I grew up in Brighton which is full of cheesy bars like this. If you can handle being surrounded by multiple screens playing Kylie at full volume, its pretty much the cheapest bar in central london. The cliental is so varied its great for people watching and completely un pretentious.
Friday night: Local history event at South London Gallery Fire Station. Spent the sunny evening time to read the zines collection from the Feminist Library. The library is a lovely mobile minivan. Best tme to enjoy and summer drinks in the new art space.
The best magazine store in London! MagCulture stocks around 600 independent magazines from all over the world. They always have the latest issue of everything and you will ALWAYS find something you've never heard of before. Make sure you visit on PAY-DAY, as there is a good chance you'll walk away with a delicious new publication.
I go to the Heath every weekend (often via the wonderful Waterlow Park which skirts Highgate Cemetery) and during the week too if I’m working from home; it helps to put things in perspective when I’m thinking about my work. It’s great in the summer for obvious reasons but I love it the most in autumn and on those rare days it snows so much London grinds to a halt (which doesn’t take much). Everyone heads up there to make giant snowballs/cats/creatures and surf down Parliament Hill on anything they can get their hands on. Grown ups turn into kids for the day. My husband and I made this snow yeti last year, it was sad to leave him behind but he soon made friends and even made it into the Camden New Journal.
Great comic shop that stocks small press, and everything else you'd expect to find. The kids section starts at early ages and has something all the way up.