Part 1: A year of Wooden City
A look back, a look forward and a reminder of all the maps
Hello and welcome to Wooden City, a newsletter about London.
If you haven’t come here via @caffs_not_cafes, I'm a writer called Isaac Rangaswami and this is my Substack.
Today’s newsletter is part one of a special issue to mark a year of Wooden City. It summarises the main themes I’ve covered over the last 12 months and where they’re going next. It’s free to read.
A paywalled part two is out on Wednesday and will be about my 15 favourite places so far.
Over the last 12 months, London has become my full-time job. In that time I’ve developed a vivid mental image of the colossal spread of land between Watford and Sevenoaks, mainly because I’ve seen so much more of it with my own eyes. I have a lot more to see, but I’m proud that this newsletter has taken me to over 250 pubs, shops, restaurants and public spaces in 31 London boroughs so far.
I originally thought Wooden City would be about places that have been around for ages. To some extent it is, but as this newsletter has evolved, I’ve found myself drawn to almost as many new places too. More so than staying power, I’m realising that my primary interest is local importance. Caffs, pubs, markets, pool halls, booksellers, art centres, key cutters, takeaways, fishing tackle shops – what all these locations have in common is some form of community function. Often they are simply where we end up, alone or in groups, when we aren't at home or spending money in chains.
Today’s piece is about the patterns that have emerged in my writing. I’m looking back because Wooden City is now a year old, but I also want to look forward. At the top is a reminder of all of the maps I’ve done; below that I’ve outlined the main themes so far and where they’ll go in the future.
Finally, I want to say another big thank you to every reader. This newsletter has made writing a more viable job for me, and allowed me to scratch itches I’ve wanted to scratch for years. This wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of those of you who pay to read it.
If you aren’t a paying subscriber and have got something out of Wooden City over the past 12 months, please consider upgrading below to keep this newsletter going. This is the 32nd time I’ve posted on Substack since I started on 18 March 2024, so for annual paid subscribers, this has worked out at under £1 per newsletter.
Maps
Everyone loves maps and the biggest one I’ve done is still my 50 favourite London caffs. I’ve also created maps for 31 second-hand bookshops, 25 specialist shops and 25 indoor public spaces.
What’s next?
I plan to collate all the inexpensive restaurants I’ve covered once I’ve hit a certain milestone, and the same goes for pubs. One day I will publish the most comprehensive London record shop guide ever written. I also have a few other ambitious maps that I’ll be pursuing soon and I don’t want to reveal just yet.
Neighbourhood guides
My Catford, Walworth and Lewisham guides are the articles I’m most proud of. I’m not from these areas and doing them justice became a source of anxiety for me, so I was relieved when I saw these pieces resonating with locals and visitors alike.
This type of writing encapsulates what I’m trying to do with Wooden City. My goal is always to capture businesses and public spaces in the context of the neighbourhoods they inhabit, in a way that feels true to people who know and use them already.
What’s next?
There’s loads of neighbourhoods I want to write about, but top of my list are Harlesden and East Ham, as well as more south-east London areas near where I live. The Royal Borough of Greenwich is the one I haven’t written about yet and I have a bunch of ideas for Eltham, Woolwich and Thamesmead that will help me start remedying that.
I’m also tracking a few development projects that are threatening local businesses, which I plan to cover as part of more interview-led pieces.
Cultural stuff
The best thing about running this Substack is that I can write about whatever I want; my only problem is deciding if my ideas are any good. I thought I was taking a punt with pieces about documentaries and other works like books, but they received an encouraging response too, so I’ll definitely do more.
What’s next?
At the moment I’m reading lots of essayists, city writers and cultural critics that I wish I’d got into ages ago, so I’ll collect works by these authors together in some way soon. Along with the documentaries follow-up I may branch out into London dramas. If I’m ever bedbound by a broken leg or something and can’t go out walking for a while, perhaps I’ll pivot to this type of writing entirely.
Pubs
It’s fun to drink beer during the day in Soho, Enfield and Cricklewood in the name of “research”, but I’m more interested in crowd, purpose and interior than pints. My Holborn pubs piece took more of a history angle, and is one of my most-read newsletters so far.
What’s next?
I have dozens more local pubs noted down, including a good number in deeper south-west London, another priority area for me this year. I also plan to interview some regulars and people involved in community groups for my next Irish pubs list.
Public spaces
In April last year I went to seven indoor public spaces in a day and it’s still my most-liked newsletter. I also wrote a follow-up that I think is just as valuable, as well as a guide to less-famous free museums. Everywhere I go I’m always looking for more unconditionally free spaces; I think they’re the measure of a good town centre.
What’s next?
Definitely more free museums. I’ve also been meaning to write about walks, parks, streets and nature reserves, as well as more libraries and community centres near where I live. Independent cinemas too, which I think are a very interesting blend of public and private space.
Shops
I wasn’t opinionated about London writing until I started taking it more seriously myself. One thing that bothers me is the lack of nuanced writing about shops. I’ve tried to start remedying this by writing about specialist shops and second-hand booksellers, along with including local shops in each neighbourhood guide.
What’s next?
I have over 50 more shops on my list, including many I haven’t seen any publication cover. I intend to write about them in more ambitious ways soon.
Restaurants
One of my goals with Wooden City was to branch out into other spaces, but restaurants keep calling me back. While I’ve historically prioritised atmosphere over food, this is the first year I’ve been led more by cuisine, at least for certain projects.
This started with my Romanian food piece and I’ve continued it with my pound sign lists. When I wrote about the River Cafe and Regency Cafe, I felt it was important to note that these commercial spaces have cycled through owners, which has become even more timely with the news that the latter is for sale.
What’s next?
There’s many gaps in my writing when it comes to food and I want to keep on shading them in. One way I plan to do this is by going to Tooting and Streatham more, as well as all over the boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Haringey, to name just a few. I also have a strong impulse to spend more time walking up and down Harrow, Blackstock and Old Kent roads.
I’ll approach things in more regional terms as well, by digging deeper into the food of Punjab and Kerala, for example. Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka will pop up again too. I also want to continue eating my way around various forms of Caribbean and West African food, as well as a range of East African, Eastern European, Latin American and Southeast Asian cuisines. Most of all I need to eat more grilled meat, particularly at Greek, Afghan and Turkish restaurants. Much much more to come.
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for part two about my 15 favourite places so far, out on Wednesday.
Wooden City is written by Isaac Rangaswami, with editing from James Hansen.
So excited for the SE London series! Loved being a paid subscriber - always look forward to your posts