Attend the Greenwich Summer Festival

Your author still isn't quite sure about the branded pens which have sprung up around town for enforced enjoyment of The Event, but one pleasant oasis with sport screens is the Greenwich Summer Festival, within the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College.


The inevitable big screen is not fenced in behind huge crowd fences, and serves up film screenings when the sport is over, in a venue that also offers music, cabaret & theatre and real ale. It's a bit like the amazing offerings that usually happen in London when The Event is not on, and perhaps that's why it is so appealing.

For more, see http://www.greenwichsummerfestival.co.uk/

Watch the sunset from the Tamesis Dock

Your author prides himself on keeping repeats to a bare minimum, but with all weather forecasters predicting one last day of the Indian summer, it seemed important to feature a place to wave goodbye to the summer this evening.


The sunset over Millbank last Thursday, viewed from the Tamesis Dock, between Lambeth and Vauxhall bridges, was stunning. Formerly known as The English Maid, the boat pub is a converted 1933 Dutch barge with a great sun deck on top, which on sunny days is often busy. From the deck, the sunset over Millbank tower is pretty smashing.

The last week has been lovely, but readers should fear not. Autumn and winter are excellent times to be in London, and there are some fantastic events to look forward to.

For more on the Tamesis Dock, see http://www.tamesisdock.co.uk/

Listen to some Brass on the Grass

Until the end of August, Westminster Abbey is hosting weekly concerts on its College Garden, and the second in the series is today.


Visitors are invited to bring a picnic and a blanket and enjoy free music from some of the best brass bands in the country on Wednesdays from 12.30pm until 2pm.

Today's concert features the Band of the Surrey Yeomanry, and anyone interested is invited to bring a picnic and a blanket for a free concert, with any donations going to band funds. This sort of thing is one of your author's favourites.

For more, see click here

_{^Picture © ms.Tea used under Creative Commons^}

Explore the roof gardens at the Southbank Centre

Back to the Southbank Centre today, where as part of their Festival of Britain 60th anniversary celebrations they've put a new garden on the roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, overlooking the new Urban beach.


The rooftop garden has, we are told, been developed in partnership with the Eden Project by a team of 50 people who have faced adversity in life, with many having either being homeless, in prison or suffering from mental health problems.

When your author popped by, it was a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle of the South Bank below, and was looking in fine shape, though the grass looked like it was starting to suffer from all the sunshine, wind and lack of rain we've been having.

If you want to know more about the garden, which is there until the beginning of September, click here.

Watch Zippos Circus

This weekend, Zippos Circus brings its new 'Horsepower' show to Blackheath, under the direction of legendary ringmaster Norman Barrett, who was last year awarded an MBE for more than 60 years in the ring.


We are told that Horsepower is a brand new act, mixing three new equestrian acts, featuring equestrian presenter Yasmine Smart, grand-daughter of the legendary Billy Smart, with the the metaphorical horsepower of motorbikes. The circus has been running since 1986, and continues to attract punters as it travels around the country.

Adult tickets are between £7 and £18, and Zippos will be at Blackheath until May 3rd, before moving on to Sidcup, East Ham, Mile End and Wallington, all before the end of May.

For more, see http://www.zipposcircus.co.uk/

_{^Picture © MattLake used under Creative Commons^}

Learn about Parliament's part in the Olympics

As anyone who has switched on their radio or telly this morning will know, it's two years until the London Olympics, and the Houses of Parliament are marking it in their own special way. So, if you ever needed an excuse to wander in the atmospheric surroundings of Westminster Hall, the Parliament and the Games exhibition currently taking place in the hall is as good as any. The exhibition examines Parliament's part in the Olympics, with a range of models, artefacts and speeches telling the story.


Featuring kit loaned from Parliamentarians who have competed in the Games, including Lord Coe’s running shoes, Lord Glentoran’s bobsleigh runner and Sir Menzies Campbell’s running vest, the exhibition is never going to be a box office smash, but it does allow casual visitors to pop into the Houses of Parliament, and also features memorabilia from London’s previous Olympic Games in 1908 and 1948, including a 1948 Olympic Torch.

The exhibition is free, is open to all, and is on until 28 August, from Monday to Saturday, 10am - 5pm. You just need to enter Parliament via the Cromwell Green Visitor Entrance and go to Westminster Hall, telling the many helpful security guards you will meet that you want to go to the Parliament and the Games exhibition in Westminster Hall. The real bonus, of course, is seeing the hall itself.

For more, see http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/exhibitions-and-events/exhibitions/olympics-exhibition/

Play ping-pong in the park

As readers will no doubt be aware by now, ping-pong tables have been installed in places across London over the last few days, and will remain there for around a month in order for us all to enjoy playing some ping-pong.


It's a joint venture by the English Table Tennis Association and Sing London, funded by the National Lottery, and mirrors the pianos which appeared last summer, and led to some fantastic impromptu late night sing-alongs. This time, it's impromptu games of ping-pong they're seeking, and it sounds like a good idea.

It's really a publicity stunt, aiming to tie together the Mayor's wiff-waff speech and a desire to have more people play the game, but its a very good one. Let's just hope there will be no thefts of bats and balls. Your author will leave the final word to Colette Hiller, Creative Director of Sing London, who says "Ping! is for everyone – those who love table tennis and those who didn’t know they did". But that's not actually everyone is it Colette? What about people who hate ping-pong?

For more, and a map of locations, see http://pinglondon.com/

Explore the 2010 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

Your author has written a lot about East London recently, so let's head to West London and the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion. This year's Pavilion, the tenth annual architectural experiment, is designed by Jean Nouvel and is open to the public for free until 17th October.

The Pavilion is operating as a public space, a café, and outdoor table tennis space, including French outdoor ping pong tables, and as a venue for Park Nights, the Serpentine Gallery’s programme of public talks and events, which attracts up to 250,000 visitors each summer.

So far, your author has only seen it from the outside, as he dashed from Westminster to Notting Hill for an evening last week, but it looked very impressive. For more, watch the video above, or see http://www.serpentinegallery.org/2010/03/serpentine_gallery_pavilion_20_14.html

Hire a deck chair

A lot of living in the nation's capital can be about dashing around from place to place, so in a nod to the upcoming Slow Down London festival, today's item covers one of London's purest pleasures. Sitting in the park.


Deck chair season in the Royal Parks is now upon us, and it continues until the end of September and for around £2 you can hire a chair and sit and watch the world go by.

Deck chairs are available in St James' Park, Regents Park, Green Park and Hyde Park and in some places further afield, though they are only on offer during good weather (and when it's raining you probably wont want one).

To help you pick your park, why not visit the Royal Parks website at http://www.royalparks.org.uk.

For more information on Slow Down London visit http://slowdownlondon.co.uk.

_{^Picture from flickr courtesy of jumblejet^}