A beautiful old school bookshop, floor to ceiling photo books. Heaven.

Nice old trees, lots of space, good for walking, running, hanging out with your kids and most of all, the perfect place to lie in the grass and chill out.

This painted of the shopping centre by my brother, Leo Verhoeven, shows a rather idyllic vision of the shopping centre we both share. Its pretty rough, full of budget shops and funny cafes and framed by a shanty town style open air market. I have a real soft spot for it as the classic under dog, thats so often slated and condemned but lives on.

Lots of traditional charming country pubs around the area, but it can a bit hit and miss. A really friendly one with amazing food (and a unusually large veggie selection…) is the Beehive in Epping Green; close to the Great Wood. It's friendly enough you dare going there by yourself with the paper and are not at the mercy of local rubbernecks ("the rubberneck" = person who stares at strangers without any sign of guilt)

A Hint of Mint, Taylors Sky, Class Freedom, Horseshoe Ping – amazing names, muscle, speed, beers, the cheap thrill of Greyhound racing at the dog tracks is a London must. It was best experienced at Walthamstow Stadium, an iconic 1930's stadium with a fantastic neon sign that sadly closed for racing in 2008. However fights to save it from demolition and reopen it for racing have been ongoing since then. So please support the campaign 'Save our Stow' and in the meantime head to the dog tracks in Romford, Wimbledon or Crayford.