Photograph: Toby Melville/REUTERS
Today is the eve of the Guardian's Open Weekend, when the public will be invited into the Kings Place office of the mighty newspaper and website. There, they will eat, drink, encounter journalists and, if they've got any sense, pinch a load of stationery. It's all part of the Guardian's embrace of "open journalism," a concept that flows from the outrageous notion than sometimes readers know things about a subject that the man or woman reporting it does not.
Shocking, isn't it? Yet it seems to be catching on. For the past week I've been buried alive in assembling a manifesto for a model mayor, drawing into a single document the pick of readers' proposals for inclusion in the programme of a perfect, imaginary London mayoral candidate. On Tuesday, the first of our mayoral election live blogs brought readers and a trio of experts together to debate cycling policy. There will be a series of these policy-themed exercises between now and polling day, 3 May, and, what's more, the main candidates will be going online to answer readers' questions too. Labour's Ken Livingstone is first up , on Monday.
You can also participate in the Guardian's coverage of the mayoral race by letting us know when you've bumped into a man or woman seeking your vote whilst out and about on London's streets, minding your own business. We're maintaining a map of the candidates' movements, but we need your help with keeping track of them. It's all explained here. We look forward to hearing from you in the coming weeks. Democracy is nothing without participation. Tell your friends.
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Boris Johnson under fire for 'hijacking' mayor of London Twitter account
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Boris Johnson backs down over mayoral Twitter account
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Tales of the city: the rise of the local blog
London blogosphere
A question.
Why The Kentishtowner? Simply because Kentish Town is proper ancient. It dates back further (1206) than Camden, or any of the surrounding areas. Thriving by the 15th century, it's pretty much seen it all: industry, wealth, poverty, fashionability (or otherwise) and a dictionary of architectural styles. And of course now, in 2012, it's up and coming once more; en vogue even.
So now you know. For lot, lots more about Kentish Town read on.
Coming up
As noted enough, Ken Livingstone will be online at the Guardian to take readers' questions on Monday. Apart from that, I either don't yet know or am not free to say what the mayoral candidates will be doing next week. That's the way it works. But whatever they do do, you'll read all about it here.