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Alastair Reid Schanche

Alastair is a features writer at London X London. He joined the team in late 2022 hot off the back of a five-year stint in Shanghai where he wrote for Time Out and ran a very niche blog about Chinese food.

He’s unable to shake his addiction for Sichuan noodles, but will be found devouring London’s other glorious cuisines when he’s not warming seats at the Prince Charles.

London’s biggest barbecue festival is back for 2023. Here’s all you need to know – including some world-class chefs you need to watch out for.  Barbecue lovers and general fans of London’s food scene – it’s time to get excited, and hungry. From the 31st August – 3rd September Meatopia is back on the menu. …

Read More about Ready to Chow Down on the World’s Best BBQ? Meatopia Grill Festival is Back!

All the best from the boot-shaped nation – these are the top Italian restaurants in London. London has a giant community of Italians – and they love to eat. Which is only ever a good thing… because we love to eat their food.  There’s nothing better than the simplicity of Italian cooking when you’re in …

Read More about Bellissimo! All the Best Italian Restaurants in London 

Buying or renting in London? We feel your pain. We spoke to some experts on the current housing market to tell us the tricks to buying, renting and building in London. Here’s what they had to say.  Whether you’re renting or buying, navigating the murky waters of London’s housing market can be difficult, especially in …

Read More about Where’s Good to Buy and Rent in London: Property Professionals on Navigating London’s Housing Market

Wanna see what Londoners got up to in the Victorian Era? Now you can. We love London’s history and so we are getting pretty excited to take a look back into it. The occasion? Victorian Vauxhall – South London’s Victorian revival fair.  Each year they take over Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and turn the place into …

Read More about You Can Party Like a Victorian at this Wacky Bank-Holiday Fun Fair

The ultimate guide to eating dumpling of all shapes and sizes in London There’s a special place in our hearts for the dumpling. They’re somehow so simple and yet unbelievably delicious. Thankfully London is full of Chinese restaurants, and as such anyone who feels the same way as us has plenty of options when it …

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A massive new club from some much-loved organisers is set to open in Tottenham’s old Ikea. Grand news for London’s clubbing community: It’s been announced that the massive warehouse once home to Tottenham’s Ikea will be turned into a 15,000-capacity music venue.  The news is cherry-topped by the fact that the group behind this new …

Read More about Night Fever! Tottenham’s Ikea Warehouse to Become a Massive Clubbing Venue from the Printworks Team

We explore a fantastically well-kept gothic graveyard and fill you in on how it came to be.  London’s history never fails to pique our interests, and call us weird but that’s especially true when it comes to the city’s cemeteries. No really, hear us out. A lot of people have lived in London over the …

Read More about The Hidden Secrets of West Norwood Cemetery

A 900 year old street party is to be revived in London this month. The City of London is planning to revive a very very old street party that hasn’t been held since the Victorian era. Yep, they’re bringing back Bartholomew Fair – and with plenty to look forward to as well.  What’s Bartholomew Fair?. …

Read More about Bartholomew Fair – A 900-Year-Old Street Party – is Being Revived in London This Month

The Barbican Estate is moving into phase two of its touch up. Here’s what’s going on. The City of London has given the go-ahead on the second phase of the Barbican Estate’s makeovers and improvements. The plans to protect a structure that’s become the poster child for brutalism were put in place nearly a decade …

Read More about Barbican Beautification: Phase Two of the Barbican’s Revamp is Given the Go Ahead