Your Sunday morning best-of-Londonist weekly round-up.
Must-read articles
- A list we found VERY useful this week: where to enjoy London in the rain.
- How are commuters coping with the closure of so many tube ticket offices?
- London has gone gooey for eggs — here's where to eat oeuf.
- Speaking of eggs, an ode to London's glorious, glorious greasy spoon caffs .
- OK, it's time for another public transport moan. But this time, we're sweating the small stuff.
- Five novels that reflect the push and pull of London's diversity.
- This week's short film tackles commuting, from the platform's point of view.
- The ultimate underground smackdown: London Underground vs New York Subway. Fight!
London news
- The tube strikes that never were, but may well be in September. In other good news: the delay of the long-awaited Night Tube.
- New traffic light system aims to cut cyclist deaths.
- Some of London's top museums get snap happy with each other.
- Oh look, another housing project most of us can't afford.
- Artist fills Covent Garden Market with 100,000 pulsating white balloons.
- Cute photo alert: pictures ZSL London Zoo's annual weigh-in.
- Six London pubs got listed status this week.
Curiouser and curiouser
- Where to find little bits of Canada in London.
- Why does no memorial exist for one of London's worst mass murders?
- We celebrate London's anachronisms, including time-travelling Victorians and Romans with smartphones.
- London's specialist toyshops, for when only Sylvanian Families, Moomins or Tintin will do.
- London's specialist libraries, on the other hand, are a hive of beauty, knowledge and geekery.
- Panto? Drugs? We find out what London 2012 mascots Wenlock and Mandeville are up to.
- Video: the little-known Victorian museum where you can spy on people from a secret passageway.
- Podcast: hang out with the dead at London's cemeteries.
Top reviews
- Our verdict on Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet ★★★★★
- This week's Street Food Spotlight alights on veggie Indian outfit, Village Gujjus ★★★☆☆
- August's most talked about art exhibitions — we give the lowdown.
- The dark truth about Notting Hill: Streets of Sin book review ★★★★☆
- We pay a visit to little Lebanese, Ilili, in Streatham ★★★☆☆
- Another corker, Henry V inside atmospheric Temple Church ★★★★★
- Australian convicts find redemption through theatre, at Our Country's Good ★★★★☆
Things to do
- Think you have good London knowledge? Test it out and get quizzy with us on a boat.
- The best urban cinema, celebrated at Buff Film Festival in September. If you're a film fan, you'll also want to read this.
- Off to Notting Hill Carnival? Our recommendations on what to eat.
- Upcoming festival marks 350 years since the Great Plague.
- Animals and comedy go hand in hand. New fundraiser at London Zoo brings them both to stage.
- Swim The Serpentine for charity.
- We've picked 10 exhibitions to go see in London this September.
Tickets and offers
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SECRET CINEMA: If you love Star Wars you'll love watching The Empire Strikes Back. If you love watching that, you're likely to love viewing it as if you're IN the film — surrounded by detailed sets, live actors and themed props. Dress up and take on the Death Star. From 1 September. Tickets £78.
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ART AFTER DARK: Visit Joseph Cornell's Loop.ph exhibition at Royal Academy, where visitors can relax beneath an installation that reproduces all 9,000 stars visible to the naked eye. This special Late event on 5 September, 6.30pm will also involve live performance, screenings and interstellar entertainment. Tickets £22.
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CELEBRATING OUTER LONDON: Moving from outer space to The Outer London Festival on 5 September, to celebrate those London boroughs often overlooked for falling outside of Zone 1. There'll be stalls, music, talks, activities and more. Bring the family and explore a new side of London. Tickets from £10.
COCKTAILS AND COCKLES: If you've never combined the two (and why not??) then now's the time at SEA LIFE London Aquarium. Say hello to the watery residents after dark at this adult-only Late on 4 September, complete with street food and fully-stocked bar. Tickets £29.
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OUTDOOR CINEMA: Kew Gardens is a favourite place for a wander and escape from hectic London life. But on 3 September it's also great for some film watching, as Luna Cinema hosts an al fresco summertime screening of Casablanca in the beautiful grounds. Tickets £16.50.
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TOP COMEDY: With a switching line-up every week, Comedy Store Players ditches the script and forces acts to rely solely on their improv skills to get the laughs in. They'll have no idea what's coming next, and you'll be sure not to hear the same joke twice. Tickets from £13.
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FREE FROM FOOD: Gorge at the UK's first gluten, dairy and sugar-free summer food festival, Free From Food Festival. Whether you have an intolerance, or just love healthy, creative food, you'll find plenty of tidbits to try on 31 August. Tickets £5.
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