Here's a date for the diary, for classical music lovers in West London. Judging by last year's…read moreconcerts, you'll be in for an affordable and enjoyable treat. 26th-28th September sees the sixth Little Venice Music Festival. It might be a short programme, running over just three days, but it is renowned as a high quality artistic addition to the London music scene, and takes place in two local churches, providing intimate and reverberant concert venues. Organised by Sylvia Rhys-Thomas as artistic director, part of the takings will be in aid of local charities, including the St Mary's Hospital Stroke Unit, Paddington. Concerts take place in St Mary's Church, Paddington Green and St Saviour's Church Warwick Avenue. Friday 26th September sees the Galamian Quartet open with an evening concert of Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Dvorak. Saturday follows with a late afternoon of the Young Artists Cello Recital (4pm) playing Boccherini, Brahms and the ever-popular Samuel Barber. Saturday evening is the highlight of the programme, with an evening of Opera Music, including pieces by Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Richard Strauss and Benjamin Britten. (This takes place in St Saviour's Church, next to Warwick Avenue tube station). Finally, on Sunday, the Young Artists Brass Recital play music by Allegri, Bach, Bruckner, Defaye and Serocki in the late afternoon, and the programme finishes in the evening with the Lichfield Cathedral Chamber Choir performing the Petite Messe Solennelle by Rossini. Tickets are a very reasonable £10-£15, depending on the performance, some of which includes a drink as well. Tickets are available on the door, or in advance from The Winery, 4 Clifton Road, W9. Further details can be found on the website.

HANDS DOWN, Notting Hill Carnival was considered the best festival in the world. Preparation for…read moreCarnival is imminent, the award-tour going to Shaggy for his marvelous rendition of positive alchemy and alternative, until further notice. This year, like every other year, remains fast-and-furious with celebrity acts, past and present, returning to the world stage. There will be no stopping as the procession continues through West London and out into the suburbs of England. Alongside the love and support I get from family and the community, I also get a lot of love from Carnival. The black community in addition to oversea carnival goers create a homecoming atmosphere for me always. Thanks again to everyone who joined me over the years and who will continue to join me in helping make carnival that more - it is a special weekend for everyone and a special way to celebrate tradition and culture forever.

I heard a variety of things ranging from Eugh to Awesome and 'you'll get robbed/stabbed' to…read more'everyone is incredibly friendly'. So happy I went. In my opinion it's a must do at least once. It's apparently the largest street festival in Europe and it certainly feels like it. There's some sort of parade route, and every float is filled with sights and sounds (people dressed colourfully and without fail, excellent sound systems). A tonne of people kind of just wander along the parade route (I'm not even sure if there's one route or multiple) and just take it all in. Beyond that, there's a lot going on on pretty much every side street in the area. An abundance of food, people just chilling and drinking/smoking (NHC has a reputation for reefer and it's not unwarranted. There's the unmistakable scent pretty much everywhere at the festival), and a lot of areas set up with sound systems and people dancing. We bought drinks from various corner shops at prices of varying ridiculousness (one store was charging £4 for a GnT and £12 for a pack of Marlboro Ice Blast. Another was charging a more bearable £3 for the same GnTs). There were actually a fair number of porta loos set up, and the queues for them were reasonable. Phones of course don't work, and in the process of looking for a friend, I lost everyone I came with. Fortunately I managed to locate said friend and we still had a blast. Also, leaving the festival area was kind of confusing due to the crowds and road closures but there were police stationed everywhere and they were extremely helpful. As far as the you'll get robbed/stabbed bits, there's no doubt that you need to keep a close watch on your belongings as given the sheer amount of people, there's bound to be an opportunistic few. That aside, also given the sheer numbers and the tightness, there are a few idiots in a hurry who occasionally push or shove, and you can see tempers flare. I didn't actually see any fights break out but while dancing at one of the areas, heard the MC telling a group to break it up so evidently scuffles occur. Bottom line - don't be deterred and just go and have a blast! The vast majority of people there are incredibly friendly and overall it's just the sort of environment with incredible energy and positive vibes. Still felt good from it for a few days after.

I love the fair and have a gung ho approach to most rides. On the Spring and Summer bank holidays…read moreJoe Cogger's fair roles into NW3 with a host of thrill inducing rides. On this particular day it was muddy and quiet due to the unpredictable weather. With an impressive choice of rides for adults and kids and a dearth of queues I decided to have a go on the Extreme. Most rides cost £2.50 and Extreme was no exception. As I was strapped in I felt supremely confident I would handle this ride with ease. One minute in my confidence was brimming as I laughed gleefully. Then the ride started to jolt as it switched cycles, it started to spin faster, the jolts continued as the ride took on horrific speeds, contorting and hurling me at insane angles. My grip tightened and my confidence shot straight out of my ass on a wave of sputtering methane. Silent prayers were said as my evil concious mind told me lies. "The machines broken Leon, it will never stop." "The machine jolts because it is coming off its hinges." Three minutes in and I just wanted it to stop. Thankfully, eventually it did stop. As I staggered off the ride I looked around at my fellow equally disorientated riders and smiled as I realised I wasn't the only one feeling out of it. For the second time in my entire life, I was defeated by a fairground ride. The funny thing is both times I gave in to fear at a temporary weekend fair. Maybe there is a increased sensation of danger that gets to me. Either way, this is a fun fair that all the family can enjoy.

If you have a free time go and visit the German Market, you may find some good ideas for Christmas…read morepresents.Also there is delicious food and drinks.

Wrong tree delivered late. Pines and Needles didn't have our tree in stock, and don't know when…read morethey will have it again. They knew this but still emailed us to say it would be delivered and we took the day off work to wait it. We ordered and paid weeks ago. We have no tree, wasted a day waiting, and are out of pocket for up to14 days, terrible.

I just purchased a beautiful Xmas tree from 'Pines and Needles' with the help of Queenie, an…read moreintelligent, focused and beautiful customer service representative with great people skills who I am sure will go very far in life. She was incredibly helpful in picking out the best tree for me while making enjoyable and compassionate small talk. Lovely and professional service all-round. Thank you so much and Merry Xmas to you. xXx

Graffiti has almost entirely disappeared from the area, all but a few (now "framed" Banksy's) have…read morebeen painted over or nicked, Space Invador's mosaics painted over or removed, and replaced by the council's own street art. Under the Westway feels like a natural home for Mutate Britain which has set up camp for just a few weeks. It has just been extended for one more week and is well worth a visit. We went on a rainy Saturday afternoon, and it wasn't too busy. The atmosphere was excellent, good mix of people of all tribes, ages and their dogs. Some of the art on offer was similar to the Banksy exhibition in Bristol; and some friends had seen some of the metal sculptures before elsewhere. We were very lucky to see one of the big futuristic monsters in action. It felt like being on the set of Blade Runner, made a bit less scary by the fact that the "tamer" had to dismount to light the dragon's breath for each fire spit. The mutant DJs were another favourite. There's also a bar area selling booze and snacks. Very fitting to see the tube trains thunder past behind the wall, with the A40 thundering above. A very urban day out for all the family.

Skating in London has to be experienced to get an idea of how great it is…read more The London skating scene is the only one in the world (to my knowledge) that has a radio-linked sound system so music can be played consistently across the whole skate. I've been doing it for about 8 years and it's been the best thing that happened to me in London. I've met great friends while skating, many of whom I now do other activities with. This is the best thing you could possibly do in London! :)

All my hopes and my dreams (even the one of buying a hippopotamus and keeping it in my bathtub)…read morecame true on that fateful morning when I went on a Sunday stroll skate through the streets of London. Ever since seeing the Friday night skaters cruise around the macadam of Paris, it has been my goal to go on a citywide skate. So what is this skate? It's a free organized roller tour of the streets every Friday night and Sunday afternoon. My friend Christy and I strapped on our skates and wheeled like giddy children around the city in the company of a couple hundred other skaters. Guards wearing yellow vests more neon than a reincarnation of Flashdance facilitated the skate, stopping traffic and helping us stay sas afe as someone running into the walls of a padded room. The skate was a wonderful way to see the city and get out for a bit of activity. A man on a reclining bike pulled along a large speaker or two playing music to keep us cruising. Whoosh, whoosh, watch us skate. Exhilarating. Delightful. I definitely hope to go again because it's probably the best thing I've done in this city. Maybe next time I'll bring my hippopotamus.