I interviewed the manager of one of my little local curry houses yesterday (the one of aloo chili deeeelusciousness fame) about the one-year anniversary buffet dinner that they held last week. Which I attended. For free.

Amidst the impatient throng of people bumping each other in the search for seats, frantic waiters running around forgetting drinks orders and the calmer mid-scoff people sat in front of piled-high platters which rivalled the pictures of Nepalese mountains on the walls, the restaurant held a raffle.

The prizes for this raffle came mostly from other businesses located on the same street. A, the manager, hadn't asked for these; as soon as her neighbouring businesses discovered what was happening, they came in and volunteered to donate.

I love that about this road, which is located just around the corner from where I live. Practically all the shops, bars and restaurants are independently-owned, and everyone knows and looks out for each other. And they're such a great bunch of businesses.

There are restaurants galore - all excellent - serving Indian, Nepalese, Thai, Italian, modern British, fusion, tapas and vegetarian cuisine.

Cafes and delis sell everything, from huge Sunday morning and afternoon, ahem fry-ups with pots of strong tea, to chocolate muffins and paninis with proper Italian coffee.

A little locals / old man pub serves excellent Guinness and shows illegal footie matches on a big screen at the back. Directly opposite it, a trendy and possibly one of the most expensive pubs in the region welcomes the Cheshire set and associated wannabes for summer lounging in the massive beer garden and far-superior-to-pub-grub food in the restaurant and internet browsing by sad bloggers who take advantage of the free wireless connection whilst enjoying a pint or ten, er, two. 

Two cocktail and wine bars run happy hours which cost me many a drinker dearly once it gets past 8pm and I they can no longer be arsed to move.

My favourite wine shop of all time, which reunited me with the delights of Quinta de la Rosa post-Madeira trip last year, and which is holding my favourite wine fair of all time in a few weeks, is run by a fantastic couple of people who inspire me to learn more about the heady nectar I'm drinking as opposed to just chucking it down my gullet.

There's a little supermarket whose convenience is well-used, yet somehow hasn't managed to dampen the spirits of a couple of newsagents who have maintained their loyal local trade.

Gorgeous scents and colours flood out of the little flower shop.

My money floods out of my wallet in the little clothes boutiques shops.

A launderette, pound shop, DIY outlet and incredibly old video store do they even hire out DVDs yet, I wonder? have probably been there since the dawn of time, and show no signs of giving up the ghost any time soon.

There are also furniture stores, hairdressers, a butcher's and a baker's (thriving despite the absence of a candlestick maker), take-aways of varying descriptions and quality, an art gallery, a lovely electrician i.e. he actually does his job, a computer shop which admittedly I haven't been back to since I was looking for a strap for my laptop bag and asked the lovely man behind the counter for "a strap-on", etc, etc, etc.

And people smille, and say hello, and there's generally a cosy village feel - albeit a somewhat trendy one - to the area, even though we're part of one of the largest cities in the UK.

The point is, this is where I live. I love it.

And I'm lucky to be part of it.