Annalie Wilson continues her column The London Loaf: It always amazes me that I can still come across places in London that are new to me.
Asking around, I find I’m not the only one – with an embarrassed grimace friends inform me that they’ve never visited the National Theatre, the British Museum, Kew Gardens… (more…)

For someone seen as a leader of the global slow movement, Carl Honoré is a ball of energy. Speaking at the South Bank Centre on 25 April 2009, the Canadian journalist and author of In Praise of Slow took the audience on a speed history of the Slow movement. (more…)

Annalie Wilson

Singer, songwriter and sporadic fantasist Annalie Wilson shares her experiences of life in the slow-fast lane. From samosas to cycling Annalie searches for the gaps between the clock and the workplace.

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London skyline

My Life is paved with good intentions that I never quite get round to doing, one of those being sampling the delights of all that is on offer in London. You know how it is, you read about a talk, a film, a gig in the paper and make plans to go, but it gets to 6pm, you’ve had a shitty day at work and all you can think about is going home. (more…)

© cafe by misty (flickr)

Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world after water. It seems pertinent that we should find a connection between the tea drinking and slowing down. The tea break is the perfect way to disguise the need to stop.

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© meditators

In a busy lunchtime queue at EAT in Notting Hill I overheard a manager say to a frazzled worker, ‘Slow down, take a breath’. It was said with a smile, and had the desired effect. The worker grinned and visibly relaxed for a moment by the cappuccino machine.

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I’ve lived in London a long time – and have lived Central, South, West and North and found special places to go to slow down in all of them. I’m back in the North again now, and have many favourite green spaces for slowing down – Hampstead Heath, Highgate Woods, Primrose Hill and Waterlow Park.

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Post Office © Fernando Carmona González

Post Offices are a good place to practise patience. I usually find that I think of the Post Office as somewhere I’ll just pop into quickly on the way somewhere else, so it’s a terrible shock to discover that the queue rivals Alton Towers on a bank holiday. (more…)

Bath © Anita Drewbie

Baths are a good way to slow down, because it’s difficult – but not impossible – to take a quick bath. For a start you have to run it, and if you have temperamental taps, you have to monitor the water flow or else it has a tendency to turn cold as soon as you leave the room. (more…)

Bicycle © Bernat Casero

Cycling is a good way to slow down, in particular to slow down other traffic. The best places to practise this are narrow streets, bus lanes or bridges such as Albert Bridge. This is also a nice place to get off and take in the view. (more…)