J. Draper London

04/11/2022

Visiting the is like bouncing around through time. The star attraction is a series of living rooms from the 1600s to the present day, meticulously arranged to look like the inhabitants have just left. Chimneys are half-swept, food is left uneaten, and candles are half-burned down. There's also a really thoughtful display on how we decide what goes into our homes, and how some decisions are made for us!

02/11/2022

Can anyone identify this dome in London?

31/10/2022

Can anyone identify this dome in London? Bonus points for the name of the architect ^_^

23/07/2022

24/05/2022

Not many pubs have a resident pub cat. But The Shakespeare on Aldersgate does! Really cheap drinks, too

20/05/2022

Have you ever studied in a library with a chandelier? You can at

17/05/2022

Watching the experts at work at . Something cool about the place is that most of the stalls are very specific- say, foraged mushrooms, or Lincolnshire sausages, or blue cheese. So the people working there are the absolute experts in how to use the food and what to pair it with!

13/05/2022

How would you like to eat oodles of runny cheese... on a canal barge? The Cheese Barge on Regent's Canal does the best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever eaten... heaven!

10/05/2022

Pollock's toy store in Covent Garden is just enchanting- the tiniest, most delicate paper theatres you've ever seen, and these charming marionettes!

06/05/2022

Curling up with a good read from today- stacked to the rafters and cheap cheap cheap!

29/04/2022

The Upminster Tithe Barn

26/04/2022

I went to Vaisakhi celebrations at Trafalgar Square at the weekend. I've never been before, but London is so diverse and multicultural, and I'm determined to try and understand a little more about my neighbours! It's a major holiday in the Sikh calendar as a harvest festival and when we celebrate the beginning of the Khalsa order.

They had a really cool martial arts group who showed off all sorts of weapons, and finished with the master being blindfolded, then slicing a melon balanced on the belly of a man lying on the ground. Very cool!

24/04/2022

Just finished my first ever virtual tour! Showing some lovely people around Covent Garden. If you can't get out to London, this is a great way for me to show you around. I will show you so many secrets... ^_^

Also I love this action shot of me! I don't think I have a single picture of me mid-flow where I'm pulling a normal face.

22/04/2022

After being derelict for decades, Upminster Windmill is nearly finished! I was lucky enough to go to an open day at the weekend where I could see how they're getting on ^_^

19/04/2022

Today I'm picking up clients at the W Hotel on Wardour Street. This is their lobby ceiling! Now we just need to get them spinning...

18/04/2022

Time for another historic pub recommendation, and today we're at the Princess Louise in Holborn! This place is loaded with flourishes, from the stained glass to the tiles to the wooden bar.

It's divided up into small rooms that are perfect for a private drink, but are pretty hellish when it's crowded, so this is definitely a place to keep in the back pocket for a daytime trip (maybe after you've been on your feet in the Bloomsbury museums all day) rather than an after-work get together.

14/04/2022

Do you know where in London you can see the Berlin Wall?

This section is right by the in Lambeth.

11/04/2022

Do you know where in London you can see a catwalk show for free?

The V&A hosts a series called Fashion In Motion, which allows you to see high-end fashion firsthand. Be quick, though- tickets sell out fast!

07/04/2022

Do you know where in London you can see charms to keep away witches on the Magic & Superstition shelves?

Walworth Library also incorporates museum displays from the Southwark Heritage Centre, making for learning in your learning so you can learn while you learn.

04/04/2022

Do you know where in London you can find the oldest Catholic Church in the country?

This hidden gem is St. Etheldreda's, near Hatton Garden. A beautiful quiet oasis to get out of the rush and bustle around Chancery Lane.

28/03/2022

Do you know where you can drink a G&T on a vintage London bus?

This beauty is to be found tucked away in the beer garden of The Old Bank of England on Fleet Street!

25/03/2022

How old do you think this building is? 400, 500 years old? Definitely Tudor, right?

It was actually built in the 1910s and is a brilliant example of a "mock" Tudor style, which was once thought very gauche and passé, but is fully having a moment right now.

I was lucky enough to be allowed to poke my nose into the RHS's garden at Wisley this week, and I was just as taken by the architecture as the horticulture! As soon as I saw this thing, I thought something was up- it looked too perfect, too symmetrical, to really be 500 years old. Felt very smug to check online and have my suspicions confirmed ^_^

21/03/2022

Do you know where in London you can get nose-to-nose with a Harrier jet?

17/03/2022

Do you know where in London you can find a 1960s ambulance?

11/03/2022

Do you know where in London you can find a sculpture of Peppa Pig?

08/03/2022

This is surely London's worst-kept secret- the weird and wonderful mosaics in Tottenham Court Road Station by Eduardo Paolozzi. But still, they feel like a discovery every time I come through ^_^

07/03/2022

Do you know where you can see master glassblowers at their craft for free in Central London?

06/03/2022

Thank you to all my friends who came to my photoshoot with ! You all look fantastic, despite the rain ^_^

04/03/2022

Wandering the streets of Soho, I heard jazz drifting out of Café Bohème. Turns out they have free jazz in the afternoons! Felt very louche with my wine listening to some wonderful trombone/ piano music.

01/03/2022

Trying out more cheap cocktail places in London- today I was at ! Cocktails are mostly £10 and under, and they have a 2 for 1 happy hour which I took advantage of. The decor was a very strange mix of 70s living room, fairground, and disco- and yet somehow it worked! Also it has Mario Kart.