Surviving the Crunch

London on a budget

One advantage of these credit crunch times (there has to be one) is what was previously judged a bit stingy is now praised as clever budgeting. So if you fancy being horribly mean this Christmas you'll almost certainly get away with it. A mumbled ‘credit crunch’ as your excuse will suffice... and no fear of social exclusion.

Yes, we’re tightening our belts for the worst economic downturn we’ve seen for thirty years. A bumpy ride is forecast. That hasn’t, of course, stood in the way of some major retail expansion in the city – the opening of the Westfield, it could be argued, couldn’t have come at a worse time. London’s largest shopping mall may still fall flat on its face but the opening certainly sparkled with excitement and plenty of celebrity endorsed spending. The Sugababes cut the ribbon at Boots, Danni Minogue did Next while Erin and Twiggy took on shoppers at M & S and Mary Queen of Shops urged the crowd to ‘go in and spend!’

Following the crunch-bucking trend, walking down Regent Street the other day I was struck by two major new shop openings – the enormous National Geographic store and, at the other end, the Ferrari shop. You could almost hear the fuel-injected engines revving up for its imminent launch behind the red hoarding boards. Doom mongers would have us believe these flagship retail giants will stand as testament to a by-gone golden shopping era come next year. But in the meantime you can enjoy one final shopping fling – bring on the bargains!

You only have to look around to see that London still has plenty of cut price offers and freebies to tempt us out – parks, art galleries and Alan Yau’s £3.50-a-plate dinners all give us something to smile about, even when the coffers are close to empty. Artist Adam Neate, too, showed his benevolent side when he set around 1,000 art works free on the city’s streets, just left them there for the taking. Lucky commuters must have thought Christmas had come early when, just going about their business, they picked up the priceless screen prints – which they soon put up on eBay at £1,000 a pop.

You can go out drinking for a pittance, too – if you avoid celeb hang-outs, red ropes and velvet carpets. To prove my point, those kind people at The Big Chill are offering a ‘Charlie and The Chocolate Factory’ style Golden Ticket throughout December. Instead of chocolate and ever-lasting bubble gum you get discounted drinks, money off meals and free festival tickets. There’s nothing doom and gloom about that. Sure, you can take the Scrooge attitude if you’re aiming to avoid bankruptcy but there are more imaginative ways of saving in the city this season.

Brits Sweep the Board at Emmys

London-born actor David Suchet – better known as Poirot to TV fans – scooped best actor at the Emmys for his portrayal of Robert Maxwell, the disgraced media tycoon. He called it an "unbelievable night for the Brits" when he and fellow actors dominated the recent US TV awards ceremony. Lucy Cohu, 37, who lives in Kensal Green, won the best actress category for her role in the harrowing drama ‘Forgiven’, about a suburban housewife who reports her husband for sexually abusing their daughter. ‘Life On Mars’ and ‘The IT Crowd’ also received Emmys for best drama and best comedy respectively, bringing the total number of trophies to a magnificent seven for the Brits.

Lily's Dad Shivers the Timbers in Treasure Island

Those talented Allens, you can’t go out in London without bumping into one of them these days – well, Lily is featured in the free sheets daily and she’s got a new album out early next year (make a nice change for being known for shooting her mouth off). Brother Alfie took centre stage when he replaced Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe in 'Equus'. Now it’s dad’s turn to take to the starring role, playing parrot-wearing pirate villain Long John Silver. That’s right, the Vindaloo singing national treasure plays a convincing lead in ‘Treasure Island’... shame, when we went along we couldn’t help the feeling we were watching a school play.

Closing Time at Cafe Royal

After more than 140 years as one of London’s top night spots, the Café Royal is officially closing its doors. Three other clubs in the vicinity – Paper, Dolce and Chinawhite – are also calling time at the bar along with the historic Regent Street venue. It’s not all bad news, though – in place of these (arguably overpriced and snooty) celeb hang-outs there’ll be a 160-bedroom five star luxury hotel and spa. Billed as, “the most ambitious redevelopment ever undertaken on Regent Street”, the makeover will make the most of historic rooms that have played host to Oscar Wilde, Edward VIII and George VI in their time.

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