Your Weekly Agenda | 20th – 26th September 2021
It’s often said that the key to happiness lies in truly living in the moment.
And that moment is now “this week”, during which you are cordially invited to enjoy a collaboration between one of the city’s tastiest restaurants and one of the city’s best chefs; spoil your cultural appetite with spoken word, theatre and live music all in one evening; conduct a museum lates crawl across the city; attend a fair with over 200 wines; and dance till the wee hours in a decadent Clerkenwell townhouse with live musicians, DJs, and a piano bar.
Main image: Soane Lates
MONDAY 20th
The Blue Paradox
This pop-up installation will immerse you in the ocean without any literal immersion. Instead, the depths of the sea will be conjured up by huge digital installations that tower over you. The whole exhibition’s designed to raise awareness of the damage plastic pollution is doing to our oceans, and you’ll be helping just by turning up, since they’ll donate money to protect 1km² of ocean for every person who visits.
Details: Until 27th September | Exhibition London, Ariel Way, London, W12 7SL | Free, but book a slot here
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Flat Iron Clink Street
Flat Iron have just unveiled another beautiful restaurant filled with £12 steak (and, for this new location, a special green chilli cheeseburger). And to celebrate the opening, they’re running a treasure hunt round the neighbouring cobbled streets. Check their instagram for clues and try to track down one of their pouches filled with Flat Iron coins – worth up to £40, you can put them towards your bill.
Details: 20th – 24th September | Flat Iron Clink Street, Soho Wharf, Clink Street, London SE1 9DG | Check out their insta here
TUESDAY 21st
Kricket x Andrew Clarke
One of London’s most talented and hirsute chefs, Andrew Clarke is joining the kitchens at Kricket White City for the next in their annual Guest Chef Series, in aid of Apne Aap Women’s Collective. He’s one half of the duo behind hit restaurants Brunswick House and St. Leonard’s, as well as the founding force between Pilot Light, a mental health initiative working with those in the hospitality industry. The menu’s under wraps, but you can count on some brilliant ingredient-led Indian fare that’s probably had a lick of flame from an open fire grill.
Details: 21st September | Kricket White City, 2 Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, London, W12 7FR
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The Sunday Art Club
The Sunday Art Club’s back… this Tuesday. You can expect an evening of intimate performances spanning multiple disciplines, starting off with a DJ-accompanied gallery viewing of landscape art by Miriam Jane Camancho; followed by spoken word and play extracts; capped off with a live music sesh by Tony Kofi and The Organisation, jazz circuit regulars mashing up Latin blues, funk and rare music by the likes of Duke Pearson and Pepper Adams.
Details: 21st September | Arboretum, 2a Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0HF | £12
WEDNESDAY 22nd
Summer Exhibition at the RA
First Sunday Art Club on a Tuesday, now the RA’s Summer Exhibition in Autumn… it’s understandable that calendars are still playing catch-up this year. The best things in life are worth waiting for, and this annual open-call exhibition is no exception. There’s a staggering 1,300 works on show; some from big names, like Michael Armitage and Phyllida Barlow RA; some self-taught, like Bärbel Lange and Marie-Rose Lortet; and many more submitted by creative members of the public who, seemingly, found themselves a lot of time on their hands last year…
Details: Opens 22nd September | Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD | £20-22
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Mama Shelter: Mama’s Big Laugh
As a little mid-week pick-me-up, this Hackney hotel is holding an evening of al fresco comedy headlined by Seann Walsh and MC’d by Jamie Allerton, with Alexandra Haddow, Hubert Mayr, Sikisa and Josh Weller to follow. Entry is just over a fiver and includes a welcome cocktail – plus, happy hour drinks are £6 before 7pm.
Details: 22nd September from 6.30pm | Mama Shelter London, 437 Hackney Road, London, E2 8PP | £5.98
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Crypt Lates
Fancy spending the evening in a 300 year-old subterranean crypt? Well, yes, probably, once you hear that it’ll be filled with cocktails, ‘British tapas’, and a suave, feel-good set of live jazz, swing and soul courtesy of Tom “the Piano Man” Seals and his 3 piece band (who come with the seal of approval from Jools Holland, no less)… READ MORE
Details: 22nd September | St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 4JJ | £10-15
THURSDAY 23rd
FieldFest 2021
It can be tricky to know how to discuss global warming in the current climate… so new eco-newsletter outfit Field7 are stepping up and holding a three-day festival all about the environment, climate change, and what to do about it. There’ll be talks on topics like climate-tech, the green economy, and travel as a possible force for good, alongside a pottery workshop, DJs, a pop-up eco-focussed bookshop by Libreria, and pizza. Because that’s important too.
Details: 23rd-25th September | The White Building, Queen’s Yard, London E9 5EN | Free, but book ahead
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The Jellied Eel x Devil’s Cantina
The Jellied Eel have made a deal with the Devil… ‘s Cantina: namely, to serve incredible cocktails alongside their hit vegan tacos at a three day pop up this weekend. You might remember the former as the bar that popped up after hours in a century-old pie & mash shop in Walthamstow, and if you haven’t come across the latter yet, all you need to know is that their tacos are crafted entirely from scratch… and they’re very good.
Details: 23rd – 25th September | Millfields Coffee, 145 Chatsworth Road, Lower Clapton, E5 0LA | Book here
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Green Rooms @ Canopy Market
London’s roaming houseplant market is once again putting down roots in King’s Cross. You’ll find it in the covered Canopy Market, where, as well as browsing the hundreds of pots and plants, you’ll be able to pick up macrame hangers, terrariums and botanical beauty products. READ MORE
Details: 23rd – 26th September | Canopy Market, West Handyside Canopy, London N1C 4LW | Free, just turn up
FRIDAY 24th
Soane Lates
After a year and a half, Soane’s Museum is reopening its doors after-hours for candlelit lates. Glass of wine in hand, you’ll be free to wander round this eclectic townhouse, perfectly preserved as its last resident requested nearly 200 years ago. There’ll be experts dotted around the place giving you an insight into some of the house’s more unusual objects, including the Egyptian sarcophagus and the entire room dedicated to Soane’s monastic alter-ego, Padre Giovanni.
Details: 24th September | 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3BP | £25 inc. glass of wine
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Tate Lates
Dada! Tate Lates are back, and this one’s dedicated to the surrealist art movement of Dadaism, in honour of their current exhibition celebrating the work of Sophie Taeuber-Arp. Aside from accessing the exhibition after hours, you’ll be able to sip cocktails while making collages, watch avant-garde dancers whirl around Turbine Hall, take a Taeuber-Arp-inspired abstract portrait in the photographic studio, bop to DJs, listen to Dadaist poetry with a live band, watch a film about miniature dioramas, drop in to life drawing with colourfully dressed models, and hear pop-up talks around the rest of the Tate’s galleries.
Details: 24th September from 6pm | Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG| Free, but book ahead (exhibition ticketed separately)
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V&A Friday Lates
Typical, isn’t it. You wait 18 months for a museum late, then three come along at once. The V&A’s offering follows their classic format with a winning formula of DJs, workshops, live performances and talks – with the added bonus that you can explore their special installations commissioned for the London Design Festival, including an aluminium pavilion on water, and a suspended, spaghetti-like sculpture that changes as people move about the room.
Details: 24th September, from 6.30pm | V&A Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL | Free, but book ahead
SATURDAY 25th
Shaping Space
The V&A are also collaborating with the Building Centre on a new exhibition this week, featuring scale models of all kinds of buildings. You’ll be able to peer into constructions by eminent architects like David Adjaye and Zaha Hadid; see the original paper model of the Empress Josephine’s bedroom crafted so Napoleon could give it the thumbs up while he was away at war; look at the tiny sets created by Isle of Dogs puppet-maker Andy Gent for the film Save Ralph; and most importantly, see this miniature jelly version of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Details: From 24th September | Building Centre (26 Store Street, London WC1E 7BT | Free
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One Night Records
Behold, the ultimate live music night: One Night Records has constructed six beautifully detailed sets within its Southwark railway arch, each of which is themed to a different music genre from early 20th century America. There’s a gin-laced speakeasy, a ragtime train bound for New Orleans and a dusty blues shack to encounter, which you can flit between at will… READ MORE
Details: Opens 23rd September | One Night Records, Wardens Grove, London SE1 0HT | £54.50
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DinnerPARTY
We think it’s about time we all got dressed up, and enjoyed a night out.
So we’re teaming up with Bourne & Hollingsworth to host dinnerPARTY, an exciting night of delicious cocktails, canapés and a candlelit dinner with live music; followed by a huge house party featuring DJs, an NYC-style piano bar, and general merriment & mischief running into the early hours… READ MORE
Details: 25th September | B&H Buildings, 42 Northampton Road, Clerkenwell, North London, EC1R 0HU | £20-35
SUNDAY 26th
Brunch at Wun’s Tea Room
Soho’s beautiful 1960s Hong Kong-style eatery has just revived its weekend brunch menu. Which is good news for anyone who’s a fan of kaya butter toast with a runny soy spa egg, Char Siu Iberico Pork Silk Scramble, French toast (reinvented with peanut butter and cheese), and fried milk tea.
Details: Weekends 11am-3.30pm | Wun’s Tea Room & Bar, 23 Greek Street, Soho, W1D 4DZ | Book here
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RAW Wine Fete
RAW Wines are showcasing the world of low-intervention, natural and biodynamic wines at their huge London wine party this weekend, taking place on the ground floor of the new Soho House on the Strand. And ironically, it’s not a raw deal – you’ll be able to drink as many samples as you want from the 200 wines on offer, all handpicked by importers like Ancestrel and Otros Vinos. Plus you’ll get 15% off in the bottle shop if you discover any you want to take home with you.
Details: 26th September | 180 The Strand, Temple, London WC2R 1EA | £25 (all tastings included)
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Swing Patrol
London’s authority on swing dancing will be holding court at The Scoop in London Bridge this weekend for four hours of al fresco dancing. There’ll be workshops and social dancing for those that want to get involved, or you can just sit back and enjoy the performances by some of the niftiest feet in town.
Details: 26th September, 12-4pm | The Scoop, More London, London, SE1 2DB | Free, just turn up
Looking for more things to do in London? Check out these great exhibitions.