Highbury Crescent, Islington, North London

Stately period properties overlooking Highbury Fields

Compton Terrace Gardens, Islington, North London

When the first owners moved into Compton Terrace in the 1820s and 1830s, they had private use of gardens between their houses and Upper Street. Today, the gardens are maintained by the local council and are open to all 

Twelfth Night, The National Theatre, South Bank, Central London

Images from the Twelfth Night website

Seemingly set in the twentieth century, this extravagant production of Shakespeare's farce Twelfth Night employs a large and eclectic cast dressed in skinny jeans, outlandish suits, shades and brash swimsuits.  At times, the comic delivery is delicious, with Tamsin Greig (as the pompous and presumptuous Malvolia), Tim McMullan (as the mischievous Toby Belch), Daniel Rigby (an indignant and idiotic Aguecheek) and Phoebe Fox (a subtle and seductive Olivia), adding a great deal of humour to the script. But in this age of short attention spans, Twelfth Night can sometimes feel laborious and long-winded, as the cross-dressing and cases of mistaken identity gradually unwind. Moreover, some of the other performances, notably Oliver Chris (as a one-dimensional Orsino) and Tamara Lawrance (as a dutiful Viola) lack a spark, making the production feel flat at times.

Ten Pin Bowling, Ham Yard Hotel, Soho, Central London

An upmarket and charismatic establishment, the Ham Yard Hotel has a traditional wooden ten pin bowling alley in its basement. It costs £20 an hour for adults and £10 an hour for kids to use one of the four lanes, which are complete with electronic scoring monitors that flash up garish cartoons and images when you hit a strike, spare or split. Although the alley can suffer a few technical glitches, the friendly and numerous staff will often allow you a bit of extra time.  Drinks are pricey at £6 for a beer and £9 for a glass of wine, but the Ham Yard Hotel is both more intimate and smarter than your average ten pin bowling centre.  For some strange reason, you can only book one week ahead. 8/10

Alsur Café Llúria, Carrer de Roger de Llúria, Barcelona

An airy and modern cafe-bar, Alsur Café Llúria feels quite different from many of Barcelona's old school establishments - it seems more Scandinavian, than Spanish. Although the menu and the football on TV will bring you back to Barcelona.  You can get a decent and unusual eggs benedict, featuring sweet scones, Iberian ham and spinach, for 7.95 euros. It is not massive, but it is big enough for lunch, You can wash it down with a large bog-standard beer for another 2.6 euros. Service is slow and haphazard. But the ambiance is quite chilled and seems to attract American expats working on laptops. 7/10

Hotel Roger De Lluria, Roger De Lluria, Barcelona

Although it is very central and within walking distance of Barcelona's main sights, the elegant Hotel Roger De Lluria is in a fairly peaceful neighbourhood and is well sound proofed. Despite being decorated in an unusually traditional and staid style, the plush furnishings are good quality and in good nick. The rooms aren't big, but they are comfortable and well-equipped with baths, showers, flat-screen TVs, safes and free Wi-Fi. At the front of the hotel, there is a pleasant view down Roger De Lluria. The hotel staff are friendly, while the buffet breakfast is both extensive and impressive, offering smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, an array of pastries and other appetising options. The only complaint could be the lacklustre coffee, but there are plenty of eating and drinking options nearby. 7/10

Bodean's, Balham High Road, south London

A transplant from small town America, Bodean's is a glorified rib shack offering generous portions of high cholesterol food at keenish prices - a bountiful 16oz beef burger with fries is £13, while a whole slab of baby back ribs is £16. The fare is surprisingly tasty and the Balham branch can be almost full early on a Sunday evening. Be careful how much you order, as you can easily end up stuffed to the gills. Service by the young staff is good natured, the seats are comfortable and there will probably be American Football or baseball on the telly.  A well-orchestrated celebration of America's red meat-eating cowboy culture, Bodean's is a fun place to take the kids. 7/10

Cheltenham Races, New Year's Day, Gloucestershire

  If it is a cold and wet start to the New Year, then Cheltenham Racecourse's many bars and covered stands can get very, very crowded. It can feel like Oxford Street, only with more Tweed and less racial diversity. Spanning the generations and the social classes, the punters tend to drink steadily, but are generally good-natured and knowledgeable. Traditional bookies still line the course, taking minimum bets of a fiver, from underneath their umbrellas. From the main grandstand, there are sweeping views over the white fences that criss-cross the grass, leading the eye to the hills beyond. On the day, you have to pay £35 for this view, but many club ticket holders still cram themselves into the Centaur arena and watch the action on the big screen, cheering raucously for their chosen steeplechaser. To keep you going through the seven races, there are plenty of food stalls, offering reasonably priced hotdogs, pulled pork, chillies and the like.