Places to Play

Go Ballistic Paintballing

Canary Wharf may well be outside Zone 1, but only just, and as it’s also on the Jubilee line it could almost be forgiven. Now, whilst having an office job in a converted dockland often isn’t much fun, having a 40k ft sq indoor paintballing arena there is. As you might expect, the terrain is constantly changed to spice things up (it even includes the odd tank or two) and you can slap down your opponents through a variety of different games. Ideal for letting your inner button-down Oxford-cloth psycho loose; stalk from room to room with a gas-powered semi-automatic weapon, pumping round after round into colleagues and co-workers…

Group packages from £35pp. Canary Wharf (2 minutes away from Waitrose Canada Square). Tel: 0870 787 3897. Web:www.london-paintball.com

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99 Club

Slightly more obscure than the Comedy Store, the 99 Club is a testing ground for many of the jokers on the London comedy circuit. With this venue having no more than 30 people capacity, you can be sure that everyone will get attention, and the intimacy of the night means that it’s the perfect place if you fancy a good heckle. Not all the humour is tried and tested, which makes for an interesting mix of edgy material skirting the borders of acceptability, along with tumbleweed monologues that could do with a little more polish.

Time: Tuesdays and Wednesdays 8:30-11pm. Price: £5. The Round Table, 25-27 St Martins Court, London, WC2N 4AJ. Web: www.freewebs.com/99club

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Porchester Spa

Porchester Spa is a rare vision of public services as intended. Following a major refurb a year ago the place has a wide variety of facilities spread throughout its art deco innards. Step foot into the echoing atrium and you’ll immediately know everything is going to be just fine. Russian steam rooms, Turkish hot rooms, a Finnish log sauna and a plunge pool constitute the cornucopia of pampering that awaits. Generally men and women go on separate days, but there are occasional times for couples.

Times: 10am-10pm; Men: Mon/Wed/Sat; Women: Tue/Thu/Fri. Price: £20. The Porchester Centre, Queensway, W2 5HS. Tel: 020 7792 2919. Web: http://www.westminster.gov.uk/leisureandculture/sports/porchester.cfm

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Jumblist Massive

A quirky concept that is as odd ball as you like and yet just so right: a Sunday afternoon jumble sale with a side order of drinking. All profits go to charity and with new jumble being added hourly, it will indeed be massive. Not to mention the live music that will keep you shop-bopping along. Covers the full constellation of jumble you would want, from vintage/current/designer clothing to books, accessories, DVDs, CDs, and many other Brick Lane noncessities.

Price: £2 entry; most items £1, shoes and coats £5. All profits to PEAS. Time: Sun 20h April, 13:00-18:00. 93 Feet East, 150 Brick Lane, E1 6QL. Tel: 0207 247 3293. Web: www.93feeteast.co.uk

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Brockwell Lido

Now that the sun has got its hat on, you can be sure that everyone will be making the most of it. Brixton’s Beach is definitely a venue of choice, given its open air pool, modern gym and healthy variety of classes, all following a £3m renovation that was completed on the grade II listed buildings last year. As it’s council owned, prices are far more reasonable than you would get at a commercial gym, and you can also pay and play if you’re more interested in being seen round the pool than training in it. Perfect for an active day of lounging one weekend.

Brockwell Park, Brixton, SE24 0PA. Tel: 020 7274 3088. Web: www.brockwell-lido.com

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The Icon Room

Viva Las Vegas: The Casino at the Empire is one of the largest in London, with all the bright lights and showmanship that you’d expect from the Strip in Nevada, but with views over the West End, rather than miles of sand. Venture inside and you’ll find the jewel in the crown – The Icon Room – a gorgeous bar with a cocktail list to match. Plush fabrics, candles and enormous mirrors give the room an elegant baroque-themed feel and the bar attracts a diverse crowd from all walks of life.

5-6 Leicester Street, Leicester Square, WC2H 7NA. Tel: 0203 014 1000. Web: www.thecasinolsq.com

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Supper and the City

Like a social medley, this is a dinner/drinks/dancing affair complete with new mates thrown in. For the next one Favela Chic provides the perfect venue for Brazilian fodder and crazy entertainment, and to get you going there are obligatory caipirinhas. The crowd are all bright young things and with seating moves between each course things are pretty friendly; you’ll soon notice the unspoken, but openly known vibe: everyone’s single. Ideal for when your mates are chained to their desk again, or house parties always seem to leave you hooking up with an ex… mention crackberry to Bea and she’ll let you come along as a taster without stumping up for the membership fee.

Tel: 020 75247730. Email: Bea@supperandthecity.com. Web:www.supperandthecity.com for other events and membership details

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Firmdale Film Clubs

If you like the Electric Cinema then check out the Firmdale’s Film Clubs as they take the classy cinematic experience to a whole new level. Three of their top London hotels: The Charlotte St Hotel, Soho Hotel and Covent Garden Hotel host weekend food and film combos where for a fixed price you get a slap up three course meal and then an intimate viewing of a recent good film in their private screening rooms. Really this is all very civilised and, unless you love the incessant crunch of popcorn and musty tang at your local multiplex, the way forward for film viewing.

Price: £35. Web: www.firmdale.com

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Everyman Cinema

It’s Sunday night and you fancy an evening of chill out time with your loved one right? A comfy sofa, a gripping film, a bottle of wine and someone waiting on you hand and foot… head to the Everyman Cinema Club situated in various locations around London, where you can have all of this and revel in the satisfaction of actually leaving the house on a Sunday night. The familiar sights of popcorn littered across the floors, chewing gum stuck to the seats and juvenile kids throwing sweets at each other and disrupting your viewing pleasure are nowhere to be seen at this smart, sophisticated and highly salubrious outfit where young professionals chasing the luxury ‘theatre’ experience dominate the scene. For a mere £12, you will see before your eyes how screens become screening lounges, kiosk attendants become butlers and Pepsi and popcorn become wine and wasabi peas – the Everyman does cinema for grown ups and boy does it do it well. So well in fact that you might just find yourself too comfortable on those velvet sofas and drift into a deep slumber… PS: No snoring allowed.

Everyman Cinemas-Hampstead/Islington/Baker Street/Belsize Park. Tel: 0870 066 4777 Web: www.everymancinema.com

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La Clique

Ever been somewhere where words won’t suffice to describe your experience? Welcome to La Clique – it’s like no other show you’ve ever been to before but in a refreshingly and dare I say it raunchy way… If you’re bored of all the usual musicals and the thought of sitting still through three hours of men dancing in tights and leotards at the Ballet fills you with horror, then book a ticket to La Clique where the acts become more wacky and wicked as the show progresses (or maybe it’s the fusion of burlesque and cabaret plus copious amounts of alcohol that gradually blur the line between reality and imagination). But then why else would we head to the Circus other than to escape into a dangerous and seductive red velveteen fantasy land where nudity, hula hooping and sword swallowing is commonplace (not the kind you’d see in Covent Garden, more the girl-in-red-latex variety). Not one to take the grandparents to, but round up your mates and let your wild side come out to play…

Price: £10 to £55. The Hippodrome, 10-14 Cranbourne Street, Leicester Square, WC2H 7JH. Tel: 0207 437 4311. Web: www.lacliquelondon.com

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