April Fools, 2025 – we’re you momentarily foxed by a prank earlier this week? Or are you simply too cynical / savvy / disinterested to fall for any of that, particularly when ‘creative’ corporate marketing departments are behind many of said gags?

Set in today’s seething digital free speech cacophony, the annual leg-pulling tradition doesn’t land as quite the harmless, jocular little tease of old.

As more and more of the stories and imagery we’re exposed to daily veers towards the synthetically produced or the manipulatively false, big brands sticking out lies in the name of humour/engagement increasingly feels off-the-mark to me.

Is adding more confusion to what we’re seeing even that funny in the current disinformation climate?

Attempting a hilarious untruth has the potential to turn into something problematic for right-on corporates, much like dropping those performative equality hiring policies so rapidly did, or entering an awkwardly large, branded truck into the Pride parade always has been.

In the conspiratorial X-sphere (or whatever the collective slang term is for febrile, below-the-line slanging matches this week), April Fools jokes can only really produce yet more kneejerk outrage or earnest, posturing sincerity – such spaces have eradicated the chance of casual levity. But I suppose if the goal is to fan those very flames for eyeballs, then the ‘tradition’ will continue.

While the ugly language of issues-based tribalism and unforgiving perma-anger has become the norm online (and offline, too, thanks to a global cast of unimpressive politicians and malevolent monetisers), I can’t help but wonder how many of the people I interact with quite civilly in day-to-day ‘real’ life have a horrendous trolling habit that emerges when they sit late into the night behind the glowing anonymity of their devices.

As the culture bends towards combative outrage as a default, maybe it’s you? Maybe it’s me? Are we all at it, without even being aware of ourselves?

Online-flavoured hate is so prevalent it’s no longer just that crazy uncle at Christmas or the sozzled racist in the pub spouting offence, it’s people you will know, it’s…everyone. So, at what point do passionately held beliefs morph into decidedly anti-social actions?

I often think that about those infamous small but deadly groups of ‘local residents’ who try and get music venues shut down for being noisy, or reject the idea of things happening after midnight. Everyone has the right to a good night’s sleep, and to weeding out bad operators, but a lot of this kind of moaning tips towards a dislike of other people having fun. There’s not other way to explain it, but I know the residents feel they are fighting the good fight for everyone in their street.

Westminster councillors and the Met Police particularly seem to have lost all touch with what a city actually is in their pursuit of safety, and avoidance of hard work. Whether it’s their recent snubbing of the proposed Blue Note jazz venue (on the premise of the streets of central London being too dangerous for exiting patrons after 1am), or the unworkable suggestion of ‘quiet nights’ in Soho backed up by AI volume-monitoring CCTV cameras, any good intention behind these ideas has long become confused by an aversion to the kind of unpredictable fizz that’s vital to thriving urban centres.

The solution, I’m afraid, isn’t bans, onerous licencing conditions or heading onto Nextdoor to indulge in some fear-based keyboard bile. It’s tolerance, mindful communication and empathy: deeply unfashionable attributes that nevertheless are the key to making London life the dynamic ride for which we put up with all the crap in the hope of experiencing when we go out.

It's been noted that noise complaints and insufferable WhatsApp group moaning increased exponentially after the strange silence of Covid. You’d have thought the return to the glorious thrum of full spectrum cheek-by-jowl living might be universally celebrated, but the weird impacts of that era are still very much reverberating, too.

Complaining seems to be the done thing at the first hint of someone else’s reality creeping into our own, in this self-obsessed era. There is a lot to complain about, but griping about the neighbours, or exuberant younger people isn’t channelling all that energy into solving bigger picture shitshow issues.

I simply can’t stand people who moan about living in London… hold on, there I go.

The haters do indeed walk among us. They are all of us. So, seeing as we clearly can’t help ourselves, I think it’s at least time for an age of more mindful moaning.

From the shadows to the spotlight

While we’re on the subject of topics that deeply polarise Londoners, the main image this week is taken from Long Dark Tunnel, a groundbreaking exhibition of spray can art/vandalism by bona fide legends of the streets: 10 Foot, TOX and Fume. It follows 10 Foot’s editorial takeover of the Big Issue last week, and has been mobbed with queues of appreciative fans, demonstrating how even the most reviled anti-social urban behaviour can be seen through a different lens when given an equal platform for dialogue and celebration. Catch it at Arts Arkade at Piccadilly Circus, Wed-Sun until 13th Apr.

📊 This week’s one-click poll

Last week we asked the question: What do you think of the prospect of the Camden Film Quarter?

❤️ Exciting! I'd love to see it happen, transforming a forgotten local backwater
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 68%

🤷🏾‍♀️ I'll believe it when I see it, all sounds very ambitious to me
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 26% 

🙅🏻‍♂️ Not a fan. Who'd want all that razzmatazz going on 'round here?
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 6%

and some of your comments:

“Bringing an industry to the doorsteps of the creative youth of North London? Yes please.”

“great idea. But the way things are now, I'm not sure it'll materialise.....”

“Hopefully it will generate more local jobs, engage with the younger generation and work in partnerships with schools in the area. There is so much talent and resource, and this should be utilised.”

““Let's hope that the buildings for dwellings are built properly, with longevity in mind, as most private developments in Camden are built with planning permissions in mind but get abandoned along the way in the pure interest of greed and profit. Meanwhile, Camden cannot house the people waiting to be housed, putting stress on infrastructure and monies spent on temporary housing.”

FOOD & DRINK

🥪 Can you find La Spot?

Well… Fitzrovia is where you’ll find La Spot, which opened this week serving a heady mix of brioche sandwiches (with creative fillings like octopus and onion marmalade, or oxtail and cheddar cheese), alongside a wider tapas menu include three different varieties of fries no less.

There’s also a dedicated wine and cocktail bar, Wine Spot, down in the plush basement, which looks like a great new hideaway on bustling Charlotte Street. Their marketing game looks strong, too, so expect sarni-porn images popping up in your feed if that’s your thing.

🍺 It’s good to see that the revival of Jamestown Road might be underway in time for summer, following the sad demise of a clutch of food and drink spots on the strip. The hansom Victorian corner boozer, previously All About Eve that then opened incredibly briefly as Cushla, is being reborn once more as Irish pub The Corner Lock. It’s so new they haven’t even posted to their Instagram, but give them a follow to see when things like live music get started, as the area gets another new pub opening - cheers!

🍵 Buna Brew is a new hole-in-the-wall style coffee joint opposite the popular Prince of Wales swimming baths and gym in Kentish Town. It’s now open for speciality coffees, matcha, pastries and toasted sarnis from the refitted site that was famously the long-time home to iconic local minicab operators Bee Gee Cars. Take a look, it’s really cute.

🥩 Butcher Ollie Harley, who previously worked for Chelsea’s high-end Provenance Village Butcher, is opening his own specialist meat shop and rotisserie up in Hampstead. Here’s the first tease video for the forthcoming Harley’s Butcher & Rotisserie which is due to open in May.

STORIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

🎵 KOKO reopened 3 years ago this month - read our interview with founder Olly Bengough

🍕 Updated! The best reader-voted indie pizza spots across Camden 

🏢 Find out more about the new neighbourhood of Camden Goods Yard

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