Being a registered pedant, I’m always slightly gleeful when an on-line survey includes the question: ‘on a scale of one to ten, how likely are you to recommend us?’
The answer is practically always, 1. NEVER. And if there’s room for a comment, I will ‘helpfully’ explain that I wouldn’t recommend a bank, for instance, to anyone. If you’ve got any money, they’ll probably treat you OK (you might even get a magazine subscription), but you probably won’t get the VIP treatment if you’re broke. So too with swimming pools. If you fancy a swim, you generally go to the most convenient one, not travel an extra fifty miles for slightly nicer changing rooms and friendlier staff. Of course, if my local pool was swimming in sewage (which it isn’t, it’s pretty nice) I would advise people to avoid it.
When I was an actor, I always promised myself that I’d never do an advert for the Tory Party. This was pretty academic because I never got cast in a single commercial. And when it came to it, cash trumped principles when I worked as an extra on a Mail of Sunday advert.
Which got me thinking. Are there any things I would unequivocally recommend to a friend. Surprisingly few it would seem. But I did eventually come up with three:
THE ALGERIAN COFFEE STORES
The Algerian Coffee Stores in Old Compton Street (London W1D 4PB) is probably my favourite shop in the world. I first discovered it when I had a tiny part in a West-End show in the early 80s and I’ve been going there ever since. With its old-style wooden interior and wonderful smell of roasted coffee beans, it feels like walking into the past. The only thing that appears to have changed in the last 40 years is the use of vacuum-packed bags. I’m sure they’re better at preserving freshness, but the old paper ones let the aroma flood out and it was always a pleasure to be reminded of it on the tube journey home.
I wouldn’t recommend a particular coffee (unlike my wife, I prefer the highly roasted ones) but we often opt for the Megamix as a pleasing compromise. These days you can also order on-line.
PIZZA EXPRESS LONDON BANKSIDE (London SE1 9DS)
Not necessarily my favourite pizzas, but very reliable over the years and now with some good vegan options. What I would recommend however is my favourite view from a restaurant seat in London – especially at night. If you sit upstairs by the window, you can gaze across at the river and St Paul’s cathedral in all its glory.
WRITERS’ HOUR https://writershour.com
Writing can be quite a lonely business. I’ve also found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on my work in progress when Twitter/X, my email or ‘important research’ on YouTube is just a couple of clicks away. The Writers’ Hour is a simple, but rather brilliant idea. Two hundred or so writers from all around the world gather on-line at 8am in the morning to write together for fifty-five minutes. You don’t have to be a professional writer and it doesn’t matter what you’re writing. The only important thing is that during the fifty-five minutes all you do is write (or think about writing). You don’t even have to have your camera on. Just knowing that other writers are writing along with you can be strangely inspiring. There are several sessions throughout the day so you can have the added frisson of writing with writers in New York, LA and New Zealand. I’ve written a fair amount of my last two books on here, and whilst it might not be for everyone, I would certainly recommend that anyone wishing to focus on their writing should give it a try. Writers’ hour was free when I last used it, but I believe they are now suggesting a monthly donation of £9 after a free trial period of two weeks. There are also exemptions if you can’t afford it. I suppose that would make my recommendation slightly less unequivocal (if that’s a thing – and as a pedant I get quite annoyed with ‘very unique’) but I’m pretty sure I’ll be back at Writers’ Hour whenever I start work on a new book.
Simon Packham 