As you will notice from the right-hand column of this blog and the many great recommendations on the site, we have a lot of cool people who contribute to Metrotwin, experts who know and love their cities… but how much do you know about them? The Metrotwin 15 is a new, occasional feature where we will profile contributors on our blog and ask them fifteen fundamental, searching questions about life, the universe, London and New York. And all things being equal, I thought I would kick things off by having a little chat with myself.

Name: AnyaD

Profession: Website editor, professional rambler (in the literary sense, the closest I get to rambling itself is walking home from the tube)

Neighbourhood: Crouch End, London (a.k.a ‘Near Finsbury Park? Arsenal? North London?’)

Favourite city smell: The launderette at the end of my road.

Favourite bagel filling: Brie, watercress and honey.

Tell us a London/NYC pop fact: Stephen King wrote a short story where Crouch End is a portal to hell. He clearly never went to North Finchley.

Opinion of pigeons: Pretty irritating, but then I always get a pang of sadness when I see a dead one.

Currently reading: Palestine by Joe Stacco and Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Oh, and Chat magazine for a bit of light relief and tips on how to make lovely photo frames out of old crisp packets and bits of string.

Skins or Gossip Girl?: The Inbetweeners is a view of teenagers I most relate to.

Law and Order or The Bill? Law and Order, although the spinoff all about rape I find a tad disturbing. That it exists, mainly.

Items that are always in your grocery basket: blue cheese, hot cross buns, really horrible cheap fish pies and popcorn.

Favourite building/monument/statue/tree/shrub: Alexandra Palace (see below) Liberty’s and the magnolia tree in downstairs’ back garden.