Man about town

With the sun finally making its long-anticipated appearance over the Capital last weekend, spring knocking on the door, it’s very much the beginning of fun times on the social scene. And where better to be than London!

I was fortunate enough to attend my friend and funny man Rick Edwards’ book launch at Hatchards in Piccadilly. I always feel guilty going into a bookshop for an event, expecting my parents to suddenly appear around the corner with a look of disdain – “read Stephen, read! Remember your education. A bookshop is not for socialising.”

Luckily, I think I can justify this one. His book, None of the Above, is educating me on politics – something I definitely do not have enough of a grasp on. With the general election fast approaching, and considering myself a modern day gentleman, getting up to speed on politics must be done with haste!

One thing I always try and do once a week is dine out, and one of my favourite haunts is a steakhouse in Parsons Green called Roxie. It’s a South African menu, and with both my parents being from these climes, it’s like a little taste of home. I recommend giving the boerewors a go – for me the best type of sausage in the world! With steak, an accompanying bottle of red requires no excuses. This is handy, having given up beer for Lent – a terrible error, I know.

A lot of my week has been taken up writing a best man speech for my brother’s upcoming wedding. I’m not someone who can just sit at home and focus, I need to be out and about, and I’ve enjoyed finding trendy places to sit down and let the creative juices flow. A place I’ve found to be great at helping me get my ‘funny’ on is Electric House on Portobello. Part of the Soho House group, it is an exclusive spot, but available to those interested as a guest of the members there.

There is a lovely vibe – the only difficulty is resisting all the tempting food samples and minimising the amount of time spent looking at the attractive people around me. Once again, London never fails to impress and inspire…

By Stevie Johnson