Hackneyed

The good people over at Channel 4 decided to give the chattering classes plenty to talk about over their all-terrain prams in Starbucks today. In what was a glaring ratings pimping effort, the Best and Worst Places to Live aired last night. And coming in at the 'top of the worst' was London's Borough of Hackney.

Now c'mon, of course we know Hackney has deep pockets of deprivation, but why the need for a white fright ranking system? If only to bring more smugness to the cloistered elites who recently moved there claiming to be street. The new fresh-faced 'bohemian' glow to Hackney - the ciabatta eating Crips and Bloods thronging Broadway Market in pursuit of parmiggiano regano. But no, we could go on forever as the gentification of Hackney has become hackneyed. Instead, let's move on to other matters bothering us this week in the 12th edition of City Slicker's "Week's Action, Weekend Reaction."

1) Stuck for somewhere new to hold a Christmas do that's near to but not quite Hackney? React by staying east and book up early for the guaranteed table of the season: the Reindeer Restaurant at the Truman Brewery. Open 1 Dec - 23 Dec only.

2) Riled by how the Tories excel in gaffes about social classes that are completely alien to them, including David Cameron's claim this week that "we've all got mortgages?" React by joining not beating them (up that is) and head to Sotheby's Olympia first ever without reserve (posh for liquidiation) furniture sale. Prices start at £50.

3) Has the Mills-McCartney media mayhem revealed your appetite for libel and caricature? React by heading to the Cartoon Museum for the just opened Private Eye at 45 exhibition.