A beautiful and spacious (outside of rush hour) way to get from Highbury, through east London to south of the river in minutes. The train snakes epically through Hoxton and Shoreditch and opens up the Jubilee Line via the beautiful Canada Water / Bermondsey stations.

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.

An all women's team restaurant serving delicious home-cooked Indian cuisine. Owned by the very charming and talented chef, Asma Khan.

On Burlington Gardens in Mayfair, Cecconi’s is a modern-day classic Italian restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week. Cecconi’s serves handmade pasta, seafood and dishes from Italy using the finest ingredients. The restaurant has outposts in West Hollywood, Miami, Istanbul, Berlin, Barcelona, New York, and Mumbai.

The AA is Britain's oldest school of architecture, but anyone can take advangte of the great work going on there. You can catch really interesting public lectures and free exhibitions throughout the year. There are also occasional installations and event launches, a bijoux cafe and brilliant bookshop. A great place to hang out with the builders of the future.