Proudly dedicated to landing in your inboxes each and every Friday morning for over 5 years now, here’s a Boxing Day special edition of Camdenist for you to browse through, suitably stuffed with links to stories and gossip that you may have missed, or might like to delve into again - best enjoyed when wallowing in a cheese coma on the sofa…

As well as being your best source of what’s new, where you simply must visit, what’s hot and indeed what’s not out there, reporting from the bleeding edge of local culture, this newsletter has continued to be a place where I enjoy dealing with big global topics through a purposefully Camden-tinged lens.

The year kicked off with a look at the messy mix of co-opted brand names and competing emotional narratives in who exactly ‘own’s brand Camden?

There’s inevitably been a fair bit of focus on the dizzying impacts of new technologies on all our lives, from why thinking local may be the best way to save trust in a world of AI slop, to the way that the robots are ruining your dinner and how media organisations are trying to make a difference in today’s scroll-obsessed world while everything keeps changing.

We also keep an eye on how tech is impacting the culture in unexpected ways, such as in this post…

…and why the narratives about young people apparently not drinking miss the point, while showcasing what the next generation are actually getting up to - making brilliant music and redefining what Camden’s venues look and sound like in the collective, supportive process.

We’ve looked at how best to deal with the challenge of our polarised age: living with local trolls, haters, grifters and complainers in our midst, and I wound a few readers up with the provocative (but I hope interesting) piece in defense of phone snatchers.

Inspired by a summer dip in the Men’s Pond on the Heath, I wrote about having lived, loved and worked along the banks of the hidden River Fleet my whole life, something that resonated with plenty more locals. And there was also time to consider the post modern and brutalist icons that you either love or hate dotted through Camden Town, upon the death of the architects who envisioned them.

Well, we tried. But ultimately our work to help realise the long-held dream of a lovely little cinema in Kentish Town Rd fell foul of the harsh realities of the modern property and hospitality landscape earlier in the year.

Camdenist carried the exclusive interviews and news when the fate of the former Polytechnic assembly hall space, long-promised as a cinema, was finally decided - and it became an ultra-exclusive gym.

Then, back in August, I got very excited to report on the new Camden Arts Projects proposal to include a cinema space at their wonderful new home in the former Methodist chapel/Zabludowicz Gallery, in the most opened newsletter of the year, here:

Unfortunately, their screening room opening has since been hit by multiple delays, (although I did get a sneak peek at it a while back, and it’s looking very lovely) so locals await news of the debut season and the kind of screenings that will take place there.

And then, when the mighty Odeon announced that even they couldn’t make a cinema work in their historic home on Parkway, Nigel Smith of Tufnell Park Film Club took us on one of his tours of the historic cinema screens of Camden Town as the Guest Editor in this post…

Elsewhere we’ve held the torch for culture, both local and international, whether it be celebrating 30 years of the fantastic Camden People’s Theatre, exploring the Old Diorama Arts Centre’s joyous Regent’s Park Estate Story Trail or interviewing France’s celebrated DJ Laurent Garnier on our growing regular IG Live sessions.

And, as ever, there are the profiles highlighting some of the great work that is going on throughout the area, like this one about an innovative interactive show in Primrose Hill from artist Skye Von:

It’s a real pleasure to hand the reigns of Camdenist over to a few different voices throughout the year, and it felt like 2025 was particularly good for guests.

On a personal note, it was a privilege and a delight to go around to chat on all kinds of topics with the political force that is 83-year-old Neil Kinnock:

Then there were plenty more such wide-ranging voices, too, including:

🧠 Movie director Martha Fiennes discussed where technology and consciousness meet head-on

💊 Controversial mental health voice Joanna Moncrieff told us why shew thinks the drugs don’t work

😂 Stand-up Suchandrika Chakrabarti revealed what it takes to make shows in the Camden Fringe season work

❤️ Naz and Matt Foundation founder Matt Mahmood-Ogston opened up about the need to tackle honour-based abuse in Camden and beyond

👨🏻‍🎨 And I loved having street artist Abotz talk about his prolific work, particularly in owning virtually every surface going each year at Notting Hill Carnival:

Seeing which links get the most clicks each week is a revealing way to know what really gets you lot salivating. And it’s news of the ‘secret’ spots that you honestly can’t get enough of…

🥐 The top Camdenist link of 2025 was the announcement of a new branch of the highly praised Crumbs Bakery, to be found hidden in a little mews off Camden Road - have you been yet?

🍸 People also went wild for another tucked-away destination joint: the return of Farringdon favourite Ask For Janice cafe, at their new home right at the heart of York Way’s Tileyard Studios.

🎬 News of the quirky takeover of the old Warner Bros De Lane Lea Building in Soho by the affordable members club, bar, screening rooms, events and workspace, All is Joy, was another click-tastic winner earlier this year.

👯 Just around the corner, in a fabulous meanwhile use of the historic Saville Theatre, the mysterious live performance, cinema, art and nightlife crew, Lost, certainly intrigued readers when we first revealed their ongoing event series.

🎭 And the recent launch of the 50-seater Circle & Star Theatre, found atop a boozer in atmospheric Hampstead and bristling with celebrity appearances in the weeks ahead, is already looking like the latest contender for being the undisputed click champion this month.

NEXT WEEK: It’s another seasonal special edition with a look towards the big issues and potential dynamics of the year ahead.