The Harcourt Arms might seem like a normal pub, but its Swedishness will warm anyone's cold bones. Photo credit: Vincent Huck

The Harcourt Arms is a traditional Victorian pub spiced with a Swedish flavour. Situated in-between Edgware Road,  Marble Arch and Baker Street tube stations, the friendly façade at 32 Harcourt Street immediately calls passer-by’s attention by inviting them to experience Swedish food, sports and, why not, a drink.

The pub is rather small, composed of mainly tables for two. However, the atmosphere is cosy and invites the customer for a prolonged stay.

The place has been running for years, but it was only officially endorsed as a Swedish pub eight years ago. As it is located right next to a Swedish church, the pub and the church would share the same customers. The two communities are interconnected to such an extent that when a well-known Swedish worshipper and pub regular left London, the church community asked the pub owner if they could redesign a room in his honour. The owner agreed and the room still exists today. A golden sign at the top of the door indicates: Svenska Salongen. Shortly after this, the pub was sold to its current Swedish owner.

The Swedish Salon - Svenska Salongen - is just part of the puzzle of why this place is a proper Swedish pub. Photo credit: Vincent Huck

The transformation of the Harcourt to a Swedish pub began: A scarf with the Sweden flag was hung over the counter, the TV started to feature Swedish sports (mainly football and ice hockey), the food menu took a Swedish tone. And so did the drinks: the main advertised drink now being Kopparberg cider.

If the weather allows it, a beer garden in the back offers a fantastic space for an enjoyable time. The pub even rents a BBQ (£50 for two hours and a maximum of 30 people). If the weather is too bad to stay outside, groups can always rent the room on the first floor which is a nice colourful IKEA-styled room.

In terms of prices the Harcourt Arms is accessible, especially in its food prices: ranging from £4 for a sandwich (which, in truth, is quite filling) to £9 for a heartier meal. One of the highlights of the menu is the traditional Swedish meatballs that can be eaten either in a sandwich or alone, match with a good beer and it is simply delicious.

The Harcourt Arms is one of those pubs that has nothing really exceptional about it, but you feel so good sitting at a table enjoying good food, drinks and company that you would never want to leave.

The Harcourt Arms
32 Harcourt Street
London W1H 4HX

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The Britishness of the Wenlock Arms brings tears to our reporter's eyes. Photo: Eugenio Montesano

There are some things that are quintessentially British.

They encapsulate the spirit of both the country and its inhabitants. Things like a nice cup of tea at five, bad weather all year long, 99 flakes or having preconceptions about people based on the newspapers they read; these things are so English they should find a place in the Constitution.

Ramshackle pubs sit on a throne among them, and The Wenlock Arms, one of the most wretched boozers I’ve ever seen, is a true Briton’s dream.

Set in the suburban corner of the leaden North London borough that is Hackney, close to Islington and located opposite to the small but lovely Shepherdess Walk park, this dive could well be found anywhere within the borders of the almighty, intoxicated Albion.

Draught dream

I just can’t hide my emotion and I have to fight back the tears as I stare at the nine hand-pumps right in the middle of the rotten wooden bar, worn and scratched all over its surface after countless decades of glorious service.

Nine different handpumps - a pub connoisseur's paradise. Photo: Eugenio Montesano

John has been working here for almost 17 years, right since Friday 14th January 1994, when the pub changed its ownership and begun to shine again, after years spent selling Amstel draught. Long red hair and an even longer beard slowly turning white, he’s grumpy, dishevelled and he looks like he’s already had a few.

He agrees to take me for a tour through the forest of taps I see right in front of me. I’m nothing but spoilt for choice: they have beer that comes from all four corners of Britain. I decide to treat myself to some Brewer’s Gold, a pale ale from Essex. John lets me try it, before I order a full pint.

…Pure liquid gold, my throat sings and my soul rejoices! This pub has a new regular now.

But the real pearl here is a drink which is often (unjustly) overlooked. Thatcher’s draught cider is a gift from above. Strong and bitter like the well-known Lady who used to run this country, it’s prickly to the smell and pungent to the taste. This heavy (6.5 percent ABV) unfermented cider is the icing on the cake, and quite a rare treat (it’s brewed by a family in Myrtle Farm, Somerset, and sold in very few pubs around the UK).

Good grub

If you’re hungry, don’t despair. All kinds of sandwiches (egg and bacon, sausage, black pudding, ham and cheese, tuna) are sold throughout the day until 9pm. And The Wenlock Arms is justly famous for its salt beef “Sandwedges” – so thick they are difficult to eat (but well worth the effort!), served with English mustard and horseradish or pickles.

The punters are as authentic as the pints. Photo: Eugenio Montesano

This place is old, and dirty. It’s scruffy, like its owners and its customers. It’s true and it’s real, like the ales that it proudly serves. This place is fantastic, the ultimate drunkard’s paradise. I can picture the likes of George Orwell or Anthony Burgess, drinking away their gloom, exorcising their demons with the pen and the glass. Notorious pub addicts as they were, they would have revered this hole. So do I.

The Wenlock Arms

26, Wenlock Road London N1 7TA

Phone: 020 7608 3406

Web: http://www.wenlock-arms.co.uk/

Email: info@wenlock-arms.co.uk

Open from 12 noon every day. Close whenever John feels like he’s had enough for the day – usually no later than 12am (1am at weekends).

Tube: Angel; Old Street

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Join The First Pint's quest to find the best underground pubs in Central London. Photo credit: Lillo Montalto

Pub-crawl with The First Pint through the streets of Soho, Fitzorovia and Covent Garden in an amazing quest for the best (and most hidden) underground pubs of Central London.

Our underground pub crawl tour starts from one of the quietest places in Fitzrovia, the Bourne & Hollingsworth pub, (28 Rathbone Place, W1T 1JF), a few yards from Tottenham Court Road tube station. This basement cocktail is of course tucked down a perilous, winding flight of stairs, and features some of the most decadent wallpapers decorations of all times, giving you the feeling of being in a private members’ club or, alternatively, in your granny’s house. It’s a cocktail bar, so don’t even bother asking for beer: you’ll find only a lonely Asahi tap on the bar. The atmosphere is absolutely intimate and the prices are good for being in the very heart of London.

You’ll more likely to find a better atmosphere few steps far from Bourne & Hollingworth pub, at Jerusalem Bar & Restaurant, in Fitzrovia (198 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2H 8JL), well hidden down a staircase that leads you beneath the pavement of Shaftesbury Avenue. You need to be eagle-eyed to spot the entrance, on the left side of the road walking from Oxford Street towards Bourne & Hollingsworth pub. Once inside, it feels like being in a sort of hidden dungeon full of treasures: soft lights, chandeliers spreading a mild red light all over the place. Bring over your girlfriend and have a candlelight dinner with her sunk in one of the comfy sofas scattered all over the huge bar. The place’s stone walls give it just the right atmosphere for a relaxed chill-out night to wash away the daily stress.

Perfect, posh, trendy and alternative, its only weak points are prices and beer: although they serve ales in bottles, the choice at the tap is poor, including average lagers like Amstel, Murphy’s, etc. Burgers and nachos portions are just huge, but expect expensive prices – roughly, if hungry, you probably are going to pay around £7 to get filled up. Cocktails tend to be quite expensive, too.

Triscia’s: Italian underground heaven

Member's only Triscia's will give you a taste of Italy... underground! Photo credit: Lillo Montalto

Next stop is the real surprise of our underground pubs crawling tour. Walking down Greek Street from Soho Square, there’s only one bar really worth popping in, but it is just impossible to spot it unless you’re a local or you already knew about it: the doorbell is hidden inside the letter box! The First Pint managed to get in anyway.

Shuffled discretely inside house-door number 57 to find the splendid, hidden-away New Evaristo Club (57 Greek Street, Soho, W1D 3DX).  Although it is (primarily) a members only bar, Triscia, owner and the ever-present bar tender of this tiny, little jewel of Soho, will be happy to welcome you even if not a member yet. In fact, it’s known to locals only as Triscia’s.  Her late Italian husband opened it 68 years ago, trying to recreate the real Italian bar atmosphere. And he succeeded indeed.

If you have never been in Italy, just swing by at Triscia’s to get a feeling of what a real Italian bar is: old people playing a quiet game of Dinari, drinking beer from their bottles of Peroni, photos of Sinatra, Schillachi, some shady looking suited types lining the wall and a pleasant, never-stopping chatter sound hanging over the place. Customers are both Italian and Londoners, going crazy on Wednesday nights when a guy with a recorder comes in and pumps up some good rock & roll music from the 60s along with swing and blues hits. Open seven days a week, from 5.30pm to 1am, its tiny smoking area outside is just the perfect gathering place: be aware you are going to meet random people by the dozen just lighting up a cigarette.

A taste of Hanway Street

Troy 22, a nice place for merry-making and song-singing! Photo credit: Lillo Montalto

Proceed then to Hanway Street, the last resource for those of you who need a last late night sip  in Soho. Get lost into this tiny hidden alley, real backbone of Oxford Street booze, getting off from Oxford Street. You’ll find the On The Beat second-hand record store, probably the best in town, and the Bradley’s Spanish Bar, one of our favourite West End boozers.

Try not to miss an electric purple sign “The Bar”: those steps will lead you straight down into a world where the clocks stopped many years ago and things will appear frozen in time. The vintage atmosphere you can breath at The Bar club is made precious by the music, especially when the DJ delivers out loud the best soul from the 60s and the 70s, doo-wop and funk. Open until 3am on weekdays as well as on Fridays and Saturdays, the drinks come for reasonable prices and the friendly, talkative staff makes it the perfect last call for night-owls or hammered people who just need a place to rest.

Walk few steps round the corner and you’ll find Troy 22, The First Pint’s golden suggestion for our aficionados. Don’t make the mistake of walking up the near-vertical stairs: remember to always go underground! Upstairs you’ll find a relaxing urban lounge when you can chill out listening to some real good rock & roll hit of the good old days, while it is downstairs where the magic is hidden. If you’re lucky enough, you’ll find some artist sitting at the bench, sipping his beer and playing his warm flamenco on his Spanish guitar. It is a Spanish bar indeed, an underground intimate treasure where lights are low and streams of sangria flow like rivers (you can get a jug for just £15). This Spanish cove is cloaked by a surreal atmosphere, and it has so much character that even the loo is worth a picture.

Cocktails and Hip-hop Karaoke

Whether it be contemplative chill-out sessions or raucous beer drinking, underground is the way to go. Photo credit: Lillo Montalto

Finally, don’t miss Freud bar in Covent Garden (198 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2H 8JL), located just few hundred meters from Friendly Society basement gay club. Opened in 1986, it is definitely the best cocktail bar in London, a hidden one-room cellar where some 15 types of bottled beer are stored, including Efes, Kasteel Cru and Zywiec. Wine starts at a bargain £3.15 a glass. Be willing to spend an average of £6-7 for your cocktail, but after this experience no other cocktail besides Freud‘s ones will ever touch your lips.

Ranging from the classic Mojito to the Homeboy, the fear-inducing Zombie, and the straight-forward Perfect Pimms, our platinum tip is the Long Island Iced Tea. Simply wonderful. If you don’t drink alcohol or you are fasting, don’t worry, you’ll be able to get also delicious lunches and great coffee and teas on request. Open every night until 11pm, it stays open longer on Thursdays (until 12pm), Fridays and Saturdays (until 1am).

End the underground pub crawling at The Social club where, as you can read in its manifesto, great music and better booze are provided. It is traditionally the place where bands in London have their first concert ever, but as the owner of the place would put it, according to Rebecca (an artist working there), “We just play fucking good music.” If you ever dreamed “about being Tupac Shakur even if you’re white,” as we have been told, don’t miss Thursday’s Hip-hop karaoke night, one of the funniest in London. Crazy reggae and Ska nights (“it feels like being in the 80s,” we hear) are the perfect way to finish off dancing after the tour the force that has just been proposed.

Locals do suggest other places around, like Black’s member’s club and Jerry’s, equipped with an encyclopaedic collection of liqueurs, but The First Pint reporter was out of commission by the end of this insane tour to check them out. So it’s up to you to give them a try and give us a real good feedback!
See The First Pint’s Underground pub crawl in a bigger map

Other unmissable underground pubs in London:

– Underwriter – 15 St. Mary Axe. Closest Tube station: Liverpool Street.

– Shunt Vaults Members’ bar, deep in the tunnels under London Bridge Station. The entrance is a little door on Joiner Street in London Bridge Tube Station.

– Ginglik in Shepherd’s Bush Green, W12 8PH.

– Three Blind Mice Bar – 5 Ravey Street, Shoreditch, EC2A 4QW.

– Buffalo Bar – 259 Upper Street, Highbury & Islington, London, N1 1RU.

– Underground Bar – LSE Students Union, East Building, Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE. Closest Tube station: Temple/Holborn/Covent Garden.

– Lounge Bohemia – 1 Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch, EC2A 3EJ.

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The Insider is hoping that Leafcutter John will be playing some new tunes from The Housebound Spirit on Tuesday. Photo credit: 1v0/Flickr

The Insider is The First Pint’s expert on all things cool and London. Picking out the best of the week’s events and activities; one-off or regular, unique or mainstream. So we have a day by day selection of the best events to keep you occupied all week long. Enjoy.

Sound and music reasserts it dominance on my cultural menu for this week, after a week of hibernation in cinema seating its time to get back out in the real world, catch up with some old musical favourites and seek out new sonic delights from the Middle East.

Monday 15

Two of the bands I’ve seen most over the last ten years conveniently share the same stage at Koko in a double headline show, Canadian indie rock super group Broken Social Scene and Chicago based instrumental post rock pioneers Tortoise.

Tuesday 16

There is another chance to see Tortoise and Broken Social Scene tonight, but I’ll be heading to Cafe Oto for Kammer Klang No.21. The theme is minimal and domestically inspired music, featuring compositions from John Cage, Steve Reich and others. Closing the night will be a solo set from Leafcutter John, who combines elements of computer music, improvisation, home made instruments and folk. Given the theme of the evening I’m hopeful we may hear some work from his album The Housebound Spirit, which was his creative response to suffering agoraphobia after being mugged outside his studio.

Wednesday 17

The aviation nerd in me feels drawn to the images of wrecked planes in Hilo Steryl exhibition at the Chisenhale Gallery. I haven’t had a chance to visit as yet so my plan is to combine a viewing of the art with tonight’s talk from Mark Fisher, author of Capitalist Realism. Fisher will be discussing, ‘Can anything genuinely new emerge in a political landscape that is clogged with ideological junk?’

Thursday 18

Thursday’s event is something of a personal pilgrimage to see Cathal Coughlan at the Water Rats on Grays Inn Road. Coughlan was the former front man of Microdisney and The Fatima Mansions, two bands that stand at the pinnacle of Irish music music of the 80s and 90s respectively. In an insightful blog post last year on Rage Against the Machine’s race to the Christmas number one it was stated: “There are much better sociopolitically oriented 17-year-old hard rock songs that deserve to be pushed to the top of the charts! Half of them are probably by The Fatima Mansions!”. Don’t expect a great deal of hard rock tonight though, the solo albums may have mellowed a little sonically but can be as caustic, uncompromising and inventive as ever. Tickets are £12 and the show kicks off at 7pm.

Friday 19

I may be out of hibernation but it couldn’t be a completely cinema-free week. As part of the Egyptian Book of the Dead exhibition the British Museum is screening  Al-Mummia (The Night of Counting the Years), a 1969 drama directed by Shadi Abdel Salam about 19th century tomb robbing. These Friday night screenings that often accompany exhibitions are a bargain at a mere £3.

Saturday 20

Back to Cafe Oto tonight for the first night of Mazaj, two days of Middle Eastern electronic music featuring artists from the UK, US, Egypt and Lebanon. Day and weekend tickets are available.

Sunday 21

As part of the London Jazz Festival there is a free Adventures in Sound performance in the Clore Ballroom of the Royal Festival Hall at 2pm, featuring improvisation from Matthew Bourne, Zed-U and Barre Phillips. It’s also the last day of the Cologne Christmas Market out on the South Bank in front of the Festival Hall. My musical choice for the evening still hangs in the balance, as Mazaj continues at Cafe Oto, but I may choose to stick around by the Thames and go see another Jazz Festival event, South London bluesman Billy Jenkins plays the Purcell Room in the Queen Elizabeth Hall with the backing of the BBC Big Band.

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Roast Beef with all the trimmings.. Photo: Carmen Kong

Two weeks ago, if you asked me to name a tasty typical British cuisine, I would have said “baked beans”. Sorry, I am not even a big fan of Fish ‘n’ Chips.

Being a serious meat-lover and surrounded by good beer and meat in Germany for three years, I had considered myself doomed on this island, with a lack of good, hearty meat. But after trying the traditional British Sunday Roast, my eyes have been opened and I am dazzled by the prospect of a good life here, starting from every Sunday.

Long-standing tradition

Traditionally, British families gather every Sunday to have a long and heavy feast, consisting of a variety of meat served with potatoes and vegetables—everything roasted. Peas, turnips, parsnips, cabbage, red cabbage, and broccoli can also be served on the side, roasted or boiled. And covering it, a layer of rich, brown gravy or white sauce.

It is believed that the custom started in medieval times, when village serfs served their squires for six days a week and Sunday was the only day of rest. Families would put the meat in the oven before church and after the morning service, serfs would gather and practice their battle techniques. Then, they would sit together and enjoy the rewarding meal they deserved after a week of hard work.

The Taste Test

While I hadn’t been practicing any battle manoeuvres, I felt I needed the Sunday reward as much as the serfs did in the past. So I decided to treat myself and two German friends to one of the local pubs famous for its Sunday Roast.

Once we got to The Owl and The Pussycat on Redchurch Street, we all went for the beef and pork out of an impressive variety of roast dishes, including pumpkin and nut roasts for vegetarians. 15 minutes later, we were greeted with three, king-sized plates filled with succulent, roasted meat, a variety of vegetables and potatoes, and heavy, but not greasy, gravy.

The experience was heavenly. My friends and I did not utter a single word to each other for almost 25 minutes during the meal because we were so emerged in our private paradises, dazzled by the surprisingly rich flavour and volume of the meal.

With roasts this tasty there's no need for a dishwasher... Photo: Carmen Kong

An English patriotic ballad, written by Henry Fielding, in 1731, goes:

“When mighty Roast Beef was the Englishman’s food, it ennobled our brains and enriched our blood. Our soldiers were brave and our courtiers were good. Oh! The Roast Beef of old England, And old English Roast Beef!”

With the Sunday Roast, I might just feel a little more English a weekend at a time.

–

Recommended Pub: The Owl and the PussyCat
Serving from 1pm every Sunday until sold out.
Address: 34 Redchurch Steet, Shoreditch, London, E2 7DP
Price: £14-£16 (May seem a bit pricey, but you can literally forget about dinner after the meal!)

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Fantastic Mr. Fox has nothing on this cosplayer. Photo Credit: Caroline Bodin

Have you ever fantasized about having superpowers? Do you dream of becoming a superhero? Does the flamboyant side of you wish you could wear tights, underwear as outerwear and accessorise with large weapons? Or maybe you just want to look choo-kawaii (supercute).

Hopefully any First Pint readers who do harbour these kind of leanings were at the Cosplay event in the Barbican last weekend. For those of you who couldn’t make it, or haven’t plucked up the courage to sew your own home-made hero costume, we have a picture slideshow of the amazing costumes on display at the Cosplay LATES night.

Cosplay is a Japanese phenomenon which allows the shyest person to don a costume and transform themselves into their favourite anime or manga character. There were a huge range of fabulous, terrifying, hilarious and out and out cute costumes on display. From celebrated manga and anime like One Piece to popular video games like Final Fantasy.

Ever been to a maid cafe? These ladies want you to experience it in London next month. Photo credit: Caroline Bodin

Next month, two of the London Cosplayers, bedecked in maid costumes, will be running a Maid Cafe in London. Maid Cafes sprung up in Tokyo a few years ago. In Harajuku, one of the city’s trendiest spots, you can go to a cafe to be attended to by girls in elaborate maid outfits.

The Cosplayers at the Barbican were a mixture of enthusiastic locals, hooked on the adrenaline of stepping into fantasy shoes while Japanese and other foreigners enjoying cosplaying in a new environment. The event opened with a parade of all brightly coloured costumes. This fashion show stood out from the regular though in that much of the audience was as well put together and outrageously costumed as the models sashaying down the runway.

Check out the pictures here:

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The Brooklyn-based band and performance collective MEN will be playing at The Garage in Islington. Photo: Cass Bird

Activism meets creativity as Ladyfest Ten reaches Highbury Road and Holloway Corner to celebrate female talents in all forms. Founded ten years ago in Olympia, Washington, this year’s Ladyfest upholds the tradition of a global, feminist, DIY movement. Ladyfests have been held all over the world from New Orleans to Santos-Brazil.

Events

From 12 to 14 November, you can catch a dizzying array of music, art, comedy, photography, film, debate, and written and spoken word events. The independent festival offers an eclectic selection of music performances – from hip-hop and beat-boxing at the Horatia to electro and riot grrl action at the Relentless Garage, finishing up on a mellower folk-tinged note on Sunday afternoon.

The festival encourages interaction so if all that artistic energy gets you inspired, you can engage in some creativity of your own; The Lady Garden will provide you with all of your DIY and crafting needs at the Resource Centre on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets

Tickets can be bought per day or for the whole weekend: music passes are £15-£25; ‘rest of the fest’ passes cost between £12.50-£40. All profits from the festival will be donated to Eaves, a charity which provides high-quality housing and support to vulnerable women.

For the full musical line-up and schedule of events, check out the Ladyfest Ten website .

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Hanna Vojackova, from the series 'Ridinghood from East End'. Photo courtesy of Czech Centre

Feel like exploring new contemporary cinema? The 14th edition of the Czech Film Festival is kicking off tomorrow Thursday 11 November in London. Films will be shown at the Prince Charles Cinema, the Riverside Studio and the Barbican .

This year’s festival is full of award winning features exploring different themes – history, politics or biopics, and different genres, ranging from documentaries to sci-fi.

The opening gala screening

The festival opens with the gala screening : Marek Najbrt’s Protector (2009). The screening will be introduced by screenwriter Robert Geisler. Marek Najbrt’s Protector has won this year’s Czech Lion awards, shared with and Tomas Masin’s Three Seasons in Hell (2010).

Gypsy night at the Barbican

Plenty of events will fill this year’s festival with a special night marking the bicentennial of Czech poet Karel Hynek Macha. A unique screening of Karel Anton’s silent film Gypsies (1921) will be accompanied with live music by Irena and Vojtěch Havel as a part of the Barbican silent film series, on 18 November. Tickets are £8.50 online, £10.50 full price.

Lost in translation?

The First Pint will be attending the première screening of the short documentary Czechin’ London by Tomáš Doležal and Marta Svobodová. The screening will be followed by the opening of the Lost in Translation? exhibition where you’ll be able to meet the artists and share your experiences of London. The screening starts at 4.15pm on Sunday 14 November at the Riverside Studio, tickets for the premiere are £5 but the exhibition is free!

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The man behind Takeshi's Castle is also an internationally lauded director. Check out his work at the Barbican. Photo credit: geirf/Flickr

The Insider is The First Pint’s expert on all things cool and London. Picking out the best of the week’s events and activities; one-off or regular, unique or mainstream. So we have a day by day selection of the best events to keep you occupied all week long. Enjoy.

Maybe it is the change in the clocks and the feeling of winter closing in, but this week the allure of the moving image and flickering light, and the comfort and warmth of cinemas seems to have had even more impact on the Insider’s cultural agenda, with some sound thrown into the mix as well.

Monday 8

Jason Lytle formerly of Grandaddy plays a solo show at Hoxton Bar and Kitchen. From 8pm tickets are £13.50.

Tuesday 9

I’ll be spending most of the day in a library, but taking advantage of my central London location to time my breaks to coincide with two LSE lectures. A Regional Approach to Afghanistan is at 3.30pm and Islam and the State: A South East Asian perspective is on at 6pm.

The OnedotZero moving image festival on Tuesday, taking over the BFI Southbank with free installations. I fully intend to drop in and explore. It’s on from 10-14 November, see the BFI website for details and times.

Wednesday 10

I don’t recommend a trip to Croydon on a dark Wednesday evening lightly. It may seem like a daunting trek but hop on a fast train and seek out the David Lean Cinema, which must be lauded for hosting a big screen retrospective of the television work of Jonathan Meades. These are documentaries focusing on architecture, art and culture; and are part of a dwindling tradition of quality arts films from the BBC.

Meades is idiosyncratic, unflinchingly academic, and unafraid to speak in a manner that might have you scurrying to text books and dictionaries for clarification. These are positive attributes when so much broadcast output is patronising and ‘dumbed down’ for easy consumption. These films are not hard work though, full of dark acerbic humour, and stunning photography that should benefit from the cinema setting. Trust me, this will be an enjoyable night out. The program for tonight is Isle of Rust from his recent series called Off Kilter which was about Scotland.

They are also showing an episode from the series on Northern Europe, Magnetic North. The venue is fairly small so book in advance to be sure of getting a seat. The screening starts at 8pm and tickets are £7.30 or £4.80 for concessions.

Thursday 11

Another musical break before a purely cinematic weekend, Liars play at Heaven on Villiers Street promoting their recent release on Mute Records Sisterworld. Tickets are £14 and watch out for the early start – doors open at 7pm.

Friday 12

Lady Fest Ten opens with many events of interest over the weekend. Opening the film programme at midday on Friday is a screening of Divorce Iranian Style, a collaboration between Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini, who will be on hand for a discussion afterwards. Day and weekend festival tickets are available, and screenings are at the Gallery in Islington Central Library.

Saturday 13

This week’s leap of faith into the loving (?) embrace of academia involves an early Saturday morning start for Queen Mary’s University day long symposium on the Phenomenology of Film. The day’s events are free but registration is required. It starts at 10.30am in the Hitchcock Cinema in Queen Mary’s Arts Building.

Sunday 14

The Barbican have been running a short season of Japananese cinema, focusing on the work of three filmmakers. No one would question the selection of the two great master Kurosawa and Mizoguichi but passing over many other directors to bring the season right up to date with the films of Takeshi Kitano is more surprising. The event offers a great chance to see four films, over two days, from one of the most exciting filmmakers working today. If you only have the time to see one make it Hana-Bi which is on Sunday at 7pm. The film is probably Kitano’s finest work, and particularly memorable for me because I once missed a flight because I was overly engaged in an enthusiastic conversation about it.

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The beginners group out for their morning run at British Military Fitness. All photos courtesy of British Military Fitness

“Muck? That’s just soil mixed with water,” says Chris Preston, a British Military Fitness (BMF) instructor and former member of the armed forces. Preston leads a beginners group at Richmond Park in southwest London, and it was there, early in the morning, that I had my free trial class.

The ‘military fitness’ routine starts with a warm-up and then jogging, broken up by intervals of strengthening exercises, focusing legs, abs and arms in a 3-2-1 ratio. The class has a water break midway, and finishes with a game and stretching. It’s fun and fast-paced, and to my surprise very social. The class lasts for 60 minutes, and it literally flies by.

Preston says BMF-style training suits anybody. Indeed, the trial class was a mix of young and old, men and women. There are three levels – beginner, intermediate and advanced – and while I try to exercise twice every week, the beginners’ workout was tough. Still, “no one ever is left behind,” says Preston. And sure enough, a woman struggling to keep up got plenty of help and encouragement and finished along with everybody else, panting and smiling.

BMF currently has 20,000 members, according to PR and Promotions Manager Laura Kettle. She says around 70 percent of people join within 24 hours of their free trial class. It’s an impressive sales result. So why does BMF succeed to motivate where others fail?

A group in British Military Fitness.

“A class is never the same – it’s about variation both for your muscles and brain,” says Preston. “The instructors also change, and there are different locations to train.” Like most things in life, if something becomes too repetitive it becomes boring. You wouldn’t eat the same thing for dinner every night, so why should you stick to only one exercise routine?

According to Preston, one-dimensional training gets you fit in a particular way, but soon your body becomes used to it and doesn’t improve as much over time. Sports physiology research by the International Association of Athletics Federations confirms this thesis.

As for the name – British Military Fitness does sound a little intimidating. Are people ever apprehensive about joining? “Not normally,” says Preston. “But sometimes people can be a little worried about the class style. But we work hard to put them at ease. We’re not going to shout at you. We are your personal trainers, on hand to encourage and help you along.”

Perhaps the most interesting sales pitch is that all instructors are former or serving members of the British Army, making them more than capable of looking after any injuries that could occur during a class. And that military orderliness is a guarantee.

So is it anything like real army exercise? It certainly is, says Preston: “Many instructors train recruits in during the day and then come to do BMF classes, so many exercises are the same. But,” he adds, “BMF classes are more fun.”

British Military Fitness: Quick Advice

DO: If you like training outdoors and want a fast-paced, flexible, fun, effective and sociable form of training.

DON’T: If you don’t want to get your trainers mucky and if you prefer individual training.

Equipment required: Running shoes, and clothes according to weather. During autumn and winter, Chris Preston recommends tights with shorts over and a base layer with a T-shirt on top. For especially cold days, bring along a pair of thin gloves and a hat.

“You should be a little cold at the beginning of the class. Start cold, finish cool,” is the army motto.

Price: Membership is £36 per month for once a week classes and £48 per month for unlimited classes. A £50 joining fee is charged if you discontinue membership before three months. Trial classes are free.

Location and classes: BMF train in several parks around London and the UK, and you never have to book in advance. There are three types of classes: Military Fitness, as described above, running clubs and Walk Fit classes. Walk Fit classes include strengthening and flexibility exercises, but no running. Walk Fit has a separate website.

Added benefits: The Fresh air! Tons of venues! And a stunning environment, depending on the park.

The only downside: Most classes are either in the morning or in the evening. Unless you’re in Canary Wharf, there is little or no choice for lunchtime classes during the week.

Read more from The First Pint, the international's guide to all that London offers.