Your name's not down, you're not coming in......

Now, see this is what happens when you don't keep your blog up - too many goings on to write about.

Luckily being the Virgo, Office Manager type that I am, I've made a note on a pink post-it to remind me of where I've been and what I've been doing since I last wrote this.  Deep breath......

The week before last there was another Carnaby Street discount night.  You'll remember the last time I went to one, we ended up at the Pretty Green opening night and many a free glass of bubbly was consumed.  The idea of the evening is for all the shops in Carnaby Street to discount their wares by 20% and entice the general public to buy them.  What actually happens is the whole of London descends, purely for the fact that every shop has free drinks.  We nabbed our free mulled cider, mohito and rum punch, checked out the Quadrophenia exhibition (surprisingly very good) and finished off buying take-out cupcakes at the Hummingbird Bakery.  Roll on the next one!

Even bigger deep breath.....By chance I got given two free tickets to see Adam Ant at the Troxy on Sunday.  Lovely venue, hellish place to get to on a weekend with no transport running!  I'll not comment on the support bands, other than to say "Ann Summers eat your heart out".  Mr Ant, however, was a complete star.  It could have gone either way - it went the right way.  Not a fan of Goody Two Shoes, even though the delectable Mr Goddard made it sound bearable, but job well done sir!

Are you keeping up frock fans?

Thursday night saw the private view of the Punk & Beyond exhibition at the Signal Gallery.  Particularly liked the black & white photographs of Poly Styrene.  Extremely busy night with queues down the road apparently and people having to show email evidence before being allowed in.  The only famous folks I recognised were Gaye Advert, Billy Childish, Don Letts & Mark Keds but I'm sure the punks in the room would have known more.  The exhibition is on into December so check it out.

Finally and up-to-date now, today we headed to Primrose Hill Xmas Fayre.  Lunch in my favourite restaurant Trojka, followed by mulled cider at The Queens and consuming of yummy puddings.  I've never seen so many celebs in one place as today.  Only missing from the Primrose Hill gang was Jude Law & Ricky Gervais I think....oh and perhaps Gwen Stefani.  Paps - you had a field day today.

I've realised that every single I've been to above was free (well apart from lunch & cider in Primrose Hill anyway).  If it hadn't been done already, I'd write a book about how to have fun in London and not spend a penny.

Go Keith Go

It's been a fairly quiet week in N8.  Autumn in London is proving to be a winner though and everything is looking very pretty out there right now.  The trees outside my living room window have now lost all their leaves and if I stand on tip-toes, I can see Alexandra Palace high on the hill.

On Tuesday, the lovely folks at The Society Club Soho put on an evening downstairs at The Sun and Thirteen Cantons in Beak Street.  I loved the venue and I think it has huge potential for other nights.  It's a tiny little cellar bar but very atmospheric and perfect for the night.  Oldfashioned Daisy did a few songs before the main act, the "rock & roll" poet Murray Lachlan Young.  Although I'd heard of him, I'd never seen one of his shows but will definitely be back.  Just my sense of humour!  Below is one of my favourite poems about Keith Richards falling out of a coconut tree (as you do!):

What the hell did you think you were doing?
So blind that you just could not see
Not a thought for your legion of worshipping fans
When you shinned up the trunk of that coconut tree
If you’re gonna go Keith go Keith go
If your gonna go Keith go Keith go
If your gonna go Keith go Keith go
Don’t do it like that Keith no Keith no
Go in the middle of a hard blues riff
Go at the end of a laced up spliff
Speedball death plunge, Lear jet smash
Coked up gunfight, high-speed car crash
Kohl black eyes white rock n roll skin
With your hand on the fret board cigarette grin
Do itlike a king pin Debauchee
But not falling out of a coconut tree
Keith, man, what goaded you on
Was it Ronnie Wood? Who said you should?
Or was it Elton John that you tried to prove wrong?
When he called you King Kong, did you snag your sarong?
C’mon Keith, baby, tell us please what the hell was going on
If you’re gonna go Keith, go Keith go
If you’re gonna go Keith go Keith go
If you’re gonna go Keith go Keith go
Don’t do it like that Keith no Keith no

That, dear frock fans, is the extent of excitement this week.  Although we did venture out to the Kinks night at The Clissold last night, it really isn't worth writing about.  Thank god for The Alexandra and its' great jukebox over the road, that's all I can say. What DID happen to my Jane's Addiction track though?

Eastenders.....

The past week saw my first week of self-employment meaning more time for fun...which was the point of my self-employment in the first place.

Inbetween finding new clients and having meetings, I managed to have a lovely day with visiting friends who showed me the delights of Exmouth Market and the surrounding area.  I can't actually believe I had never been to that part of London before but now I know it's there, I'll be back.

We started off having brunch in Caravan (http://caravanonexmouth.co.uk/) which I loved.  It had an almost scandinavian feel about it, with big wooden tables, and people working on laptops.  I had creamy soy mushrooms on sourdough bread which were scrummy.  I feel I should probably make it my mission to try out the rest of the menu sometime very soon.

Exmouth Market had a nice feel about it - lots of interesting little shops and places to eat.  I can imagine it's a nice place to work so perhaps I'll target those interesting shops for work opportunities.

Next stop was the gorgeous old Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell (http://www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk/london/history.htm).  A bizarre place founded in apparently the 12th Century.  Although it looked as though the only people that might drop in would be one old man and a dog, it's obviously very popular and filled up quickly, despite only just opening up.  Although I didn't feel anything strange in the pub, I can imagine it has it's fair share of hauntings!

Look Mum No Hands next (http://www.lookmumnohands.com/) in Old Street.  If you walked past this place and didn't actually know about it, you could think it was just a bicycle repair shop.  It is (and sells bikes I think) but is much more than that.  There's a cafe', a beer garden and a noticeboard full of flyers for events they're holding.  The food was fantastic and I enjoyed my Goats Cheese & Butternut Squash homemade pie with salad.  It seemed to be a popular lunch venue so don't be surprised if you don't get a table straight away.

Final stop, cake at Drink, Shop, Do (www.drinkshopdo.com) in Kings Cross.

I'm sure it looks as if all I do is eat and drink...probably true in reality.  I'm considering changing the name of this blog to Pies & Me very soon.

In other news....Friday night saw a special night at the Society Club Shop & a preview of the "We Can Be Heroes" book that will be published shortly.  The book's about the club scene in the 80s and full of gorgeous pics of the Blitz Kids and all those connected with that scene particularly.  Lots of interesting folk with an interesting past turned up and a few familiar faces.