Ordinary Londoners - No 24 In the series

And this is Paul, who works in Hobgoblin Music, and part of the charm of the place. I asked if I could take his portrait - "only if it is in black and white" - my pleasure to oblige. He was making quite a good noise come out of the concertina. Fascinatingly it was invented by Charles Wheatstone, a Victorian inventor more famous to me for the Wheatstone Bridge (an ingenious way to measure electrical resistance). They don't make them like that any more.

The ordinary Londoner series is here.

Ordinary Londoners - No 23 In the series

I've been very lucky over the years, at the Three Wine Men on Sunday I got to meet Oz Clarke, my wine hero. His attitude drew me into the world of wine - to quote from his website "Wine is all about pleasure, If it doesn’t give you a buzz, there’s no point to it.". His books about supermarket wine hurrrumph years ago made the journey accessible, and when I had the resources and the fortune to experiment more, I trusted his judgement more than anyone else.

Let's raise a glass to a champion Londoner, cheers Oz!

The ordinary Londoner series is here.

Ordinary Londoners - No 22 In the series

Danny Bent, ordinary Londoner. Yesterday, I told you how he is now trying to raise £1,000,000 for charity. Today, A bit of his background.

He's a teacher, who decided to volunteer to teach in India. He told his class he was going and one child asked how he was going to get there; he remembered teaching them about the need to choose "Green" options, and heard himself say he was going to cycle there. Which he then did, raising pots of money for Action Aid along the way. I came across his story in his book "You've gone too far this time, sir", which is an incredibly inspiring read.

As I've said before, there is no such thing as an ordinary Londoner, everyone has a story, everyone is special and you set your mind to something it is astonishing what you can achieve. If reading his book makes you think, I'd like to do something different, then why not be inspired and join him?

The ordinary Londoner series is here.

Ordinary Londoners - No 21 in a series

This is Kate Garrett, an ordinary Londoner who has put themselves forward for election to my local council.

In my area, a councillor has recently died, precipitating an election this coming Thursday. Kate is the Lib Dem candidate and - for my money - the best candidate. I don't have any party political leanings, but their agenda is closer to what I think should happen than any of the others. The system doesn't work without decent, responsible people like Kate willing to put themselves forward, and it doesn't work if you don't vote. Whatever you do, whatever your politics, you really must join in if you have the opportunity to vote.

The Ordinary Londoner Series is here.

Ordinary Londoners - No 20 in a series

The eagle eyed among you yesterday spotted a cove in a topper, that individual is Ray Frensham, today's Ordinary Londoner.

A Screen Writer extrordinaire, Victorian Stroller,blogger, Londoner and all round good egg he is just the sort of person this series set out to showcase: there is no such thing as an "ordinary" ordinary Londoner.

The Ordinary Londoner Series is here.

Ordinary Londoners - No 19 in a series

Josie Firmin is one of the artists behind Cosmo China and a Londoner to her core. It's not that often I get useful recommendations for pictures and places I hadn't heard about, but Josie gave me two - the Hunterian Museum (three days ago) and another - yet to appear. We chewed the fat for a while about living in the centre of town (I used to many years ago), how things have changed and yet remain the same.

You can see examples of the prodigious talent of the Cosmo China artists on their flickr pages.

The Ordinary Londoners Series is here. See where on London Daily Photo Map

Ordinary Londoners - No 18 in a series

James Michalos is responsible for the music and lyrics of the London Revue - did I mention yesterday that you need to go and see it if you can?

James teaches singing at Guildhall School of Music & Drama and his love and fascination for London comes through loud and strong in this production. Also, if - like me - you enjoy Musicals you will be fascinated by the way you can identify influences in the work from an astonishing range: from Rice & Webber through Gilbert & Sullivan, Bernstein, even Flanders & Swan and Sondheim. What's more, he does it well.

Ordinary Londoners - No 17 in the Series (Eden Lake)

"I'm not a politician or a sociologist - I want to tell a story. The horror is within." The words of James Watkins, Londoner, writer and director of Eden Lake, a new film for which I attended a screening, I took the portrait during a Q&A session afterwards.

The film is not comfortable; if you have any quantity of squeam, you may be better avoiding it. But I think it is one of the best British films made over recent years for many reasons, not least because it makes you think. Written before the recent increase in newsworthy knife and gun crime it is now ferociously topical and confronts violence head on - just where you hope you will never be. From its start it suckers you into thinking you'll be watching an ordinary schlock horror film but there are masterful little touches that turn it onto a different track and create moral ambiguity that involves you in the plot. Think "Deliverance for the 21st Century, made in England" and you're pretty much there.

It's released on the 12th September, certificate 18. I'll leave you with another quote: "If you can't be thought provoking in a horror movie, when can you be?"

The Ordinary Londoners series is here.

Ordinary Londoners - No 16 in the Series

Allow me to introduce you to Mike, a doorman at the Ritz and a Londoner through and through. Born in the East End, not a flunky, but a real human to welcome - you can see it in his eyes.

The Ordinary Londoners series is here.

Ordinary Londoners - No 15 in a series

When I was walking through Trafalgar Square last Saturday there was a festival of all things Korean (why do I suppose it was arranged pre BoJo?) when I came across Andy and Mikyond in Korean costume, who were getting photographed with the public. I looked at the way they were talking and realting to people, and I knew they were Londoners, sure enough I was right. I love my city.

The Ordinary Londoners series is here.

Ordinary Londoners - No 14 in a series

Meet Sancha, one half of the driving force from the Arts Regeneration project, Gallery 491 that featured yesterday. It's people like this that make London the great place that it is.

I'm away for the week but daily posts continue.

Ordinary Londoners - No 13 in a series

Today's Ordinary Londoner is Kais, a Bangladeshi, 21 in London studying law, and helping out in Express Packaging here. When I asked him what he thought of London he said "boring". What can I say? Kais, get a blog.


The Ordinary Londoners series is here.

Ordinary Londoners - No 12 in a series

The newest Ordinary Londoner is the demure Fanny. Her story starts in California, the current chapter is several years studying History of Art in Cambridge. She has taken London to her heart and I came across her selling her own hand made valentines in a market in Hackney. Do have a look and tell me, would you not be happy to receive one of these? I do hope that she did well.

The Ordinary Londoners series is here.