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.

Although freedom of speech is a human right in most civilised countries, Speakers’ Corner has been described as one of the few places in the world where anyone can just climb on a ‘soapbox’ and speak their minds on any subject as long as the police considers it lawful – and almost be guaranteed an audience. It has been like this ever since this area of London’s Hyde Park was the site of Tyburn gallows, where public executions took place between 1196 and 1783, and the condemned were allowed to speak before being hanged. Over the centuries, Speakers’ Corner has been the site of riots, demonstrations, public meetings of groups – such as the communists – that weren’t allowed to gather anywhere else, and was frequented by Marx, Lenin, George Orwell and many other historic figures.  While today it is mainly the scene of eccentrics, religious fanatics and oddballs of all kinds, several prominent speakers such as Heiko Khoo and Jonathan Fitter keep the tradition of meaningful discussions around political and social themes alive. Religion has been debated in Hyde Park since the right to meet and speak freely was formally established in 1872. Today it’s the dominant topic by far, with religious speakers and preachers drawing the biggest crowds and clearly outnumbering the political meetings.  I have been documenting the people gathering here every Sunday since 2012.

The best live jazz band I ever heard was at a packed out night in Brilliant Corners. I was happy to be squashed.

One of my favourite record shop in London! The iconic Rough Trade, in the heart of Ladbroke Grove, just off Portobello Road.

The thing I love most about London is the juxtaposition of urban and rural, and nowhere is this better illustrated than in Lea Valley Park. A genuine wilderness where I’ve seen everything from ponies, to a rogue Costco outlet, and all less than 20 minutes from my front door.