Talk to Strangers

About a year ago, your author decided that it would be nice to gather together people in London who wanted to talk to people they didn't know, based simply on the premise that conversations with different people are a social good, and should happen more often. Talking to Strangers was born, and first met in May 2011, at the Royal Festival Hall.


Eleven months later, it is still going strong and those who take part report that they are enjoying it. The next meeting is tonight, and bringing together a room of people who all want to have conversations with new people is an interesting thing, and removing the barriers which usually prevent the shy amongst us from sparking up a chat with someone new is great fun. For all those who want to try it, the event takes place tonight at the Devereux near Temple Tube, and costs £3.

For more, see http://www.meetup.com/talkingtostrangers/

Buy the Tired of London, Tired of Life book

It's been on the shelves in some shops since the beginning of the week, and has even already sold out in a fair few, but as today is the official publication date for the Tired of London, Tired of Life book, your author would not be doing his job if he didn't encourage you to consider buying a copy.


Your author alone has been writing this website every day for more than three years, spending weekends happily wandering the streets looking for interesting things to document, and late nights researching and writing, just for the love of sharing ideas of things to do in London. There has never been any request for anything in return, and there was never any question of whether there should be. It has only ever been about encouraging people in London to engage with the place in which they live, and spreading the word about what a fascinating place it is to people further afield.

However, if you have enjoyed it, and would like to do something in return, it would mean a great deal if you would consider buying a copy of the book. The best way to do this is to go into your local independent bookshop and ask if they have it in, or can order one for you. This would be amazing, and would make one Londoner very happy.

For more on the book, see this review on Londonist, or listen again to Robert Elms's BBC London show from Monday.