My friend Guillaume opened the swankiest rooftop in London that still feels like a house party. Louie is a French-Creole restaurant, live jazz music venue and oyster bar too.

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'.

They describe themseleves as a 'village shop in the City' and sell everything 'typically english' you could dream of, from homemade scotch eggs to english meade, this tiny shop is the reason I cross the road early every morning, just to see what treats they've got in for the day.

Every year I take my 25 year old mini on the London to Brighton run. The views from the start line are always worth the 4AM wake-up.

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