500 Things to do in the 500 Days until the Big 3-0: 119. Hipster Style Monsters Inc.

26th April 2014, Ministry of Stories and Hoxton Street Monster Supplies, Hoxton, London

During a mac'n'cheese and champagne induced migraine I dragged myself out to a place about as dreadful as I was feeling.

After a burger lunch with the Camel she once more had to partake in visiting the next place on The List. Whilst that normally entails Damien Hirst pieces, gourmet chicken in a bucket and mojito tastings - this time it was slime based candy, horrendous horror stories and all things Halloween.

Hoxton Street is one of those locations in East London that are still up and coming rather than full blown Hipsterville and going there reminds me of why I first fell for Shoreditch - before the Essex Hen Do's heard on the grapevine that it's well cool...

It's that combination of stinky fried chip shops and tacky Poundlands as well as cute bohemic restuarants and pretentious boutiques with the designs from the next big thing in fashion land. All in the midst of Hoxton Street Market, which is possibly the dodgiest and most plastic market in London. It makes Petticoat Lane Market come off as high class, do I need to say more?

Ministry of Stories and Hoxton Street Monster Supplies is one of those wonderfully weird shops that are hard to come by outside of Shoreditch and Hackney and my inner child, as per usual not very well hidden, absolutely loved all of it.

80's comedy horror films could have been filmed in there. We're talking the jars of eye balls and Frankenstein's monster charger - this is more exciting than the Tower of Terrors at Disneyworld! Granted, I'm too much of a scaredy cat for the Tower of Terrors - but this was just up my street in terms of general creepiness.

Of course I bought stuff. How does one get through life without salt taken from tears of anger, earwax toffees and humbugs with a side of escalated panic?

I love monsters.