Brush up on your French at the London French Meetup

Your author is a fan of London meetups, part of the the world's largest network of local groups, and aiming to revitalize local community and help people around the world self-organize. One excellent example of the value of such things is the London French Meetup, which brings together French speakers regularly to have a chat and, where necessary, brush up on their language skills.


The next meeting is tonight, and will bring together a group of French speakers drawn from the online community of around 3,000 people, simply to speak French. The group is made up of 1/3 French nationals, 1/3 English nationals and 1/3 other nationalities and francophone countries.

The group meets centrally and this evening's meeting is in a bar just off the Strand, but you must join if you want to know more, and attend. They ask that you have a reasonable level of French and it all kicks off from about 6.30pm. For more, see http://french.meetup.com/32/

_{^Picture by Reinante El Pintor de Fuego^}

Go shopping at the School of Life

Your author has mentioned the School of Life, in Bloomsbury, before. Understandably, as he is a big fan.


The School, isn't just a school, however, it is also a shop selling a range of philosophy and other books arranged around different themes, such as "how to enjoy your own company", "how to make a difference" or "how to survive insomnia". There are also other items or the opportunity to buy tickets to lectures, classes and meals.

The shop is situated at 70 Marchmont Street, in Bloomsbury, and is open Monday - Friday, noon - 7pm. For more information, or to shop online, visit http://www.theschooloflife.com.

_{^School of Life Shop from Flickr courtesy of alex_lee2001^}

Fly a kite

Mary Poppins knew how to have good honest fun. "With tuppence for paper and strings...You can have your own set of wings", we were told. Then she and and the Banks family headed out into the park for what was an unrealistic amount of fun even for the period.


Nevertheless, there is something very pleasant about kite flying and, whilst nowadays kite flyers will find a market flooded with flashy kites with many knobs and whistles, and will probably buy their kite, a simple kite can be picked up fairly cheaply, and you can still make your own.

Top London flying spots include Hampstead Heath, Primrose Hill and Blackheath, but there are many places in our fair city where you can find enough room to launch a kite, although you should bear a few handy tips from the Kite Society in mind.

_{^Picture by Tom T^}