By 11am on this particular Saturday I was ankle-deep in muddy, stinking rubbish.

And no, I wasn’t just circumnavigating Camden after ‘pay-day’ Friday.

Once again the team at Thames 21 had organised a clean-up on the Regents Canal, this time to spiffy up the City Road Basin.

As I got the bus to Angel, I tried not to remember the last time, when bitterly cold rain and wind made the volunteering experience slightly trying. Luckily, this was a beautifully crisp dry day for the 15 or so eager arrivals. Some had been before and brought friends, for others this was their first contact with the charity.

Aided by three organising staff from the Thames21, we negotiated our way into high-vis vests, sturdy rubber boots and gloves and were presented with rubbish sacks. Off to pick up rubbish for the first half hour. Now, I may have been missing a trick here, as it seems that the best drunken parties must be taking place in shadowy corners by the canal. Can after can and bottle after bottle, we found enough drinking detritus to put Shaun Ryder to shame.

We then looped round the canal and over the bridge to the Graham Street park entrance. For the next hour and a half, we used grappling hooks to liberate an unbelievable hoarde including road bikes, scooters, children’s bikes, bin inserts, witches hats and scaffolding.

It’s amazing to think that even in this regenerated area, overlooked by million-pound flats, people still dump rubbish into the canal as a way of avoiding proper disposal. After our three hours was done ( and we had added a suitcase, skateboard and 4 shopping trolleys to the tally) we finally cleaned ourselves up and rewarded our hard work with a fat burrito.

If you like the thought of getting involved with London’s waterways, and can spare a couple of hours occasionally, then check out the upcoming events page for everything from gardening and fishing workshops, to litter clearing and organised walks.

And who can deny community-service chic when it looks this good!

There might be some fine boozers in London, but Victoria seems to have missed out on that little joy. Instead you’ve got a coach station, and some office blocks. And that’s honestly about it. I don’t spend much time in Victoria, but whenever I do end up here, I end up in one of the pubs by the station, and that’s NEVER a good thing. But, after some extensive research (or, what’s now known as tweeting and asking for help), I’ve found some decent pubs in the area. OK, so some of them might be a little walk away, but a decent pint is worth walking down the street, don’t you think?

Cask: This is the pub that I hear most about in Victoria, although it’s creeping into Pimlico. But you guys say it’s a “great pub with delicious food and a truly impressive beer selection on tap and in bottles…looks a bit unprepossessing from the outside but is spacious and chilled on the inside.” Sold.

Chimes: 600m from Victoria Station, if you like cider, you should head here. “The lamb pie was full of tasty things and had a puff pastry topping that made an awful lot of mess.”

The Orange: Just down the road from Victoria Station, this place sounds very fancy. “Beautiful food, service, surroundings, staff. Highly recommended, I have been back on a weekly basis since my first visit.” Sounds good, doesn’t it?

The Cardinal: Not the fanciest pub apparently, but still rates highly with you guys. “An excellent real, old-style pub in central London. Came here once last year and loved it, but had forgotten where it was…”

The Ebury: Not in the mood for beer? Head to the Ebury for wine and cocktails. “What a great little find. Just a stones throw away from the mighty Google’s offices, and the touristy bustle of Victoria, lies a nice little converted pub with a quiet, welcoming ambience. little pretension, just good food and drink.”

Seems I might have misjudged Victoria. Got a favourite I haven’t heard about? Tell me about it! (Thanks to Nick Smith and Geetarchurchy for telling me about all the good places!)

Flickr image from saguayo‘s photostream.

At huge risk of overshadowing the news fresh out of Buckingham Palace regarding William’s forthcoming nuptials, we at Qype HQ are pleased to announce our temporary pairing up with MORI, the wonderfully casual restaurant group focusing on healthy, quality Japanese food. They currently have two London sites, one in St. John’s Wood and another on Marylebone High Street (with the third due to hit King’s Road pretty soon). The soon to be disclosed prize can be claimed at either of the current locations.

So imagine this if you will, with a menu offering a selection of freedom food sushi boxes, a wide choice of salads and an a la carte selection of nigiri, sashimi, maki and hand rolls, all topped off with desserts such as chocolate mousse and Madagascan vanilla cheesecake, ONE WINNER will receive forty quid to spend dining in at the MORI of their choice. Yep, forty notes to splurge on some top Japanese nosh!

To enter, choose ONE of these three simple options: -

1. Email us with the subject line: “Holy John Belushi, I wanna win this sushi”

2. Tweet us with the phrase: “I want @qypedoeslondon ‘s naughty @MoriSushiUK forty quid”

3. ‘Like’ the Facebook post.

Closes Tuesday 23rd November, 9.59am. Before you enter, please be sure you live in reasonable proximity (the same country is a good start). To claim this prize, you must be contactable by 5.00pm on that day otherwise it will go to the next name drawn. Prize can’t be spent on takeaway so don’t ask!