You think you know it, a row of Indian restaurants, the Truman Brewery, hip boutiques and graffitti. But you don't know Brick Lane, fully until you've had a proper tour of this rich and fascinating part of east London. Enter the new Brick Lane walk by Soundmap, a high quality downloadable audio tour by the team who made the Sweeney Todd walk earlier this year. Narrated by novellist and former Brick Lane local Tarquin......

The government today accepted recommendations from a report about improving public-military relations which included the appointment of a "cadet ambassador" for London to do "everything possible" to urge schools to start Combined Cadet Forces and get their pupils to join them and enjoy "a taste of the military". Currently, there are 253 CCFs in England and Wales but only about 60 are in state schools. They provide extra-curricular "military-orientated and adventurous training" with the......

You’re right. Easter is early this year. And yes, like you, we can’t wait for the Bank Holiday weekend. Is there anything nicer than a four day weekend? You’ll probably want to rest up this week to prepare for the madness of the weekend, so here are a few things you can relax with. On TV, Londonist likes: Tuesday, 18 March One Life: Rock Star Parents (BBC1, 20:35-23:15) We find the title of this......

It seems that half the country (and Londonist staff) is on holiday at the moment. Still, here's the best of what's on musically across the capital this week.Jazz singer-songwriter Norah Jones  is the highlight of Bank Holiday Monday night, playing with M. Ward at Hammersmith Apollo. Tickets are sold out, however be sure to check out scarlet mist and other providers. Meanwhile hardcore punk stars Bane play Underworld, with £10 tickets available either on the......

Today, a very marvellous structure opens to the public in Kensington Gardens. The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, designed by the Tate Modern sun maker, Olafur Eliasson, and award winning architect, Kjetil Thorsen has been described as a spinning top with mind-bogglingly complex geometries and a dark, spiralling ramp twisting around a shell-like auditorium, containing it within taut, twisting strings Our first impression is that is looks like a helter skelter, urban, park shark about to......

It's not too late to enjoy London's outdoor events but it really has become a case of pouncing on any bit of fun going when the sun shines and hoping the rain stays away until the music stops. We've previously brought to your attention the Watch This Space festival which has been faithfully providing free outdoor performances outside the National Theatre since the beginning of July, but were frankly a bit lukewarm about it,......

Another exciting week of music in the capital coming up, with us here to give you the best guide through what's hot and what's not in the indie / pop scenes this week. Want a lazy way to spend your Bank Holiday Monday? Why not see Good Shoes at Morden Park bandstand? They're on at 2pm, and we previewed it earlier last week here. Later on Monday evening The Holloways play The Electric Ballroom......

Morden band Good Shoes' plans for a "secret" gig on Bank Holiday Monday have been found out by the local council it was revealed earlier today, however in a suprise move the council approved the gig, instead of insisting they cancel it. The band will play Morden Park bandstand – which is immortalised in their video for the single ‘Morden’ - at 2pm on Monday, but be sure to get there early as now that......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 21st May 1853: The Aquatic Vivarium, the world’s first public aquarium, is opened in Regent’s Park. Tuesday – 22nd May 1897: The Blackwall Tunnel is officially opened by the Prince of Wales, becoming the longest underwater tunnel in the world (at the time). The original tunnel now forms the western (northbound) carriageway – the adjacent tunnel that houses the eastern (southbound) carriageway was opened in 1967. Wednesday......

Oh god. Make it stop. Please. Just. Make. It. Stop. Hundreds of misguided youths have been giving it everything they've got in recent auditions, in order to land a part in a new musical following the adventures of a fictional Take That band. Young men have been dancing and singing their hearts out in the hope that they will be chosen as "The One Who Looks A Bit Like Howard" and "The One Who......

Ross got in contact with us to let us know that the registration deadline for the UK Dodgeball Championships (whole teams only) had been extended until Friday. While we had him around we thought we'd ask him a few questions about his adventure sports club, 8th Day. Tell us what 8th Day is all about. It's a sport and adventure club for people who want to make the most of their free time. It's......

You have to question the reasoning behind TfL's naming a form of electronic ticketing after a tasty sea-faring creature which is not only mistakenly employed as an aphrodisiac, but can also do amazing tricks with mucus secretions and dirt. Someone pointed out to Londonist recently that the whole idea behind Oyster was ripped-off from Hong Kong anyway, where they have been using Octopus cards since the mid-1990s. (Didn't London used to dictate what Hong......

In the past hour it's been announced that 500 baggage handlers at Stansted airport have voted to strike at the Bank Holiday weekend over a row about pay. Check-in staff and baggage handlers at the Essex airport are planning two walk-outs next weekend - one of the busiest times for the travel industry, which is still struggling to run a normal service after extra anti-terror attack security measures were imposed last week. The strike's......

Bank Holiday weekend: what are you going to do? There's so much happening (and most of it free) that it's more a question of what are you not going to do. To avoid being overwhelmed by the incredible number and range of cultural things to see and do, and to keep your bank account in check by picking only the free stuff, we've compiled a Culture Crawl timetable for Friday to Monday, so you......

"...given the turbulent times we live in, the need for a deeper sense of connection and meaningful growth and change in society has never been greater." So sayeth the organisers of the Mind Body Spirit Festival starting tomorrow and running through to the end of the Bank Holiday weekend. The organisers of this annual festival have brought to the public all that you need to know about healing, meditation, yoga and all forms of......

A couple of months ago, we wrenched open the doors of the Londonist Demo Dungeon and invited you keen musician types out there to fill our vaults with your tracks. If you missed that post, fret not - the Dungeon's still open for submissions (amongst other things). If you want to send us your demo for review, read this. We promise to be nice. Time now for the inaugral DD review...brace yourselves. First to email......

We love Bank Holiday Mondays. They make the week go so quickly, we forget to arrange to do anything on the Friday. If you're as useless at reading a calendar as us, here's a couple of suggestions: Londonist favourite Fiona Bevan (whose debut EP we cited as one of our favourite records of 2005) plays tonight at one of our favourite venues: Bush Hall. She's on as part of the Buzz Night and she's on......

The Queen Elizabeth Hall foyer is normally full of QEH attendees milling around awkwardly before taking their seats in the auditorium, sipping warm gin and tonics and avoiding eye contact with one another in that peculiar London theatre audience way... but this sunny Bank Holiday afternoon, everything was different. We said it was going to be swinging on South Bank this Bank Holiday weekend... and it was. The QEH foyer was full of people......

If you're in London for the Bank Holiday weekend but would have quite liked to have gone abroad, then head to South Bank where you can pretend you're in Morocco from Friday until Monday. To celebrate the UK debut of Taoub, a new circus and acrobatics act from Tangier street theatre group Collectif Acrobatique de Tangier, the South Bank will be taken over by fabric tents offering everything Morroccan with free live performances, food,......

Pencil the evening of Thursday May 25th into your diary as the FA have announced they are planning to arrange what they're calling a "B" friendly in London to give players outside Sven's starting eleven a run-out ahead of travelling to Germany for the World Cup. Though a specific venue has yet to be finalised Belarus are being lined up to face a team that could be almost entirely composed of players based in......

You will read… and you will inhabit… Can't stop plugging our favourite books of the moment. Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves is a multi layered head fuck of a novel combing the best parts of horror and detective fiction to end up somewhere between HP Lovecraft and Paul Auster. It's difficult to summarise, but Wikipedia has a LOT of info on the novel here. Reading the thing is headache inducing enough so we......

Hacks across the nation were gearing up today to shout a group "Ha Ha!" in a Nelson from the Simpsons stylee, as they anticpated the announcement from Multiplex, Australian constructors of the new Wembley, that the stadium was NOT going to be ready for the FA Cup Final in May. Our sporting scribes have had to put the schadenfreude on hold however, as the Aussies have instead proclaimed that they will be able to......

Just a reminder that we won't be around on Monday 29 August as it's a Bank Holiday. According to the BBC it's going to be 25 degrees on the Monday with just a bit of cloud, so fingers crossed. Have a good break everyone and we'll see you on Tuesday.......

We do love you guys. Very much. Not only do you read our purdy li'l ol' website, engage in gentle banter with us and remind us that we're not alone out there in this big scary blogiverse thing, but you also occasionally remind us of gigs we should be at / telling you about. Like Sufjan Stevens bringing Illinois to London at the Shepherd's Bush Empire on 17th October. Mr Pollo, whoever you are,......

Something we missed at the end of last week (because we were too busy dreaming of the Bank Holiday weekend) was the 'Strange case of the Bexley beast'. Apparently there have been a few 'big cat' sightings around the Bexley area over the past few years, but just recently the "large black panther" has been out and about a little more than usual. Last week the 'beast' was spotted in Bexleyheath by "astonished care......

Just a quick post to remind all Londonist readers that we won't be posting on the Bank Holiday Monday (because, coincidentally, it's a Bank Holiday). So, in the meantime, here's a hastily cobbled together list of things you might want to see or do: Out of Africa at Kingly Court. Last day of the James Dean season at the NFT. Iain Sinclair and Tim Lott: My London, at the Globe. FrightFest at the Odeon West......

Mike Watt is a punk rock legend. His band, The Minutemen, opened kicked down doors for just about everyone that followed, back in the day and along with bands like Black Flag, Hüsker Dü and Sonic Youth helped revitalise the American music scene of the 1980s. Double Nickels on the Dime remains one of the best and most influential albums of the underground. Who knows how big they would have become if it wasn't......

“I am not quite sure whether I am dreaming or remembering, whether I have lived my life or dreamed it. Just as dreams do, memory makes me profoundly aware of the unreality, the evanescence of the world, a fleeting image in the moving water.” ~ Eugene Ionesco Chelsea, then. Not quite champions yet. Not quite one of Europe's best clubs. Not quite given the respect they think they deserve. They're away to Bolton on......

Easter Bank Holiday weekend, then. Traditionally the weekend of the football calendar when promotion challengers get ready to either strengthen their cause or weakly limp out, and similarly those sides at the bottom attempt to make that final push for safety. Traditionally, but not this year, or at least not for the top two divisions anyway as the Easter fixture-fest gave way to International games (the Czech Republic beat Finland 4-3 by the way).......

Yes, as it's a Bank Holiday tomorrow and Monday we won't be posting to the site until next Tuesday. That means no Friday Film News, no weekend football roundup, and no slagging off of the Evening Standard for four whole days...but we'll sure you'll get through it. In the meantime, in case you get bored, why not play this.It's the most infuriating online game ever invented and we love it. See you on Tuesday.......