus trundles through many of the stories too.

All the profits from sales of the book go to housing charity Shelter and to get the money rolling in, Ms Knitshade has created Little Knitted Nel, who will be auctioned off at the public launch party at Gosh! Comics tomorrow night.

Knitted Nel is a one-of-a-kind, complete with purple pants (apparently folk are always asking if Knitshade’s knitty characters have knickers and this one does). She’s the Nel of 2012 – a year after the novel’s close – and so a very special continuation of the story. If you want to bid for lovely Little Knitted Nel, email Gosh info@goshlondon.com with the subject heading “I want to bid on Knitted Nel!” and your bid and contact details in the body of the email.

Nelson the graphic novel is available to buy at £18.99 and would make a rather lovely Londony gift. Join the party at Gosh, Berwick Street, Soho on Friday 25 November from 6pm.

How the plaque might look.

English Heritage are embroiled in a minor tussle over the wording of a new blue plaque:

Phyllis Dixey 1914 to 1964, Striptease Artiste lived here in flat number 15.

The proposed plaque would adorn an Art Deco mansion block in Surbiton, and would presumably be the first English Heritage recognition of this form of entertainment in London.

Its dedicatee was the first stripper to appear in the West End, starting a tradition of performance nudity whose ever-raunchier protagonists made Soho famous in the post-war years. Phyllis Dixey‘s relatively tame shows in the 1940s attracted police attention and she soon became a household name, dubbed the Queen of Striptease. Her life story was told in the 1978 film The One and Only Phyllis Dixey, starring Lesley-Anne Down.

Dixey’s life sounds remarkable, and she certainly influenced London’s cultural scene. A plaque, then, seems appropriate. Disagreements over the wording threaten to derail the gesture, however. On one side, English Heritage and the British Music Hall Society (who proposed the plaque) favour the phrase ‘striptease artiste’. Residents of the Surbiton block and Dixey’s family would prefer something less ouvert. Nobody can think of a wording that keeps everyone happy. ‘Actress’ is too bland, and ‘burlesque’ is inaccurate.

So, can we think of a description that would do Dixey justice without compromising the prudish sensibilities of the Surbitonians?

It’s the game which gives this new D&D venue atop Floridita its name, with carom boards provided in the bar area so guests can discover the weird hybrid of table billiards, shuffleboard and air hockey for themselves. You might even be able to savour a cocktail made with the other kind of carom at the same time, as the drinks team have put together an impressive selection of tipples with an Indian theme. Don’t worry, it’s much classier than a garam masala mojito – it has been done! - with offerings instead using subtle spicing and regional ingredients such as Indian wines and whiskies. They’re also going all out on the oh so British G&T, stocking a large selection of boutique brands in both the gin and the tonic departments in honour of the drink being first created in India, rather than on our humble shores.*

The bar’s Indian leanings play warm-up act to the main restaurant event. Tucked around the corner, and decked out like a sleek but slightly S&M nightclub, every part of the service is flawless as we encounter dish after dish of regional specialities from the sub-Continent that span the ubiquitous to the unusual.

A light and zingy dish of Kerala sea bass in a mango, coconut and ginger sauce and an earthily dark and rich Goan spiced beef curry are entirely antithetical but claim joint top spot in our list of highlights. Meltingly tender lamb chops are also up there – they’re served more well done than we would normally say we liked them, but 24 hours of being marinated in yoghurt, turmeric and papaya seeds prior to their session in the tandoor has obviously worked some magic.

Tandoori pineapple with star anise and fennel seeds, and other palate refreshing puddings of the kind you’d never find in your local curry house close the show. That’s unless you decide to stay for a whisky or two, which is a tempting proposition given the array of Indian single malts being offered. Yep, we’re staying…

Carom is part of the (slightly confusingly branded) Meza complex at 100 Wardour Street, W1F 0TN. Visit www.danddlondon.com.

*In the joint name of pedantry and patriotism, we feel we should point out that the G&T’s creators were almost certainly part of the British Navy, having sailed from Plymouth which was at the time the largest producer of gin in the world.

This Sunday evening, Pallot is doing an acoustic session for Gaydar at LoProfile on Wardour Street in Soho. As Pallot excels at stripped-down sessions with just guitar (and sometimes piano), this promises to be a very special evening. She also tends to surprise with the odd cover version here and there (at the Shepherds Bush show she did a cover of Beyoncé’s Craze In Love as well as a mash-up of Better Than Today, the track she wrote for Kylie Minogue, with Prince’s Raspberry Beret), so there are bound to be some treats in store.

Here’s a reminder of Nerina’s most recent single, Turn Me On Again, which she recently revealed was “about shagging”. Oo-er!

Doors open at 5pm. Tickets (on the door – £5). There will be support from Lily and the Hackabouts. Find out more at www.nerinapallot.com

Iberico pork and Portuguese bread pudding at the Corner Room

Michelin starred Nuno Mendes is offering excellent fine dining value for money with a two courses for £15 lunch at his Corner Room bistro located within Bethnal Green’s Town Hall Hotel. A visit is highly recommended and may result in one of the best meals you’ll have this year (especially if the Iberico pork is on the menu). But be warned, the Corner Room has a strict “no phone, no email, no bookings, just walk-ins” policy.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is helping raise funds to benefit FoodCycle through a “Boorito” Halloween fundraiser. Customers visiting Chipotle restaurants on Monday, 31 October from 6pm until 11pm in fancy dress “inspired by the family farm such as humanely raised animals, family farmers, or locally grown veggies” will be treated to a burrito, order of tacos, salad, or burrito bowl for only £2, and Chipotle will donate proceeds to local charity FoodCycle which combines volunteers, surplus food and spare kitchen space to create nutritious meals for people at risk of food poverty.

Wahaca‘s Wardour Street restaurant will launch a new Azulito bar on its lower ground floor where guests can “enjoy delicious tequila cocktails, listen to a selection of DJs mixing Mexican contemporary urban music, and challenge their friends to a few games of table football.” More importantly, the bar will offer a collection of “purely 100% agave tequilas” that will be unrivalled in the UK. There will be a “tequila cage” where customers can get up close to read tasting notes and inspect the tequilas that they may want to drink. The Azulito bar will be open to the public 2 November, just in time for Day of the Dead celebrations.

The Art of Dining will present a WWII era pop up dinner on 3-5 November (7.30pm to late with dinner served at 8.30) in a secret East London location. Called Rations, the pop up will feature a six course menu with dishes such as gourmet spam, brown bread ice cream and peppermint creams as well as a cocktail upon arrival and complimentary port with a cheese course. There will be a wartime bar and guests are also welcome to bring their own drinks. To reserve a place for a “compulsory donation” of £45, visit www.theartofdining.co.uk.

To celebrate its 20 years in the biz, Big Easy will sell BBQ baby back ribs at £5.95 and margaritas for 95p. The special discount will only be available 8 November. Sound good? It’s worth noting that the 95p margaritas will be limited to four per person and only when ordered alongside a main meal.

Londonist asks that most pressing of daily concerns: where to go on your lunch break.

C’mon ya know you want it. A bit of American style grease served in a 1950s setting. Londonist recently elbowed up to this Soho institution for an indulgent lunch break. And by indulgent we mean a “Best of Ed’s” combo plate #2 (a chilli cheese dog with fries, onion rings and coleslaw, £8.95) along with a freshly made vanilla milkshake (£3.75). The all beef hot dog was proper fast food. And the shake … ooh the shake … was a metal canister of cold milky yumminess with enough leftover in the canister for another full serving.

Beyond the mega-milkshake, it’s worth noting that all portions were massive (really ordering for one and then sharing with someone should still leave most folks full) that service was speedy and friendly and that the Elvis and vintage rock n roll background music added to the streamlined comfort ambiance.

Flipping burgers and pouring milkshakes for 25 years, Ed’s in Soho seems to be a perennial favourite. It’s certainly been bustling each time we’ve paid a visit over the years. And the concept has proved popular enough to have Ed spread to three more locations in London and three others in the UK (including a newly opened franchise in Cardiff).

Ed’s Easy Diner is located at 12 Moor Street at Old Compton Street, W1D 5NG.

Photo/Chris Osburn

Londonist visited Ed’s Easy Diner upon invitation of the restaurant.

Having burst onto the London dining scene with two restaurants in a relatively short time, Bistro du Vin in Clerkenwell (our review here) and Soho, Bistro du Vin are now firmly established in town. Calling the foodie shots and managing the quality control for these and the entire Hotel du Vin chain is Group Executive Chef, Keith Shearer.

How did you get into cooking as a career? What in your background led to your being a chef?
I left school at 16 and went to Telford College to start a two year caterering course. I started working in various hotels around Edinburgh, before going to south of France (Pergignon) and working in some local brasseries. I did that for six months and then started working in Gragendairoch hotel in Ballater, Scotland, 3* Michelin red M restaurant for 13 months. I then left to work in the recently refurbished Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, in all the restaurant and banqueting over a two and a half year period. This was a huge learning curve, not just on how to cook but also how to get organised. I left the Balmoral and went to work at the Regent/Four Seasons hotel, now the Landmark in London, worked there for 6 months before going back to Edinburgh and joining Malmaison, that was over 15 years ago. I have also been responsible for the Hotel du Vin kitchens for the last seven years.

So, what exactly does a Group Executive Chef do?
My main responsibilities are to create an understanding of what the HDV food culture and food philosophy is. I educate the chefs about the standards that they need to achieve. I work to make sure that all the chefs, from HC to commi, know what our style is and what our values are regarding to the food, how to work with our the suppliers, how to define and implement the buying principles, the kitchen etiquette, the working procedures and how to deliver within our budgets. We have a very strong development culture, where half of our 30 head chefs are internally promoted. Training and development has a huge priority in our company, where we work with our people and development team to ensure that we are focused on the training needs of our kitchen team.

How do your Clerkenwell and Soho locations differ? And what are their different needs?
Both bistros have been designed to have great simple food, a discerning wine offering and unfussy service. Clerkenwell has our meat maturation room where we can age all our beef to our own exact standards. This gives us much greater control over the quality of the beef we can offer our guests. In Soho we have built our own cheese and charcutière room.  We have created this, in collaboration with “Le Cave du Fromage” (our cheese supplier),  to introduce a more bespoke and discerning cheese and charcutière offering. We have over 80 cheeses and 25 different hams, salamis, saucisson, terrines and confits. I feel that for Soho, we need to be aware that we have more tourist as our guests; so menus and prices need to be designed to meet this need. It also means guests can be more transient. Clerkenwell tends to have a lot more return customers and has already created its own group of regulars.  They need recognition of their loyalty!

With a name like Bistro du Vin, having a stellar wine list is obviously a big part of what your restaurants aim to do best. How closely do you work with your wine buyer(s) and sommeliers? And how does a focus on wine affect your menues?
The chefs work closely with the sommeliers to create wine matching or special wine dinners. We have great relationships with lots of wine makers and are frequently doing dinners to show case new vintages or new producers looking to promote their wine. The sommeliers always have an input on the menus, in terms of recommendations and training.  We all know that we are working in Bistro du Vin, and have to make sure that we all support one another in trying to deliver a great dinning experience.

What kind of experience do you think customers are looking for when they decide to visit a Bistro du Vin?
I feel they want great unfussy food – bistro classics like dressed crab, oysters, steak tartare, sole bonne famme, king scallop Mornay, all made from the best food available. Chefs who can show restraint with the food preparation and allow the great produce to be the star. We are not about making chefs’ ego food! The wine should be relaxed but sophisticated. You know you have someone who is passionate about wine and knows his subject, but will not bore the ears off you showing you it. Service needs to be friendly and unobtrusive, professional and efficient, And above all, we need to deliver great value for money.

Where do you like to go when dining out in London? Where do you shop for your home kitchen?
The places that I like are Koffman’s at the Berkeley, Chez Bruce in Wandsworth, Bar Boulud, Le Caprice and Pizza East.

For home shopping there is nothing better than farmers’ markets. Meeting like minded people who love what they do. It always makes everything taste better knowing that a lot love and care has gone into producing those products.

Bistro du Vin is located at 38-42 St John St, EC1M 4AY and 36 Dean Street, W1D 4PS.

Laurence Lynch with Soho legend Sebastian Horsley

It’s fair to say Laurence Lynch is not your average plumber. Working in Soho by day and drinking there by night, he has tested taps and checked the piping for (amongst others) Norman Tebbit and the Rupert St brothels. He taught Colin Firth football basics ahead of his role in Fever Pitch and was a pallbearer for another client, Soho legend Sebastian Horsley. From next Friday, his first play, Burnt Oak, will be showing at the Leicester Square Theatre, one of his clients.

Introduce yourself in one sentence.
I have been a plumber for 34 years, the last 20 of which I have been based in Soho unblocking toilets in bars, brothels and churches.

What would someone not guess about you having met you?
Someone would not guess I have written a play, I was in the Territorial Army in the Duke of York barracks, I played in what was judged to be the best chess game in the Martel London Chess League, I am both chairman and president of the Beaujolais Nouveau Society established in 1970s Soho.

When did you decide to become a playwright?
I decided to become a playwright ten years ago when an incident happened to a friend of mine. I pretty much locked myself away for months and had probably gone mad but I was driven to write the play and almost didn’t surface until I had written it. I had no training whatsoever and had failed resoundingly at school.

How autobiographical is Burnt Oak? Are any of the characters based on people you know?
It’s very autobiographical and all the characters are based on people or incidents that have happened. My best analogy for writing the play is compiling a giant jigsaw puzzle and making all the pieces fit together to make a coherent work. However, it is still a work of fiction.

What do you most remember about your working class upbringing in North London?
Being brought up as a child in 1960s North London almost never done me any harm. I had a good friend and we would spend our days exploring old derelict buildings and shops. We were really quite feral but it all seemed very exciting and we lived without any fear. However, when I left home and moved into Grahame Park estate in Colindale, it was a very oppressive and isolating environment. I couldn’t wait to get on the Northern line and get to Camden or Hampstead for a drink. I loved Camden at that time, it had everything, great pubs, music, and people. Now it just seems to be about selling t-shirts and shoes and I hate shopping.

Do you go to a barber or hairdresser? Could you recommend one to us?
I go to an old Italian barber, Pasquale, he’s been in Soho since the early 1970s – he’s on the first floor above Bar de Marche on Berwick Street Market, he’s been there for donkeys and only does one haircut which is the approved Soho haircut for the working man, £10, very reasonable indeed.

Describe Soho in five words.
Tolerant, tight-knit, entertaining, premenstrual, nocturnal.

You gave Colin Firth some football tips ahead of his performance in Fever Pitch. Does he know the offside rule now?
Nobody knows the offside rule, the referees will tell you that, but Colin took to football like a duck to water. He is one of the brightest people I have ever had the privilege to spend time with. He wanted me to give him a heads up on what it was like to be a football fan, from my perspective it was taking as much liquid protection as possible before the 90 minute ordeal. It was good to find someone with no football team or allegiance because then you can start the brainwashing so with me and Nick Hornby he never had much of a chance, poor fellow.

Do you have a favourite football team?
I am Arsenal.

How did you get to know Sebastian Horsley? 
I done Sebastian’s plumbing for him which is my profession however Sebastian would ask me to do all the work in his flat, some of which I was pretty poor at, like putting up light fittings and repairing floor boards. On one occasion he asked me to repair his overused wooden Victorian bed which I had an attempt at and failed. Sebastian said to me, ‘call yourself a f***ing carpenter?’ I said, ‘I am a plumber Sebastian and my bed repair work is for domestic not commercial use’, to which he said, ‘I prefer the word industrial’. He was a top man in a top hat, as brave as they come and I will always miss him.

Hamish McAlpine, the producer of your play, had a famous punch-up with his director Larry Clark some years ago. How did you two get along?
We are the best of friends and neighbours, no blows exchanged. He has taken me to Wimbledon and I have taken him to Arsenal. Neither of us expected to be working creatively together but it is very rewarding and, touch wood and whistle, ‘Burnt Oak’ will be a big success.

Would you ever go back to being a plumber full-time? Would you recommend that profession to today’s youngsters?
I haven’t given up plumbing, I can’t afford to. The best thing about plumbing is you get out and about meeting people ‘everybody needs a plumber sometimes’. I look up at that Shard being erroneously built in London Bridge and would be horrified at the prospect of looking out that window for 35 years selling your house in Gravesend and moving to Littlehampton. I would rather push a barrow round collecting scrap metal.

Finally, what are your insider London tips?
I love pubs. Soho and Covent Garden still have some great pubs. My secret (if it is one) is that The Crack is normally better during the day than when it is mobbed at night, that is when we give it over to the revellers, the suits and the screamers. The Harp in Chandos Street, The Blue Posts – both Berwick Street and Rupert Street – the French House, Bradley’s the Spanish bar in Hanway Street which has a wonderful old vinyl juke box.

Burnt Oak is a tense thriller with trainee hairdresser Susan caught between her ex-con father and her dipso boyfriend Nobby. Directed by Nathan Osgood, recently seen in BBC’s The Shadow Line and produced by Hamish McAlpine – the boss of indie flick publishers Tartan Films – Burnt Oak will be at Leicester Square Theatre until 3 September.

Cape Verde is Andrade’s proper homeland and her music is deeply anchored in the islands’ many song styles, which are themselves the product of cross-Atlantic seafaring. Cape Verdean music is a hybrid of Cuban and Brazilian dances, European songs, African rhythms and more, and Andrade, one of world music’s biggest stars, is one of its most important ambassadors. She plays two nights at Ronnie Scott’s this month (18 and 19 July) on a tour to promote her third album, an unplugged live set.

We caught up with Mayra ahead of her visit to London.

Congratulations on your Studio 105 album. Why did you decide to release a live record as your third album?
I was performing for six years before my first album so I’m very much a stage artist. Since I started my career, people always tell me they prefer me on stage, so this gave me the confidence to do a live album. My second album [Stória, stória] had a lot of instruments and I was on tour with a big group of musicians, so I felt the need for something acoustic and light, as I used to do at the beginning. The project started out as a bonus CD for Stória, stória, but it became a full album and DVD. So this was a good opportunity to choose songs I’ve never sung and to have fun.

You’re used to singing in big venues like Carnegie Hall and Barbican Centre, but Ronnie Scott’s is a more intimate setting for the new album. What are you looking forward to about performing there?
I heard about the club a long time ago and it’s just as important as the Barbican and Carnegie Hall. It’s a very historic place where many important artists have played – it’s a challenge for me. I really enjoy playing this kind of stage. It’s different because the communication with people is more relaxed and you take more risks as a performer because you feel like you’re at home.

You always have incredible instrumentalists supporting you, something perhaps even more important when playing in small club?
The guitarist [Munir Hossn] and percussionist [Zé Luis Nascimento] are both Brazilian and the bass player, Stephane Castry, is from Guadeloupe and lives in Paris. They’ve been with me for years and they bring a lot to my music. Luis created all the arrangements; we are artistic directors together. I trust the band a lot and musically and they are amazing players.

For those who have never heard any music from Cape Verde, how would describe the music of the islands?
It’s difficult to describe because it’s such diverse music. If I wanted to take a real short cut, I would say there is something similar to Brazilian music, with the atmosphere and the mixture of Portuguese and African culture. But as someone so close to the music I can’t describe it; I would just ask people to take one hour of their day and discover a few Cape Verdean artists.

You’ve had a very international life and London is such a global city. Are you a London fan?
I haven’t spent enough time in London but when I’m there I see people who dress in a very original way, whereas here in France it’s much more plastic. There is an underground side of the city which I like. It’s like a city with two personalities that live side by side.

Finally, do you have any more new project or collaborations in the pipeline?
I’m working on the next album, which I want to be more open and to draw from other forms of music. I have my tradition and my roots, but I want to find more space artistically.

Mayra Andrade plays Ronnie Scott’s on 18 and 19 July.

Mounds upon mounds of oysters at last night's launch of Bistro du Vin in Soho

A taste of what’s what in London food and drink news:

American Independence Day will be upon us soon (Monday, 4 July) and with it a variety of opportunities to stuff your face excessively.

Camden’s Blues Kitchen will celebrate the occasion with its annual hot dog eating competition on Monday at 8pm with the winner taking home £100 in Blues Kitchen vouchers and a chance to defend his/her title next year. Contestants will have just half an hour, along with water on tap to wash down as many hot-dogs as they can and a choice of onions, sauces and mustards. For those not up for the contest, a free hot dog will be offered to customers dressing in red, white and blue. Visit www.theblueskitchen.com for details.

Big Easy in Chelsea is in on the AYCE Independence Day action as well with a 30 minute rib eating race commencing at 6pm on the 4th. “Bones will be counted and verified before a panel of independent judges and the winner will receive a bona fide £100 Big Easy voucher, as well as the honour of having their name proudly engraved on the wall of fame”. Visit www.bigeasy.co.uk for details and for info about the restaurant’s “Independence Day inspired dishes”, red, white and blue margaritas and live music for the event.

No belly busting competitions at Tortilla or from New York Bakery Co but both will offer freebies for the fourth of July:

Tortilla is offering a complimentary beer with their meals to anyone showing up with an American passport or ID card. The offer is valid at all sites (Oxford Circus, Canary Wharf, Leadenhall Market, Islington, Southwark) with no booking necessary (one beer per customer, terms and conditions apply).

Over at the north end of Canvey Street (9SE1 9AN) between Leon and Del Aziz restaurants and the LSE Building, New York Bakery Co will have a team giving away bagels from noon “until the bagels disappear”.

In non-US gorge yourself news, Bistro du Vin opens today on Dean Street in Soho. We attended last night’s rather epic launch and reckon the chain’s second London location should be on par with its recently opened Clerkenwell resto. At the event last night, staff worked their tushes off serving a mad house of eager partygoers. Most impressive to us was how, despite the craving crowds, the sommelier remembered us from a month ago by the wine we’d chosen when we reviewed the Clerkenwell BdV.

From 1 to 10 July, Savour Chiswick – a new summer food and drink festival – local restaurants and cafes will showcase signature dishes at special prices, pubs and bars will run festival happy hours and retailers will create food and drink offers. The festival’s official programme will also feature discount vouchers valid for the month of July. Check out www.savourchiswick.co.uk for more information and to view the full (and quite lengthy) range of events.

Photo/Chris Osburn

A taste of what’s what in recent and upcoming London food and drink news:

The chain-ification of Soho continues with the opening of a new Giraffe Bar & Grill. Find it on Frith Street alongside Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Nando’s. Snarky concerns for an indie W1 aside, Giraffe is sticking its neck out to present this “very grown up” version of its generally family friendly approach to dining out. The new two-story site is certainly more attractive and paired down than the usual Giraffe. Burgers are decent, flatbread pizzas pretty yummy and cocktails better than you might expect. Judging from attendees’ reactions during its launch party and subsequent strolls by finding the place packed, Giraffe Soho appears to be a hit with the punters.

Just round the corner on Dean Street, food blogger and underground restaurant trailblazer, Miss Marmite Lover, is whipping up a less corporate and more exclusive experience for those wishing to sip and sup in Soho with a Sunday lunch “Compleat Menu” at Georgian townhouse members’ club, Blacks. The menu highlights 18th century tastes with dishes such as celery soup, stargazy pie, meringue with salted caramel and black pepper strawberries, orange flower water profiteroles and drinks such as citron pressée, home-made barley water and ale along with French and Italian wines. Open to members and non members, the lunch is served from 1pm to 5pm, with tickets priced at £35 (excluding wine). Payment must be made in advance to confirm reservation. To book, call 020 7734 5399 or email moira@blacksclub.com.

Over at Ladbroke Grove, Dock Kitchen is to put on a market showing off a selection of its favourite producers. From Italian veggies to natural wines and “delicious” spice mixes, the market will be on DK’s terrace from 11am to 5pm tomorrow (Friday 24 June) with the kitchen open during the market and offering a set lunch menu as well (£14.50 for 2 courses, £18 for 3 courses).

A new raised terrace overlooking the Courtyard at five star hotel, 51 Buckingham Gate, is now open serving dinner and drinks from 5pm to 11pm throughout the week until September (excluding special event music nights). The terrace holds 30 people with a jasmine surrounded lofty view of the courtyard activities below and the hotel’s Shakespearean terracotta frieze of its townhouse exterior. The terrace bar specialises in Rémy Martin cognacs as well as “prestige champagnes”, rare, aged armagnacs and whiskies, and good selection of fine cigars.

Also at 51 Buckingham Gate, its Micheline starred Indian restaurant, Quilon, has introduced a new British beer matching menu available for a minimum of two guests. A poshed up version of ye olde curry and lager standby, the five course menu runs £65 and pairs popadums and tomato chutney paired with Ceilidh Lager by Williams Bros; lotus stem chop with mango sauce and spiced stir-fried oysters with Fuller’s Bengal Lancer, a “Quilon Salad” of mixed greens with patty pan dressed in lavender and kokum infusion followed by baked black cod paired with oaky Innis & Gunn Blonde Oak Aged Beer; lamb biryani followed by coconut asparagus and mange tout with Chalky’s Bite from Sharp’s. A lentil cappuccino served with cardamom short breads, fig and pressed honey ice cream completes the beery feast with Sam Smith’s Organic Cherry Beer. An eight course beer and food menu (with Brit and non-Brit brews) is also on offer at £85.

Photo/Chris Osburn

A young artist spins on a turntable, while a manacled baby doll crawls in circles next to a shelf with a jellified vibrator, these movements appearing as metaphors for the agonisingly slow transfer of the Fine Art, Photography and Fashion departments to an amalgam of the separate sites being built in Kings Cross.

A corridor leads outside through the semi-sheltered torrential rain to the postgraduate photography show, hidden down corridors, behind black curtains and emerging into a well presented viewing room where student’s portfolios are in the drawers of an island planchest. This idea is developed around the corner where backlit 5×4” transparencies are set into the open levels of a smart piece of furniture.

Upstairs, fashion designs occupy three very different rooms, the first presenting a hypothetical magazine from each of the exhibitors, pages overflowing with ambition.

Next door in the central area, hang gorgeously crafted materials, surrounded by a worktop highlighting the thought process to achieving the finished pieces. Down the hall a sizeable room hosts a jungle of contrasting fabrics, with some classically executed tailoring next to avant-garde couture originating from the deeper recesses of the human imagination.

A visit to this show which runs until Thursday 23 June is recommended because of the high quality of the presentation, but also to experience the rich layers of creativity that ooze from the very structure of the building. From the bas-relief details of the facade on Charing Cross Road through to the tested functionality of the stairs and lifts, this is a last chance to soak in the years of practice that have made this school a world class destination for those who wished to continue the immersive processes facilitated by this unique site.

By Harry Urgent

Central St Martins Final Year Show is open today and tomorrow 12 noon to 8pm and on Thursday 12 noon to 6pm, 107-109 Charing Cross Road.

• Wembley is to host the 2013 Champions League final.
• 2012 will see the most dope-tested Olympics yet.
• Anthrax is rumoured to have been sent to five London mosques.
• Brent schoolboy wins high court ruling over the sporting of cornrows.
• The City ain’t happy about a relaxation in the rules governing office-to-residential conversions.
• Body found in a Forest Hill wheelie bin.
• Rakes Progress recreated in Redchurch Street.
• On the Seven Noses of Soho.

Wembley Park, by daveograve via the Londonist pool.

The chickpea-centric eatery is staging Barter Day on Sunday the 19th, offering free meals in exchange for donations to Cancer Research UK. Got some old clothes, DVDs, books etc that you think could sell at Cancer Research UK’s Marylebone charity shop? Take your no longer desirable to you items down to Hummus Bros’ Wardour Street restaurant this Sunday from noon to 6pm and exchange them for vouchers matching the value of the items. The folks at Hummus Bros explain that “two or three good quality donations should be enough for a completely free meal”, and Cancer Research UK Area Manager April Sherlock says “We need good quality donations now more than ever … Cancer Research UK are entirely funded by the public and it is events like this that help us deliver our life saving research”.

Clean out the wardrobe, do something charitable and eat for free: not such a terrible way to spend your Sunday.

Hummus Bros is located at 88 Wardour Street, W1F 0TH. Visit www.hbros.co.uk/soho and www.cancerresearchuk.org for more information.

Photo/Chris Osburn

Believed by many to be London’s best chocolate maker, Academy of Chocolate award winning chocolatier, Paul A Young, certainly has developed a high profile for himself and his two shops since opening his Camden Passage location back in 06. We’ve delighted in his (and not so high profile business partner James Cronin’s) chocolates in the past and can’t fault the accolades much. And with tomorrow’s opening of the new flagship Paul A Young Fine Chocolates in the heart of Soho, we can only imagine Paul’s profile will continue to grow, and the raves will keep mounting up.

Gorgeous sea salted caramels, love/hate Marmite truffles, a new seasonal range of truffles including tomato, basil and olive oil, orange and tarragon, wild strawberry, balsamic and black pepper aaaaaaand lots more chocolaty innovations await Central London shoppers. But don’t worry, it’s not all about the weird and wonderful. You can still get a killer classic brownie or simple bar of chocolate. And rest assured, everything in shop is to be hand made with the vast majority created in the shop’s downstairs kitchen, with Paul and crew eschewing preservatives and additives in preference of fresh herbs and spices, organic pure distilled essential oils and fresh fruits.

Paul A Young Fine Chocolates Flagship Chocolaterie is located at 143 Wardour Street, W1F 8WA. Visit www.paulayoung.co.uk for more information.

If you like the Old Street Cay Tre, we reckon you’ll approve of this new Dean Street version. And if you love Vietnamese food but for whatever reason found Old Street’s ambience or menu lacking, it might be worth your while to check out this new and more centrally located Cay Tre. The design and feel of the place is a little slicker and a lot airier than the original while the menu presents a more “modern face of Vietnamese gastronomy”.

We loved our lunch here. A starter course of grilled calamari with okra (with lemongrass, dill and fermented soy beans, £8) rocked, especially the “grilled bit” as there was just enough char to the bacon-y chunks of squid to have us daydreaming of exotic barbeques in balmier climes. And our main course, oh our main course, of Lang Son spinning roast Tamworth pork belly (stuffed with sweet curry leaves from northern Vietnam’s Lang Son province, roasted with lemon and honey then served with dried shrimp chilli oil, £10) was one of the more delicious and intriguing pork dishes we’ve sampled in a very long time. The meat was tender and the crackling chewy. Both starter and main were fiery yet held delicate flavours. We were impressed and are keen to return.

Service during our midday Tuesday visit was mellow in pace but friendly, with wait staff ramping up to accommodate the lunch rush. Prices aren’t of the budget variety but are aligned to what you’d expect to pay at the original Cay Tre and definitely on the cheap side of any quality Soho dining experience. Best enjoyed with a group of foodie friends (we’re eager to get back and try the salt and pepper frogs’ legs with five spice sea salt, £7.50), we’re hoping this yummy East End interloper has a long West End run.

Cay Tre is located at 42-43 Dean Street, W1D 2PZ. Find out more at www.caytresoho.co.uk.

Photo/Chris Osburn

Disclaimer: Londonist visited Cay Tre upon invitation of the restaurant.

Margot Henderson

Soho Food Feast will be an incredible opportunity to sample the best of the hood’s incomparable dining scene, all in one place and for a worthy cause. Chefs slated to participate include Mark Hix, Polpo’s Tom Oldroyd, Anna Hansen from Modern Pantry (fresh from her brilliant pop-up at Meza), Terroir’s Ed Wilson and the teams from Koya, Barrafina, Dean St Townhouse, Brindisa, The Ivy and The Groucho Club. The chefs will be serving up their signature dishes, offering demonstrations and pouring their favourite wines. Caravan Coffee and the cult Meatwagon will be on hand as well, so be sure to go on an empty stomach. There will also be cabaret, a cake competition for all to enter and Food Art and Lucky Dip for little ones.

All monies raised will go to the Soho Parish School, a small, diverse, primary school on Great Windmill Street. Like many, the school has been affected by public sector budget cuts and has lost funds for numerous elements of its programme.

Soho Parish School serves the families of the local vicinity, and on 25 June its foodie friends and neighbours will be out in force to support them. With Margot Henderson at the helm, it is guaranteed to be an indulgent, delicious and fun feast.

By Bethany Childs

Soho Food Feast, Saturday 25th June, 1pm – 6pm, St Anne’s Garden, Wardour St, W1D 6AF. For more information visit the Soho Food Feast website. Tickets are £6.50 online or on the day; £4 if bought at the school.

St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Soho has reopened after a 14-month, £3.5m restoration project, which has reversed the effects of over a century of damp, dry rot, and urban pollution on the historic fabric of the church, as well as clearing away decades of smoke from gas lights, incense and candles.

The church raised money through donations from a variety of sources, and the restoration has included the creation of classrooms and offices, and a community room and industrial-sized kitchen, which will provide a new home for the weekly ‘Open House‘ evenings for the homeless, and allow meals for the roughly 2,000 needy people who attend them each year to be prepared on site for the first time.

However, St Patrick’s still needs to raise more money if they are to install six stained-glass windows specially designed for the church, which show St Francis of Assisi, Florence Nightingale’s companion Mother Magdalene Taylor, and Mother Teresa.

Remember the call for people who live in Soho? Over The Threshold by FrenchMottershead – the next Soho Project exhibition commissioned by the Photographers’ Gallery – opens today for just 4 days.

The artist pair worked ‘collaboratively and performatively’ with groups of Soho residents over 6 months to produce eleven photographs telling their stories. The suite of images recall Hogarth’s series of narrative paintings and remind us of traditional portraiture. Clues to these lives rest in the subjects’ attire and the objects they are pictured with.

So what’s it really like living in Soho? Around 5,000 people do, many in social housing and during their residency, FrenchMottershead found a strong sense of community there. The photographs reveal the challenges of living in small spaces, abundant rooftop growing, the very old and very young and the joy of being able to walk everywhere.

Over The Threshold is part of the Soho Projects commissioned by the Photographers’ Gallery. The exhibition opens today at midday at 1 Berwick Street, W1F 0DR and closes at 6pm on Sunday 22 May. Admission is free.

There is a free artists’ talk on Saturday at 3pm.

The John Snow Pub, Broadwick Street, Soho

A popular Soho pub found itself facing accusations of homophobia today after a gay couple claimed they were asked to leave the premises for kissing.

According to reports, the pair were on their first date together, enjoying drinks after a meal at the John Snow on Broadwick Street. But when things took on a more romantic turn, they say they were asked to stop by another customer who claimed to be the landlord. They refused. A couple of hours later a woman claiming to be the landlady asked them to leave the place saying they were being “obscene”. Jonathan Williams adds that the landlord, whose identity was later established by witnesses who were themselves ejected on questioning what happened, grabbed him by his jacket. A plain clothes officer got involved, according to some versions.

The story came to light after Williams used Twitter to share his misadventure. The tweet was reposted dozens of times; celebrity tweeters such as actress Emma Kennedy, Ben Goldacre and journalist Caitlin Moran lent their clout to the story.

The pub’s reaction so far has been less than helpful by refusing to comment to journalists or issuing pithy comments like “I have every right to kick people out if I wish.” or “Can you just stop calling this number please, or we’ll have you done for harassment.”

While landlords do have the right to ask customers to leave, they must also abide with anti-discrimination regulations applying to the provision of goods and services. The police have been contacted and are dealing with the matter.

The John Snow is operated by the independent brewery, Samuel Smiths, who have not commented yet. The couple involved in the incident plan to complain to the company.

Protests in the form of kiss-ins are being organised via Facebook on Friday and next week.

A similar story took place last year at the Greencoat Boy pub in Westminster when a group of LGBT people was asked to leave resulting in a full apology and compensation from owners Punch Taverns.

Picture by Odddutch from the Londonist photopool.

Berwick Street on a normal day

Prefer to buy your music on vinyl or CD? Mark May 21 in your diary, because that’s when the Independent Label Market will descend on Berwick Street. Indie labels including Moshi Moshi, Rough Trade, Bella Union and Domino will sell music and merchandise direct from market stalls.

The Soho street seems a fitting location for the market, which promises exclusive releases and artist appearances besides the chance to embrace music on physical formats. Berwick Street has long been synonymous with record shops and, even today, stalwarts like Sister Ray survive alongside a similarly resilient fruit and veg market.

With 13 labels signed up so far and more promised, Independent Label Market hopes to emulate the success of Record Store Day (which takes place this Saturday), raising the profile of indie labels and the exciting music they often produce.

(Image: Sleepy Gonzales via the Londonist Flickr pool.)

The Photographers’ Gallery may be physically shut but its activities continue with the next instalment of Soho Projects due in Spring 2011.

The artists responsible are Rebecca French and Andrew Mottershead who are currently ‘in residence’, in a virtual sense at least. Their work explores ideas of identity, social ritual and the everyday public and private realms in which they are played out and often combines photography, performances, workshops and interventions.

Do you live in Soho? French & Mottershead want to to hear about it from your point of view. Contribute to this project by agreeing to be interviewed in the comfort of your own home. As a sweetener, if you provide the tea, they’ll bring the biscuits.

Go on, make yourself part of some art. To arrange a time for Rebecca & Andrew to visit you please email: info@frenchmottershead.com. The project will be created in Spring 2011.

Soho image by Stuart-Lee via the Londonist Flickrpool

Every day until Christmas the Londonist team will be pointing you in the direction of a Christmas present that (with a bit of luck) you won’t already have on your list. Climb up onto our collective lap and we’ll see what we can move from our sack to your stockings…

Our friends at Smoke magazine have been biding their time, working on something mysterious in the run-up to Christmas. This week, all was revealed when they announced the launch of Soho!, ‘a game of skill and judgement for 2-6 players of all ages inspired by the two things for which this small, historic patch of London is famous around the globe: its pubs, and its one-way system’.

The premise sounds more than a little bonkers, and borne of the frustration the Smoke team suffer in piecing together their periodical. You play the part of an editor of a small literary magazine, and must make your way around Soho collecting copy from a bunch of ‘recalcitrant writers’, all holed up, Jeffrey Bernard-style, in local pubs. To get around the board, you can walk, hail a cab, or grab a Boris Bike – all of which have pros and cons. It looks a bit like the 221b Baker Street game, with more world-weary wit and fewer deerstalkers.

The whole set, including a 20-sided dice, joker cards featuring Boris and Ken, and a ‘box made in Derby’ can be yours for £15 plus postage/packaging. And while you’re there, we recommend you invest in some back issues of the magazine, which is every London-lover’s dream.

Better yet, there’s a launch party tomorrow night (8 December from 7pm), upstairs at the Blue Posts (the one on Berwick Street <EDITED>), where you can pick up a set without paying the postage, and meet Matt and Jude – the illustrious editors of Smoke.

Browse previous Santa’s Lap entries for inspiration and check out Christmas Markets and Fairs around town for festive shopping opportunities.

Opening this week at Soho Theatre is Re-Orientations, a multi-cultural, multi-media live performance by Border Crossings (the company that brought the Origins festival to London last year) and has been developed over two years, bringing together performers from China, France, India and Sweden. With no common language between them, the cast have devised a sprawling story that connects a series of seemingly unconnected people, across several continents, in several languages. We asked director Michael Walling how on earth he was able to manage all this, and how such an international team is finding London.

How do you rehearse without a common language?

It isn’t easy, of course. I’ve been very lucky to have an Associate Director who is bilingual in English and Chinese – Huang Qiling – and her presence makes life a lot simpler. But translation is never quite perfect as a means of communication, and it certainly doesn’t allow the play to emerge from our improvisations. Part of what we’ve done has been to make a virtue of our linguistic diversity – so that the characters in the play are all trying to understand each other, just as we are!

Have you learned any phrases or words in Mandarin, Swedish or Kannada that you wish we could use in English?

What’s been most exciting for me has not been the specific words of the different languages, so much as the music they create as they interweave. I think we very often rely on the literal meaning of words too much, and forget the emotional power of the sound. I’ve enjoyed not understanding everything precisely!

Border Crossings has performed in many different places around the world; how do audiences differ from place to place?

It amazes me, every time we perform in a new country, how different the play becomes. It makes me realise that the audience really does contribute very actively to the performance. The laughter always comes in different places. It’s going to be fascinating to see where the Chinese audience laughs, in contrast to the English one. Never mind the Swedes….

Do you have any plans to stage the three Orientations plays as a trilogy?

Yes please! We’d love to do this – but it’s a complex business. We’d need to have 12 actors for at least six weeks of rehearsal, and the longest technical rehearsal ever…. But, with the right support, it would be an amazing thing to do. We’re hoping to start discussions with potential partners soon, so watch this space!

What next for Border Crossings?

We’re hoping to run another Origins Festival (of First Nations Arts) next year after the success of Origins in 2009, and to develop a new devised piece. We’re in discussion with partners in India, Brazil, Japan, Palestine so there are many irons in the fire, and it’s really a question of which one comes out first.

What have you and the cast enjoyed most about London?

I live here… so this is more a cast question. I think they’ve really enjoyed the sense of being in the thick of such an amazing cultural space. They’ve been to see lots of theatre, and they went to the Notting Hill Carnival. They’ve enjoyed the location of Soho Theatre – right next to Chinatown and in the heart of the gay community – a really interesting mix of our perfect audiences.

How would you and the cast improve London?

The tube strike didn’t exactly help us for our first performances. And neither did the rain.

What would be an ideal venue or location to perform in that you haven’t performed in already?

It depends on the show. I love the Barbican – but equally I’d like to do something in the Old Vic vaults – I saw a piece there during LIFT and loved the atmosphere.

Re-Orientations at Soho Theatre, until 25 September. For more information and to book, go to the Soho Theatre website.

This morning the gallery revealed that, during the construction work, a reduced series of off-site projects will be held, curated by artists including French Mottershead, Anders Petersen and Fiona Tan, and taking place in and around the bars of Soho, including Barrio Central on Poland Street.

The Print Sales division will remain available by appointment, whilst the Bookshop will move online. The gallery will also organise community projects; the first, Mr. Bullfrog, a walking tour around Soho, begins this week.

For the gallery, it means keeping their name active during what is expected to be a 14-month refit of the existing premises on Ramilles Street; also, the hope is that it will attract a new audience unfamiliar with or unaware of the gallery’s existence.

The Photographers’ Gallery is open until 19th September. It is expected to reopen in autumn 2011.

Slipping into one of London’s cigar haunts to while away a quiet hour or so with a cigar is as good a way as any to spend a bit of time. It is also a great way to meet like-minded strangers.

One perfectly accommodating space for smoking with new found friends is Casa in Wardour Street. Formally the humidor of Floridita, this offshoot of the larger Cuban bar and restaurant next door is now a stand alone cigar store and sampling lounge. The comfortable leather arm chairs, the dark ambiance and the elegant intimacy punctuated with a little light Cuban music make it a very peaceful spot to sit and contemplate as you study Casa’s huge painted wall map showing the tobacco growing areas of Cuba.

Casa is not licensed but you can slip into the cocktail bar next door for a drink and some

tapas before or after purchasing your cigar and it’s possible to grab a coffee ‘to go’, to enjoy as you

sample. Casa keeps very civilised opening hours opening at 12.00 and remaining open until 11.00pm Monday through Saturday. So, it’s an ideal spot if you want to grab a quiet break from the hustle and bustle of a Soho afternoon or evening.

Casa is located at 100 Wardour Street (W1F 0TN). Visit them online at www.floridita.co.uk/cigars.

By Nic Wing

Heads up anyone in Soho with a penchant for classical music or jazz – your time for freebies has come. Head down to Great Marlborough Street, just behind M&S and you’ll find a skip filled with vinyl surrounded by people looking either confused or very insistent on getting as much as they can carry.

Harold Moores Records goes down for a refit from August 16 and seemingly rather than store their vinyl collection they’ve decided to chuck it. Whether they’ve decided the age of vinyl is over remains to be seen, but for those of you who love it there’s everything in their from a Chorus Line EP to Wagner box sets with more constantly being added. Head down before a 2nd hand shop swoops in and let us know if you get your hands on anything amazing.