August Bank Holiday 2016: What to do this weekend in London
This bank holiday weekend, London has put on a show: Notting Hill Carnival will strut its stuff, plus nine other hot summer events- let's have one last hurrah!
The one, the only: Notting Hill Carnival
For two days every summer, the leafy, distinguished quiet of West London’s ice-cream coloured squares is blown apart. On August Bank Holiday weekend, Carnival comes to Notting Hill, bringing with it goat curry, steel drums, rum punch, coconuts, jerk chicken and a whole lot of joy.
Five-star performance: Jesus Christ, Superstar
We gave this amazing musical five stars- a must see. Regent's Park's open air theatre is a fairylight-lit, leafy, timelessy magical venue, but this production of Andrew Lloyd Webber music is strikingly modern. Jesus sports a baseball cap, Herod, gold lamé. Catch it before it closes on Saturday.
Read more ...Hang out in a park: Hampstead Fair
On the Lower Heath this Bank Holiday at Hampstead comes the Summer fair. It's set to be a sunny, sunny week end and Hampstead village itself, with great shops and neighbourhood bustle, is a perfect place to spend it. Read more about London park events below.
Read more ...Sunday night TV: Victoria
Autumn television is just kicking off, and this Sunday night we're most excited abut Victoria making her debut on ITV. In the battle of the ratings and the revelation that ITV used Pound Shop props to stretch their budget, we're rooting for Jenna Coleman to succeed as a young Victoria, not just against her elderly male parliament, but against the topless overtures of BBC's Poldark, too. Read more autumn TV below.
Read more ...Etsy gets a rooftop pop-up!
We love the John Lewis roof garden, every last astro-turfed bit of it. This week end, and this week end only, online retailer Etsy are using the space as a pop-up shop, showcasing the designers who launched their businesses on the selling platform. Etsy are everyone's favourite for special gift-yourself jewellery plus sweet hand-made homewear and trinkets. Now you can chat to the makers face to face.
Read more ...Visit an urban beach for Afrobeat
Urban beaches might seem a trend too far, but given the right sun a good crowd and the right attitude, and you'll wonder why people slog out to Bognore Regis. Book tickets for the fun of Afrobeach Bank Holiday Beach Party at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for cocktails, music and kicking up sand whilst you're dancing in flip flops. Find more urban beaches below.
Read more ...See the underrated Ambulance- our hidden film gem
If you were waiting for the cultural scoop of the summer then this is it: Ambulance, the documentary in which one man rides shotgun with an ambulance crew in Gaza during the 2014 offensive blew us away. How is it that one man (the impossibly young director, Mohamed Jabaly) with just one camera can make something so extraordinary? See for yourself.
Read more ...Prom along to Beethoven, Prom 59
On Bank Holiday Monday, go out with a bang. Sir Andras Schiff, one of the leading interpreters of Beethoven, is playing from the master's works, including Beethoven's fifth piano concerto, the 'Emperor', which is both magisterial and playful- and truly wonderful to hear live.
Beautiful photography from William Eggleston
There's still time left to catch the photography exhibition of a one-shot wonder. William Eggleston managed to capture his best subjects with just one take, before they'd even realised they were being photographed, thereby creating a work full of half told American stories. Deeply poetic.
Read more ...Food adventures for the week end
Lastly, how about some food after all that culture? It's the last week end of Pergola on the Roof, serving Mediterranean fare from our favourite restaurants above a car park and under a laburnum canopy. Try Exmouth Market for the new restaurant Berber Q serving Sharwarma (that's slow, slow cooked meat that you'll want to eat seriously fast), or the Tooting restaurant (previously a popular street food stand) serving only... meatballs! It's Belpassi Bros. Read more about Pergola on the Roof below.
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