I love the George and Dragon Public House. Cluttered deco of silly artifacts and memorabilia and slightly scuzzy around the edges. Great drinking characters, DJs and The White Cubicle gallery in the ladies toilets is difficult to beat.

Raisin bread and sausage rolls; plus madeleines, palmiers, financiers, croissants, and cinnamon buns for breakfast with a Parisian jazz soundtrack

If you are lucky enough to get a table at this tiny 6 table only Café you are in for a real treat. The coffee is great, the cakes are delicious and the staff is friendly in this traditional wifi free (meaning no wifi here) Café. On a quiet day this is the best place to delve into your favourite novel while being caressed by the easy listening aural pleasure of Classic FM. But the real reason I come here is to overhear the conversations of the other customers. More than once did I have to put my book aside to pay closer attention to the charming, wonderful and often nuts conversations going on around me. I've overheard all sorts of discussions varying from 'Psychoanalysis' to 'Proustian ideas', 'Science Fiction' to 'Greek Mythology' and 'African Studies' to 'the takeover of DC Comics'.

Wood-floored shop with a museum-like vibe selling vintage men's fashions, footwear and accessories.

I worked at the Barbican for several years and during that time became very fond of its architecture. One of my favourite spaces within the centre is the conservatory, a giant tropical garden in the middle of a concrete city.