Tuesday: is it really far enough into the working week to treat yourself to something fun? Er, yes. You've decided to live in London — might as well make the most of it. Here, then, is our guide on what to get up to on a Tuesday in the capital — feat. everything from booze to ball pools.
GO ON A GUIDED TOUR: The London Walks company puts on certain walking tours on a weekly basis: on Tuesdays, themes include Old Mayfair ("The champagne and caviar of London Walks"), Jewish London (covering a millennium of Jewish history in the capital) and Richard Porter's The Beatles: In My Life tour. There are plenty more too.
SNOOP AROUND MANSION HOUSE: While we're on the subject of guided tours, every Tuesday the hoi polloi (that's you and me) have the chance to wander around the Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord/Lady Mayor(ess) of London. A City of London guide gens you up on your mayoral history, while you admire Palladian rooms, and the Harold Samuel Collection of Dutch/Flemish 17th century paintings. How very refined.
PLAY A PUB QUIZ WITH YOUR BABY: Love pub quizzes, but recently acquired a new human being in your life, which makes going to pub quizzes all the more difficult? Every third Tuesday of the month, the Plough in East Dulwich invites you to bring your baby along, team up with other parents/guardians/babies and play for prizes. Nappy need changing? The legendary mobile baby change means you needn't even miss a question.
LAP UP A LUNCHTIME CONCERT: Tuesday is possibly the best day of the week for lunchtime concerts in London. Enjoy a 50-minute recital in St Stephen Walbrook in the City. Visit St Bride's on Fleet Street for one of their weekly Tuesday lunchtime shows. St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square run a free lunchtime concert from 1pm-1.45pm every Tuesday (and has been doing so for almost 70 years). So too does Lauderdale House in Highgate, where resident pianist Stephen Hose tickles the ivories for your delight.
LAUGH YOUR HEAD OFF AT GITS AND SHIGGLES: One of the finest live music/comedy pubs in west London, the Half Moon in Putney hosts the Gits and Shiggles comedy night in its back room every other Tuesday, and the calibre of comedians is HIGH: Nish Kumar, Tom Rosenthal, Lou Sanders, Sikisa high. Another comedy night worth having on your radar is Firkin Hilarious Comedy, which takes place in Lewisham once a month, on a Tuesday. And the Spice of Life in Soho hosts the Just Kidding Comedy Club every Tuesday — though it doesn't kick off till 9pm.
SPIN YARNS TO STRANGERS: Landing at the Phoenix near Oxford Circus on the second Tuesday of every other month, Liars League invites anyone to submit short stories on a theme, with winners invited to read it out in front of an audience (or have it read out if you'd prefer). Themes change each time (could be Olympics, women, sinners, dreams...), and of course you can also just turn up and tune into some storytelling, without the need to write or utter a word.
BATTLE IT OUT AT BEER PONG: If you thought beer pong wasn't a serious sport, think again... Every Tuesday at Belushi's in Camden is beer pong night: book your spot in advance, and they'll prepare the cups, balls and booze. This one kicks off at 10pm, and unsurprisingly attracts a younger crowd.
DIVE INTO BOGOF AT BALLIE BALLERSON: Talking about events for people who've still got pep in their step, adult ballpit Ballie Ballerson does buy-one-get-one-free deals every Tuesday — which applies to its rather fruity cocktails (including the Hubba Hubba Bubba and Ice Lollypalooza), and the pizza menu too.
WATCH UP-AND-COMING ACTS: Ruby Sings is a weekly Tuesday showcase of up-and-coming new music acts at Ronnie Scott's in Soho. R&B, hip-hop, neo soul, pop, jazz and funk — all these genres and more are covered. There's also a monthly Tuesday jam session, for which anyone is welcome to put down their name.
DO THROWBACK TUESDAY: The Roxy casts its net wide with its definition of 'throwback' — tunes played at the Tottenham Court Road club every Tuesday night feature the (genuinely vintage) likes of Queen and ABBA, but also Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift — who we'd argue are still boxfresh. That's by the by: if you like singing along to bangers, this is one to know about.
ROCK OUT AT THE TUESDAY NIGHT MUSIC CLUB: Nary a Tuesday night goes by at the Coulsdon Club in south London when there's not a blues band or two on stage. The schedule runs months in advance too, so no excuses not to plan a foot-stompin' Tuesday here, even if it's way off in the future.
TEST YOURSELF WITH A PUB QUIZ: Many weekly pub quizzes across London fall on a Tuesday, but here's a selection of particularly good quizzes/pubs:
- Boleyn Tavern, East Ham — glorious old boozer
- Hawk's Nest, Shepherd's Bush — £150 bar tab to be won
- George & Vulture, Hoxton
- Munich Cricket Club, Tower Hill and Victoria
- Railway Tavern, Streatham Common — fab quiz which we love even more because we once won it
Have we missed a regular Tuesday happening? Email [email protected] and we'll consider adding it!
