Your Sunday morning best-of-Londonist weekly round-up, sponsored by National Portrait Gallery and its soon-to-close exhibition, the BP Portrait Award 2015.
Must-read articles
- September marks the start of our native oyster season. Find out the best places to eat oysters in London.
- There's a huge working maritime dock in London that most people don't even know exists.
- Meet geek goddess Sue Black. She led the campaign to save Bletchley Park and launched the TechMums programme to teach people to code.
- Video: Did you know there's a chocolate museum in London? We paid a visit.
- Get a sneak peek of the next Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, opening in October.
- How will HS2 affect London? We investigated.
London news
- It's official — the Walkie Talkie is a terrible building.
- Boris Johnson has launched a Safer Lorry Scheme that aims to decrease the number of lorries involved in fatal accidents with cyclists.
- Sian Berry will be the Green Party's mayoral candidate.
- A demonstration is planned next Saturday for refugees caught up in the migration crisis.
Curiouser and curiouser
- What's the weirdest thing you've seen carried on the tube? We asked you and your answers didn't disappoint.
- Which got us wondering which animals you are allowed to take on public transport. Why are chihuahuas OK when alpacas are not?
- Churchill, Queen Victoria, Sir Bobby Moore — who has the most statues dedicated to them in London?
- Where can't you fly a kite in London?
- Take a tour of some of London's most fascinating pubs in this week's podcast.
Top reviews
- Last day to catch previously unseen portraits of Agatha Christie at Bankside Gallery on the Southbank ★★★☆☆
- Tate Britain's new exhibition stimulates all the senses, but the organisation leaves a lot to be desired ★★★★☆
- Delicious BBQ food at Blue's Smokehouse in Twickenham ★★★★☆
- It's a Win(Bin) for surprising new comedy which imagines a Hunger Games-style competition for the last arts job on earth ★★★★☆
Don't miss it! BP Portrait Award 2015 ends soon
Hurry, you've only got a couple of weeks left to see National Portrait Gallery's ever-popular annual showcase. Displaying the best talents in contemporary portrait painting from around the world, this year's BP Portrait Award 2015 received a record-breaking 2,748 entries by artists from 92 different countries.
Free to visit, the exhibition features a huge variety and range of paintings. From figurative nudes to famous faces, expressive sketches to piercing photo-realism, there's something for every taste.
BP Portrait Award 2015 is on until 20 September at the National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE. Entry to the exhibition is free. Tweet your favourite portrait at @npglondon using the hashtag #bpportrait.
This week’s Best of Londonist is sponsored by National Portrait Gallery.
Things to do
- Mmm, beer... Find out where to head for this month's wealth of beer festivals.
- London Transport Museum is giving the public the chance to tour the Acton Transport Depot and the Heathrow Express depot in one day.
- The Canoe Slalom Championship is coming to London — don't miss it.
- Carey Mulligan, Benedict Cumberbatch and Cate Blanchett will appear at this year's London Film Festival. And here's how to get tickets.
- Gingers, rejoice! Redhead Day UK is coming.
- Walk a mile in the shoes of a sewage worker or a drag queen.
Tickets and offers
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RUM MASTERCLASS: Learn through your tastebuds with this masterclass on one of the Caribbean's finest exports. London Bar Consultants bring you up to speed on the spirited story of rum's history, with samples to match, plus a Dark and Stormy cocktail to get the evening going. 7 September, 7.30pm at Merchant House, Bank. Tickets £20.
SUNSET CRUISE: Get down to Westminster Pier for a classy evening along the river. After the Amor Sunset Cruise, continue the party with free entry to Lightbox, where a free drink should loosen your moves. 12 September, board by 7.45pm. Tickets £15.
MEDIEVAL BANQUET: Dine like it's the 14th century at a four-course feast with free-flowing ale at Medieval Banquet, St Katherine's Dock. Entertainment is 1350s-style: troubadours, contortionists and magicians, jugglers, minstrels and sword-fighting. Hire fancy dress on the night and you'll fit right in. Until 16 October. Tickets £79.
FAULTY TOWERS SUPPER: Who hasn't watched Fawlty Towers and wished they could be hosted by Basil, Sybil and Manuel? Interactive comedy theatre meets three-course meal at the site-specific Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience at the Torquay Suite Theatre, Charing Cross. Friday-Sunday until 1 November. Tickets £52.
BLACK CAT CABARET: The Spiegeltent brings a micro-world of decadent 1920s Berlin to the South Bank, so naturally its cabaret offerings are second-to-none. Join singer Lili La Scala and 'aerial daredevil' Bret Pfister for a sizzling night with the Black Cat Cabaret. 11 September, 9.30pm, tickets £19.50.
GRAFFITI WORKSHOP: Street art is a serious business these days, with counterculture icons becoming household names. Join their ranks at this two-hour class, learning aerosols, markers and stencil technique from the experienced tutors at Graffik Gallery, Ladbroke Grove. Weekends throughout September. Tickets £24, saving over £50 on the usual price.
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