Get your "Love Wall" Valentine Card from Zazzle

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.It’ll soon be February 14th again and you’re [well most of you!] going to be needing a Valentines Card. So I’ve made you one from one of the images from my Random Features book.

It’s a photo of the, now defunct, Love Wall in Exmouth Market. Inside it says

“You’re My Favourite Work Of Art”

 You can get yourself one [or more!] from my Zazzle store for £2.95. Just click the image to the left to be whisked to the store. Thank you.

I think I’ve made a bit more progress with my UrbanAvian birdboxes, at last, by improving the speaker.

Will have to finish my prototype now and see where that takes me.

Pubs & Bars
Lion & Lobster, Brighton
The Prince Regent, Herne Hill
The Steam Passage Tavern, Islington
The Marquis Of Granby, Westminster x 20
Baltic, Southwark
The Hoop & Toy, Kensington
Grand Union, Brixton x 7
Hawley Arms, Camden
Bar Vinyl, Camden
Sloe Bar, Euston x 2
Duke Of York, Lichfield
Shoulder Of Mutton, Lichfield
The Poet, Herne Hill x 2
Marquis Of Granby, Covent Garden x 3
St.Stephen’s Tavern, Westminster x 2
The Prince Albert, Brighton
Long Bar at The Sanderson, Bloomsbury
Ritzy Bar/Coffee x 11
Purl, Marylebone
Byron, Wardour St.
Bonapartes [now Sloe], Victoria x 7
Slug & Lettuce, Victoria
Red Lion, Westminster
Silver Cross, Westminster x 2
The Railway, Tulse Hill x 16
Jewel, Piccadilly
The Ship, Wardour Street x 3
Commercial, Herne Hill x 2
The Windmill, Brixton
White Horse, Brixton
Mason’s Arms, Battersea Park x 2
Cafe Rouge, Victoria x 3
Nell Of Old Drury Lane, Covent Garden
Hive Bar, Brixton x 4
Prince Regent, Marylebone
The Grazing Goat, Marble Arch
Canton Arms, Vauxhall
Pub On The Park, London Fields
Dove Freehouse & Kitchen, London Fields
Anda Da Bridge, Hoxton
Bluu, Hoxton Square
All Bar One, London Bridge
Revolution, Clapham x 3
The Holy Drinker, Clapham
The Florence, Herne Hill x 7
The Black Prince, Kennington
Freemasons Arms, Covent Garden x 2
Coach & Horses, Brixton
Asia De Cuba at St. Martins Lane Hotel
Concrete Bar, South Bank x 3
The Goat, Clapham
National Theatre Terrace Bar
The Plough, Whittington, Staffordshire
Prince Of Wales, Wimbledon x 2
Morpeth Arms, Pimlico
White Horse & Bower, Westminster
The Distiller, Hammersmith
Westbourne House, Westbourne Park
The Vale, East Dulwich
Black Cherry, East Dulwich
Village East, SE1 x 2
Hide Bar, SE1 x 2
The Trafalgar, Kings Road
Bar Room Bar, Birmingham
The Shakespeare, Birmingham
The York, Islington
The Old Rooms, Weymouth x 2
Pulpit Inn, Portland Bill
George Inn, Weymouth
The Ship Inn, Weymouth
Three Horshoes, Burton Bradstock
Ilchester Arms, Weymouth
Queens Hotel, Weymouth
The Only Running Footman, Mayfair
The Iron Duke, W1 x 2
The George, Wardour St.
Cafe Rouge, Birmingham x 2
Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden Bar, SE1
Somerset House Bar
Royal Festival Hall Bar
Prince Of Wales, Kennington
Crown & Greyhound, Dulwich Village
Tommyfield, Kennington x 2
Inn The Park, Westminster
British Lion, Folkestone
The Heart & Hand, Brighton
Sussex Yeoman, Brighton
Grand Central, Brighton
The Windmill, Clapham Common
White Swan, Pimlico
The Star, Burntwood
Horse & Jockey, Lichfield x 2
Loose Box, Westminster
The Regent, Kensal Rise
Founders Arms, SE1
Albannach, Trafalgar Square x 2
The Clarence, Westminster
Ravensbury Arms, Mitcham x 2
Rosendale, West Norwood x 2
The Harp, Covent Garden
Pullens, Herne Hill x 2
SW9 Bar, Brixton x 2
Zig Zag Cocktail Bar, Rhodes x 3
Oasis Bar & Pool, Rhodes x 3
Lee Beach Bar, Rhodes
Elephant On The Hill, Clapham
Red Peppers, Birmingham
Lamb & Flag, Covent Garden
Cross Keys, Chelsea
Pillars Of Hercules, Soho
Seven @ Brixton x 6
Shaker & Company, Euston x 2
Chelsea Potter, Chelsea
The Scene: Worlds End, Chelsea
White Hart, SE1
The Prince Of Wales, Walton-On-Thames
Ashley Park Hotel, Walton-On-Thames
White Hart, Tulse Hill
Travellers Tavern, Victoria
The Regent, Balham
Sun & 13 Cantons, Soho
Burlington Arms, W1
St. Stepehen’s Tavern, Westminster
Museum Tavern, Bloomsbury
The Clarence, Mayfair
The Ring, Southwark
Casa Morita, Brixton
Upstairs At The Ritzy
The Bowling Green, Lichfield
The Rose, Vauxhall
Aqua River Brasserie, Vauxhall
The Prince, Brixton
The Prince Of Wales, Victoria
The Eagle, Brighton
Lots Road Pub & Dining Room, Chelsea
The Phene, Chelsea
Bonds, Mayfair
Barley Mow, Mayfair
The Abbeville, Clapham
Sloe Bar, Paddington
The Chequers, Marlow
Scootercaffe, Waterloo x 10

So, last year I counted pubs, bars and restaurants together, but this year I’ve separated restaurants, cafes, and similar [such as ice-cream parlours]. 102 of them; with 80 return visits to 24 of them. A lot of the pubs were eaten in and a lot of eateries were just drunk in but I’ve tried to put them in the category that I most likely used them for! It may not always be correct.

Restaurants & Cafes
Franco Manca, Brixton
Kavah, West Norwood x 12
Benito’s Hat, Covent Garden x 4
Laughing Gravy, Southwark
Pizza Express, Herne Hill x 2
Brazas, Brixton x 7
Hache, Camden
Ed’s Easy Diner, Euston x 2
Zeen, Euston
Lido Cafe, Herne Hill
Trinity, Clapham
Speedy Noodle, Brixton
Dim T, Victoria x 3
Byron, Covent Garden
L’eto Caffe
Opera Tavern x 3
Satay Bar, Brixton
The Orange, Pimlico x 2
Thai Square, Trafalgar Square
Gail’s, Clapham
Bueno Sera, Clapham x 2
Cut Bar & Restaurant, Southwark x 7
Spuntino, Soho
Rosie’s Deli, Brixton
Gastro, Clapham x 2
Regency Cafe, Pimlico x 5
Brown’s Bar & Brasserie, Victoria x 2
Cubana, Waterloo x 2
La Tasca, Victoria x 2
Riding House Cafe, Fitzrovia
Churchill Rooms, House Of Commons x 2
Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Clapham
Gino’s, Mitcham
Me Heart Sushi, Swiss Cottage
Tiny Robot, Westboourne Park
The Lane Cafe, East Dulwich
Picasso [RIP], Kings Road
Steak House & Grill, Kings Road
Cote Brasserie, Birmingham x 2
Little Bay,Belsize Park
Yalbury Cottage, Dorchester
Cafe Blue, Weymouth
Perry’s Restaurant, Weymouth
Rossi’s Ice Cream Parlour, Weymouth
The Ice Creamists, Covent Garden
Dri Dri at Saint Martin’s Lane Hotel
Time For Tea, Weymouth
Barbican Lounge
Marie’s Cafe, SE1
No 67, Peckham
Mother Mash, W1
Imli, Wardour Street
Cinnamon Club, Westminster
Electric Cafe, West Norwood
Fox & Grapes, Wimbledon
Hand In Hand, Wimbledon
Park Terrace Restaurant at The Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington
Byron, Leicester Square
Brixton Space, Brixton x 4
Culture Grub, SE1
Mermaid Cafe, Folkestone
Homeground, Folkestone
Googies Art Cafe, Folkestone
Mermaid Cafe, Folkestone
The Winery, Burton
African Kitchen, Euston
Paradise By Way Of Kensal Rise
The Scene: Worlds End, Chelsea
Federation Coffee, Brixton Village x 4
Honest Burgers, Brixton Village
Pitt Cue Co, South Bank
Riverside Terrace Cafe, South Bank
Giraffe, Gatwick Airport
Cafe Rouge, Gatwick Airport
Kavos Mare, Rhodes x 6
Lighthouse Taverna, Rhodes x 2
Dama Dama, Rhodes x 3
Spitaki Restaurant, Rhodes
Asklipio, Rhodes
Caprice Cafe, Rhodes
Casa Sibilia, Brixton Village
Jose, SE1
The Plough Bar & Kitchen, Clapham
Eliots Cafe, SE1
Mestizo, Euston
Byron, Chelsea x 2
Palm Court Brasserie
Pizza Express, Victoria
Peyton & Byrne, St. Pancras
Kentish Canteen, Kentish Town
Prezzo, Broadstairs
Bella Italia, Strand
Cafe Castello, Tulse Hill x 2
Paramount Restaurant, Centre Point, W1
Byron, Gloucester Road
Nam Po, Euston
The Breadroom, Brixton
Preto, Victoria
Hummus Brothers, Wardour St
Hand & Flowers, Marlow
Temple Teas, Marlow
Satay Bar, Brixton

Other than piling on calories over the year I have also checked in at 56 art and photography related events in 2011 as well as 24 visits to the opera or theatre but only 8 gigs and 7 club nights and only 8 visits to the cinema.

Art & Photography
Venice: Canaletto & His Rivals, National Gallery
Bridget Riley, National Gallery
London Art Fair, Islington
Wildlife Photographer Of The Year, V&A
Shadowcatchers, V&A
Clash, Proud Gallery, Camden
An Evening With Gilbert & George, Shaw Theatre
Hinterland: The Space In Between, Capital Culture
Martin Creed: Mother,Hauser & Wirth
Robert Mapplethorpe: Night Work, Alison Jacques Gallery
Affordable Art Fair, Battersea x 2
Affordable Art Fair, Hampstead
Antony McCall: Vertical Works P3, Marylebone
Pick Me Up, Somerset House
Susan Hiller, Tate Britain
British Art Show 7, Hayward Gallery
London Print Fair, Royal Academy
Rhythms Of Emotion, Capital Culture
Summer Exhibition [Buyers Day], Royal Academy
Anita Klein Private View, Bankside Gallery
Anita Klein Private View, Menier Gallery
Anthony Frost: Ohio Buzz [Private View], Advanced Graphics, SE1
The Shape Of Things To Come, Saatchi Gallery
Lazyhill Gallery, Dorset
George Shaw: Sly and Unseen Day (inc. artist talk), South London Gallery
John Craxton, Tate Britain
Egon Schiele, Richard Nagy Gallery
Matthew Day Jackson, Hauser & Wirth
Derek Mossop, Camera Club
Twombly & Poussin, Dulwich Picture Gallery
Gallery 27, Cork Street
Hay Hill Gallery, Cork Street
Medici Gallery, Cork Street
Urban Art Fair, Brixton
Folkestone Triennial
The Vorticists, Tate Britain
Miro, Tate Modern
Tracey Emin, Love Is What You Want
Show Me The Artists, Capital Culture
Lucie Bennett Private View, Menier Gallery
Portico Gallery; Lambeth Open, West Norwood
Art London, Royal Hospital Chelsea
Michael Muller & Sage vaughn, Outsiders Soho
Rolling Stones: The Decca Years, Proud Chelsea
Minotaur, Old Vic Tunnels
Cory Arcangel, Lisson Gallery
Pipilotti Rist, Hayward Gallery
Grayson Perry: Tomb Of The Unknown Craftsman, British Museum
Nothing In The World But Youth, Turner Contemporary, Margate
Eyestorm Pop-Up in the Mayfair Hotel
Street Fighting Man, James Hyman Gallery
Oramics To Electronica, Science Museum
The Art Of Mapping, The Air Gallery
Gerhard Richter, Tate Modern
Invader, Outsiders Soho
The Tate Stores, Bermondsey

Theatre & Opera
Deathtrap, Noel Coward Theatre
The Antonioni Project, Barbican
Vernon God Little, Young Vic
Anna Nicole, Royal Opera
Terminus, Young Vic
Frankinstein, National Theatre
Cause Celebre, Old Vic
Silence, Hampstead Theatre
Uncaged Mokeys, Hammersmith Apollo
Kafka’s Monkey, Young Vic
Damnation Of Faust, ENO
Government Inspector, Young Vic
American Trade, Hampstead Theatre
School For Scandal, Barbican
Mr Happiness & The Water Machine, Old Vic Tunnels
Where’s My Seat, Bush Theatre
Spymonkey, Udderbelly, SE1
Two Boys, ENO
Richard III, Old Vic
One Man, Two Guvnors, Adelphi
Jerusalem, Apollo Theatre
Hamlet, Young Vic
Orpheus In The Underworld, Young Vic
The Ladykillers, Gielgud Theatre

Films
Tron Legacy, IMAX
Black Swan, Ritzy
Source Code, Clapham Picturehouse
The Skin I Live In, Ritzy
Kill List, Ritzy
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Ritzy
Attack The Block, Roxy, SE1
Sound It Out, Ritzy

Music [Clubs & Bands]
The De Rella’s, The Prince Albert, Brighton
The Dead Beat, The Windmill, Brixton
Ryoji Ikeda: Datamatics [ver 2.0], Barbican
The Haunt, Brighton [who?]
The Globe, Brighton [Go Bang,Kev & Rob] x 4
Stay Sick, Concorde 2
The Dead Beat, Green Door Store, Brighton
Go Bang!, Green Door Store, Brighton
Underworld, SW4
Warpaint, HMV Forum
DeadMau5, Millbank Tower
Plastikman Live 1.5, Brixton Academy
Allo Darlin’, Upstairs At The Ritzy

Unsurprisingly I only found time to read 16 books and listened to a total of 37 new albums [mostly on Spotify], but maybe they are lists for another day. Other random places that I checked into on Foursquare over the year [not including the aforementioned railway stations and Starbucks, which I have since deleted from my history] include;

Brixton Farmers Market x 12
West Norwood Feast x 5
Broadway Market
Beamish & McGlue, West Norwood
East Dulwich Deli
Green & Blue Wines, East Dulwich
Greensmiths, Waterloo
Daunt Books, Marylebone
Brockwell Park x 23
Hackney City Farm
Belair Park, Dulwich Village
London Fields
London Chocolate Festival, South Bank
Real Street Food Festival, South Bank
IKEA x 2
Disco Dungeon, Brighton
Barclays Bike Hire
Bullring Shopping Centre
The Mailbox, Birmingham
Pallington Lakes, Dorset
West Bay, Dorset
Chesil Beach, Dorset
Pirate Adventure Mini Golf, Weymouth
Waterloo Quarter Food Festival
St James’s Park
Folkestone Leas Lift
Creative Quarter, Folkestone
Ms. Cupcake, Brixton x 2
London Honey Festival, South Bank
Oddbins, Kennington [which, strangel,y still exists]
Castle Deli
Yotel, Gatwick Airport
Chrysanthi Apartments, Pefkos, Rhodes
Lardos Beach, Rhodes
Al Badr, Brixton 2
Brixton Pound Goes Electric, Electric Brixton
Blackbird Bakery, Herne Hill
Sesami, Herne Hill
Ghost Bus Tour London
Cheese & Wine Festival, South Bank
Balham Farmers Market
Shell Grotto, Folkestone
Bauble Blowing, Zest Gallery, West Brompton x 2
Barber Of Seville, Brixton

Right, I’m off to wash my anorak; enjoy the rest of the year, I’ll try to report in with something less statistically dull very soon!

Saturated Tower

Wow! I have been slack. Not a post since September. Since then I’ve been to Birmingham, saw Attack The Block at the Roxy, went to a Lucie Bennett Private View at the Mernier Gallery, attended the launch of the new Brixton Pound notes and Pay-By-Phone feature at the Brixton Electric, met Tina Mammoser [amongst others] at the Portico Gallery [as part of the Lambeth Open], went to Brighton to see Paul Futuronic DJ at  the Globe with Go Bang, which took us into October.

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Not much creative got done those last two weeks of September other than lazily using Weebly to create an updated website which I have yet to make necessary DNS change to so that  it appears as the stevewilde.com pages.

The rest of October saw a visit to Art London at the Royal Hospital Chelsea for copious amounts of free champagne [well something fizzy anyway], then Michael Muller & Sage Vaughn: Opposing Instincts at the Outsiders Gallery, back to Chelsea for the Rolling Stones: The Decca Years exhibit in the Proud Gallery, then another Lazarides event; the excellent Minotaur at the Old Vic Tunnels, the disappointing Cory Arcangel exhibit at the Lisson Gallery, Pipilotti Rist at the Hayward Gallery and The brilliant Jerusalem at the Apollo Theatre. Those last four were all in one day! Then there was lunch in Walton-on-Thames, followed by the Ginger DJ and Porntsar [Rob & Kev] DJ-ing at the Globe in Brighton, The Affordable Art Fairs, both Battersea and Hampstead and suddenly it was November.

Which started with a trip around London on the Ghost Bus, then the Turner Contemporary in grotty Margate, followed by a cancelled firework display in Broadstairs, One Man, Two Guvnors at the Adelphi, Grayson Perry’s Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman at the British Museum followed by a visit to Brixton Market’s excellent new bar, Seven At Brixton [spotting Miranda Sawyer and Michael Smiley at the next table] and after another visit to Walton-on-Thames for a bit of wine tasting, here we are!

Before I tell you about my new online shop I must mention two places in Hampstead Road worth a visit. Mestizo [Mexican Restaurant where we went for their mole festival and Day of the Dead celebrations] and Shaker & Company [cocktail bar].

So, I’m tired of paying Songcast for managing my tunes up at Amazon MP3 and iTunes etc, Imagekind and Blurb necessitate products being overly expensive and Zazzle is just a bit cheap looking. Spreadshirt is pretty cool [possibly pricey] but I haven’t produced much in the way of t-shirts. I decided I would be better off producing these products myself and selling them all through one portal; a Big Cartel store. So this is the first steps towards that. Five tracks available to download at 50p each. Take a look! stevewilde.bigcartel.com. Unfortunately there isn’t a streaming facility to go with the downloads so they will need to be combined with links to Soundcloud, but that’s OK.

My “A Phantom Punch?” video has hit 200 views over on You Tube too.

Been listening to Laura Marling, Feist, My Morning Jacket and Tom Waits new albums to the exclusion of pretty much all else. All Spotify links.

Palo Alto by James Franco
A Kind of Intimacy by Jenn Ashworth
Boxer, Beetle by Ned Beauman
Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman

I wish I’d bought more with me rather than to resort to book swap piles but I was hoping to spot something at the airport that I’d like but I didn’t.

In an attempt to console ourselves on being back in the relative cold, it was 19 degrees cooler in London when we landed than it was when we left Rhodes last Wednesday, we have been out and about. Two consecutive days at Brixton Ritzy, for Kill List and The Skin I Live In; both good for very different reasons. Some amazing food at Brixton Space, Casa Sibilla in Brixton Village and Jose  [the chicken livers are amazing] in Bermondsey Street. We had an interesting tour around the backstage areas of the Young Vic on Saturday and we had cocktails at both Village East and Hide Bar, also on Bermondsey Street. I can’t recommend any of these venues enough.

I should get on with something constructive now but first I want to know why most of the text has gone bold on this page!?!

Related articles

• Casa Sibilla (eatinbrixton.wordpress.com)
• Is Brixton Village the new Dalston? (thetallandtheshortofit.wordpress.com)

Kavos Bernard

In a vain attempt to soak up as much sun as possible before heading back to grey old London we spent 8 hours on the Kavos beach, well, six on the beach and two in the taverna; a final Greek Salad and Fava for lunch. Our last dinner was of course at Dama Dama; which we didn’t book this time and a lot of other people had the same idea, so we had a wait for a table and the service was bit slower than it had been previously but they were all very friendly as ever. We had missed the specials as we weren’t there very early.
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Taramasalata
Giant Beans
Chicken Souvlaki
Lamb Kleftiko
Carafe of local wine
Ouzo
Metaxa [including free ones]
Greek Coffee

After all of which we had to go back and pack! Somehow it got done very quickly.

Rocks

Its nearly time to go home and we haven’t been on the Glass Bottom Boat to Lindos. This is remedied by an early start to get the 10.00am boat [we are on holiday!] and there is plentyof room for us. Its the third time I’ve been on this boat and the guy has been telling the same jokes and stories for years but its great fun, we see a lot of fish and he points out Dave Gilmour’s [Pink Floyd] house and where the Guns of Navarone was filmed. He could be making it all up of course but its still fun.

Once in Lindos we return to Rainbird for frappes with ice cream and then wander about a bit until lunch time. For lunch we head to Palestra at the end of the beach. It is actually Italian/Greek and naturally does a lot of fish dishes being practically in the sea! Lindos seems to be a popular holiday destination for Italians and there is a lot of Italian influence due to their occupation in the early 20th Century. Lunch was Greek Salad, Courgette and Aubergine frittes and Sardines and a litre of white wine. During lunch one of the cats that inevitably hang about these places caught a smallgecko which it soon tore the tail off of while playing with it and rather unpleasantly the tail wriggled off on its own!

There was a strike, one of many while we were there, by the taxi drivers today so we had to wait 45 minutes for a bus and walk up the big hill to the bus stop. Luckily there is a taverna by the bus stop and we had a drink while we waited being entertained by a parrot or mynah at the back of the bar that did cat impressions. The bus jorney is pretty short back to Pefkos and it wasn’t long before we were back by the pool again.

We had dinner at Kavos Mare.

Halloumi
Kebabs
Lamb, Aubergines and Potatoes
Carafe of local wine
Greek Coffee/Metaxa

Kavos Taverna

So, it’s Sunday again, which means that we have to return to Kavos Mare for more barbeque chicken. We get there earlier this time to blag sunbeds and are lucky as there are only a couple left. After lunch there is more beach and sun before heading back to prepare for the evening. We are quite late leaving Kavos Mare as we stay for the sunset and few beers so we decide to eat at Two Brothers as it is near the apartments. After stopping to chat with Maria about the Greek economy amongst other things we are even later and its packed but there’s still room for us thankfully.

Dolmades
Moussaka
Greek Salad
Spaghetti Carbonara
Carafe of local wine

More huge portions, so we delay going to bed by popping into Zig Zag on the way back for more cocktails.

Red Doors

Spent the morning and early afternoon by the pool before heading to the Oasis Bar for some Saturday afternoon Premiership football action. There something smug feeling about being able to watch live football at 3.00pm on a Saturday afternoon, especially when the bar are showing four games on different screens, its blisteringly hot and you have a cold beer!

For dinner we returned to Spitaki.

Courgette Balls
Meatballs
Pork stuffed with Feta
Chicken in a peppercorn sauce

The portions are enormous so the cats get a look in this evening!