1. Avery Row, Mayfair
A slither of a walkway that cuts diagonally down from Brook Street; this pedestrianised street has all the bustle of a village high street, but it’s slap bang in the middle of Mayfair.

2. Sweetings, Mansion House
A lunchtime institution within the City, offering tasty olde-english seafood courses. An unusual layout within, with service offered by a personal waiter trapped between table and wall. The building wraps around a corner, giving it similar powers to that of a fly bottle trap; a welcoming entrance but distant exit. For that reason, you’ll find yourself in here for hours on end, without clocking the time.

Nairn’s London #6
All Saints, Margaret St

THEN: To describe a church as an orgasm is bound to offend someone; yet this building can only be understood in terms of compelling, overwhelming passion. Why boggle, when there are a hundred ways of reaching God? Here is the force of Wuthering Heights translated into dusky red and black bricks, put down in a mundane Marylebone street to rivet you, pluck you into the courtyard with its harsh welcoming wings and quivering steeple. Outer and inner doorways show you in, within a few inches of each other; both flowing over with ornament – nothing was too much trouble for the beloved. Inside, Butterfield had to rely for decoration on other men’s intensity of feeling, so it is pointless to look closely at the walls; but the proportions and transfigured gilded violence of this unexpected Heathcliff burn through any artificiality. The violent selfless love carries you up with it, just as the serenity of Bevis Marks lifts another part of you to the same end. Butterfield never repeated this – how could he? – and his passion set iron-hard, unapproachable, altering his pupil’s drawings in ink so that they had to do them all again. Perhaps he met too many portly bishops; perhaps there is no way but death to discharge an experience as violent as this.

NOW: As stunning today as it must have been then. Dark and foreboding brick on three walls create a quaint courtyard for pot plants and flaneurs. Set back from Oxford Street, the church offers a quiet and covert refuge for those needing an escape. Inside, it lives up to that description; when I visited there were around ten homeless people stretched out and asleep across the benches. Nairn described it as an orgasm. I’d be inclined to do the same, were it not for all the snoring.

Nairn’s London #4
The Economist Building

THEN: The buildings on this site may interest only the 1960s, for this is where the angriest of Britain’s young architects were finally given their chance: it was ten years in coming, and the time-lag shows. But the space between the buildings is a permanent gain. At last, an architect has suggested and a client allowed that a highly valuable space of W.1. be treated imaginatively as part of London (those who flat-pave part of the site and put up a thumping slab on the rest are doing no better than the bad old cover-it-all boys.) The L-shaped area contains three hexagonal towers, one medium and two small. In the angle of the L is a showy eighteenth-century club Boodles; the rest of the space is open to the public – and it is not just ‘open space’: the levels enable you to squint out at a sloping St James Street, lord it over the side streets from under a colonnade, or just sit down on a stone bench. This is only the starting point for what could happen, like Whittle’s first jet, and nothing much will come of this particular example unless some activity can be attracted or allowed into the central space; but the idea has an enormous potential. Here is a kind of Saint-Denis, no more accommodating and no less pregnant than that other prototype.

NOW: A building that you would most definitely walk past today; the steps up are uninviting unless you’re in the know. The open space is calm, and the stone bench clearly a familiar spot for local lunchers. But as Nairn suggested, with no activity in the central space, the area is a bit of a dead zone, looking down sombrely onto the streets either side.

Nairn’s London #3
Red Lion, Duke of York St

THEN: If I could keep only one pub out of the whole London galaxy, this would be my choice. It is not especially comfortable or especially atmospheric, but it strikes deeper than any other. All around the walls are magnificent cut-glass mirrors, the best in London, recently renovated so that they gleam as sharply as they ever did. And as the bar space is roughly square, wall after wall after wall is reflected in the real walls, a process which oddly enough reinforces the solidity. Nothing is fuzzy, but everything has incredible depth and compassion combined with brilliance. It is the spirit exactly of Manet’s Bar at the Folies Bergere. It sees and feels everything, yet you are thrown back on your own resources, enriched. This is the opposite thing to the gentle, sentimental pub where you can wash your troubles into oblivion. If you had a problem, the Red Lion could not ease it, however much you drank; instead it would strengthen you. It is a place to walk out of ramrod-straight, reinforced by those proud, sparkling, arabesques.

NOW: Now a Fullers, it has inevitably lost some of the Bar at the Folies Bergere spirit. Nonetheless, the mirrors remain – and are certainly worth remarking on. The lunchtime light streams in, and they glisten contentedly. The bar sits proud at the centre of the pub, splitting the room in two. Ales on tap and the standard house spirits. The spiral staircase – up and down – is an interesting pub feature. But a struggle if you meet someone going the other way.

Restaurant: Yoobi, Lexington St
Time: Wednesday lunchtime
With: –
Stand-out dish: Spicy tuna temaki handroll
Notes: Window seat looking out on busy Soho street. Tills were slow, but service was quick. Two rolls ordered – spicy tuna and citrus salmon. Both were delicious.Served with ginger and wasabi. Great lunchtime spot.

2Cocktail #2. Old Fashioned
Source: The Savoy Cocktail Book, Harry Craddock

Recipe:
1 Lump Sugar
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
1 Glass Rye Whisky

Crush sugar and bitters together, add lump of ice, decorate with twist of lemon peel and slice of orange using medium size glass, and stir well. This Cocktail can be made with Brandy, Gin, Rum etc., instead of Rye Whisky.

Nairn’s London #1
French Ordinary Court

THEN: Number 42 Crutched Friars, near Fenchurch Street Station, is one of the best eighteenth-century houses left in the City, with a swagger steak-and-oyster doorway. Beside it a hole leads into French Ordinary Court, neither French nor ordinary. It is in effect a big and very dark wedge-shaped room carved out under the railway tracks, full of mysterious and seductive smells (spices? scent?) from bonded warehouses. A fine and private place; but, as the notice says ‘Commit no nuisance’. A footpath runs through from one corner into Fenchurch Street.

NOW: No spices. No smells.No sign. But still a seductive and secluded spot, a stone’s throw away from the Tower. And Nairn’s not wrong – the Crutched Friar is a fantastic boozer, with a long arched entrance and layered floorplan.

Nairns London #25
Westminster View

THEN: St Paul’s can be reached in a hundred ways: this approach to Westminster needs to be calculated to the foot. Take an eleven or seventy-six bus from Victoria and get off at the stop called Great Smith Street, or ‘the Abbey’. Walk on twelve paces from the bus stop and what meets you is a set of four verticals, evenly spaced like a great major chord; Big Ben, St Margaret’s Tower, the Crimea Memorial, and the north-west tower of the Abbey. In terms of distance, they fire 1-2-4-3, rather like a car engine, folding the sequence in. As Gordon Cullen once said: ‘View? It is more like organ music!’

NOW: Rather hard to track down. Pretty sure I got it right, but times have changed. The pavements are busy, the trees are bushy, and buses block your view every ten seconds. Organ music, but muffled.

Nairns London #13
Spiegelhalters, Mile End Rd

THEN: Messrs Wickham, circa 1910, wanted an emporium. Messrs Spiegelhalter, one infers, wouldn’t sell out. Messrs Wickham, one infers further, pressed on regardless, thereby putting their Baroque tower badly out of centre. Messrs Spiegelhalter (‘The East End Jewellers’) remain; two stuccoed storeys, surrounded on both sides by giant columns a la Selfridges. The result is one of the best visual jokes in London, a perennial triumph for the little man, the bloke who won’t conform. May he stay there till the Bomb falls. (A bleak thought is that, if Messrs Wickham’s problem had arisen today, smooth lawyers and architects could probably have presented a case for comprehensive redevelopment, and persuaded the council to use their powers of compulsory purchase. Big deal; fine democracy.)

NOW: I’ve a feeling Spiegelhalter’s has entered its final days. It’s been gutted. It’s been boarded up. And it’s now flanked either side by heavy duty scaffolding. There’s a chance they’re shoring it up. But I’m not holding out hope. Lunch in the restaurant next door was a little sadder for it.

Restaurant: Shackfuyu, Old Compton St
Time: Saturday lunchtime
With: Wist
Stand-out dish: Kinako French toast with soft-serve matcha ice cream
Notes: Cool spot on Old Compton Street. Service was slow and inattentive at times. But the food was glorious. The wings are sticky, the pork pluma melts and the seabass ceviche is fresh and light. Ate far too much.

Restaurant: Roka, Charlotte St
Time: Wednesday lunchtime
With: WAB
Stand-out dish: 5 piece sashimi selection
Notes: Light and airy restaurant. Table concealed near the back; almost certainly to blame for us hiding out there for 4 hours. Conspiratorial staff. Lovely wine. Beautifully fresh food. Expensive afternoon. Many thanks to WAB.

Restaurant: Sexy Fish, Mayfair
Time: Tuesday evening
With: Wist
Stand-out dish: Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass
Notes: More misses than hits. It’s full of friendly and attentive staff. The crispy duck with watermelon pairs well. And the miso glazed sea bass is fantastic – it melts in your mouth. But the space is littered with gaudy art and try hard punters. The small plates are inconsistent and overpriced, the maki is bland. A place to be seen, not to savour.

I’ve decided on my challenges for 27.
I’m pretty excited about this year – I think it’ll be a good one.

Building highlights of London

I’ve recently read Nairn’s London: a punchy and unapologetic view on the architecture of London in the 1960s. It’s a book of emotion over theory – in Ian Nairn’s own words, “a record of what has moved me between Uxbridge and Dagenham”. Full of sharp, pithy reviews, it showcases all of London’s highlights, including churches, markets, pubs, cinemas and stations.

This year will probably be the last I live in central London. So I’m going to tick off 27 of Nairn’s city highlights. As he published the book in the 1960s, most of the sites have disappeared or changed considerably. Nonetheless, I’m going to try and track down 27 of them.

I’ve constructed a fixed list. But as some of the sites are going to be hard to tick off, I’m going to swap things in and out as required.

1. French Ordinary Court
2. St James Palace
3. Red Lion, Duke of York St
4. The Economist Building
5. Law Courts, Strand
6. All Saints, Margaret St
7. Long bar, Henekeys, Holborn
8. Soane Museum
9. Chiswick House
10. Shepperton Village Square
11. St Paul’s Presbyterian Church, West Ferry Rd
12. The Gun, Coldharbour
13. Spiegelhalters, Mile End Rd
14. St Barnabas, Shacklewell Ln
15. Cutty Sark
16. Dulwich Art Gallery
17. St Michael, Poplar Walk
18. Red House, Bexleyheath
19. 39 Frognal
20. All Souls, Station Road
21. Harmondsworth Tithe Barn
22. Granada, Tooting
23. The Ritz
24. The Wellington
25. Westminster View
26. The Hoop and Grapes
27. Kingston Upon Thames Marketplace

Whilst tracking his down, I’m also going to have a go at constructing my own record of 27 buildings and spots that have moved me. Between Uxbridge and Dagenham.

27 Japanese Restaurants

Over the last few years, I’ve grown to love Japanese food. This year I’m going to try 27 different Japanese restaurants. I’m going to try for a mixture of proper restaurants, street food vendors and lunch takeaways.
I’m keeping this as an open list – there are so many places I want to try, but I’ve only got a limited budget, so will have to play it by ear.

27 Homemade Cocktails

I’ve worked with a number of booze brands over the years, which have provided the perfect excuse to try lots of different cocktails. But I’ve never had to make them. So this year, I’m going to learn how to make 27 cocktails – from the classics, through to some more obscure and new-age twists.
As with the Nairn’s London challenge, I’m going to try and stick to a list. But will inevitably stray due to circumstance.

1. Bloody Mary
2. Old Fashioned
3. Manhattan
4. Negroni
5. Margarita
6. Corpse Reviver #2
7. Black Russian
8. Martini
9. Tom Collins
10. Whiskey Sour
11. Singapore Sling
12. Sidecar
13. Algonquin
14. Cosmopolitan
15. Long Island Iced Tea
16. Brandy Alexander
17. Mojito
18. Daiquiri
19. White Lady
20. Zombie
21. Sazerac
22. Brooklyn
23. Aviation
24. French 75
25. Martinez
26. Vieux Carre
27. Gin Fizz

Challenge 26 is complete.
I really enjoyed this year.

The graves challenge got me all around the country, and beyond. I was particularly pleased to get to see BB King’s grave, at his museum in Indianola. This challenge has been a weird one to explain to co-workers. I’ve had a spectrum of reactions; from scared, to baffled, to bemused.

Here’s the completed list:

1. Arthur Conan Doyle
2. Edward Ardizzone
3. Isaac Newton
4. Oliver Postgate
5. Spike Milligan
6. Rudyard Kipling
7. Winston Churchill
8. Henry Tate
9. Charles Darwin
10. Emily Davison
11. Bert Jansch
12. Heath Robinson
13. Janis Joplin
14. Brian Epstein
15. Bill Bernbach
16. John Bonham
17. William Shakespeare
18. Amy Winehouse
19. Frank Pick
20. Ian Fleming
21. John Venn
22. BB King
23. Buster Keaton
24. John Peel
25. Robert Hooke
26. Christopher Wren

 
The recipes challenge was great fun.
It started well in June 2015, but I quickly forgot about it. I picked it up again in May 2016, and with a flurry of activity, managed to complete it with a few days to spare. You’ll be pleased to hear that I didn’t lose any fingers. And, as hoped, it helped me rediscover my love for cooking again. Highlights for me were the Spuntino steak tartare, and the Spring Chicken in a pot.

Full list of things cooked here:

1. Zucchini, Basil and Parmesan Salad, POLPO, Russell Norman
2. Spring chicken in a pot, BBC GoodFood
3. Fish Pie, St John (The Complete Nose to Tail)
4. Chicken Cacciatora, Delia’s Complete How to Cook
5. One-pan salmon with roast asparagus, BBC GoodFood
6. Chicken, Goats Cheese & Tomato bake, BBC GoodFood
7. One-pot Chicken and Chorizo, Nathan Outlaw
8. Roast Chicken and Lemon Bombay Potatoes, Jamie Oliver
9. Pickled Celery, Pitt Cue Co.
10. Mediterranean-style lamb chops, BBC GoodFood
11. Mighty mackerel salad, Jamie Oliver
12. Cheat’s pappardelle, Jamie Oliver
13. Chicken with thyme salad, Angela Hartnett
14. Steak tartare, Spuntino, Russell Norman
15. Roasted whitefish and leeks, Jamie Oliver
16. Super-speedy steamed salmon, Jamie Oliver
17. Tabbouleh salad, Delia Smith
18. Chicken with coconut and apricot, Nigel Slater
19. Rhubarb fool with lemongrass and lemonade, BBC GoodFood
20. Patrick Leigh Fermor’s moussaka, Rick Stein
21. Lemon drizzle traycake, Mary Berry
22. White chocolate and pistachio cream, Ferran Adria
23. Lamb Peka, Rick Stein
24. Chicken and chorizo jambalaya, BBC Goodfood
25. Lamb with Rosemary & Port and hasselback potatoes, Nigella Lawson
26. Smoked haddock, mustard and saffron, with deconstructed piccalilli, St John

The coffee shop challenge was fantastic. I’m so pleased I decided to do it. I found loads of great places – many of which were close to my flat. It helped that my job (at the time) promoted remote working – so it legitimised the hunt a little bit. Like the graves, I also managed to pick some up outside London: San Francisco, Edinburgh, New York.

Full list of coffee shops here:

1. Appestat, N1
2. Workshop Coffee Co., EC1
3. Dose EC1
4. Ozone, EC2
5. Origin, EC2
6. Relax, EC1
7. Saint Espresso, N1
8. Sightglass Coffee, CA94110
9. Four Barrel Coffee, CA94103
10. Slate Coffee, EC2A
11. Barbour and Parlour, E2
12. Climpson and Sons, E8
13. Workshop Coffee Co., W1U
14. Fuckoffee, SE1
15. BL-NK, EC2
16. White Mulberries, E1W
17. Association Coffee, EC3
18. Caravan, EC1
19. Notes, EC2
20. MacIntyre Coffee, EC1V
21. Fernandez and Wells, WC2H
22. Lowdown Coffee, EH2
23. Dept. of Coffee and Social Affairs, EC1N
24. Intelligentsia Coffee, CA90291
25. Two Hands Coffee, TX78758
26. Stumptown Coffee, NY10011

As ever, I’ve picked some photos that sum up my year the best. I got married in November, so this year’s pick was especially hard to choose – I very nearly ended up with all 26 from that one day. But looking back, the year has been jam packed with tons of brilliant days, and it wouldn’t be right to only pick from just one. One or two of the photos weren’t taken by me. But they had to be included.
So here you go.

Full album is here.