november-2010

WEEKENDER | LONDON
Clockwise from right, Town
Hall Apartments; club XOYO;
Caravan on Redchurch Street;
Kings Place performance
space; street art on Rivington
Street in Shoreditch
The permanent shops are usually augmented
by pop-ups of various descriptions, but
defi nitely worth a look is Caravan Style
(No. 3) a lifestyle shop full of covetable
trinkets with a distinct animal theme – duckshaped
lamps nestle next to crocheted dogs.
Further down, I popped into Speedie’s
(No. 81) – one of the best vintage shops in east
London. Stock changes all the time, and is
updated on the shop’s blog (speediesvintage.
blogspot.com). On my visit the highlights were
a pair of 50s Isophon cylindrical speakers for
£80 (€90) and a 70s velvet purple sofa with
footstool (a bargain at £145).
The capital’s cabaret and burlesque scene
has been booming for years, but the latest
acts to take centre stage have been circus
performers. Circus (27–29 Endell Street,
WC2, tel: +44 (0)20 7420 9300) will serve
you an adventurous pan-American menu
as contortionists perform at your table. Or
literally on your table, if you sit at the long
benches with steps up to the table top.
I went to arguably the best circus-themed
venue in town – McQueen in Shoreditch
(55–60 Tabernacle Street, EC2, tel: +44
(0)20 7036 9229). Winner of London’s Best
56 | TRAVELLER | 15 TH BIRTHDAY ISSUE
Bar at this year’s London Club and Bar
Awards, it stages nightly circus acts, but the
majority of the drinkers will be there for the
dark, cool atmosphere. Upstairs in the bar
DJs were banging out disco, funk and classic
house, but I settled into one of the studded
leather booths downstairs to watch the
risqué (and frankly risky) exploits of aerial
performer TrixieBelle.
Not content to end the night there, I
headed for brand new, 800-capacity club
XOYO (32-37 Cowper Street, EC2, tel: +44
(0)207 490 1198). Set over two fl oors, with a
purpose-built smoking area and a sparkling
new soundsystem, its rotating line-up of DJs
and live acts features left-of-leftfi eld bands
thanks to Eat Your Own Ears, hilarious party
fi ends Queens of Noize and (on my visit)
electro rave night Bugged Out!.
SUNDAY
A slow start on Sunday, given the previous
night’s exertions, and a late morning trip to
King’s Cross. For a long time this was one
of the grimmest areas in the capital, but if
you know where to look it now resembles
a real European cultural quarter. At Kings
Place (90 York Way, N1, tel: +44 (0)20 7520
1440), the cool cultural venue also housing
the Guardian newspaper offi ces, there are
regular classical music and spoken word gigs,
and art on show – on my visit a series of selfportraits
from the Ruth Borchard Collection.
After the art I paused at Bar Pepito
(Varnishers Yard, Regents Quarter, N1, tel:
+44 (0)20 7841 7331), the tiny sister bar to
Camino. Along with little restaurant Morito
(sister to Moro) down in Exmouth Market,
Bar Pepito is a lovely example of the trend for
petite, local-style Spanish tapas joints. A glass
of crisp amontillado went down a treat before
jumping on the train to the airport.
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PHOTO TOP LEFT © HELEN CATHCART