Wilton's Music Hall, 20th March

I lived in Shadwell for two and a half years which is crazily close to the icon of the area - Wilton's Music Hall. But I only discovered its existence a couple of years ago when I came back from the States and even then only finally managed to get there last week before it shuts is doors for a much-needed refurb.

Wilton's is one of the last surviving great music halls of the Victorian era, and came third in that X Factor-style programme about old buildings which needed saving, and thus probably secured its future, once again. It has been threatened with closure several times over the last century and a half but always gets saved, and I'm so glad it does.

The front part is the Mahogany Bar and then the back is the music hall. The bar is well worth a visit on its own, a shambling little room with a few tables and chairs, which leads onto the box office area. The box office also masquerades as a bit of a museum about the place with posters telling its history and mementos (like aprons) you can buy along with your programme if you happen to be catching a show.

I missed a couple of the critically acclaimed shows they had last year so had to settle for Father Nandru and the Wolves - a sort of fable based on real events about a village before Communism takes hold in Romania. The show was kind of by the by - I was just there to soak in the atmosphere and see what a real music hall would be like, not really to review the play.

It was starker than I had imagined - the interior being all stone and cornices and a wee bit draughty. I could see why something like Dracula would work so well being staged here, and it worked well for the folksy puppetry of Father Nandru as well. I did quite like the play as it happens. It was definitely weird, and sometimes the rhyming was jarring but the actor who played Father Nandru himself was wonderful and the puppets were also pretty cool to watch. There was even a bit of 'fourth wall' being broken which is always fun. 

I will return to Wilton's depending on their programme of performances when they re-open, but I would go back to the bar for itself if I happen to be in the area and in need of something to slake my thirst for wine. Prices were reasonable - I had a decent glass of wine for £4, and they had a few 'crafty' beers on offer as well.

Find the menu & restaurant information on Zomato

Tower Hill memorial, 14th February

Nothing says romance like reminding yourself of all the poor souls who gave their lives for the war effort.

Admittedly, it wasn't our first choice of plans. We were supposed to go to the Tower of London, but after an extended and slightly boozy lunch at the Bull and Last, we didn't get there until 4, which is exactly when they stop letting anyone in. What a ridiculous closing time! Fortunately, I remembered I had wanted to take a peek at this memorial, and it was just over the road.

The memorial is to commemorate those sailors of ships and fishing vessels that lost their lives at sea during the war, ending in a watery grave. It is actually two memorials- one for WW1 and another behind it for WW2.

The one for the First World War looks a bit like a crypt. It has a long corridor and all the walls and pillars are engraved with the names of the dead sailors.

The second one is more like a little garden, again the walls are inscribed with the names of those lost, but interspersed with reliefs of mythical sea dwelling creatures. It's very pretty, and quite a nice place to stop for a moment if you're that way inclined.

I had passed the memorial countless times, but its quite unobtrusive and you are naturally drawn to look at the Tower, which overshadows it. Next time you're in the area, give it some attention.

Now, I know the Bull and Last isn't on my List, but while I'm here I might as well say a few words about it. 

It is superb. A gastropub in the true sense of the word, in that it feels like a proper pub, and serves stupendous food. We outdid ourselves in our gluttony. We shared the best charcuterie board, ever. It consisted of: duck rillette, duck prosciutto, chicken liver pate, hamhock terrine, and pig's head. All this was accompanied by cornichons, pickled grapes, some lovely toasted bread, tartar sauce, onion chutney and kumquat chutney! We left nary a crumb.

For the main meal I had wagyu beef pie with the butteriest mashed potato you ever did see. Literally had a pool of butter on the top. Stephen had the ox cheek and lentils. The ox cheek required no more than the side of a fork to cut it.

And also, I'm almost ashamed to admit, we got a side of chips. We'd heard they rivalled those at the Fat Duck and as we're not going there any time soon thought we'd better try these. They're ridiculous. Each chip is about a quarter of a potato, but they've managed to make them both crispy and soft inside. Well, for the most part. We did find one that was a little undercooked.

We wanted to get dessert as well, but what with the alcohol (ringwood ale for him, deliciously cloying saam cabernet sauvignon for me) there just wasn't any room. Very sad.