Your Sunday morning best-of-Londonist weekly round-up, sponsored by London Borough of Enfield.
London News
- 'Plane Stupid' protestors chained themselves together on Heathrow runway.
- Journalists in south London have been striking over plans to close local offices.
- Meet the two women paddle boarding the Thames for charity and science...
- ...and the six people wanting to be Green Party's mayoral candidate next year.
- Rejoice, for the future is here and we can now board trains with watches (watch our video).
- NLA wants to know if you've got a bright idea to solve London's housing problems.
- Prime Minister considers banning rush hour lorries.
Must-read articles
- You asked, we answered: is the Oscar Wilde memorial a sculpture or bench?
- Find out how you can monitor air pollution in your local area. There are some handy tech gadgets too.
- Head for a day out at the beach, at Ruislip Lido.
- Forget The Invincibles, we bring you... The Instagranimals.
- The latest in our London Shorts video series focuses on the playground as battlefield.
- Please the kids on a budget: family-friendly London alternative attractions.
- Non-protesty uses for Boris's redundant water cannon (warning: awesome Photoshop skills reside within).
- London's most unusual pub interiors.
- Could this be London's poshest drop-down menu? Answers on a postcard addressed to "The Right Honourable Londonist" please.
- This week's podcast ponders whether the Garden Bridge is good or bad.
Top reviews
- Consistent chuckles but a bit meandering: Stephen Merchant in The Mentalists ★★★☆☆
- Guildhall Art Gallery celebrates British black art ★★★☆☆
- Probably the best book about beer in London, cheers to that ★★★★★
- The Desire Machine at Brunel Tunnel Shaft — inspired venue, but uninspiring show ★★☆☆☆
Things to do
- Our guide to what's on the art scene this month. Plus an informative little exhibition about the Great Plague.
- Get your fill of steamed dumplings, som tam and sashimi in our self-guided Asian Amble around Paddington.
- Who DOESN'T want to eat cheese in a tree house? Thank you, Shuffle festival.
- Balloon races and skyscraper sketches at Archikids Festival 2015.
- Can't afford Edinburgh Fringe? Get your laughs in Balham instead.
- Sign up to take part in the UK’s biggest fancy dress dodgeball tournament (for charity).
- Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou with my pint of Doombar, Romeo?
Tickets & offers
Mega Roast Dinner: Hungry for Sunday lunch? This deal gets you a brasserie three-course roast dinner with bottomless cocktails thrown in at Mews of Mayfair on 19 and 26 July. Price £40.
Get Tickets
Life Drawing: Practise your sketching technique at an Alexander McQueen-inspired life drawing workshop with Art Macabre on 21 July, 7.30pm. Tickets £20.
Get Tickets
Blade Runner: The sci fi classic gets an IMAX screening on 23 July at 6.15pm and 8.50pm. Tickets £10.65.
Get Tickets
Shuffle Film Festival: Watch The Godfather Part II and screenings of Shuffle Short Film Finalists in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park on 24 July at 8pm. Tickets £11.50.
Get Tickets
Foodies Festival: Get early bird tickets for Foodies Festival on 24-26 July on Clapham Common featuring street food vendors, pop-up restaurants and artisan foods, new chilli food market and drinks theatre plus live music, cookery demonstrations, top chefs and tasting sessions. Tickets £8.
Get Tickets
Teen Drama in SE10: Watch excellent Shakespearean teen romcom 10 Things I Hate About You in Greenwich Peninsula Park on 25 July at 9.15pm. Tickets £5.
Get Tickets
Game Of Thrones Game: Immerse yourself in the hunt for the Iron Phone in a Game of Thrones-themed hunt around Crystal Palace Park on 25 July. Single ticket £15 (you'll meet nice people there through Thinking Bob) or team ticket £80.
Get Tickets
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Escape to the country without leaving London! We present: Forty Hall
If the picture below isn't enough to immediately sway you, then let us highlight some other benefits from a day out to Enfield's Forty Hall.
- A variety of tours and an exhibition run throughout the Grade I Listed Jacobean mansion that was built in the 1620s (and recently restored to its former splendour).
- Forty Hall sits in 260 acres of parkland which forms part of the Green Belt around London. Ornamental lakes, walled gardens and pleasure grounds await you.
- A children's play area designed by local school children featuring climbing equipment, swings and — excitingly — A ZIP WIRE will allow your little ones to let off some steam.
- Forty Hall Farm is open on weekends. Meet the animals and try delights from the market garden.
- Summer events aplenty — choose from wildlife walks, family fun days, architecture tours, battle re-enactments and even a music festival.
What else do you need? Head to Forty Hall this summer and find your own slice of the countryside within the M25.
This week’s Best of Londonist is sponsored by the London Borough of Enfield.
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