If you like some nice cool beer, portuguese sweets (the once with yellow custard inside) tasty and affordable sandwiches, good strong coffee and football, at all hours. Max Snack Bar is worth checking out.

A winding side street that links hectic Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road, Hanway Street, with its odd mix of old-style Spanish flamenco bars and second-hand vinyl stores, is a bit of an anomaly. I’ll be surprised if they all withstand the Tottenham Court Road redevelopment but I hope they do.

My favourite record shop in London. Old-school record store stocks eclectic blues, dance, soul, reggae and global music on vinyl and CD.

Great little independent bookshop in central London run by Tamsin Clark. Weird and wonderful selection of photo books, magazines, artist books, poetry and more.

They mainly sell art and cultural theory books but they also have a good selection of small press and self-published zines. It’s a great place to browse and get ideas.