Around Town

Nights with V&A-va-voom!
The V&A’s Friday Lates, on the last Friday of each month, are pretty special. Each has a different focus, often related to a temporary exhibition. As well a chance to visit the galleries after hours, the evenings feature live performances, guest DJs, maybe a fashion show, and often hands-on activities, as well as a late bar and food.
V&A, Cromwell Rd, SW7 (020 7942 2000/ www.vam.ac.uk ). Feature continues

Classic clubbing
Gaz’s Rockin’ Blues is a timeless club night on Thursdays. You could (almost) be partying on any date between 1980 (when the night opened) and now, especially as the St Moritz has hardly altered since The Kinks played in these intimate arches. Ska, R&B, rock ’n’ roll and reggae predominate and there are live bands every week.
St Moritz, 161 Wardour St, W1(020 7437 0525. Adm £5 before 11pm, £7 after.

Go Dutch in Chinatown
You’re swamped with choices for where to eat on Gerrard Street (and, yes, Won Kei’s is still worth it for the fantastically rude service), but our tip for sheer reliability is Harbour City (adventurous types should sample deep fried pigeon with mandarin sauce). Then you can nip round the corner to centuries-old Lowlands pub De Hems and spend the evening downing Oranjeboom and fruit beers in a boozer that was a rallying point for the Dutch resistance in World War II.
Harbour City, 46 Gerrard St, W1 (020 7287 1526).
De Hems, 11 Macclesfield St, W1 (020 7437 2494).

Latte and literature
If you’re looking to escape the sheer hell of Oxford Street, Borders is open until 11pm on weekdays, and is a surprisingly pleasant place to spend a couple of hours (it’s got a decent café, too). Better still, there are free evening events at Ray’s Jazz Café above Foyle’s – usually on Thursdays.
Borders, 203-207 Oxford St, W1 (020 7292 1600/ www.bordersstores.co.uk).
Ray’s Jazz Café, 113-119 Charing Cross Rd, WC2 (020 7440 3205/ www.foyles.co.uk).

Camp it up
A legendary Saturday night revue, Duckie at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern is a weekly festival of high camp, deliberately awful cabaret and sheer silliness. An acquired taste, but worth a try.
Royal Vauxhall Tavern, 372 Kennington Lane, SE11 (020 7821 0222/www.theroyalvauxhalltavern.co.uk)


Spooky crawls
London Walks has a fantastic range of evening walks for every night of the week – most of which are cunningly devised to end up at a pub. As well as the nocturnal-themed routes (Jack the Ripper, Haunted London) there are also some captivating historical ones (Undiscovered London, the Old Westminster by Gas Light).
(http://london.walks.com).