WE all grew up thinking of central London as Topshop at Oxford Circus,’ quips Charlotte Alexander-Stace, communications director at the Maybourne Hotel Group, who might not reside right in the heart of the West End, but is still closer than most. She and her husband, Jon Stace, a DJ and owner of The Talbot pub in De Beauvoir, bought their Hoxton flat four years ago, but have lived in the area for far longer. ‘Our whole relationship has been in this patch of London; we’re massive foodies and love the bars and culture. There’s Columbia Road flower market, which I go to at the crack of dawn to avoid the crowds; the Barbican is a nice walk away; and we took over our favourite restaurant, Bistrotheque, for our wedding,’ she continues. ‘You can tell I’m quite devoted to it.’
Hoxton, of course, is within Zone 1, the capital’s inner sanctum, which, although primarily known as an eating, shopping and entertainment Mecca, also offers its population a unique perspective on city life. ‘After graduating from university, I spent four years in a flat share on Ludgate Hill, a three-minute walk from St Paul’s Cathedral, and whenever I told people where home was, the response was that they didn’t think anyone actually lived there,’ recalls photographer Hannah Dace, who cites convenience for work as the initial reason for choosing the location. ‘I remember my friends and I thinking that, although we might pay slightly more for rent, we wouldn’t be shelling out any money for the commute.’
Denne historien er fra July 05, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra July 05, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds