A place that really grows on you, with each visit the Barbican reveals more of itself to you and your bond is tightened. The Barbican Kitchen is great for coffee or lunch, summer hangouts by the ponds, cinema in winter, the amazing Barbican Hall for live music, and don't miss the conservatory.

If they only could mend me like they mend my shoes. A three generation family business with its origin on Cyprus via Fifth Avenue, New York. They can do magic. I have been going there since I moved to London 12 years ago. One day soon I am going to have them make me a brand new pair of brogues. I will design the holes.

Excellent breads & pastries, including their famous sourdough & doughnuts!

I'm waiting for a vegetarian-friendly event to get the full dining experience, but in the meantime there's wine!

I walk a lot; the best way to experience a city. So it's sometimes to do with the way places join up. This cast concrete letterform is a part of the Lycée's gateway. Each of the form's facets arrives at a different character, so six possible letters come from each cast object. I've never been inside the Lycée but always walked through this way up to the V&A, in order to examine again and again how each form works. The surfaces set the tone for the V&A and its incredible Ceramics floor, a perennial inspiration.