Be it in the office, on the go, or at home, deathly silence can make the day pass by that much slower. While some quiet time in the capital is usually hard to come by, when some does come along there are a few of us who simply need to have some noise. Radio has been around for ages and is considered a dinosaur in our iPod age, but it still gives great music and great news with just a flick of a switch.

In February, Harry’s of London hosted an evening of beers and cocktails at their Mayfair store. Live music was performed by singer/songwriter Alexander Wolfe and I was given the opportunity to get acquainted with this luxury shoe brand founded by Matthew Mellon, ex-husband of Tamara Mellon, who was instrumental in the transformation of Jimmy Choo shoes to the status they are today.

Taste of London is one of biggest events in the foodie calendar and 2010 is looking to be the biggest and best year yet. As well as our preview of what’s in store, find out (and vote in) the new campaign to reveal London’s “hidden gems” – the fantastic restaurants that don’t get all the press…

Love noodles? Love spicy? This is the restaurant to go to if you want some hot spicy Sichuan-style noodles. While it is located in touristy Leicester Square and Chinatown, this small establishment does authentic Sichuan-style street food, as well as some very tasty and good value meat-filled steamed buns.

Can’t stand the stuffy and hot London Underground? Nokia has launched their latest promotion campaign, where you can get a free cab ride anywhere in London – if you’re quick-eyed enough to spot one of their Ovi Maps branded cabs and hail it before someone else does.

This June the Royal Albert Hall is opening its doors to Derek Deane’s spectacular Swan Lake in-the-round, performed by the National Ballet and starring Polina Semionova and Vadim Muntagirov – an event for any culture vulture’s diary this summer!

Valentina in Putney shows that Italian food goes beyond pizza and pasta, adding a little va va voom by serving it tapas-style. I went to check out the way this restaurant and deli merges two cultures and see how successful it is, plus find out about their upcoming tasting events.

La Perla, famous for their luxurious and high quality lingerie and nightwear, are having a short two day clearance sale in London where items from their 2009 and 2010 collections will be available at up to 80% discount.

Leiths is likely the country’s best known professional cookery school. It’s been the breeding ground of many a big name chef and people will travel from afar to train there. It’s less well known for evening and day courses though, so we took a trip to West London to try out a Champagne Tasting course and see if it lives up to the name…

Forget 10 Downing Street – this summer, all eyes will be on the new occupant of another famous London address. The Sting, a clothing department store already well established across Europe, will be opening its flagship London store at 1 Piccadilly Circus.