The Party Superstore was/is my absolute favourite London shop until it was bizarrely attacked and gutted during the summer London riots. They have been since adopted as a concession by the local Debenhams but you can still savour the full delights of the products and nonsense on line.

Since The Columbo Group took over The Jazz Cafe, it's become the best programmed venue in the city, focusing on jazz, soul, funk, disco and afrobeat.

Slightly biased as this is where I live, but Stoke Newington is great place to spend lazy saturday / sunday afternoons getting sloshed with friends. There are 10 + pubs within walking distance who all are great places for one reason or another. I'll pick out the White Hart for its huge beer garden...

Being an East London boy at heart I am partial to an occasional fix of café culture. Pellici's has been running since the start of the last century, to which me, my father and my father's fathers have all enjoyed its mix of tasty Italian/London grub and energetic atmosphere. If you're visiting, make sure you drop by, as it will provide a valuable, forever-depleting education into what East London is really all about.

Southbank has organically evolved into a place of cultural significance through the persistent creative use of skateboarders spanning over generations. Southbank is currently under threat of being destroyed and replaced by coffee shops and retail outlets. There has been an alternative skate spot preposed to be built under Hungerford Bridge, this at first glance seems like an appropriate solution. Unfortunately this undermines the grassroots movement that has been developed over the years. Skateboarders have utilised the unsuspecting angles of brutalist architecture in a way they were originally not intended, in doing so they have created a space that is special and unreplicable. You can help save this historic place by signing the petition.