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Tom Greig On 500 Hidden Secrets Of London
15 Feb 2023
Whether a first-time visitor or long-term resident, in a city as big as London it can be hard to choose what to do, where to eat, and how to discover its best-kept secrets. One of our favourite London books, which has all the answers to these questions and many more, is 500 Hidden Secrets of London (featured in our Reading London book list). It is an affectionate and informed guide to England’s capital, written by a true local. We had the joy of chatting with author, sales rep, and DJ – Tom Greig to learn more about how he chose the under-the-radar, outstanding addresses included in his book.~~Tom moved to London in 2002 with his then-girlfriend to work as a bookseller. Fifteen years later he is still in the city with his now wife, working as a sales representative for an art book publisher. Travelling around the city as a part of his job, he has the chance to explore new neighbourhoods and discover many of the places recommended in the guide.
When I moved to London, I only knew the city in a very superficial way. I’d been to a few concerts and clubs and had gone on a few record-buying forays into Soho, and visited friends a couple of times. It was quite a daunting prospect to move to such a large city with next to no money and a very basic bookselling wage to start on, but exciting too of course. Working in the West End and being able to dive into the record shops of Soho on my lunch hour was probably what I appreciated most right from the start, it was amazing; having access to so much culture, arts and music, and history too. No more getting the last train home at 10pm!~~ I lived in Shepherd’s Bush when I first moved to London, just off Uxbridge Road, and I loved the diversity of cultures and all the amazing food stores and restaurants along there. It was much more stimulating than being in most places in central London. I’ve always enjoyed walking in London and would explore some of the historic areas to look at the architecture and find old pubs to visit. There was just a lot to take in and discover and that’s what I enjoyed the most at the beginning. I am fortunate that the nature of my job allows me to be something of a flâneur, to explore the city and continue to make new discoveries in the course of my working day.
Yes, London is a lot and hard to get a grip on, and always on the move. Fortunately, when I was approaching the task of selecting the places for the book I was able to follow the pattern that had already been established in the other city guides in the series. The chapters were more or less set (places to eat, drink, shop, enjoy culture etc) and I had to choose the categories to go in them. In total there are 100 categories with 5 addresses for each. I then had to find and select the 5 places to fill each category. I knew plenty of places straight away that I wanted to go in the book. I undertook research on other places to fill the categories and asked some of my friends and bookshop contacts for recommendations too. I would make a shortlist for each category and then whittle it down to my favourite 5 that would make for an interesting, varied, and worthwhile selection, also considering the need to have some kind of geographic balance throughout the book. I don’t pretend to know all there is to know about London; the guide is intended as a starting point for readers to make their own discoveries.
Photography by Sam Mellish
Being the author of
The 500 Hidden Secrets of London
is an ongoing process. Since it was first published in 2016 there have been many updates and reprints. Happily, the book has been successful and each reprint offers an opportunity to update the contents to replace anywhere that may have shut down or lost its charm, or to add a few exciting new places to help keep the book fresh. I recently submitted some updates for the 11th edition of the book. So at least once a year the book has new additions to the places and addresses that make up the 500 entries. I keep notes on anything interesting I find on my travels or in my reading that I might like to squeeze into the book at the next update.
Reading in bed is hard to beat, or by the fire.
by Michael Bracewell
I’m reading
Souvenir
by Michael Bracewell at the moment. It’s a brilliant evocation of what London was like in the late 70s and early 80s. Places I know well from personal experience feature in the short episodes that are related to the book. It examines the music, fashion, youth culture and the atmosphere of that pre-digital, post-modern age. It’s a little time-capsule from a recent, but markedly different, past.
By Derek Jarman
Before that, I read
Modern Nature
by the artist, filmmaker and polymath Derek Jarman. It’s a diary and memoir written in the late 80s when he had a flat above Charing Cross Road. It is completely fascinating to accompany him around the London of that time.
by the Open House
Finally,
The Alternative Guide to the London Boroughs
, published in 2020 by the Open House organisation is a great way to get immersed in the fabric of the city. It’s partly a gazetteer of architecturally or civically notable buildings from every borough in London, and partly a collection of writings about the lived experience of being a Londoner.
We want to thank Tom once again for agreeing to be our expert this month, you can find out even more about him on his
author’s page
or follow him on
Instagram
. For more city guides and travel inspiration head over to the 500 Hidden Secrets
website
and follow them on
social media
.~~As always to keep up to date with our latest interviews, book lists and more sign up for our newsletter.
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