Chris Heasman

Despite its inconspicuous location at the bottom of a spiral staircase on a quiet street in Shoreditch, Ninetyeight is not a bar afraid of its own ostentatiousness. Inside, it’s as bizarre as it is colourful, and a range of quirks in the decor – from spray‐painted chairs to toy dinosaurs on the walls to a ‘bandage room’ (literally a room in which everything is covered in bandages, available for private hire) – places this joint above the darker, stuffier cocktail bars nearby. Cocktail‐wise, you’re looking at a small but impressive menu of original innovations (no bog‐standard mojitos or margaritas here); the Candylife, served with enough strawberry puree, yoghurt and Haribo to overwhelm its vodka base, will please anyone who favours sweetness above all, while the Smoking Head (whiskey with coffee liqueur and orange bitters) and the Chilli Treasure (chilli‐infused tequila, lime and agave syrup) should satisfy anyone after something a bit harder. In terms of sheer quality, you can’t go wrong with their Green Lady: gin complemented by cucumber, apple and cucumber liqueur and pepper – the latter of which didn’t quite give the kick it was probably supposed to, but the rest of which worked well for an easy‐drinking yet complex cocktail. Ninetyeight is practically empty in the late afternoon and early evening, but the crowds really ramp up from sundown until closing (at 1am). Despite that, table service is the norm and the servers are as friendly as they are knowledgeable about the

This week American director Rian Johnson takes his place alongside George Lucas, JJ Abrams, Richard Marquand and Irvin Kershner as one of only five people to have directed a ‘Star Wars’ movie. It’s an epic feat – and an epic movie – and he deserves his place in the pantheon. But we weren’t letting him anywhere near the pantheon – or any of the pantheon's neighbouring areas – until he’d stuck his hand into the Sarlacc Pit that is our Bucket of Questions. In three minutes flat, Johnson picked out a selection of questions, serious and silly, and fired back answers about the challenge of fighting Ewoks, drinking Ireland out of Guinness and the inner beauty of Salacious Crumb. He also did a Chewie impression and talked about Porgs. What more could you want? (Apart from to see the movie.) How good is ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’? Read Time Out’s review to find out.  Is London the best city in the world for culture? Take the Time Out City Life Index survey and fill us in.  

He’s faced down several Death Stars, taken on the Dark Side, partied with Ewoks and kissed his sister (oops), but has Mark Hamill ever had to answer a series of quickfire questions in only three minutes? Well, probably, yes. But that didn’t stop us presenting him with our Bucket of Questions challenge – AKA the Wookie Cookie Jar – probably the ultimate test of courage and fortitude not to involve actual lightsabers. What does he make of Bad Lip Reading’s take on ‘Star Wars’? What was his favourite filming location? And what does blue milk taste like? All the answers are within reach. Use the play button. Does ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ live up to fans’ expectations? Read Time Out’s review to find out.  Is London the best city in the world for culture? Take the Time Out City Life Index survey and fill us in.

We're just about halfway through the year and, predictable as ever, summer has seen fit to grace us with its sometimes sweltering, sometimes disappointing presence. One thing that can be counted on, however, is that the kids are absolutely bloody everywhere. School's out, so the pitter-patter of tiny feet and constant din of playful voices is now forever in our presence. Some might find that quaint and endearing. Some might not. For the latter group, here are a few places to flee to where you definitely won't have to deal with anybody's errant sprogs. Enjoy the peace and quiet.      Get under London with our new Hidden London tours, announced yesterday. Visit our website www.ltmuseum.co.uk/hiddenlondon for more details. Sign up to our newsletter by 18 April for priority booking. #londonunderground #secretlondon #hiddenlondon A photo posted by London Transport Museum (@ltmuseum) on Apr 14, 2016 at 4:49am PDT   1. Underground Drastic, we know, but if you need to get away from the little ones then perhaps retreating into the bowels of the Earth is the only option. Any Londoner will tell you that beneath our illustrious city sits all sorts of hidden alcoves, disused tube stations and abandoned bunkers. Most of them are impossible to get into (or just plain illegal), but the London Transport Museum runs its (over-16s only) Hidden London tours: a foray into those lost and secret places underneath street level. A couple of them are sold out, but the remaining two – a subterra

Over the past quarter of a century, street art has become part of London's image. Some areas, however – think Shoreditch, think Camden, think Leake Street – are far more recognisable as centres of street art than others; partially because they have so much of it. That doesn't mean that those places are the be-all and end-all of it, though. Almost everywhere in London has at least a few walls worth seeing, and, of all the lesser-known corners of our painted city, Turnpike Lane is perhaps one of the most exciting and vibrant – nicely exemplified by, if nothing else, the very fact that each of the following works are located within a 60-second walk of each other.     A photo posted by @chris10112 on Apr 4, 2016 at 2:54am PDT 1. 'The Heron'  ATM's heron, which is painted on the side of some lucky person's house, is situated just off Langham Place, about a minute from the station. It's the Turnpike Art Group's largest piece at over 18 feet, and looks really rather magnificent when all lit up by that streetlight at night.   A photo posted by @chris10112 on Apr 4, 2016 at 2:57am PDT 2. 'Fox' Boe & Irony are a pair of anonymous street artists who have works on walls across the city – all of them animal-themed. Their fox, on Waldegrave Road, has been there for a few years now and is probably one of the area's most recognisable landmarks.    A photo posted by @chris10112 on Apr 4, 2016 at 2:55am PDT 3. 'The Lapwing' (and Fio Silva's mural)  That there lapwing is another of

The heroes of everyday life in London deserve to have their praises sung. They are, after all, the people that make this city what it is. But they're not the only ones. This is a city where, for every kindly shopowner, there’s a litterer; where for every helpful passenger, there’s an inconsiderate cyclist; where, for each everyday hero, there exists an equally terrible everyday villain. These are the true villains:     A photo posted by Felicity (@flick_mk) on Jan 5, 2016 at 3:37am PST 1. People who stand on the left Look, we get it. Sometimes it’s cool to be different. Standing out from the crowd, whether it be with regards to fashion, taste, or even personality, is a really, really awesome thing to do. We also understand that in London, a place where so many people stand out, it very quickly becomes very difficult to do so yourself. But that doesn’t mean that you need to take the whole ‘stand out from the crowd’ saying literally. Keep to the damn right on the escalators (unless you're at Holborn station and then it's a tad more acceptable).   Londoners... What a bunch of litter bugs!! #London #tfl #tube #litter A photo posted by Jamie Fallon (@jbirdfallon) on Feb 24, 2016 at 2:00pm PST 2. Litterers Arguably, the worst of the worst. This city’s actually really nice, you know, and now someone else is going to have to pick that up. There’s a special rung in hell for people like this, just below internet trolls and just above people who use styrofoam cups at parties.

Some people believe that the universe is ruled by balance – that there’s a sort of equilibrium to everything which keeps the world in order. Ying and yang, and all that. It’s an interesting philosophy, for sure, and one that seems all the more convincing after you’ve spent more than a little time in London. The first half of that balance – between the good and the bad – belongs to the heroes; and in London, these are the everyday people who make our city that much nicer to live in, such as:  1. Seat giver-uppers In a perfect world, these kindliest of folks – who give up their seats to the pregnant, elderly or disabled on the tube or bus – wouldn’t need to be put on this list, because everyone would do it. After all, it’s just common decency. But then again, if this were a perfect world we could probably just teleport everywhere, and it’d be free to do so, and scotch eggs would be a breakfast food. Sadly, this isn’t a perfect world, so to you out there who do sacrifice your seat when the time is right: we salute you.   A photo posted by Robin (@bananapumpkin) on Feb 20, 2016 at 12:19am PST 2. 24-hour corner shop workers It’s 5am, and you’re stumbling home after the sort of night out that would have put Keith Richards in a light coma. The streets are deserted. Home itself is still a 15-minute walk away. Where will you go to get that one last beer, or tomorrow’s hangover breakfast, or a Kinder Egg for some reason? Easy: you’ll go to the corner shop. The one that’s always