“The smell of coffee is a feeling of home.”   In January 2021 England was experiencing its third lockdown. However, that didn’t prevent Emma (my partner) and myself from getting out and having some fun in the snow at our local London park one Sunday. When we returned we put the kettle on and as we warmed up in the kitchen I set up my recording device. And this was my first Side Trips’ episode, and the precursor to my lockdown interviews with London’s local traders and artists. In this...

“If you put a little effort into something the difference is tremendous.” With the travel restrictions, I’ve been grounded in London and getting to know those local traders and artists keeping the city ticking over. In the last episode of the series, I caught up with friend and musician Stephanie Mair, aka Fifi La Mer. Her repertoire includes Parisian folk music to selected modern tunes, performing solo or in her band Oh La La! I tracked down Fifi in her north London home and we discuss...

“And it’s been noted how many people are very lonely and how many people are missing people, and this is what we do on a daily basis, we introduce people together.”   Andrew Ford is the landlord of my local pub, the Hand in Hand, on Wimbledon Common, South West London. It’s my sanctuary when London becomes too much for me, as stepping through its doors you enter a cosy country-style pub dating back to 1835. But more importantly, you’re greeted with a smile and a decent pint of...

“Cooking takes a long time, especially if you want to cook it with love – love takes time.”   Angel Moran is one half of the brother and sister team of the Peruvian street food stall, The Hungry Llama, at Lower Marsh Market in Waterloo, London. Originally from Peru, they learned to cook from their mother, whose first food venture was selling cooked fish in the streets of Lima. And lucky for Londoner’s, their Mum knew a variety of Peruvian foods and flavours from the Andes, to the jungle...

“This challenge taught me to start and finish a drawing without any plan every day.”   I had the pleasure of first meeting Esra last summer when she was part of a collaborative exhibition in London, and she enthusiastically talked me through one of her striking pictures on display, which was inspired by the energy of cities, migration and movement. Esra talked passionately about her art, and it felt natural to invite her to be a guest on the show; especially as she’d already embarked on...

“This whole lockdown period has definitely given a lot of people the ability to get out there and try it and get comfortable with it [cycling].” To see the centre of London almost car free was surreal during the peak of the lockdowns. But for me, like many other cyclists, this was an opportunity to reclaim London’s previously vehicle choked streets. So last May, I got myself a foldable bicycle, a Tern (I can recommend it) and discovered East Central Cycles, an independent bicycle shop in...

“I knew this was the time [being furloughed] when I had to grow up and take things in my own hands.”   I first met Roka (Roksana Trzencinska) of RokaBringsFlowers when I lived next door to her former workplace, Scooter Caffe, in Waterloo SE1, where I discovered she was a hardworking, creative soul. But I was less aware of her resourcefulness and enterprising talents until I heard about her bicycle flower stall, which she set up after she was furloughed from her floristry job at the time,...

“I believe whatever’s written in your destiny, that will happen… you can’t do anything about it. You just have to keep going. Never give up.” My latest guest, Toofan Baz, was a chance encounter; I met him at his phone repair shop, in Putney West London when I popped by to get a new phone cover. We hit it off as soon as we began chatting, realising we are both Manchester United football fans. And talking further, I soon learned Toofan is not your average young man. He is one of the few,...

London’s coffee and café scene has been going through a revolution, but it’s already evolving beyond mastering the craft and latte art. As I learned from Lee Armitage, the founder of Saucer & Cup café in Wimbledon Park, South West London, it’s now about delivering excellence across the board – i.e. sourcing quality and combining that with superiority of service and style. And Saucer & Cup certainly lives up to that statement: it’s minimalist, fresh, and non-corporate. Lee’s a...

“It’s an experience, the walks of life and the things you see while you are at work, it is an eye-opener, and London as a city is a fantastic city.” I love taxi drivers. They’re talkative and are an essential service to the traveller. Often, they are the first friendly face I meet in a new country and have provided me with beneficial information about the places I’m visiting. However, I feel I’m on safe ground in saying London’s black cab drivers are the best in the business. Not only do...

“What gets me out of bed? Serving people and making good food.” Jay Thongvivat is the owner of my local Thai food restaurant, Sen Yai, in Southfields, SW18. He runs it with his family, who hail from Thailand originally, and have owned several Thai restaurants over the years in south London. Emma (my partner) and I have been frequent visitors to the restaurant, and Jay has been keeping us well fed with takeaways during the lockdowns. Yet we have been counting down the days until we sit at...

Welcome to Marriott’s Side Trips, hosted by Stephen Marriott. He’s a bestselling author, traveller and now podcaster. On the show, Marriott chats to the not so ordinary folk he meets along the way on his travels, from London cabbies to Delhi rickshaw boys, Peruvian street food vendors to Mexican chefs. Real conversations with real people - because everyone has a story worth telling. To know more about your podcast host Stephen Marriott, and how to join his Mailing List and get a FREE Travel...