Inside the Life of Monocle Journalist Fernando in Soho, London

Never Too Small

Sign up for Milanote for free with no time limit: https://milanote.com/nts7   Monocle Radio Senior Correspondent Fernando Augusto Pacheco opens the door to his everyday life in London’s Soho, a neighbourhood he has called home for more than a decade. From record shops and independent newsstands to rare book stores, Brazilian design galleries and historic pubs, Fernando introduces us to the people and places that have shaped his relationship with the city. Along the way, we discover a neighbourhood shaped by music, print, nightlife, creativity and community, where Soho’s multicultural history sits alongside Fernando’s connection to his Brazilian culture. Through favourite local institutions and the people behind them, we see why, after almost two decades in London, Fernando still finds the city extraordinary and Soho the place he wants to call home. My City, My Backyard explores the places people return to, and the stories that make a city their own.  Places we visited this episode: - Sounds of the Universe https://www.instagram.com/sounds_of_the_universe/  - Good News https://www.instagram.com/goodnews.soholondon.magazines/  - Idea https://www.instagram.com/idea.ltd/  - The French House https://www.instagram.com/thefrenchhousesoho/  - Monocle HQ - JIG Studio https://www.instagram.com/jig_studio/  - The Coach & Horses https://www.instagram.com/thecoachandhorsessoho/   Featuring: Fernando Pacheco Creative Director: Colin Chee Executive Producer: James McPherson Executive Producer : Nelson Khoury Series Producer: Luke Clark Head of Production: Lindsay Barnard Co-Producer: Jordan Barrett Co-Producer: Olive Bilic Director: Rhys Graham Director of Photography: Sam Kostevc Fixer / B Cam: Tim Gibson Editor: Jess Ruasol Colourist: Jess Ruasol Music: Artlist.io Medium Up by Daniel Dor   We Really Don’t Know by Brian Claxton  Sophy with the Sad Eyes by Amos Ever Hadani Sous Le Soleil De Minuit by Curtis Cole feat. Loren Noyman She Did It by Roger Rivas The Tale of Tarzan & Jane 1979 by WEARETHEGOOD Streets by Curtis Cole Saturday Special by Skipp Whitman Well Oiled Machine by Tony Balluff Surefoot by Tony Balluff Back to Reality by Okaya Por Ti Vivire by Tania Matus Dream Loop by Ariel Shalom This Year by Brian Claxton Come of Age by Bob Hart  Principal production funding from @ScreenAustralia in association with VicScreen. Financed with the assistance of Scout Production Finance. With support from @T2tea  © 2026 Never Too Small Pty Ltd

Transcript

00:03I don't mind living in a small space.

00:07For someone like me, it does bring challenges.

00:10Honest to God, there's so much paper.

00:13I'm not a hoarder, but I do love my magazines.

00:16The latest Popeye, Monaco's Confact,

00:19Interview with Madonna, of course.

00:21When people say, oh, but you can buy a bigger house

00:24further away from Soho, and I'm like, no.

00:28Soho is always my end goal.

00:32On Friday, I can go and see a Japanese synth-pop duo.

00:36The week before, an Egyptian singer.

00:39Every time I think, my God, this city is extraordinary.

00:44Gosh, that's sexy, huh?

00:47I think life happens in Soho.

00:49I've been living in the neighborhood for over a decade.

00:53I plan to live here for as long as I can.

01:02The first thing when you enter my flat that you can see is a capybara.

01:06And her name is Piauí.

01:08Piauí is a state in Brazil.

01:09It's the name of a state, which I've never been to Piauí.

01:13But I think it's such a beautiful name, full of vowels.

01:15I am Fernando Augusto Pacheco.

01:18I am originally from Brazil, in São Paulo.

01:21And I live in London since 2007, which is almost 20 years.

01:26I'm also hosting The Stack, our show about print media.

01:29I'm a journalist. I'm a senior correspondent at Monaco Radio.

01:34I've been with Monaco since 2011. Wow.

01:38That makes me a little bit old, but you know, that's me.

01:43I live in Greek Street in Seoul, which is one of the most kind of iconic,

01:48because it's known as a party street.

01:50It used to be a place for prostitution, for drugs.

01:54I think many people will tell you that it became less seedy,

01:58but it's still a place where people go to party,

02:01where they come to see their friends.

02:08I think my house, especially the living room,

02:11it's all about the little corners.

02:14I like some clashes.

02:16I don't want things to be too perfect,

02:18because then I find it a bit ugly, to be really honest with you.

02:21This is an aisle that my grandma gave it to me,

02:25one of my last times I went to Brazil.

02:26If you put an aisle in the top part of your apartment or flat,

02:31it's going to bring good luck to you,

02:33because the aisle will be observing and making sure

02:35that everything's going to be okay.

02:39This beautiful table.

02:40It's our friend Miguel Saboya,

02:43furniture designer from Brazil,

02:46but lives in Portugal.

02:47I like the quality of the wood.

02:49I think, as you can see in the flat,

02:51there's wood everywhere.

02:54To find a flat in Soho is not easy.

02:57Even for rental, because we rent the place,

03:00there are not that many properties.

03:03We spotted this flat, me and my partner, Yannick.

03:07He's not only a good boyfriend,

03:08but he's the best cook in the world.

03:10Well, I wouldn't even know how to do that.

03:13I love how modern it is.

03:15I love the wooden floors.

03:18It feels cozy.

03:21We have a little kind of patio at the back,

03:23which is very rare in Soho.

03:26Having that outside space maybe doesn't make it feel so small.

03:30I'm part of Soho here.

03:32We're hearing the noises.

03:33There are marching bands outside.

03:34There are people shouting all the time or laughing.

03:38I bought a book about the history of Soho and ours.

03:41Apparently there was like something outside called

03:43Girls, Girls, Girls.

03:45Not anymore.

03:46Now it's just the boys living here.

03:51I am obsessed with music.

03:53You have Madonna's Like a Prayer.

03:56You have Smash Hits Party 88.

03:59Thailand's Golden Sounds.

04:0180s synth pop and disco.

04:03Actually, I need to listen to this one.

04:05For me, the idea of London started with music.

04:10Let me explain.

04:11My first real music obsession was the Spice Girls.

04:15Back in 1996, I was intrigued by their Britishness.

04:20And then came the Petro Boys, New Order, Depeche Mode,

04:24Erasure, Human League.

04:25They were all British.

04:27The seed to move to London was clearly there already.

04:31When I moved to London as a student,

04:34Soho is the place to buy the coolest magazines,

04:36vinyls, CDs, all the things that I care deeply in my life.

04:41First, we're heading to Broadway Street

04:44for this fantastic record shop called Sounds of the Universe.

04:50I think the name says it all.

04:52It's music from Brazil, from Santo Amém Príncipe,

04:55from France, Ethiopia, whatever.

04:57Name it, it's there.

05:00My name is Stuart Baker.

05:02I have a record shop in Soho, London, called Sounds of the Universe.

05:08And I have a record label called Soul Jazz Records.

05:12And they both started about 30 years ago.

05:16We sell or make non-mainstream music.

05:20I think it's probably the best way of describing it.

05:23If you're thinking you might want to buy Elton John,

05:26this probably is not the place to buy it.

05:28But if you're thinking you might want to buy some ambient drone

05:31from Romania in the 1980s or some Brazilian tropicalia,

05:36then hopefully this is a place you would want to shop.

05:40I always knew that really this is where I wanted a shop.

05:43I actually have been buying records here since I was about 14,

05:47because this is where all the record shops were.

05:50I think that the reason that Soho had so many record shops

05:54is partly because it's sort of based on a multicultural existence

05:59from the different cultures coming in.

06:01And I think that that makes it open to the type of record shop that we have.

06:07Soho's the only place where I felt at home.

06:12Everyone is an outsider.

06:14Therefore everyone spoke on a level and it was accepted everyone.

06:18And that's very attractive. That's why I feel comfortable.

06:21Can you tell me a bit about what Soho was like when you first arrived?

06:24It was seedy.

06:26Like when I was a kid coming in here,

06:28that kept rents low,

06:31which attracted more interesting things about the area.

06:35In the last five, ten years,

06:37that's changed, not beyond recognition,

06:40but it's changed a hell of a lot.

06:42I prefer to have a bit more of what was there before,

06:45but I still think there's enough of that sort of vibe to make it vibrant.

06:51Still on this original sort of ideals.

06:55Oh Stuart, thank you so much.

07:01This is an advertisement for Milanote.

07:04Planning a professional shoot can be chaotic,

07:06as we found while preparing for our latest My City My Backyard episode with Fernando.

07:11We needed a centralised way to stay organised.

07:14Milanote is a free visual workspace that allows our entire crew,

07:18producer, director, cameraman and Fernando

07:21to work together on the same page instantly.

07:25We were able to collect reference shots from all our locations,

07:30and our director used the drawing tool to leave visual feedback

07:33and pin notes directly on the board.

07:36We embedded the walkthrough video of Fernando's place,

07:39allowing the team to refer to it instantly without leaving the board.

07:43And we used simple tables for our filming schedules,

07:47with photos to visualise each shot and location.

07:51Keep your creative projects organised and your team connected.

07:55Milanote is available for free, with no time limit, using the link in the description.

08:02I feel Soho became part of my routine before it became part of my life.

08:08While I was a student, I wasn't living here.

08:11But, honest to God, I used to come here every day, even to have a cup of coffee.

08:16For me it felt like a liberating place.

08:18It's very known for its gay bars, and as a young gay man from Brazil,

08:24I was like, oh my God, that's so exciting, so free.

08:29So many magazines, I'm surrounded by them.

08:32And books, and books, and books.

08:34Never too small, little promotion here.

08:37I always loved magazines, and I'm a collector, you know.

08:41I want things that I can use, that I can touch, that I can play with.

08:45My partner, Yannick, I remember the first years we met, he was like,

08:49Fernando, you have to throw away some of it.

08:51It's a small flat, it's a one bedroom.

08:53I do have the full collection of monocles where I work.

08:57But I do tell Yannick quite frequently, saying, I still like some magazine piles.

09:02Let me see what magazines you have today.

09:04When I was nine years old, my uncle said,

09:07Fê, what do you like for your birthday?

09:08And I said, a subscription to Folha de São Paulo, which is Brazil's largest daily.

09:13I used to read the headlines to my grandma, and I used to love going to newsstands.

09:18He is a more regular customer, so it's basically his shop.

09:21Every day after work, it's my little stop here.

09:24Yeah, it's now, it's his shop, basically.

09:27So if you want the latest Paris match, you know,

09:30they have it almost as fresh as if you were in Paris.

09:35I like kind of the day-to-day reading, you know, the gossip magazine where you do the crossword in

09:39your bathtub.

09:40Good News is one of, you know, the few places still here in Seoul that actually have that.

09:47I go to Good News all the time.

09:51And, idea, I go for the special purchase.

09:54Hello, it's Fernando here. How are you, David?

09:56Ah, yeah, sleep well. Come here.

09:58Cheers.

10:02I love that.

10:06They only sell kind of those rare magazines or design books.

10:13My name is David, and I am the co-owner of Idea.

10:18I co-run it with my wife, Angelo.

10:22Normally, you go into a second-hand bookstore and they have kind of like a smattering of everything.

10:28We only sell what we want to source and sell.

10:32Hopefully, we have the best books in the world.

10:37Circa 1973, this floor was Elton John's Rocket Records.

10:42Elton himself has never come back to see his old office, which is slightly disappointing.

10:48Here, I'm always coveting something, you know.

10:51Sometimes I come with very specific ideas.

10:54It's huge.

10:54I love Bruce Weber, and I always wanted to buy the Rio de Janeiro book he did.

11:00But for me, also, Idea is a place of discovery.

11:04This is fun.

11:05The Encyclopedia of Psychoetic Drugs.

11:07Oh, that one's nice. Flowering Parts.

11:09Magic in Bloom and magic in other ways, I suspect.

11:13See, Angela and I are both of an age where West London was where it was at.

11:20Soho was just the center of all work.

11:23So it was a mini like Hollywood, but mainly full of advertising agencies.

11:26You could look out the window and always see someone with a porter trolley and actual cans of film going

11:32between the mill and rushes or wherever it was.

11:35The astonishing thing is that outside our door, there can be more people on the street at three o'clock

11:42in the morning than there are at three o'clock in the afternoon.

11:45It's still like a heavy like nightlife area, and the people are generally speaking pretty random, which is a good

11:53thing.

11:53We sort of doubled down on this building and Soho as not just where we think it's at, but where

11:59our customers would expect to find this kind of opportunity and stimulation.

12:03It's very hard to see it become boring.

12:10This is the bedroom.

12:12Can I show you my bedside table?

12:14It's basically a champagne stand.

12:17Janek found it on a bin.

12:19A restaurant here in London, which I'm not going to name, was going to throw it away.

12:23He did a very good job there with the DIY because it was not in a good condition.

12:27I wake up with my alarm and then it's like, I think of champagne, of beautiful things of life.

12:34We had a lot of dates here around Soho.

12:36I always remember when I go to a place, I was like, oh, we had a little date here, didn't

12:42we, you know?

12:44Our first date officially was at Bar Italia, but on our second date, we went to the French house.

12:54They have great oysters, great madeleines with this beautiful lemon curd.

12:58It's one of my favorite desserts of all time.

13:03The French house is very singular, not only because of its amazing history.

13:09It's the only place in town that only serves half-pints.

13:15Leslie, the owner, she's a character here in Soho.

13:20My name's Leslie Lewis. I own the French house and have done for 37 years.

13:26We're one of the oldest establishments here and I'm only the third landlord since 1914.

13:32It's a bit like the village pub. It's the centre of the community and a lot of old regulars come

13:38here.

13:39The restaurant was condemned in 1966 and I reopened it in 1989.

13:45We do a very French country style cuisine.

13:49Cheers.

13:50I'm glad there's a new generation loving it.

13:53It used to be full of, you know, quite a few of older ones, but they've all passed onto the

13:57other side, the bar in the sky.

13:59You come in for one and you stay for a lifetime. That's what happened to me.

14:04My first job in Soho was actually choreographing the girls in the carnival strip club in Old Compton Street.

14:11It was an instant love affair with this place.

14:14It changes, sometimes it's not very pleasant.

14:17But that's all part of the whole picture, so I don't get too upset about that.

14:20It's still, to me, the most beautiful place in the world.

14:25Well, you get all sorts of people, but I suppose mainly, I think, mostly people who are involved in the

14:30arts in some way.

14:32Actors, writers, painters.

14:34I like to have characters behind the bar.

14:37Jordan's a very well-known writer.

14:40You. Jordan.

14:43Yeah, I just normally work Sunday evenings.

14:47And Leslie was quite good at letting me just do that, because I couldn't keep pace when I first started.

14:52And now, yeah, I've been here about three years.

14:56Shall we say you found Saturday nights a bit challenging?

14:58I found Saturday nights very challenging.

15:02A lot of people moved out of Soho, so we've lost a lot of community.

15:06And I'd love to see that community build up again.

15:08I'd like to see more families in Soho and affordable housing, that people can be here and enjoy it.

15:14I'd love to see a bit more colour, you know, some more flowers in the street.

15:17Cheer it up a little bit.

15:18People laughing and joking.

15:20It's a beautiful area and there's a lot of care for each other.

15:24We hope to be here for as long as we can.

15:30If you're enjoying hanging out with these guys, you'll love our magazine.

15:33Packed with creative and inspiring characters, extraordinary small apartments and clever design solutions ripe for the stealing.

15:41Never Too Small magazine is available with a range of subscription options to suit all budgets.

15:47Subscribe now.

15:54Monaco was launched in 2007, which is the year where I officially started to live in the UK.

16:04Before I moved here in 2007, I saw issue five in a new stand in Sao Paulo.

16:10And I was like, oh my God, I love that.

16:13So I had a little monocle bug in my head.

16:19A lot of what I do is from the cultural realm.

16:22So I speak to directors, to interesting people, musicians, you know.

16:27It's sunny today.

16:28Do you do a lot of research looking for stuff for your radio show?

16:31Yes, a lot.

16:33I love looking at my piles of magazines and there's always an inspiration.

16:36Of course, sometimes it's impossible to reply to everyone, but I like to be surprised.

16:40I like to leave it and then in two months, maybe I'll rediscover something, you know.

16:46Faye, can we just test some levels, please?

16:48So can you just tell me what you have for breakfast?

16:50Sure. Today I had a lovely toast with butter and strawberry jam.

16:54Perfect, thank you. All ready and I'll give you the green.

16:58Amazing.

17:00Hello, I'm Fernando Gusto Pacheco here at Studio One Midori House.

17:04We have a busy hour full of music.

17:06I'm going to introduce you the Monaco Summer Playlist for 2026.

17:10Do you want to know a little...

17:11I'm the music curator of Monaco Radio.

17:14There's plenty of music from Brazil, from Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe and more.

17:20Stay tuned to Monaco Radio.

17:21We did a calculation, I think 25%, something like that, of the music we play from Brazil.

17:28I mean, we do have great music.

17:30You know, it's not my fault.

17:33I grew up in São Paulo.

17:35So even though I've been here for almost two decades, you know, I'm very much connected to Brazilian culture.

17:41It's present in every single way.

17:44We have a caipirinha corner in the house.

17:47I'm not joking.

17:47The cachaça we have, which is the Brazilian rum, it's a bit of a special one.

17:52It's a chili cachaça.

17:54Hopefully it's not going to be too chili.

17:55Even our coasters.

17:57These ones we bought in Rio de Janeiro.

18:00Yannick Slippers from Brazil.

18:02I think they fit this kind of Brazilian corner that we have in the flat, for sure.

18:07I think Brazil is very well known for its design.

18:11People know the classics, the modernists from the 50s, but we have more than that.

18:17Jig Studio, of course I had to come across.

18:19It's the first gallery in London, I believe, that sells Brazilian design and kind of promotes Brazilian designers.

18:25I'm Richard Perman.

18:27I'm Graves Nemeth.

18:29And I'm Brazilian.

18:31We are in our gallery in Soho.

18:34I think this inspiration came from Richard being an architect.

18:39He has been to Brazil with me and he was amazed by the quality of the designers and the artists

18:46that he was seeing, especially in a visit to Brasilia, which is the Brazilian capital.

18:50We said we need to expose those artists and the potential of contemporary art and designers to the international and

18:59global square, which is London.

19:02The fact that we chose Soho, it has to be what Soho represents in terms of a hybrid spotlight of

19:10London that is mixed with fashion, food, design and trend and diversity.

19:17So this exchange is quite enriching for us and I think for the community also.

19:23So we really love that.

19:25You don't quite know who's coming through the door, but when people do come, they come with intent and they

19:32want to explore more and they want to understand more of the story.

19:35When I started painting the front of the facade, I did more talking than I did painting, but I met

19:41some amazing people from all over the world.

19:45I think Brazil is very Soho, you know, it's animated, it's international, it's fun, it's mixed. It's the best.

19:53I miss São Paulo. Maybe one day I will live there, but it'll be hard to leave London as well

19:58if I do that one day.

20:03I love caution horses. I go there every week for sure, at least once.

20:14It's another very renowned pub in London that has a history of journalists going there.

20:21And I specifically like going there early afternoon on a Saturday when the sun hits your face in one of

20:28their tables outside.

20:30It's quite magical.

20:34I like being Fernando in London. A lot of people say they are tired of London.

20:41I don't know what it is about me, but I still feel that excitement.

20:45I was scared that people would be cold, especially for my Brazilian standards, but the city welcomed me with open

20:52arms.

20:54I love Soho. I genuinely think it's the best neighborhood in London.

20:59So for me, I would say long live the romantization of cities you love. We need the magic.

21:06First kisses, first jobs, so many firsts. London is still very much in my heart.

21:14Well, Soho, even more.

21:20Wow. I might just need a napkin, Yannick.

21:26You will try, guys. It's so good.

21:33And a lovely caipirinha.

21:36Yannick, saúde. Thank you. Obrigado.

21:43The sharpness of the lime with the caipirinha. No, with the coxinha.

21:50This is the better one.

21:52Okay, I'll give you the...

21:54Okay.

21:56Mmm.

Category

Transcript

Recommended