There is a rather beautiful faded glory to these mythical creatures, which flank the steps guarding the ruins of the Italian Terraces in front of the former Crystal Palace, which dramatically burnt down in 1936.

Coming here as a child and even now the collection is utterly astounding I can spend hours in the fossel and mineral room. Plus the architecture of the building is completely unique and breath taking.

Inspired by Dave Eggers’ projects in the USA such as the Pirate Store in San Francisco and Superhero store in Brooklyn, The Monster Supplies Store in Hoxton is home to the Ministry of Stories: A volunteer run organization, founded by Nick Hornby, to help young people with creative writing of all kinds through workshops and free mentoring sessions. The store is the “Purveyor of quality goods for monsters of every kind” with fascinating bottles and tins containing everything from eyeballs to Zadie Smith’s short story Mortal Terror.

Regeneration or gentrification? Having been living in and around Brixton for almost two decades, I'm not the only one witnessing its gradual transformation. Right now, Brixton offers an intriguing mix of Jamaican and British culture like nowhere else.

If you want to eat a good cake this is the place! They have so many cakes to choose from but the best one is the white chocolate cheesecake.