Westerns Laundry is a restaurant and wine bar (natural wine) in a converted laundrette that does brilliant small plates (focus on seafood).

The Roundhouse was built as a steam-engine repair shed in 1846, and then became a warehouse before falling into disuse for 25 years and reopening as a performing arts venue in 1964 hosting acts like Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and Pink Floyd. It was redeveloped between 2004-2006 and is one of my favourite music venues in London; it’s a beautiful building, has a great sound and isn’t too huge so feels fairly intimate. Some highlights for me this year were The Flaming Lips, David Byrne & St.Vincent and the Timepiece installation by Conrad Shawcross.

This is one of the only platforms on the London Underground that is not bombarded with billboard advertising. It's a reminder to myself of how an uncluttered environment can give you so much more room to think.

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THE place for birthday presents and bookcases (mine was 50p).