india knight's posterous

- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
The Ministry of Stories/Monster supplies

This is so great. Dave Eggers started a shop in San Francisco called the Pirate Store, aka 826 Valencia. It stocked all kinds of piratical goods - marvellous enough it itself. But! if you went through to the back of the shop, you found young people writing stories, being shown how to write stories, receiving one-on-one help from grown-up writers who volunteered their time. (Don't know why I'm using the past tense - it's still very much going and growing - theyre in other US cities too now).

Now there's an equivalent in London. Started with Eggers's blessing and led by Nick Hornby, The Ministry of Stories is in Hoxton High Street. You go through Hoxton Street Monster Supplies - which, as per the pictures above, stocks everything a monster might require - and find the secret entrance to the Ministry of Stories itself. Children aged 8-18 can drop in to the writing sessions on Thursday afternoons from 3.30-6.30, or on Saturday mornings from 10am-12pm, and get help writing anything from a book to a poem to a CV. Completely genius idea. Teachers can also book in their class for a visit. You can volunteer to be part of it right here (I am). Comprehensive, detailed info on their site.

Tags » London books children writing
- 10 September 2011
- Views
- Permalink
- Tweet
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
Sweetview

Sweetview sells prints of London boroughs using landmarks that locals, rather than tourists, will recognise. That's Tower Hamlets at the top - Columbia Road on a Sunday, and Lambeth under it. There's going to be an illustration for each borough - six are already done. Signed and numbered prints, £28 each. Thanks to Jan for spotting.

Tags » London home stuff prints
- 5 March 2011
- Views
- Permalink
- Tweet
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
A Little Bird

A Little Bird is an excellent site of personal, opinionated recommendations put together by Francesca Martin, formerly of Harper's Bazaar, and Daisy Garnett. It's been described by the Guardian as a cross between Radio 4 and Vogue. It's very good - you sign up (it's free) and get a weekly email that recommends three things to do in London - what play to book tickets to in advance, for instance, or where to go and have supper, or a really good bread recipe. What sets its aside from other similar sites is that the recommendations are heartfelt rather than vague, overly-plentiful or like rehashed press releases. It reads like being given tips by girlfriends whose taste you trust. It's great.

Tags » London good websites things to do
- 15 October 2010
- Views
- Permalink
- Tweet
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
Drink, Shop & Do

Drink, Shop & Do is a charming café at the Kings Cross end of Pentonville Road. Everything in it is for sale; there's cake, cocktails and serviceable food (see this review) and they run craft events - knitting, book binding, pearl-necklace making. Ha ha ha. Yes. Anyway: they also play fantastic music. Go - it's lovely.

Tags » London crafts food home stuff interiors shopping
- 29 September 2010
- Views
- Permalink
- Tweet
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
Eat cake, help Pakistan

Like it says. Eat cake, raise funds for the victims of the floods in Pakistan. Organised by Huma Qureshi and found via her site.

PS You can donate £5 to DEC's Pakistan appeal by texting GIVE to 70707.

Tags » London charity
- 27 August 2010
- Views
- Permalink
- Tweet
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
Starlite Urban Drive-in

I love the idea of drive-ins beyond reason. Now clever Damian Barr, who's also behind the reading weekends I wrote about here, has come up with an urban version in the form of Volvo Starlite Urban Drive-in, happening this Friday and Saturday at the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane before being taken nationwide. He's persuaded Volvo to lend comfy cars - the film's soundtrack comes in through the car's speakers - so all you have to do is turn up, install yourself, flag down a rollerskating waitress to stock up on snacks, and hunker down to watch either Dirty Dancing (Friday) or Grease (Saturday).

I had tickets to give away, but they've gone already.

Tags » London things to do
- 29 June 2010
- Views
- Permalink
- Tweet
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
Matt Stuart

Photography (unstaged) by Matt Stuart. Found via My Modern Metropolis.

Tags » London photography
- 25 March 2010
- Views
- Permalink
- Tweet
- Edit
- Delete
- Tags
- Autopost
London shopping nights

The ever-vigilant (even from her sickbed) Wee Birdy has compiled an excellent list of all the Christmas shopping nights that are coming up in London over the next few weeks - run, don't walk to her Christmas listings for all info and details.

Tags » Christmas London crafts presents shopping
- 29 November 2009
- Views
- Permalink
- Tweet
India Knight's Space

I write books, and things for The Sunday Times. But I wanted a place to stick other stuff I like, and Posterous is unbelievably easy to set up. So here we are. Yet another work-avoidance strategy by me. You can follow me on Twitter, too - I'm @indiaknight. I know, right? The interwebs: where the fun never ends.

Archive

2011 (38)

September (4)

August (4)

July (3)

June (10)

April (6)

March (5)

February (4)

January (2)

2010 (192)

December (3)

November (5)

October (10)

September (11)

August (13)

July (8)

June (3)

May (5)

April (19)

March (24)

February (39)

January (52)

2009 (245)

December (41)

November (49)

October (124)

September (31)