“In the pitch black, we tiptoed through the galleries, bearing torches like art thieves…” The Weekender: A less than grand national The open studio weekender kicked off on Saturday with a group of visitors crowded behind one of our large MacBook screens. With varying degrees of interest, each of us cheered on the aberrant-backed horse, an outside tip to win the Grand National...

“In other words, Shoreditch House without the booze or the rooftop swimming pool…” Coffee Palaces Our research into 19th century public houses continued this week with a visit to the British Architectural Library at RIBA HQ, where we read a few books, of all things, one of which was called ‘Victorian Pubs’ by the architectural writer and historian Mark...

“There should be an app that churns out interesting chat to have with celebrities.” Tracey’s World: If You Sow Them, They Will Come According to an old Spanish proverb, under a tattered cloak you will generally find a good drinker, wise words for the launch of the V&A’s quilts exhibition on Wednesday evening, where we found ourselves elbow-deep in...

“The dome-shaped acoustic amplifier sounded as dubious as the super loud Spinal Tap amps that go all the way up to eleven.” The Man from Del Monte Looming deadlines have kept us chained to our desks for most of the week and we don’t expect to shake off the shackles until late next week. Nevertheless, we did manage to attend a lecture at the Bishopsgate...