All stories about "Claire Oldman"

Everyday on Gridskipper we give you a new map. Some are new, some are fetched from our archive, newly updated. Happy Gridskipping. Once upon a time, sexy lingerie in Britain was a somewhat er, specialized business selling torturous polyester and scratchy lace garments to be worn perhaps once on Valentine's Day or more regularly if you were a stripper. Most women never strayed from plain, sensible pants, which had once been white and were now gray and fraying. It was a sad state of affairs. And then Agent Provocateur came along and saved the nation's knicker drawers. Where they led the way, many others followed and now we're spoiled for choice. Mapped here are just some of London's finest purveyors of lingerie.

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"... .London's bloggers investigate and post with gruelling diligence. And the greatest prize, of course, is finding that hidden gem that few seem to know about." The Guardian convinces 10 bloggers "to give away one of their best secrets." Our own Claire Oldman spills the beans on the Rivoli Ballroom, one of just two ballrooms remaining in London. (Bitterjug/flickr)

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There are so many, oh so many magazines out there; yet most newsagents, and even W.H. Smith, with its floor to ceiling shelves groaning with millions of magazines, catering to everyone from cat lovers to PC lovers, only stock a tiny percentage of them. When it comes to fashion magazines, if you don't want to buy Grazia or Vogue, you need to know where to go, even in very central London. Mapped here are some of the best in the very center of town, where the selection is international and broad. There's nothing better than losing yourself for a few hours flicking through obscure foreign fashion publications; all in the name of research (or maybe that's just me). Feel free to add to the list via the comments.

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For travelers with measly US dollars to spend, visiting Europe is currently a tricky proposition. And for a long time, London has been the priciest of all -- the strong British pound, the way every product or service you might need is so gasp-inducingly overpriced. But here's the thing: The pound has been steadily falling against the euro, and there's as much panic about the credit crunch in England as in the US. The cost of living has spiraled out of control, and the cost of gas and electricity in London has more than doubled in the past few years. Ordinary or even well-off Londoners have seen a nose dive in their standard of living, and a gaping hole has appeared in their bank account. The boom times that allowed people to just pay that unfair £120 parking fine because they couldn't be bothered to contest it, or unthinkingly handing over £4 for a bad cup of coffee, or not checking statements for hidden charges and fees are over.

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London is recognized for the expertise of British production crews and its famed studios, such as Ealing and Pinewood, but it's nowhere near as hassle-free to obtain permission to film in the streets of London as it is in, say, New York City. Each of the 33 London boroughs has its own Borough Film Service, and it's through them that permission to film must be obtained in advance. There is also a Metropolitan Police Film Unit to notify, as well as local police. This is especially important if there are going to be fake firearms or uniforms used, or if crimes will be re-created. (This is true even though just holding a camera and/or looking "odd" may enough to get you reported these days.)

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Easter gives Londoners a rare opportunity to spend quality time with their loved ones in airport departure lounges while their flights are delayed or stuck on gridlocked roads. The four-day weekend is a green light to escape -- but with the school Easter holidays and an entire country trying to get out and back in at the same time, it's not such a wise move. You could stay in, gorge yourself on some low-quality egg shaped confectionery and watch bad 80s films on TV. Or you could get out there and meet some little fluffy bunnies, adorable lambs and the occasional pig or donkey. Yes, London has many city farms -- some are of the We Only Have Three Animals But There's A Nice Café variety and some are more like proper working farms. They're at their best in spring and are the perfect destressing activity (provided your visit doesn't coincide with that of the screaming child who has just made the connection between the lamb on the farm and the lamb on the lunch table). Fill up a bucket of feed and go pet your new furry friends; if your inner kid is lucky, there might even be an Easter egg hunt. (photo)

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London has a fantastic array of independent cinemas, both in the center of town and in all corners. There's never a need to stick with the standard blockbuster fare at a homogeneous multiplex that could be anywhere in the world. Showing a mix of classic, rare, foreign, arthouse and the best of mainstream films, with screening rooms, previews, festivals and director Q&As, the independent cinemas of London have upped the stakes in terms of comfort, style and service. This breed of boutique cinema is often housed in a historic, refurbished building, or else purpose built to luxurious standards. These independently funded venues offer a far more pleasant experience than the soulless multiscreen venues of Leicester Square.

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I'd always been under the impression that most people don't want to "do" the tourist thing in a city. Don't most travelers surreptitiously hide their map inside a newspaper, avoid tourist hot spots, and generally try to look cool and blend in with the locals? I wondered who would be the kind of person that went on an open top bus, a Duck Tour or one of those guided walking tours. But I've recently discovered that people I know - English people who've known London all their lives - have been sneakily going on London Walking Tours. It turns out that someone I know also voluntarily sat on a bright yellow amphibious vehicle for fours hours. Perhaps the best way to avoid being spotted doing something so touristy is to don a good disguise, such as making sure your party all have matching pac-a-macs and hats a la the Griswald family in European Vacation. Fake beards and sunglasses would also work. Then you're free to snap photos of Big Ben, point open-mouthed at monuments and listen to your guide inform you of all the things you (and I, a born and bred Londoner) didn't know about London.
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Let's pretend that coming to London to purchase jewelry isn't a completely ridiculous prospect; on a par with bathing daily in champagne, or polishing your shoes with beluga caviar. Almost every London Gridskipper post alludes to the fact that this is a very expensive city. And jewelry, by its very nature, is a luxury product. But just in case, you do have oodles of cash floating around and a penchant for diamonds, here's a list of some of the best places to buy contemporary jewelry in London.

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Oh, Valentine's Day. At least in London no one pretends this holiday is about anything other than blatant consumerism. V-Day basically sucks for one and all in this town -- except those guys who go round selling single red roses in restaurants, those who run the restaurants, and the makers of scratchy red lingerie. If you're in a relationship, there's the unbreakable commandment to spend the evening dining in a restaurant where all the tables have been reconfigured to seat two, and where you'll pay inflated prices for something with a red sauce. If you're single, it obviously sucks more. You're completely ostracized from society, and you can't escape the barrage of red heart-shaped things and "special events" that don't include you. Hey ho. I've decided to embrace this most cheesy of holidays with a cheesy cheap and cheerful novelty gift guide, suitable for nesters who'd rather stay home and share a meal with their love and then go to bed.

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Sundays in London are best approached in the traditional manner. First, get up late and buy the Sunday newspaper of your choice (the more supplements the better); second, retire somewhere comfortable and order a bloody Mary; third, tuck into a good old proper Sunday roast: beef, Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, veg and gravy. Since most Londoners don't have the time, energy or oven space to cook a roast themselves, most pubs and restaurants offer Sunday lunch of one kind or another. But choosing a good one is a veritable minefield. Slow or rude service is unacceptable when you're feeling a bit ropey and delicate. Soggy potatoes, suspiciously instant-tasting gravy, annoying watercress flourishes as decoration, and attempts to modernize can all be compounded by a bad hangover. Mapped here are eight tried and tested reliable favorites.

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London is living in the past. Supper clubs, cabarets, and tiny basement bars reminiscent of the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and, well -- pick a decade -- are some of the most interesting places to drink at the moment. They provide the perfect backdrop to our carefully chosen wardrobes from the same era. The idea of a speakeasy seems unbelievably glamorous, and we just can't give up our obsession with all things vintage. What the bars mapped here have in common is old fashioned glamour, retro appeal, live music, classic cocktails, possibly a bit of dinner/dance action, and an excuse to dress up to the nines.

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I can't pinpoint exactly when Londoners started bandying around words like "hygge" and "fika" in the course of normal English conversation, but really England and Scandinavia have many similarities -- dark winters, a love of alcohol, a high cost of living. The popularity of Scandinavian food here in London is probably thanks to Ikea. It is responsible not only for bringing affordable Scandi design to the masses, but for my addiction to Kalles Kaviar, Pepparkakor, and lingonberry jam. But that was back in the day. Over the past few years, our love affair with Scandinavian design has led to Scandinavian eateries stealthily popping up all over the place. The chances of finding a decent cinnamon bun in this city have increased exponentially and for that, I have only thanks.

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And if it can't be the worst, just focus on London and it's bound to be rated the most expensive. London can now lay claim to having the most expensive residential property and public transport in the world. It is more than twice as expensive to dine out in London as in New York. Unfortunately for newspaper headline writers, London lags just behind Moscow with the second highest cost of living. But the Independent and Daily Mail would like you to know that the UK does have the most expensive dental care in Europe. And now, "It's Official: England is the most crowded country in Europe" -- or, well, actually read the rest of the article, and it seems that it's poised to probably be the most overcrowded major European country and might be already, but anyone who can count is busy conducting surveys.

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The dark days of January are mostly bleak and depressing. Having fresh flowers around to cheer you up is a good idea to remind you that spring is on the way. Most of us have a trusted local florist, but if you don't need to send a bouquet to impress -- or simply to say sorry I threw up on you/broke your nose/left you lying in the gutter on New Year's Eve -- you'll need this list of the best London florists. Sending a mixed bunch or anything that includes carnations will only make the situation worse. As with most creative fields, London has some heavy hitters in floral design. Known for their innovative approaches, the florists listed have turned their hands to floral design for all the best places and people, darling.

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Some time ago an artist made a map of the quietest spots in the notoriously noisy city of London. From this map we can see that standing right in the middle of Hyde Park is likely to be quieter than standing in the middle of Hyde Park Corner roundabout. But what if you're in the thick of the most densely populated, noise polluted areas and you just can't take it any more. Londoners have a built-in coping system to deal with being in uncomfortably close proximity to people they don't know, bombarded with noise on all sides, while remaining courteous and not openly expressing their seething rage. The act of moving from point A to point B while being repeatedly elbowed in the face by people who compound the injury by cheerily chirping "Oops, sorry!" can be enough to raise stress levels to dangerous heights. But there are quiet, peaceful spaces hiding within all the craziness of central London. Here's where to step out of the city and be still, when you're right in the middle of it all.

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London offers endless choices for a fun night out. But oftentimes, after you've woken up after a night of debauchery, you find yourself needing something--a rip, a stain, a broken heel, your dignity--cleaned or repaired. In many cities, such as New York, the average person finds a range of services helpfully distributed around every block. Not so in London. If you assume you can entrust your favorite outfit to the nearest dry cleaner without them handing it back creased and smelling of mold, you're wrong. In a non service-oriented culture you have to seek out the experts to get a job done well, and that often means crossing the city to find someone with the proper skills. Here's a list of well respected places found by trial and error. They may not be the kind of addresses you anticipated, but you'll thank me in the morning.

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The best advice at this time of year is to get inside somewhere warm and get a drink. London's drinking dens come into their own during the winter months, but the truth is there are some horrible pubs in this town. Many old pubs have been unsympathetically renovated or have committed the ultimate sin of installing heinous patterned carpet. Some pub food still has botulism written all over it, and some is so "nouveau gastro" it hardly bears any resemblance to pub food any more. There are also plenty of expensive characterless bars that will leave you feeling colder than you did in the icy rain. So, for the fussy drinker who's after a roaring open fire (rather than a football match on a big flat screen) to go with their favorite tipple, I've (purely subjectively) mapped a few preferred places around town in which to defrost and make merry.

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While the cordless power drill I was given for Christmas last year is certainly useful -- and handsome in its way -- I can't help but feel that some people might need a helping hand when shopping for holiday gifts in London. You don't want to spend too much, and you don't want to get swept up in the crowds. And you don't want to end up getting something crap because it's Christmas Eve and you haven't bought anything yet. Obviously, London's also not exactly the city to strike a bargain in. So, following is a guide to where to buy a variety of original, interesting presents for £50 or under. The shops mentioned are in areas conducive to keeping up your festive good spirits where you'll also find other stores to buy gifts.

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