Shall we go to the pub?’ Pubs are where we meet our friends and family, colleagues and first dates, where strangers mingle happily, pints in hand and crisp packets spread open. Where brisk Londoners relax and tourists experience a different side of the city. Where landlords chat to regulars and conversation is accompanied by live music, TV sport or the clink of glasses. They are a place where anyone can become a local. From historic landmarks and iconic boozers to intimate family establishments, there are pubs on the river, pubs down twisting alleyways, pubs in the shadows of skyscrapers. There are over 3,500 pubs in the capital and illustrator Lydia Wood is on a quest to draw them all. Locals is a collection of over sixty of her favourites and their stories: an artist’s celebration of their beauty and their charm, their idiosyncrasies and their histories, their landlords and their locals. (Also, their cats.) This is London and its beloved pubs – come on in.
