WEST 9 FOOD & WINE

West 9 Food & Wine
81 Gipsy Hill
London, SE19 1QL.

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 55p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Despite being located firmly in SE19, the owners of this shop, in a somewhat surreal move, have decided to name it after the postcode area W9. I imagine this is like when you see those nail bars in Dalston called "Hollywood Hair & Nails". They're trying to associate themselves with somewhere glamourous, like Hollywood or Harrow Road. And it is a pretty glamourous area. One time I saw a couple outside the Prince Of Wales pub on Harrow Road. They shouted at each other, then she slapped him, then he slapped her, then they snogged and then they went and got pizza.

Also, "West 9 Food & Wine" rhymes, which is always a sign that you're dealing with somewhere classy.

GRAB-A-BITE

Grab-A-Bite
Putney Bridge Underground Station,
Station Approach,
London, SW6 3UH

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Not available
TWIRL STORAGE: N/A
TWIRL PRICE: N/A
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Unfortunately, I was unable to "grab a bite" whilst at Putney Bridge station. I waited a very long time for that woman to move, but she was there for ages. She was getting a coffee and the guy was a bit slow.

IGNITE LONDON

Last week, I was lucky enough to be able to speak at the second Ignite London event. I say "lucky enough", although what I mean is I emailed them and asked if I could speak there and they said "OK".

The rules at Ignite are very simple but very strict:

The idea is simple: presenters are required to stick to a rigid format of 20 slides, each of which changes automatically after 15 seconds, ensuring that each presentation is exactly 5 minutes long.

They add "the format forces presenters to think long and hard about every slide", although possibly I missed that bit when I first signed up.

2009: The Year In Twirls by James Ward from hurryonhome on Vimeo.

There were a few bits where I got flustered and said things which didn't make sense (I got left and right confused at one point). The bit about Adam Smith was garbled gibberish, as was the Twirls In Unexpected Places bit. I wasn't expecting people to whoop and cheer at pictures of maps and graphs. It put me off.

Apart from that, it was enormous fun and I recommend you take the time to watch all of the other videos too (I particularly recommend this look at British sea forts, and this analysis of the role Daves have played in history).

THRIVE NEWS

Thrive News
Unit P4, Westfield
London, W12 7GF

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 65p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Thrive News is part of the CNG Family of Companies, which "dates back to 1971 when Mr. & Mrs. Charles Patel opened their first CTN (Confectionery, Tobacco & Newspaper) store, Capital Newsagents, in Paddington, Central London. The shop carried a broad range of products at competitive prices and was open 7 days a week."

This particular store has a "compact layout to provide a premium impulse shopping environment". What this actually means is that it looks a bit like a shop in a petrol station. Reasonable price, I suppose.

This was my final Twirl spot of 2009!

FABELS

Fabels
67 Chiltern Street
London, W1U 6NJ

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 65p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Despite being directly opposite AD Food and despite the road sign (top left), this shop appears to have an address on Chiltern Street rather than Paddington. I've never really understood how addresses for corner properties work.

AD FOOD

AD Food
29 Paddington Street
London, W1U 4HA

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 65p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: This shop is directly opposite Fabels. It was incredible. I stood on the traffic island, took one picture, turned 180° and took the next one. Not surprisingly, both shops sold at the same price, a reasonable 65p.

SWEET EXPRESS

Sweet Express
33 Greek Street,
London, W1D 5DJ

TWIRL AVAILABILITY: Excellent
TWIRL STORAGE: On shelf
TWIRL PRICE: 70p
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: The man was outside enjoying a delicious, refreshing cigarette when we visited. He promptly stubbed the fag out in the street and came inside. 70p is quite expensive, but the location is very central, and high prices are to be expected. Sorry about the blurry picture. Twirl spotting should only really be attempted during the hours of daylight. A lesson learned. Who is that figure in the doorway?