Paul Rothe n Son has been there 120 years, bang in the middle of town. Hard to find a proper old-school deli in central London nowadays, n none more proper than this place. Great jacket potatoes, soup, sandwiches. It looks the part too. And the service is always great. Try and avoid the lunch queue.

I go to the Heath every weekend (often via the wonderful Waterlow Park which skirts Highgate Cemetery) and during the week too if I’m working from home; it helps to put things in perspective when I’m thinking about my work. It’s great in the summer for obvious reasons but I love it the most in autumn and on those rare days it snows so much London grinds to a halt (which doesn’t take much). Everyone heads up there to make giant snowballs/cats/creatures and surf down Parliament Hill on anything they can get their hands on. Grown ups turn into kids for the day. My husband and I made this snow yeti last year, it was sad to leave him behind but he soon made friends and even made it into the Camden New Journal.

This is an amazing place for the summer when the water gets pretty warm or the winter if you are very brave. The only downside is that it can get very crowded in the Mixed pool but the men’s pool is normally quiet and it has a diving board.

The warehouse in Stockwell has an extensive range of papers and boards, the perfect place to source the ideal surface for drawing or printing. Knowledgeable and helpful staff make John Purcell’s the best place to stock up on art papers in London.

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