Scarlett Roitman

If tucking into a book and a slice of cake is your idea of happy, these London bookshops might just be your cup of tea.   Anna Thornton London Review Bookshop Cakes are serious business in this highbrow Bloomsbury bookshop and bijou tea room. They’re handcrafted in-house by shop founder Terry Glover, and the icing on the cake is that you can order bespoke, hand-painted ones for weddings and birthdays. Try the showstopper: lemon myrtle, caramelised apple and camomile cream cake. 14-16 Bury Place, WC1A 2JL.  We're feeling musical this month at Travelling Through 🎷🎶 Why not pop by for one of our June events? #Waterloo #Southbank #London pic.twitter.com/UGkG9ArYAu — Travelling Through (@Trvllng_Thrgh) June 13, 2017 Travelling Through It’s a bookshop for globetrotters but you’ll definitely want to stop and put your feet up for cake and a cuppa. Serving culture, art and books, Travelling Through is the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of Waterloo – for balmier days, there’s a walled garden downstairs. 131 Lower Marsh, SE1 7AE.   The royal treatment you can get @BookandKitchen, the best cafe and bookstore in London! #weekend pic.twitter.com/uEluKFbYML — Jakub Krupa (@JakubKrupa) June 4, 2016 Book & Kitchen A mecca for bibliophiles and cake lovers, this eclectic Notting Hill bookshop is also a café, art gallery and events space, with supper clubs and literary evenings on the menu. It serves lunch on weekends

It’s the last half-term of the school year and only six weeks left until the summer holidays. Hooray! Mother Nature has been blowing hot and cold air this past month so, while we can’t guarantee the weather, at least these books set in London should keep budding bookworms entertained this week – whether indoors or out.  A post shared by Jean (@geniebooks) on Mar 22, 2017 at 12:23am PDT ‘My Name is Victoria’ by Lucy Worsley This right royal adventure is written by Lucy Worsley, TV presenter and chief curator at the Historic Royal Palaces. It tells the story of a young girl, Miss V Conroy, who is sent to Kensington Palace to act as a playmate for 11-year-old Princess Victoria. Little does she know she is being trained by her father to spy on the future Queen. Recommended ages: 9+ A post shared by Santa Montefiore Official (@santamauthor) on Sep 17, 2016 at 10:10am PDT ‘The Royal Rabbits of London’ by Santa and Simon Sebag Montefiore This book tells the story of Shylo Tawny-Tail, a country rabbit who stumbles across the diabolical ‘Ratzis’ and overhears their evil plan to photograph the Queen in her nightie. In this fantastical adventure, Shylo sets off to London to enlist the help of the Royal Rabbits of London who live in a warren under Buckingham Palace. Together, they must save the Queen from this dastardly plot. If your budding bunnies like the sound of this, there’s a Royal Rabbits Afternoon Tea at the Grosvenor H

A portrait of Oscar Wilde is one of the star attractions of a new exhibition, Queer British Art 1861-1967, which opened at the Tate Britain this week. It’s the first time the painting has been shown in the UK, so to honour the man who could ‘resist everything except temptation,’ here are 12 London spots associated with Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde. 34 Tite Street, Chelsea Wilde lived here with his wife Constance and their two sons, and it’s where he penned ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ and ‘An Ideal Husband’. Ironically, the judge who sentenced the dramatist for gross indecency lived at number 58. Scarlett Roitman Liberty, Soho ‘Liberty is the chosen resort of the artistic shopper,’ Wilde once said of his favourite department store. The ultimate dandy was such a fan that he promoted it on his 18-month tour of America.  Scarlett Roitman   Courthouse Hotel, Soho Opposite Liberty is the Courthouse Hotel, which is where the Marlborough Street Magistrates Court once stood. Wilde took the Marquess of Queensbury to court here, a case which would ultimately lead to the writer’s imprisonment. The original judge’s bench, witness stand and dock are still standing in the hotel restaurant, Silk. Scarlett Roitman Langham Hotel, Marylebone Wilde was wild about food: his favourite hangouts included Kettners (re-opening as a Soho House in 2018), the Café Royal, the Savoy and the Langham. Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle dined at the latter with a publisher, a meeting that led to the 

If you missed out on the Holi fun this year, not to worry – there are plenty of ways to get your fill of amazing Indian culture. Head to these places where you’ll be forgiven for thinking you just stumbled into a Delhi deli or a Jaipur gem shop.   A post shared by Variety Silk House (@varietysilkhouse) on Feb 15, 2017 at 5:07am PST   For Bollywood glam, Variety Silk House is just the ticket. It’s a retail wonderland of saris, Jodhpuri suits and jewellery. Aishwarya Rai has modelled for them, and Gwen Stefani is a customer.     A post shared by Mridul Deep (@imriduldeep) on Jan 28, 2015 at 12:51pm PST   You could learn some classical Indian dance moves or pluck a sitar at The Bhavan centre in Kensington, India’s largest overseas cultural arts and heritage centre.   A post shared by Caitlin Keane (@cait_liin) on Sep 19, 2015 at 11:12am PDT   Want to meditate like a yogi? Covent Garden’s Buddha on a Bicycle has some uplifting classes and a celestial collection of Ganeshas and Indian incense.   A post shared by Vibrant Health Spa (@vibrant_health_spa) on Feb 7, 2016 at 11:26am PST   Across the street from Neasden’s Hindu Temple is Shayona, a heavenly destination for scrumptious sweets. Try the rassomalai (milk curd with cardamom and pistachio).     A post shared by #bapa360 #mayurshikotra (@gujumemes) on Aug 25, 2015 at 12:15pm PDT   If only there were more Indian pubs in London. Thank Ganesha, then, for The Regency Club in Queensbury. The la

The Barbican is a whopping 35 years old today! To celebrate, here are some facts about London’s multi-purpose performing arts venue. Photograph courtesy of the Barbican It was named 'one of the modern wonders of the world' (by the Queen) It was opened by HM Queen Elizabeth on March 3, 1982 who said that it was 'one of the modern wonders of the world'. The Brutalist building hasn't been everyone’s cup of tea, but at least it made a good first impression.   A post shared by OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO (@gareth_hoskins_) on Jan 30, 2017 at 9:28am PST It’s the largest performing arts venue in Europe Not only is it colossal but it showcases some 4,000 events each year. It also houses one of biggest public libraries in London and it's home to the city’s second largest conservatory, an oasis of exotic fish and 2,000 species of plants and trees. Associated Press, Alastair Grant It resurrected the King of Rock and Roll (sort of)  In 1998, the Barbican hosted a year-long, massive celebration of American culture, which included 150 film screenings, 90 concerts, 19 art shows, 12 productions and one pretty-convincing Elvis Presley impersonator. The King of Rock and Roll would get his very own exhibition in 2015, the year he would have turned 80.    A post shared by Barbican Centre (@barbicancentre) on Jan 16, 2017 at 5:05am PST It created London's first silent disco The silent disco made its London debut in the Barbican conservatory in 2001. This September, it'll get the clas