Time Out printed my letter!

This relates to the post below.

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Time Out – a magazine about London?

I've been reading Time Out for decades and get it delivered every week. I use it mostly for its art, exhibitions and films listings, plus the TV guide.

I used to love Peter Watts' 'Big Smoke' section which was all about the quirkier and murkier and hidden things about London, but the bosses at TO decided to ditch all that and have since turned the it into a consumer magazine. It's all shops and food now. The only good thing I can think of that they have introduced in recent times are the section tabs at the edges of the pages.

But my main gripe is when the editorial pages are full of stuff that is not really about London.

A few years back they printed a short letter I wrote to them; as I recall it read something like this, "What are articles about Florida and face creams doing in a London listings magazine?".

Last week it was all about sex (again)... you can get that anywhere! This week it's all about Paris. And this is the letter I have sent them about it (sorry in advance for the swearing):

Again... you've done it again...

How would you feel if you were from Paris and you came London for the week and bought Time Out London only to find it full of (probably) ill-informed crap about your home city?

Ten pages about Paris, yes ten – count them – plus 2 whole page ads. Then, phew, back to normal... oh no, hold on, I spoke too soon... six pages on we're back in Paris again for the shopping section.

What the fucking fuck are you playing at?!

And here are some pictures where you will find Paris in London:

Top: Hammersmith (RIP), Leicester Sq (RIP), St Martin's Lane (RIP), Parsons Green

Middle: Highgate (RIP), Bloomsbury, Bibendum, Hampstead

Bottom: Lisson Grove, Borough, Bloomsbury, Holloway

Red Lions are finally in print!

At last, over 15 weeks since submitting this to Time Out, it's finally made an appearance in this week's issue. It's all about London's Red Lion pubs. If you want to see better versions of these pics, as well as quite a few others not featured in the article, then click here.

Whoah, body parts, body parts for you!

This week's Time Out fell through my letterbox today. I was upset to find the article I gave them eight weeks ago about Red Lion pubs is still not in there. Hmmmm...

But the Big Smoke section does contain 'Top Ten London... pubs with body parts in the name' written by Euan Ferguson. It's a list with just one photo of their no.5 (see small text at the bottom). And some of them are bars, not even pubs!

Well, as you would expect, anything they can do I can do better, so here are twelve of my own. Some are, I will admit, a bit silly. Only one has the same name as one on their list but it's from a different pub in a different postcode. I have put in two different kinds of arms just for symmetry, and neither is attached to a King, a Queen or a Carpenter. Plus I have also managed to avoid the obvious King's/Nag's Head because that would be too easy. Aren't I clever?! Me me me!

Old Parr's Head, N1; Bald Faced Stag, N2; Shakespeare's Head, W1; The Unicorn, N1; The Holly Bush, NW3; The Old Farm House, NW1; The Army and Navy, N16; The Crown Tavern, W1; The Cock, W1; Southampton Arms, NW1; Hand & Racquet, WC2; The Twelve Pins, N4.

Time Out's Top Ten: 1 King's Arms W1; 2 Pig's Ear, SW3; 3 Elbow Room, N1; 4 Bull and Mouth, WC1; 5 Hand in Hand, SW19; 6 Bleeding Heart, EC1; 7 Cat's Back, SW18; 8 Bishop's Finger, EC1; 9 93 Feet East, E1; 10 The Cock, EC1.

Time Out 1st April 2009 – a scottish theme

It's no joke... I've got another article in Time Out this week. Peter Watts, editor of The Big Smoke, asked me to put together the scottish theme because Gordon Thomson, the magazine's editor, is leaving and this was (is?) his final issue.

This issue is a particularly good one, not just because of my contribution, but because in the first 28 pages alone there are lots of interesting things in it including the pieces on the baroque (ooh baroque!), an interview with Wussel Bwand and a collage of articles about why London is brilliant (it just is!). And Richard Cudlip aka the cabbies capital, who I have met through our postings for Londonist, has managed to get his name in the masthead at the beginning of the Big Smoke section as an associate editor... he's put together some pieces about his observations as viewed from his black cab. Well done him!

My last article for Time Out was about closed pubs.

Overheard on a 254 bus to Aldgate

There I was sitting on the bus admiring the view when I overheard the fella behind me say to his girlfriend(?) "Ooh look Ghost Pubs... that's the Nag's Head". How amazing! They were reading my article in Time Out and commenting on it less than a yard away from me. I couldn't contain my excitement and said "Excuse me, I wrote that; that's me!". And then we chatted about the general subject all the way along Mare Street to when they got off at Bethnal Green tube. Really nice people. I hope they get in touch.

Time Out 20th November 2008

So here it is... a scan of page 12 of this week's Time Out.

I must admit it brought a huge smile to my face.

Hope they contact me to do more.

Time Out – The Big Smoke

Time Out feature

This week I have been contacted by Peter Watts at Time Out who wants to run a feature in the Big Smoke section of the magazine using some of my pub pictures. How exciting! It's a strand I'd dropped for a while in favour of other things but now my mind is buzzing remembering all the buildings I've seen and haven't snapped. It's gonna be hard to choose just ten different ones for him to use. Watch this space....