Photo credit: Alessandro Bergonzoni

Here at The First Pint, we know that amazing sensation of crossing the venue gates with a cheap ticket in your hand. That’s why we’ve approached both experienced music journalists and shameless scalpers to give you the essential handbook for gig-goers.

Trust the organisers

Buy your ticket from the official website of whoever organises the gig – the most straightforward way is also the cheapest. Music venues like HMV Forum have their website set up to welcome all credit cards. Royal Albert Hall, Royal Opera House or Barbican will deliver the tickets to your postbox in just a couple of days.

Charing Cross

Vendors in Charing Cross generally set their prices cheaper than online. However, as music critic Antonello Furione reveals: “they are not fixed and vendors can make them up on the spot according to some abstract criteria”.

On the other hand, when it comes to musicals “it’s better to head straight to the box office and bargain the price at the theatre,” Furione said. “It sounds absurd, but we got a third-row ticket for £17 in a few minutes before the musical started. The original price was around £70”.

The TKTS booth in Leicester Square sells discounted tickets, sometimes up to half price.

Watch out for bogus websites

“Get it from legitimate sources if you don’t want be disappointed,” recommends an experienced NME journalist who preferred not to be named.

In 2009, for example, some people were jumping for joy after having found the leftovers for the Reading and Leeds festival only to find out later that the website they’ve bought from was bogus. “They seemed legitimate websites, yet, people just got ripped off,” our NME insider said.

Ticketmaster or ripper-master?

Even if your ticket will be a 100 per cent guaranteed, be aware of Internet ticket sales and distribution companies. They could have different names (Ticketmaster, Stargreen, See Tickets, Sonisphere, Ticketline, Ticketweb, etc.), “but they are all the same when it comes to charging you unreasonable booking fees. They don’t even do text messages on the mobile, you still have to print the ticket yourself. We live in bloody 2011,” our NME insider said.

From 1994 to 1998, Pearl Jam boycotted Ticketmaster-affiliated venues because of the company’s high booking fees. The band was then forced to give up its dispute so as not to disappoint concertgoers struggling to find tickets for small venues.

Don’t e-buy

You can never eliminate the risk from online shopping. Websites like Gumtree and eBay could be your worst nightmare, but remember if something bad happens, it is always possible to raise a query. However in the worst-case scenario you could end up spending your summer in court instead of the mosh-pit.

Therefore, trust only sellers living in your town and avoid the digital divide – arrange a meeting and feel the ticket with your fingertips before buying it.

Scalp the scalpers

We would never recommend that you do something illegal. Always remember that scalpers are only there to make money. However, sometimes there’s no other way in than asking touts for tickets outside the venue. Our reporter has spoken with Michael, local tout at the HMV Forum in Kentish Town, right before the latest Wolfmother concert. Here are his golden tips:

• Always come with the exact amount of cash you want to spend in your wallet, hide the rest in your pockets before talking to the scalper
• Start bargaining for half the sum and then hold your ground as much as you can
• Get to the venue a few minutes before the concert starts since scalpers will be more eager to get rid of surplus tickets
• Keep in mind that scalpers usually get their tickets from insiders in the venue or buy them in huge stocks. Since they pay almost nothing for them, there’s no reason why you should pay more than the original price given.

Give it a name

Recently a lot of venues introduced a new scheme to jeopardise scalpers’ business – releasing tickets with the name of the buyer or his credit card details printed on them. “The tendency is on the increase, it is a good thing,” an anonymous NME journalist told us, “as it is impossible to sell those tickets on the black market. The only problem is that if your daddy bought the ticket for you, you have to bring him to the very gate to guarantee your entry with the bouncers.”

Be careful in your choices
If an artist plays for more than one night at the same venue, try to go on the very last day. The performer may not deliver the same brilliant performance of the first gig, but tickets on the black market will be cheaper and easier to find.

Once-in-a-lifetime events like a Pink Floyd reunion, however, are fat cows to milk for scalpers. “We can make whatever price we want with the certainty people will always buy tickets,” scalper Michael revealed.

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St Martin in the Fields in Trafalgar Square provides some respite from the hordes of West End tourists and expensive entertainment. Photo: Herry Lawford/Flickr

Nowadays it’s not unusual to hear the excuse “I can’t go, I’m skint.” For some of us, even buying a soft drink at a bar is a bit of a push. So to most people the suggestion of a night out in London seems ludicrous, especially when it involves music. However, with a little bit of asking around and a lot of googling it is possible to find cheap or even free nights out.

Popularity in classical music is on the up – Ludovico Einaudi’s piano track I Giorni is currently in the BBC Radio 1 chart at 32nd place. You may think that 32nd place isn’t that amazing but when you think how much dubstep, drum and bass and pop fills the chart you have to smile at the small classical track that’s managed to push it’s way into the charts courtesy of DJ Greg James. So whether classical piano is your thing or you’re more into the big orchestral type, we’ve found some places that can suit your taste and your wallet.

Churches are great. They love to do things for free. St Martin-in-the-Fields is a great example of that. The church holds free lunchtime concerts every Monday, Tuesday and Friday. The church is in Trafalgar Square and you can easily get there via the tube.

Listening to the Bach concertos in St Martin in the Fields. Photo: Roberto Arias/ Flickr

Another church that offers lunchtime recitals is St James’ Church which is located between Picadilly and Jermyn Street. Their recitals are free every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1.10pm and last for approximately 50 minutes. Getting to St James’ Church is easy, simply get the tube to Picadilly Circus and exit from the “Picadilly South” exit to make sure you are on the correct side of the street.

The Church of St Anne and St Agnes in the centre of London also holds lunchtime concerts on Monday’s and Friday’s at 1.10pm. Take the tube to St Pauls tube station and walk to Gresham Street to get to the church.

The National Portrait Gallery are known to hold evening music concerts on Friday evenings at 6.30pm but it would be best to check their website first to confirm this as they have been known to change dates last minute.

Wigmore Hall holds recitals by many incredibly talented musicians. You won’t get these ones for free however, but they are arguably worth the money. Tickets generally range from £15 – £40.

Enjoy eating your lunch to the sound of strings/piano/brass!
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Photo credit: Daniel Ross

Living on the cheap in London does not usually equal comfort and style. But for a very little sum, or even for free, you can become a caretaker of a landmark property.

‘Room in central London, lots of space, £90 per week. Bills included’. Not an advert you see very often. But there is a way to avoid astronomical rents in London, and yet live in stunning properties – it’s the way of a property guardian.

Daniel Ross, 29, an artist and bartender, lives in a former hospital in Tottenham Street, just off Tottenham Court Road. His private bedroom is an old rheumatologist’s consultancy room, and he shares the kitchen and bathroom facilities with 14 other guardians. He pays £90 per week and pays no bills.

Tottenham Street, where Daniel Ross lived in an old hospital. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

“It’s a great way to meet people and live cheaply,” he says. “It’s the most central I’ve ever lived, and you get quite used to living so centrally. You don’t really want to go back to commuting and, as I’m working in a pub, it’s not really convenient to be traveling a long way late at night.”

At least four property companies offer live-in guardian opportunities in the UK. The places that need guarding can be normal houses, but they are often old churches, hospitals or schools that can make for interesting and special homes. Some cost as little as £25 per week to live in, including bills.

Why is it so cheap?

Placing a live-in guardian in an empty building is a way for property owners, developers or local authorities to keep it safe from squatters. If a property is listed as uninhabited, it is more difficult to prosecute unwanted guests in court.

Art on the walls of Amy Garvey House, managed by Camelot Property Management. Photo credit: Daniel Ross

“If a property is occupied, squatting is a criminal offence – to squat a property you need to break and enter – so the police will attend. But if it’s an empty property, if the property is left vacant and we’re not involved at all, then squatters can claim a legal process there,” says Cary Barraclough, a business development executive at Camelot Property Management, a company that offers live-in house protection in the UK and the rest of Europe.

What’s the catch?

Being a property guardian is not the same as being a security guard or a janitor, but it does come with responsibilities.

“It’s not just cheap rent, [the tenants] really are responsible for the comings and goings, and any potential vandalism,” says Barraclough. “They have to report maintenance issues and be able to carry out basic maintenance. There is a lot of responsibility for it and that’s why we charge such a low fee to be at the property. It’s a two-way thing.”

At Ambika, a security company, people can become live-in caretakers of a property for the neat sum of £0 – there is no rent and no bills. But the caretakers have to fulfil their part of the agreement. “It’s a barter arrangement,” says managing director Paul Cooke. “Our people have to do a training course with us. And they have to be able to move at 24 hours notice. So you get absolutely free accommodation, often in central London, sometimes in extraordinary places and sometimes in pretty horrible places, but it’s free.”

Amy Garvey House. Photo credit: Daniel Ross

It is not only the short notice that caretakers or live-in guardians have to be aware of. Pets are not allowed, and neither are parties. Guests can also be a problem. At Camelot, live-in guardians can bring back no more than two guests at the time – and no one is allowed to stay over. At Ambika, bringing in any guests during the weekdays is “frowned upon”. But caretakers there might be luckier at night: “Quietly we tell our blokes, if you’ve got a girlfriend over she’s gotta be gone by about half seven in the morning or eight o’clock in the morning,” Cooke says. “So we don’t speak to the client about that, but there you are – one has to be realistic.”

Daniel Ross confirms that there are sometimes downsides to being a live-in guardian. At his current place, the hospital in Tottenham Street, only the rooms are heated. “It’s a bit cold, going to the toilet or the showers, a bit like going to an outdoor toilet or shower,” he says. “But the electricity is included, so with an oil heater the room is warm enough.”

Moving around can also be a problem. “Because you can be given one months’ notice to leave, you have to accept that you don’t know how long you’re going to be able to live there,” says Ross.

“If you have a bad run of luck and you keep having to move every three months, then it would get pretty weary, if you had a lot of personal possessions, to move all the time. Conversely, if you’re suited for the lifestyle because you don’t have a large amount of material possessions, then moving isn’t really such a problem,” he says and adds: “I guess it’s useful to be able to drive.”

Not just a temporary solution

The minimum term of living with Camelot is three months, so some guardians might be forced to move mid-term, if a property is sold or the owner wants it cleared out. But many guardians stay in their homes much longer between moves.

Amy Garvey House was the residence of Marcus Garvey. Photo credit: Daniel Ross

Ross has lived in four different places in the three years he has been a live-in guardian with Camelot. The longest period of time was a year and a half, in a house near Portobello Road.

“It was called Amy Garvey House, named after one of the wives of the black civil rights speaker, Marcus Garvey. We were sharing 11 people in the house. Five people had their own en-suite bathroom and again we had central heating and all our bills included. The house looked a bit like the aftermath of a rave when we moved in, but with a little bit of painting it was much nicer than any other alternative.

And again, if you have a house that has the gas and the central heating and the bills are included it’s incredible. And to live so close to Portobello Road! If you go out on a Saturday and you see how many tourists that are coming especially to see that road that you live maximum five minutes’ walk away from, it feels pretty good.”

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A member of the couch-surfing community, Christoph, in Paris. Photo: Christina Edlinger

A couch is just a piece of furniture, but for the founders of www.couchsurfing.org (CS) it’s a piece of furniture that can change the world. Not literally, but the couch is an important symbol for a global hospitality community, who believe couch-surfing has the potential to break down barriers and improve understanding between people – and this in turn, can create a more harmonious and better world.

Creating a better world is an ambitious goal, but it’s the same idealism that drives millions of organisations, communities, individuals and politicians in their daily work. Most individuals and organisations try to do this by promoting or facilitating a particular cause. CS believe they can do it by creating a global community of travellers and hosts, giving everyone the opportunity to explore and have inspiring experiences with people from all over the world – by staying in somebody’s home in a place they visit, or at home hosting somebody on their couch.

How it works

So although couch-surfing offers travellers free accommodation, it’s far from being a free service. Members are expected to spend time with their hosts or guests and learn from each other. But the couch-surfing community is open to anyone, regardless of your ability to host or surf. The community also encourages members to meet for coffees and organise events with other members and travellers in the same location. There are currently over 2.000.000 CS members, and over 600.000 couches available. 334 languages are spoken within the community, so explorers are spoilt for choice.

Pete’s Story

Pete Masters is from Cheddar, England but lives in London. He first came across couch-surfing via a friend who is an active and enthusiastic couch-surfer. Pete was inspired to try couch-surfing first hand, and his first experience was during a work trip to Russia in February 2010. Since then he has travelled and met people through couch-surfing in Russia and Norway and he has hosted three times. He plans to keep surfing, but can’t host anymore as his new living space, on a boat, is very limited.

The best experience he says was during a visit in St Petersburg, “I sent a request to this girl, but she sent me back a message saying she couldn’t host as she lived with her parents. But she offered to show me around. It turned out to be my best couch-surfing experience ever. We spent eight hours visiting all these different places, that I would never have seen otherwise. She was a great story teller and very enthusiastic – an amazing personal guide. Spending a day with her in St Petersburg made me realise how little I actually know about London.”

Pete says he hasn’t really had any bad experiences, although not all of them have been good, “one girl I stayed with in Moscow was probably a little jaded, I think she had hosted too much. She made dinner and after we’d eaten I did the washing up. When I finished I realised she had gone to bed without telling me where I should sleep. It was a little awkward waking her up.”

Christina Edlinger's accommodation in Bulgaria. Photo: Christina Edlinger

Christina’s Story

Sneaking in to your host’s bedrooms while they are in bed, is probably the greatest taboo and would without doubt ensure you a negative reference within the couch-surfing community. But that  didn’t stop photography student Christina Edlinger from doing just that, during a couch-surfing photo project. With prior permission it’s another story of course, but Christina says it still felt very strange tiptoeing into her hosts’ bedrooms in the early hours of the morning to take sleeping portraits.

Christina first heard about couch-surfing when she was in school in Falun, Sweden. Back then she remembers thinking it was a ‘cool idea’, but nothing she thought she would be able to do – then. In Belfast, where she studies, she was introduced to the couch-surfing community by her flatmate Linda at a pancake party; “I was asking her in amazement how she knew all these different people – the answer was through couch-surfing.”

The pancake party sparked an idea. Christina had been interested in exploring the relationship between technology and human relationships and couch-surfing felt like the perfect theme for her BA project. In November 2010 she set off on a photography couch-surfing journey through Europe. She stayed with 7 hosts in 5 countries; France, Germany, Slovakia, Rumania and Bulgaria. The project will be part of her Bachelor thesis and exhibition, and she has exclusively let The first pint readers see some of them here first!

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A Learning Experience

Christina says she is hooked on couch-surfing, and plans to continue; she can’t host in her current home, but in the long term she says she really wants to give something back to the community, “I imagine hosting to be just as amazing as surfing.” Couch-surfing is about connecting with and learning from people from different cultures, “more then anything I got the sense of how similar all humans are”, says Christina. “But for me the most important learning experience was to break down my own personal boundaries and to learn to trust strangers.”

Sofa Security

But is it safe? CS says on their website that it’s like meeting a friend of a friend, but you should always be careful to read people’s profiles properly and look at their references. CS offer rigourous advice and warns that you should always plan your trip carefully and never be desperate for a couch. Always have an alternative. Pete Masters says he’s not really a nervous person, and he’s always felt safe while surfing, but he says, “You have to trust your instincts. I would never have stayed with somebody if it didn’t feel right.” And what word of advice can he given to aspiring couch-surfers? It’s simple, “just be open minded”. And when Christina Edlinger says “It’s the best way to visit a place”.

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A great and cheap secret in central London. Photo credit: Lillo Montalto Monella

A huge mountain of rice topped with crispy Indian bread, invigorating hot lentil soup, spicy chicken curry in the best Indian tradition, salad on the side and water. How much are you willing to spend for that in Central London? From now on, your answer must be: not more than a fiver. The First Pint is once again glad to introduce you to another hidden, off-the-beaten-track restaurant, helping you save some precious money for a long night out.

Try the proper old-style curry at the Indian YMCA, a Christian student hostel in the very heart of the capital, whose aim is that of providing “a safe haven, a home away from home” to Indian students in the City since 1920. Open 24/7, it’s located just few steps away from Warren Street and Great Portland Street tube station: it cannot be more central than that!

The first impression you get when stepping in could be that of being is some sort of Dickensian charity canteen, however the immediate thought of the extreme cheapness of it all will brighten up your mood straight away. You will feel like some sort of adventurous explorer who’ve just found the most valuable treasure: a bargain in London.

Once you get over your first impression and take in the Indian YMCA, you might see the busy hive of noisy civil servants, politicians, artists (by the thousands, in this area blessed by a very active theatre scene), and students getting busy with the food. There are no tourists around, a sign that you’ve found something really special.

Prices and food to dhal for

Discover why this Indian buffet has been a well known secret: its prices. Photo credit: Lillo Montalto Monella

Coming closer to the food-serving area will be even more heart-warming. There are dozens of small hot portions waiting to be devoured, each one more affordable than the next. The list of wonder will prove better than words: Plain rice for £1.40, dhal for £1.20, salad for £0.40, pickle/mango chutney for 25p, vegetable curry £1.50; mango lhassi for £1 and yogurt for just 55p… and so on.

What else? Ah, yes… the food is delicious. Curry cooked in a homemade fashion for native Indian students, could you imagine a better mix?

The canteen is open everyday, making cheap breakfast for those of you who are not lazy sleepers like The First Pint reporter. Prices are fixed at night and during the weekend, when YMCA Indian hostel’s canteen opens its buffet to his guests and to all the passers-by craving for a proper curry.

This should be added to your never-to-be-missed list. A mirage in the desert of crazy London prices when an insatiable hunger takes over your body. Get smart, shuffle by Fitzroy Square and fill yourself up – your wallet will be thanking you later.

Indian Student Hostel
41 Fitzroy Square
London W1T 6AQ
Open for lunch from 12 to 14h

Weekend lunch set menu: £5.00
Available: Saturday and Sunday, 8 – 9:30pm

Breakfast set menu £2.50
Available: Monday to Friday, 7.30 – 9:15am
Saturday and Sunday 8 – 9.30am

Dinner set menu: £5.00
Available: Everyday 7 – 8.30 pm

Take away available

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With freezing cold weather conditions and snow showers on the horizon, shopping for xmas pressies from the comfort of your home seems like the only sensible option! Photo: Zoetnet/Flickr

For those of you who are still clueless about Christmas presents or simply on a strict budget, shopping on the Internet could help save some time, stress and money. The First Pint’s Beatrice Bedeschi has compiled a useful (not just for Christmas!) list of money-saving websites which just may help you with those last-minute gifts. Happy Shopping!

GROUPON

This website sells vouchers for all sorts of goods and services, from clothing to meals in restaurants and treatments in spas. To buy a voucher, you need to enter your credit card details and when the minimum number of people have subscribed to the offer, your card is charged and you get the voucher within 14 days. Previous offers based in London include for example a £1 voucher to watch a movie of your choice at Cineworld (worth up to £12), and a £14 voucher for a massage worth £40.

Christmas vouchers can be purchased until the 23^rd of December. Vouchers are transferable, so  you can buy one as a gift and get it delivered without disclosing the price.

Negative aspects? There is only one offer per day, so you have to check the website/email alerts frequently to be sure you don’t miss the offers that match your interests.

BOOKDEPOSITORY

This website has the largest range of titles in the UK, with about 2.5 millions single titles. Books are dispatched for free within 48 hours. The website is specialised in different genres, from drama and fiction to medical, engineering and art. It also has a list of over 11,000 ebooks that can be downloaded for free. The shop is also committed to reprinting many of those titles currently out of print and so unavailable in other bookshops.

MONEYSAVINGEXPERT

This website doesn’t exactly “sell” products. What it does is suggest many different ways to save money, for example, by giving vouchers and supermarket coupons to buy groceries. It also gives tips on how to save on things like mortgages, credit card loans, utilities and you can subscribe to a smart tool, the Megashopbot –  a bot that searches the Internet to find the best online shopping offers for you. Just be sure you have plenty of time, because the amount of information is overwhelming!

ASOS

It is one of the largest clothing e-tailers in the UK. The range of brands includes French Connection, Reiss and Ted Baker amongst others. Delivery is free wordwide and the outlet section has high-street and designer brands, such as Alexander McQueen, Roberto Cavalli and Carvela discounted by up to 70 per cent. The clearance sections includes accessories for less than £ 10 and clothes for less than £30.

SEATWAVE

It’s one of the most popular ticket exchange websites in Europe. Fans can exchange their tickets directly, sell or buy, and the website guarantees that you get your tickets on time or the money for the tickets you sold. One useful tool is the email alert for tickets that nobody has put on sale yet – if you are desperately trying to get tickets for a concert or sport event that has sold out, this way you may have a chance to find them.

There's plenty of stocking-fillers to be found in virtual bargain bins! Photo: KDL Designs/Flckr

MORE WALLET-FRIENDLY SITES:

Books, Games And Music.

www.foyles.co.uk has a Christmas section with books discounted up to 50 per cent.

www.cdwow.com has discounted CDs and DVDs, and 3 for £20 deals. Delivery is free on all orders

www.play.com CDs, DVDs and games discounted by up to 70 per cent, and stocking fillers for as little as £3.99

Perfumes and Toiletries

www.fragrancedirect.co.uk has discounted make up and designer fragrances.

www.cheapsmells.com Don’t be put off by the unfortunate name; this site offers discounts of up to 85% on perfumes, make up, skincare and haircare.

www.saveonmakeup.co.uk has a “bargain basement” with items for £3 or £4 each.

Tickets

www.lastminute.com has tickets for musicals like “Grease” and “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” from just £10.

www.discounttheatre.com: offers 2 for 1 show and dinner deals.

Chistmas Decorations

www.christmastreeland.co.uk sells Xmas trees but also stocking fillers, gifts, decorations and garlands. The virtual bargain bucket has plenty of  discounted items.

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The wood-fired ovens have been hand built in Naples and they generate a temperature of 500'C. Photo: Kathrine Anker

Here at The First Pint, we love all things Italian… and because we live in the fabulous city that we do, there is no need to cross the channel to savour the very best of authentic European food.

Franco Manca has a cult-like following among food enthusiasts. Many take the never-ending tube ride to the very END of the Victoria line to Brixton for it regularly. And the allure is explained by the dirt-cheap prices as well as the pizza – often dubbed the ‘best in Britain’.

Franco Manca is split in half across a market thoroughfare, crammed next to a fish stall. If one is looking for a leisurely lunch, then this place is not for them. Once sat at a table with a pizza, one actually feels guilty for keeping the hungry people in the queue waiting, even when most of them are (understandably) shooting venomous looks.

The pizzas at Franco Manca are said to be the best in London. Photo: Kathrine Anker

We recommend one of the daily specials from the blackboard, and the simple margherita is easily the best that TFP has had in London. Authentic Neapolitan pizza that is crispy on the outside and pillowy soft inside. The organic toppings fused into the sourdoughy goodness to deliver the most satisfying pizza experience. One cannot be farther away from commercial, carb-heavy stodginess that passes off as pizza elsewhere.

The food is best complemented by homemade lemonade made from Amalfi lemons, another gem at this little pizzeria: it is cloudy, tart and fantastic. And comes in a quaint glass bottle with a stopper.

If the pizzas had us stuffing our faces gleefully, the prices made our souls sing – the dearest pizza was £ 6.95!

The most expensive pizza on the menu costs £6.95. Photo: Kathrine Anker

Franco Manca’s adulation also stems from the attention to detail that the owners put into it. The wood-fired ovens have been hand-built in Naples and they generate a temperature of 500′C. The pizzas are blasted in this heat for about 40 seconds, which gives them their distinctive texture –pliable and yielding to the tooth, yet light. The toppings are seasonal and all organic: tomatoes from Salerno, cured meats from Brindisa, Gloucester Old Spot pork. A specialist cheese maker was reportedly flown in from Sorrento to advise the water-buffalo farm in Somerset that produces the cheese and a finca in Spain was purchased to supply olives and olive oil. Even a grand bank heist needs less attention to detail than these pizzas.

Bundle up, get onto the Victoria line and stuff your face with these beauties. It is more than worth the time, effort and distance.

Franco Manca
4 Market Row, Electric Lane, SW9 8L
tel: 020 7738 3021
nearest tube: Brixton
www.francomanca.co.uk

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Computer games creator and saxophonist Jim Cuomo is one of the Insider's highlights for the week. Photo credit: Diego DeNicola/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.

The Insider’s diary is constantly evolving. No, its messier than that. Let’s say it’s a mutating beast. A loosely ordered collection of notes and scrawls, torn pages from listings, beer-stained fliers and hastily snapped photographs of posters in darkened music venues which all contribute to the ordered cultural listing presented here. This week though, if The First Pint hadn’t stepped up to organise an event I’d be starting with a blank page. So this is an exercise in what is possible if you are sitting around on a Sunday morning thinking ‘What can I do with my week?’.

Monday

I understand the arguments against Kings Place. It is out of the way behind Kings Cross station and the space itself can be said to lack character, but personally I like the cavernous culture airport feel and the actual auditoriums are not that austere. Whatever your reaction to the building itself, the Outhear series of Monday nights should have something to entice you. An eclectic mix of contemporary music for under ten pounds, tonight it’s 8-bit computer music pioneer Jim Cuomo who has gone on a musical journey that takes the Gameboy to the concert hall. Come along and be part of the retroVOLUTION!

Tuesday

I found one of those scrawled notes to remind me that Nina Nastasia was due to play The Scala tonight, but sadly I’ve just seen that the gig has been cancelled due to illness, so I’m scrambling around for something else to do. It will be a last minute decision, looking like a very film-heavy week. So I might skip Antonioni’s La Notte (8pm, £5), showing as part of the Jeanne Moreau season at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, in favour of a night of free music at 93 Feet East on Brick Lane. They are both close enough that I can drop in for a bagel at the top of Brick Lane and see how the mood takes me.

Wednesday

We all know that drugs sell, so the High Society exhibition at the Wellcome Collection on Euston Road has been garnering plenty of publicity. The Packed Lunch: Drugs talk should attract a crowd, being a talk on medical research on illegal substances by someone with a licence to administer them. I take it that no samples will be on offer, but some might question the wisdom of styling this as a ‘bring your own lunch’ event. After a lunch of ketamine and cannabis it seems appropriate to suggest an evening off.

Thursday

The recently inaugurated Iranian Studies Department at SOAS is holding monthly film screenings. This month they offer a rare chance to see The Cow directed by Dariush Mehrjui, a  good example of pre-revolutionary Iranian cinema. The suggested donation to attend the event is £2, but it’s free if you are stuck for funds. The film starts at 7pm in the Khalili Lecture Theatre. Afterwards I’ll be hopping on a bus to Shoreditch to see Cold in Berlin play a free set at the Macbeth on Hoxton Street.

Friday

It’s The First Pint’s Scandinavian Night, why would you be anywhere else? If the lure of free Danish beer and other delights from Europe’s Northern realms can’t tempt you to Bethnal Green maybe the event I crossed out of my diary will be of interest. The Research Group in Philosophy at Goldsmiths are screening Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights, followed by a discussion. It starts early at 5pm, but that means you can still change your mind and join us for a beer afterwards.

Saturday

Earlier this year the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound magazine published their list of the best films from the last decade. This weekend you have the chance to catch two of them (See Sunday for Tropical Malady at the ICA) and avoid the start of the Christmas shopping rush. Today at the Cine Lumiere see Agnes Varda’s documentary on modern rural poverty, La Glaneurs et la Glaneuse (£9/7, 6pm).

Sunday

The posters have sold me on this one: I can’t claim any advance knowledge of the current exhibition at the Royal Academy, but Pioneering Painters: The Glasgow Boys 1880-1900 has got my attention. It runs until 23 January so please don’t all turn up today. Afterwards I’ll take a short stroll to the ICA, where they are taking advantage of the interest in this year’s Palme d’Or winner, Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, by showing some of his earlier films. Tropical Malady from 2004 screens at 2pm today.

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Sam Smith's pubs are London's best kept secret: cheap pints and a great atmosphere to boot. Photo Credit: Kathrine Anker

In the heart of London, from the small alleys of Soho to the larger boulevards of High Holborn, lies one of London cheapest pub crawls.

The Samuel Smith old brewery, popularly known as Sam Smith’s, was established in 1758, in North Yorkshire and is now well known all over the UK as it operates over 300 pubs scattered around Britain.

A good way to have a taste of Sam Smith’s pubs is to start your journey in Oxford Circus. Going down Kingly Street, stopping at number 14, you’ll find the Red Lion pub.

Going into a Sam Smith’s pub always procures a mixed feeling. At first it feels like entering a western saloon, with swinging wooden doors and large glass windows, but the wooden tables and the red carpets matched with dimmed lights give the sensation of being in a mysterious Irish joint and an 18^th century Wild West brothel at the same time.

All Sam Smith’s pubs are built the same way: the counter being the most important it is always located in the middle, carving the spaces around it in different compartments. Sometimes you can’t even go from one compartment to the other without having to step outside. It has to be said: Sam Smith’s pubs are dazzling puzzles.

At the bar, apart from the usual drinks, you have a choice of two Ales, a few lagers and ciders brewed by Sam Smith’s. The flagship drink of the Sam Smith’s brewery is the Old Bitter, which has a taste of dirty water, but nobody complains because it’s only £2 a pint.

From Oxford Circus to Carnaby Street

See if you can find Brian, one of the regulars of the Glasshouse Stores. Photo credit: Vincent Huck

After the Red Lion head to the John Snow in Broadwick Street. On your way you’ll cross Carnaby Street where the lights are so bright that you’ll swear it’s daytime even in the wee hours of the morning.

To fully enjoy the John Snow it is better to head directly to the second floor. Firstly, your drink will be served in a proper glass and not in a plastic cup and secondly, the staff turn out to be less stressed and therefore more accessible.

The next stop is Brewer Street, a five minute walk towards Piccadilly Circus. There, one after the other, you’ll find: The Glasshouse Store, the Duke Of Argyll and the White Horse (turning right on Rupert Street).

The Glasshouse Store looks small at first but if you wander downstairs you’ll discover a large cellar and a second bar. On a lucky night, Brian, a regular, might be sitting in the corner of the counter. Even when drunk and rowdy, Brian is always keen to share all the latest news about English football, politics and general gossip.

The Duke Of Argyll looks more like a gambling house than a pub: large round dirty tables with lots of people running around. The bartender even looks as if he’s 12 years old but apparently nobody seems to mind. It’s important to know that the Duke Of Argyll takes cash only.

By the time you get to the White House, the taste of the Old Bitter might have turned from dirty water to sweat. Fortunately enough the next stop is out of Soho which offers an occasion to walk the alcohol out.

The Crown and the Princess

Walking out of the White Horse, turn onto Old Compton Street, one of Soho’s lively streets that will cheer up even the moodiest of spirits. Turn left on Charing Cross Road and carry on until you reach New Oxford Street, where you’ll find the Crown. It’s one of Sam Smith’s smallest pubs, built as a long corridor leading to a back door and an outside area. It is a nice space to enjoy a beer under the stars on those hotter nights.

Sam Smith's pubs are also known for their eclectic architecture. Photo credit: Vincent Huck

The last two stops are situated in High Holborn, the Princess Louise near the Holborn tube station and the Cittie of Yorke next to the Chancery Lane Station.

They are probably the two most interesting pubs in terms of architecture: the Princess Louise is built like an elegant glass spider: the bar is an island in the middle of the room from which blurry glass walls escape to divide the room in different smaller spaces.

The Cittie of Yorke on the other hand is built as if a train had crashed into a brewery. At the top of the room the walls are decorated with barrels and a small balcony running along the room. Downstairs around the tables small train compartments offer more private spaces.

Sam Smith’s pubs can be enjoyed one after the other or one at a time, but the interest lies in their architecture and decoration, as well as their prices rather than in the quality of their beers.

Sam Smith enthusiasts can also visit the Sam Smith’s forum, the unofficial place to chat and find out more about this intriguing brewery and pubs.

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I Love East London is a great place to go to see up-and-coming bands

I ♥ East London is a new exciting event concept that took over East London in June. The idea behind it is to showcase up-and-coming East London music on the first Thursday every month. The next I ♥ East London event is on Thursday 4 November, and we made sure that The First Pint’s readers get a discount on the love.

I ♥ East London’s spokesperson Lizette Meinholt said: “We had an exciting launch night in June with special guests The Horrors doing a 90 minute DJ set for the night! Since then, we have had some great acts come and play for us: The Coolness, Islington Boys Club, Daytona Lights, ReMake ReModel, Black Daniel, Mafia Lights, Edit/Select, The First Loves, Waxhouse, Glitches and No Cars.”

The event originally took place on the first Thursday of every month at East London’s cool and popular venue CAMP Basement (City Arts and Music Project) but it has now moved to a more historic venue in East London music: the Rhythm Factory beside Aldgate East Station.

With the new venue comes a new concept. Some great deals on drinks (£2.50 for a bottle of Stella, £2.50 for house mixer), some great deals on entry (£4 students, £5 flyer, £8 at the door) and you’re extra lucky if you’re an East London band – then you get in for free! As they say at I ♥ East London, “We always love to hear about different artistic ideas and we are more than happy to let anyone showcase whatever they fancy at our nights! That’s just how we roll!”

If you’re not a cool East London hipster with your own synth band, fear not. The First Pint has managed to ensure all First Pint readers the cheapest ticket option – £4 – even if you’re not a student.

To  get your cheap tickets, go to our exclusive ticket link.

Alternatively, get your name on the First Pint guest list by emailing promotions@eliminatorexpo.com

I ♥ East London
The Rhythm Factory
16-18 Whitechapel Road
London E1 1EW

Doors open at 8pm.

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