This week’s Londoner is David Tshulak inventor of TV shows, composer of TV and theatre and freelancer writer…
Tell us where you live in London and what makes is special to you?
Home for me is Stoke Newington – or Stokie as I refuse to call it. I’m not remotely a ‘countryside’ type person, but I love it’s village/community vibe. A lady from a few streets away who I’d never met once lent me her lawnmower for free – I bet you wouldn’t get that south of the river. If you ignore the fact that the high street is actually a major A-road, it’s also a remarkably calm place to live with everything on your doorstep. We’ve got some brilliant restaurants, shops, pubs and cafes – lots of them frequently appear in the ‘top 10’ guides from various newspapers and magazines. Whilst there’s no real reason to venture anywhere else, if you do want to, it’s really handy being so close to Dalston, Shoreditch, and the rest of Hackney.
So you invent new TV shows, we have an idea we’d like to pitch to you, it’s called reality SOS, it’s where ex-army marines go after criminals, the public votes on who they are to take out, we think channel 4 would go for it. What do you think?
Haha. Well, it doesn’t sound too dissimilar to Dog The Bounty Hunter (a cult hit and one of my guilty pleasures), so I think you could be on to something! The public vote is a nice twist. Maybe we could inject some extra drama by turning it into a competition – maybe there are several marines battling to be the first to find the criminal?
You also write for The Fly among other music mags, any new bands we should be aware of?
I’m really into a singer called Valentina at the moment – in fact her EP ‘Wolves’ comes out this weekend. She’ll be familiar to many as the voice behind last summer’s huge track ‘Gabriel’ by Joe Goddard from Hot Chip. I’m tipping her for big things this year.
Where do you go if you want to impress the girlfriend and treat her to a meal?
Recently for our one-year anniversary I booked out this incredible apartment in the Clock Tower of St Pancras, but she cooked for me so that doesn’t really count. I’m hoping she’ll be impressed when I take her to Dabbous in June – especially seeing as I had to book it last September! Can you believe it, a 9 month waiting list? One of my favourite (and more modest) restaurants is the under-rated Public House on Islington Park Street – great food, great service, and a rare thing in London where the tables aren’t piled ridiculously close together.
What would your perfect day in London look like…
The perfect day begins with a run along the River Lea – looking out across the Marshes it almost feels like being in the countryside. I’ll then head to my favourite cafe Fred and Fran for a coffee and to read the paper. On the way home I’ll walk along Church St, stopping at Abney Hall for its indoor market – there’s usually a good selection of prints and other interesting objects for sale from local designers. After that, a cycle to Broadway Market where I’ll pick up some bits for lunch – if it’s a nice day I’ll go eat it sitting by the Regent’s Canal. In the afternoon I’ll try and do something vaguely ‘cultural’ – this weekend for example I’m going to check out the latest exhibition at the Design Museum. In the evening, my preferred activity would be trying out a new restaurant or bar – I usually take my cue from London On The Inside! Next on my ‘to try’ list is Flat Iron in Soho. If it’s a special occasion then 69 Colebrook Row is an amazing place for cocktails, otherwise you’ll find me in my favourite pub, The Jolly Butchers in Stoke Newington.
Oooo so many of our favourite hangouts there, have you been stalking us out?? If you want to find out more about David you can visit his website www.davidt.tv or follow him on twitter @davidtshulak