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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.

Taking to the stage or the heckling from the audience? Here’s our guide to the best spoken word nights in London.  It’s no secret that London is a hot spot of live events… And that’s no different for poetry. There’s a host of spoken word nights going on all over the capital pretty much every …

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Winter can be grim, but it’s time to take the season into your own hands. Get out there and beat those winter blues in London.  London rarely gets enough winter snow to make the city look like a winter wonderland – instead, we get grey skies, short days, and bucketloads of rain. No wonder we …

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London’s Old War Office building is going to be turned into a luxury hotel and food hall. Here’s what you need to know. The Old War Office in Whitehall is going to be turned into a luxury hotel and food court named OWO and set to open in spring of 2023.  It sounds set to …

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Mayfair’s newest Italian restaurant, Sparrow, leans as much toward America as it does Italy. Read on for the full review. Coming to London by way of LA is a smooth new Italian restaurant named Sparrow. It’s already causing gasps among the followers of London’s food scene for extravagant £215 wagyu steaks and starters that cruise …

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Looking for the best Egyptian museums in London? These are the ones you need to visit. The mummies. The pyramids. The thousands of years of historic rises and falls! It’s hard not to find ancient Egypt fascinating. And if you’re into it (we’ll assume you are seeing as you’re reading this) there’s plenty of artefacts …

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On the hunt for Bethnal Green’s best pubs? These are the best places to booze in the area. Traditionally a working class area of London, Bethnal Green is now becoming a desirable place to rent for young folk who can’t afford inner city prices but still want to live somewhere with a bit of a …

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Spotted Camden’s Amy Winehouse statue? Here’s where you can find it and the exceptional circumstances behind its commision.  From the ages of rock and roll and punk to Britpop, it’s impossible to overlook London’s contributions to the UK’s music scene. One of the most singular voices to come out of the city was Amy Winehouse’s.  …

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Spotted the monkeys swinging around the capital? London’s Chimpanzee Trail has gotten an extension until mid January and you NEED to check it out.  Have you seen the masses of chimpanzees that’ve been crowding the riverfront development at London Bridge City? The statues are part of an exhibition called Chimps are Family that was put …

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