You might think, looking at the dreary old Holloway Road and some of the glum faces on the 29 bus, that Islington will never get a share of the glitz and glamour that other parts of the world enjoy.

Lovely as the borough is, it’s not exactly 90210 (which some might think is a good thing – not as many anorexic facelift type people walking the streets for a start).

Actually, it turns out that we can show the Americans a thing or two when it comes to ritzy razzmatazz and general gorgeousness.

Imagine my delight last week when I looked at the Gazette website to find an… erm… artistically bare-torsoed picture of Islington muscleman Matt Dunford gracing the pages of this here weekly. I don’t mind telling you that I nearly choked on my Coco Pops.

Matt, who has absolutely no need to put his top back on, is off to compete in the Musclemania Universe competition in Las Vegas (showbiz! showbiz!) next month.

He’s hoping to be voted top male sports model in the world. Judging by the photo, he is definitely top male sports model in Islington, despite stiff competition I’m sure.

It became even more difficult to digest my Coco Pops on reading what Matt plans to wear when he competes. Apparently, he’ll be wearing a slick grey suit, a lifeguard’s outfit, and a pair of very small shorts.

Regular readers of this column (hello Leon!) will know that usually I am a demure young woman of old-fashioned tastes, but on this occasion I would be quite happy to make an exception.

Matt, if you need any advice on how you look in your outfits before you head off to the States, feel free to get in touch. I’ll be here waiting with a cold shower on standby. Good luck, muscleman!

On a similarly razzamatazzy note, the excellent Suggs from Madness came to Archway this week to light up a big fountain which now sits on top of the Tube station. Who needs Robbie Williams switching on the Blackpool Illuminations, eh? The fountain is a big shiny art installation by artist David Batchelor called Big Rock Candy and it is definitely worth checking out.

All we need now is for Muscleman Matt to stand on top of the Tube station as well and it will be like Las Vegas has come to the N postcodes. See? We can do ritzy too!