Your Sunday morning best-of-Londonist weekly round-up. Want to get this as an email? Sign up for Sunday Best here.
Must-read articles
- Thinking of moving out of London to save money? Find out if it's really worth it.
- Live in Ealing? See if your favourite spots appear in our Ealing photo gallery (next up: Penge)
- Halloween's coming, which means...pumpkin beers.
- Why Generation Rent is worse for children
- London's lost Yiddish theatre
- Artist Fuller spent more than a decade working on this beautiful, intricate map of London
- Six ways your caffeine craving can support social entrepreneurship.
- What can London learn from other cities around the world?
Did you know...
- ...how the Bank of England stops people from urinating outside, that John Cleese apparently pranked Michael Palin, and these other secret features of famous London landmarks?
- ...Oxford Street doesn't have to be hell. Make your shopping easier with these secrets of Oxford Street.
- ...that the Northern line is almost 125 years old? See how the world's oldest electric railway system was built.
- ...that there are so many family-friendly pubs? These are some of London's finest — just in time for half term.
- ...why major road-building schemes are coming back to London.
London news
- London is to get a Night Mayor to help the night time economy.
- The last wooden escalator on the Underground (at Greenford) has been replaced with the first incline lift on the Underground. See it in action in our video.
- The Crystal Palace dinosaurs are to be repaired, thanks to a conservation survey by Historic England.
- TfL plans to raise £3.4bn by having 10,000 homes, shops and offices built on 300 acres of its land.
- The Orbit in the Olympic Park lost £10,000 a week in the last financial year
- 27% of Londoners live in poverty — and it's mainly working families who are affected.
- London Wildlife Trust is launching a campaign to survey populations of small mammals such as voles in west London.
Have a wild night with Londonist
Love animals and wildlife? We're gathering a selection of London's top urban wildlife experts together next week, for an evening discussing issues around London animals.
Hear from the urban birdwatcher David Lindo; Helen Babbs author of My Garden, the City and Me: Rooftop Adventures in the Wilds of London; the London Wildlife Trust director of conservation, Mathew Frith, and urban bat detective, Kate Jones.
Find out more about the event here, and book your ticket here.
London Is...Wild at Conway Hall, 2 November, £8/£5
Top reviews
- A new British Library exhibition offers an insight into West African culture ★★★★☆
- Political art with substance at William Morris Gallery ★★★★☆
- Lee Miller: more than just the woman in Hitler's bathtub, as shown in this exhibition ★★★☆☆
- Two exhibitions, two very different photographers at Science Museum ★★★☆☆
- Giacometti is known for sculpture — now National Portrait Gallery show his powerful portraits ★★★★☆
Things to do
- Ever wanted to go to the top of The Gherkin? Here's your chance and you can see excellent art too.
- No Halloween plans yet? Check out these horror film screenings in London and get booking.
- Fancy playing crazy golf in a tunnel underneath a railway station?
- Party with Pepys (and other Stuart soirées) at the National Maritime Museum.
- So many opportunities to eat and drink at fun foodie events this autumn
- Donate your old coat (or volunteer your time) to Wrap Up London.
- The first of London's Christmas ice skating rinks opens next week — get your skates on.
Tickets and offers
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WREATH MAKING:
If you're already getting into the swing of Christmas, get yourself down to this wreath-making workshop and make a wreath from scratch to take home with you. £29.95, 27 October
Get Tickets
BASKETBALL:
Watch London Lions takes on Manchester Giants in the top-level men's basketball league at the Copper Box Arena in Stratford. From £10, 29 October
Get Tickets
UKULELE TASTER:
Ever fancied having a go at playing the ukulele? Head to The Goldsmith in Southwark for a two-hour taster session in which you'll master some key chords and learn to play a few songs. £25, 29 October
Get Tickets
THE ORDINARY BOYS:
Remember The Ordinary Boys? Well, they're back, with a new album and a tour — and they're coming to Brixton Jamm this week, showcasing new songs and old hits. £12, 30 October
HALLOWEEN FILMS:
For Halloween, Regent Street Cinema hosts an all-nighter of scary films, including Christine, Tourist Trap, Halloween III, Salem’s Lot and Zombie Flesh Eaters. £25, 31 October
Get Tickets
FOUR FEMMES ON THE THAMES:
Here at Londonist, we love female quartet Four Femmes on The Thames. Catch them at Brasserie Toulouse Lautrec in Kennington. £12.50, 31 October
Get Tickets
KIDS PIZZA CLASS:
Struggling for half term ideas? Take the kids along to a pizza-making class at Mayfair Pizza Co. They'll be dressed like proper pizza chefs to make their pizza, and will be given a special certificate afterwards. £15, 31 October/11 November
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