This week’s best of Londonist is guest edited by reader Latifa Akay. Latifa hails from the bright lights of Belfast but has chosen NE London as the backdrop for her quarter life crisis. You can find her strewn across the World Wide Web writing about women’s issues, cultural crises and other pressing social matters.
Guest editor picks:
- Thames 21 photo competition: Waterways. What’s not to love? A swan sailing down a murky stretch of canal on a gloomy day is enough to lift anyone’s spirits. If you enjoy intimate moments with London’s watery stretches get snapping for the opportunity to win a cash prize and a place of honour at the National Maritime Museum. I will be entering too. May the best (wo)man win.
- South Bank Winter: As usual, winter has discovered us before we care to discover winter; unwelcome encounters with damp umbrellas on public transport, fears about gas bills and the inevitable influx of woolly hats with ears. But of course there are positives too; South Bank London has compiled this Winter Guide, shining light on options for seasonal cheer; music and frostivals and sugar-coated everything.
- 24 hour tubes: The one we’ve all been waiting for - tubes are set to run all night on major lines at the weekends starting from 2015. Yes that's over a year away but the thought of never boarding a heaving night bus again and witnessing the disturbing interactions therein is almost too good to be true. London just keeps getting better.
- Poetry and literature galore: Is it just me or do poetry and winter make a particularly good union? Open fires, pleasant company and the fine art of listening. You don’t even have to talk to anyone. Have a glance for this week in verse and prose.
London news:
- Are low income Londoners being pushed to the suburbs?
- Cycling top of the agenda at Mayor’s Question Time
- Not just cyclists, pedestrians are dying too
- Another new Thames bridge to link Chelsea and Battersea
- Notes on a talk: the future of the tube
- Change London; share your thoughts on priorities for our next mayor
Must-read articles:
- It’s not an article, but look at this hypnotic timelapse portrait of London
- Nine things in London that look like they’re from Doctor Who
- 10 Michelin-starred lunches you can probably afford
- London Christmas shows to suit all tastes
- Create your own tube service announcement
- Where to find Northern food in London
Top reviews:
- Dame Edna edges out; don’t miss the sparkling stage veteran’s farewell tour
- Gandhi's story in opera, Satyagraha
- The art of surviving to survive; refugee works on display at Saatchi Gallery
- Silk anyone? Discover Bexley’s silky secrets at an exhibition Pattern to Print
- The Taming of the Shrew, a Shakespearian Ballet Farce
Things to do:
- Watch Portuguese and Nordic films
- Go to the Change: How? festival of ideas
- Eat more pumpkin. Yes, Thanksgiving is around the corner
- Go to a gig, we've picked one for every day of the week
- The clock is ticking, what are you doing for New Year?
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