In Harry Potter and the Chamber of secrets, J.K.Rowling describes Tom Riddles(Voldemont)diary as…read morehaving a printed name of a newsagents on Vauxhall road, London on the back. Seeing as Smiffs is the only newsagent on this street, I can only assume it is the one she was refuring to. Therefore, I feel this newsagents should be extreamly famous and popular among the Harry Potter loving community, I sertainly will be making an attempt to purchase a diary similar to the one a 16 year old Voldemont did :D Congradulations to Smiffs for getting an internationally read pun from J.K.Rowling herself for nothing more than its location on Vauxhall road!

A really cute small upmarket housewares store. Though it is small in size, they have a really nice…read moreselection of things. Perhaps not the best place if you have a particular item in mind, but it is certainly good for browsing and kitchen-gadget gifts. A smal selection of items I saw today: -Silicon ice cube moulds in fun shapes -Pyrex and enameled baking dishes -Cookie cutters and stamps -Cute mugs -Mason jars -Garlic peeling gadgets -Small, stylish food storage containers -Silicon spatulas in fun colours -Shot glass and science-style measuring cups -Baking moulds in a variety of goofy shapes -Buddha butter dish This kind of thing. Certainly not inexpensive, but about what you'd expect from a small, privately owned store on Columbia Road.

This is a great shop stocking mostly kitchenware but a few other home/garden things at the back…read more The prices are very reasonable, which is great considering that often shops in the area impose an East-End-Tax. It seems like anything you want for your kitchen, with the exception of white goods (!), you can get here and they stock a wide variety of brands from generic porcelain, modern Joseph Joseph to classic Tala. It is a bit cramped but that goes without saying on Columbia Road and they pack a lot in and always have a lot of people browsing. So go in here before you buy your bouquets and bay trees.

This is a sprawling retail park, with a huge B&Q, Argos, Currys, PC World, DFS, etc But the star of…read morethis are the outlet shops, especially Boots and Next. Forget the sales the prices in these are sooo low. Best visited just before and after the normal stores have their sales.

This PC World is a absolute disgrace, I bought a netgear router, it was faulty so I returned it for…read morea replacement, the guy in the store wanted to charge me full price instead of web price I originally paid!! I told him I'm replacing a faulty item, and my actual words were "are you joing?" he then said he'll refund it and I should go home and rebook online then return for the new one. The manager wasn't present so I had no choice but to do it. To make things worse, I wrote to PC World customer service to complain about their ridiculous replacement policy and after a week "Ian Turner PCWorld Team" replied with a copy and paste of the FAQ which states and branch will "happily refund or replace" - no point even arguing because they emailed me from a "no-reply" email address. I don't know where else to complain so I'm making it my mission to paste these honest reviews everywhere. If this happens to you, stand in the store and STAMP your feet until they are reasonable - I wish I wasn't so intimidated and had done the same thing.

cheapest place I've found for making up some prescription glasses. They are helpful, knowledgeable…read moreand quick with making them too.

C&C sell very plain crisp bed linen in ginghams and provence style designs. Everything is either…read morepure cotton or pure linen.Expect to pay around £35 for a single duvet cover.Everything is very well finished, right down to the large old -fashioned pearlised style button fastenings. There are also some great interior design pieces-lamps, occasional tables and Chinese laquered boxes ( hand painted- no cheap Hong Kong imports here). The style is Kensington in the South of France-if that makes any sense.

If you live in West London, a trip to the South London Gallery is a bit of a trek. The directions…read moreon the website say it's a 10 minute walk from Peckham Rye station. That's probably about right, but it felt much further - mind you, a good opportunity to taste a different flavour of London. The current installation by Thomas Hirschorn is well worth the visit, and I'm glad I made it just in time before closing. The book shop and cafe are also very inviting and I am sure to find another excuse soon.

Strange how great things can be right under your nose but you just don't get around to checking…read morethem out as often as you should do. Well for this resident of Nunhead the South London Gallery is a case in point; it's no more than a very leisurely 15 minute stroll from door to door but this Sunday was my first visit in an age. Thanks to some gentle prompting from B we decided to keep it local and take in some culture in Camberwell this weekend so we made our way down the ever busy Peckham Road to check out the Manon de Boer exhibition before it ends on 23 January (just my kind of arty Dutch film offering). This must be one of the most stunning exhibition spaces in the country let alone London. It has had a lot of work done on it in the last year or two, extending the facilities into the once derelict house next door, and there is now some more small scale exhibition space, a fantastic cafe and a beautiful garden which is home to the wonderful Clore Studio. There is also is a shop which sells a great selection of art, film and music books and magazines along with postcards and other interesting bits and pieces. Unlike most of the galleries in town, such as both the Tate and the Tate Modern which can be a nightmare a lot of the time, you will find this is quite a tranquil experience and you are unlikely to need to elbow your way through a crowd or clamber over a buggy to get sight of the work. Exhibitions here are free and there are various talks, live events and general arty "happenings" throughout the year which are either free or very reasonably priced. If you are into contemporary art or just fancy a decent lunch in some lovely surroundings this would be a very fine way to spend an afternoon south of the river. In February there is a retrospective look at the work of Goldsmiths graduates Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard which I would recommend.

When i was in London the last time we stayed i Shoreditch at Hoxton Hotel…read more One night we found this odd place. We sat down in a very old sofa in the back and had several beers and Jack shots, it was a great night! Its a small place, a bit rough. Especially the bathroom, i was something you cant imagine. The bar is a 4 star, but the bathroom is -1 star.

I've been here a couple times now, and yay, I'm a fan. You may like or dislike the place depending…read moreon what you're looking for. The coffee may not be the best coffee in London, but it's definitely fair and cheap. It's got a small space, random couches/sofas spread out, and freeeee wifi. I'm always really comfy here, to just hang out with a friend and have some good convo's or chill on my laptop for an hour or two. Beer garden is pretty cool, and the downstairs gallery (where the bathroom is) is a bit strangely random and completely different to the vibe upstairs but I'll consider it a cool factor.

Yes it's M&S and yes it's M&S prices but the one thing that makes me happy right now is not the…read morefood and the quality of there product but the fact there is a changing room for babies. Yes, as a guy I rarely know which places are for feeding and changing outside if mother care but this place had come to my rescue. Just to let everyone know the baby changing rooms are on the top floor and don't forget to wash your hands!

Marks and sparks is still going strong with customers and this is probably due to the high quality…read moreand image they have established over the years. The food range is particularly good quality, the prices are above standard but you really do know you are eating something that has been prepared and cooked in optimum conditions. The carrot and walnut cake is my favourite. It costs justs over £2.50 for a small/medium cake which serves about 4 people but it is definatly worth every penny. Their biscuit collections are also very good and the cookies are definatly better quality than what you would get from your local supermarket. Marks and Spencers don't really have many sales but then again everyone knows the quality so will always pay the asking price all year round.