This independent cinema near Angel in North London is over 100 years old and has had several lives including hosting early Sex Pistol gigs. It now serves as my favourite place to watch films (along with the Rio in Dalson).

Half a mile from Markfield Park down the River Lee is Springfield Park. The park rises steeply up from the river and has an amazing array of tree species making it beautiful in all seasons. At the brim of the hill there is a line of park benches each one surrounded by box hedge offering a private view across the Lee Valley, Walthamstow and beyond. The park warden was nice enough to give me a chestnut log a couple of years ago from which I carved a bench and two stools.

Being an East London boy at heart I am partial to an occasional fix of café culture. Pellici's has been running since the start of the last century, to which me, my father and my father's fathers have all enjoyed its mix of tasty Italian/London grub and energetic atmosphere. If you're visiting, make sure you drop by, as it will provide a valuable, forever-depleting education into what East London is really all about.

This is one of my favourite places in the whole of London. Cernamic, run by Nam and Susi, they offer some fantastic workshops and at a very affordable price. They have really cultivated a welcoming environment, full of lovely people and a place to share and recieve knowledge.

The outside displays are mysterious and inviting and reveal little to the magic that this place inhabits. Fantastic presentation and exhibition of garments and design pieces. It's an exhibition experience like no other. Not to mention it being the place to get most loving shirts in town. Don't forget to stop by the Rose Bakery for coffee and lunch. A hidden gem.