The Big Smoke

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25 Floral fabric
Start at Old Street station. Along the junction of Great Eastern and Old Streets is a square with distinctive black-and-white recycling bins. Favela Chic, with its brightly coloured panels, is on the corner. What’s the name of the flower on the bright green fabric just inside the front doors?

26 Colourful speakers
Come out of Favela Chic and turn right. What used to be Medicine Bar is now East Village. Thanks to the smoking ban, it smells of varnish. Never mind, it’s offering free sweaty parties in the basement thanks to wax spinners Stuart Patterson, Justin Robertson and Giles Smith. The ground-floor bar has black-and-white screen prints of speaker stacks with blocks of which primary colour?
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27 Cantaloupe
Out of East Village, turn right and cross the road. Turn left into Charlotte Road. Cantaloupe opened in November 1995 when there was little around here but derelict buildings. If you stand out the front facing Cantaloupe, there’s a small wooden sign at roughly head height (unless you’re short, in which case it’s quite high up) to the right of the far right window. What’s the second word on the sign?

28 Mosaics
Head along Charlotte Road and you’ll come to Mill’s Court on your right. Famous for Banksy’s coke-snorting policeman stencil, this alley is the area’s best-known graffiti spot. Walk down it. At the Curtain Road end, find the only mosaic piece, which is made of black, blue and what colour tiles?

29 Hoxton Sandwich Shop
Back on Charlotte Street, walk towards Old Street. On the corner of Old and Rufus Streets is Hoxton Sandwich Shop. At night, when the shutters are down, the shutter on Old Street has a giant H. What’s the letter on the Rufus Street side?

30 The old Blue Note
Walk to the end of Rufus Street and turn left into Hoxton Square. The Bluu Bar is ahead of you. This is where Goldie ran his seminal Metalheadz drum ’n’ bass Sunday sessions back when jungle caused young Japanese tourists to wobble with excitement (re-re-wind to 1996). Next to Bluu is the Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, where club night Boombox became an international phenomenon until its closure last New Year’s Eve. Inside, you’ll find a yellow dispensing unit selling original art for £2. What’s the letter inside the big yellow square?

31 Graffiti mural
Walk east along Hoxton Square to the 333. A gay club that was turned into a hip indie dance spot, it hasn’t had a lick of paint since about, oh, 1992. Facing the club, there’s a big graffiti mural. Until recently, there used to be a small, squat bloke in a red hat with, incongruously, 'Daisy' written on his jumper. Now it looks as though Hoxton hero Eine has been at work. At first glance, the six new letters say EXCITE. Look again. It actually says...

32 Red doors
Walk back towards Old Street tube. Cocomo is a small bar with red doors on your right, which was opened six years ago by Rob Da Bank’s talented wife, Mrs Da Bank. Step inside and you’ll see nine mirrored objects – what are they?

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While you’re there
DRINK
Electricity Showrooms
You can’t miss the Broadway-styled sign out front, and if you time your visit carefully there’ll be a party in the basement. Look out for Scottee and Jodie Harsh’s new club night, Issue, here. Strike a move or three on the original disco-lit dancefloor.
Electricity Showrooms, 39a Hoxton Square, N1 (020 7739 3939)

EAT
Cây Tre
A recent refurb – well, fancy new wallpaper – means this cheap ’n’ cheerful Vietnamese kitchen is even busier. Make like a local and ignore the celebs.
Cây Tre, 301 Old St, EC1 (020 7729 8662)

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