See the Pearly Kings and Queens Harvest Festival

Taking tradition alive in London, the annual London Pearly Kings & Queens Society Costermongers Harvest Festival Parade Service takes place today, with the Kings and Queens gathering in Guildhall Yard and then parading through the City to St Mary-le-Bow church on Cheapside.


The parade is expected to leave around 1pm and the service to begin about 3pm and Ian tells us to expect "London mayors...donkeys and carts, marching bands, colourful characters and of course the Pearlies, distinctive, pearl button-swathed Londoners who date back 150 years".

For more, see http://www.timeout.com/london/around-town/event/234284/pearly-kings-and-queens-harvest-festival-2012.

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Ride the Epping Ongar Railway

Though it is technically outside the M25, your author felt his trip on the Epping Ongar Railway last weekend was worthy of a mention, especially as it was accessed by the tube. For the railway now revived by steam enthusiasts uses a once-abandoned section of the Central Line which runs in part through Epping Forest.


Currently, transfer to the train from Epping Station is via special heritage bus, as the connection at Epping requires much more work, but then the service takes you nearly all the way back through the woods to Epping in one direction, and also to the picturesque little town of Chipping Ongar in the other, where your author picked up the St Peter's Way towards the coast.

For more on the railway, which is holding a special event weekend this weekend, see http://eorailway.co.uk/

Attend the Buttoned Down Disco Boat Party

Back when your author first came to London, he searched in vain for decent clubnights, and one which he particularly enjoyed was Buttoned Down Disco, who cleverly pioneered use of social media and the internet to promote their nights, with monthly invites arriving by email, and details of the 'secret venues' often not revealed until the night.


Over a few years they have risen from small venues such as Purple Turtle in Camden via Bloomsbury, King's Cross, and Shoreditch to large venues like Koko, on the other side of the road in Camden, where they now hold their regular nights, only occasionally still branching out, such as in the case of tonight they're special End of the Summer Boat Party in Battersea.

For more, and to download their excellent mixes see http://www.buttoneddowndisco.com/

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See the new bits of the BBC

They haven't been shouting about it too much - except occasional rumblings between items on the Today Programme - but the BBC has been having a bit of a shakeup and the new Broadcasting House – only four years late and £55m over budget - is now just about ready for everyone to move in, or back in.


We are told that Andrew Marr and new Director General George Entwistle are already there, Jeremy Paxman goes in next month, and John Humphries, James Naughtie, Sarah Montague et al will be back before the end of the year, followed by the TV news next year. It's all part of the BBC's grand plan, and whilst us plebs aren't allowed inside, it's an impressive complex to wander round.

For more, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/sep/07/bbc-1bn-new-base-broadcasting

Watch a show at the Mary Wallace Theatre

A small theatre in Twickenham, the Mary Wallace Theatre is the home of the Richmond Shakespeare Society.


The Society first formed in 1934 to perform Shakespeare in the open air once a year, and now puts on a programme of eight productions a year by various different playwrights.

Their current intriguingly-titled play, The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society Murder Mystery continues until Saturday, and whilst tickets are only available to members, everyone is welcome to join.

For more, see http://www.richmondshakespeare.org.uk/

Seek out St John the Baptist upon Walbrook

One of the unlucky churches of the Great Fire, St John the Baptist upon Walbrook stood next to a stream, not far from what is now Cannon Street Station, from the 12th until the 17th century.


One of 86 churches to be destroyed by the Great Fire of London, St John's was passed over for rebuilding under Sir Christopher Wren's grand plan, and was never to be reconstructed. The church was dealt a further blow when the building of the District Line meant that the remaining churchyard had to be dug up in 1884, and now all that remains of the church and those buried there is a vault and memorial on Cloak Lane.

For more, see http://www.burial.magic-nation.co.uk/bgwalbrook.htm

Remember William Wallace

Though for many of us, a questionable film adaptation of his life may spring to mind when remembering the man, of course William Wallace was a real man, celebrated for the part he played in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.


Sadly, Wallace's visit to London is not one to be celebrated, for he was brought here as a prisoner, facing trial in Westminster Hall before being subjected to torture and a particularly gruesome execution in Smithfield, where today he is commemorated in a plaque on the walls of St Bartholomew's Hospital.

For more, see http://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/st-bartholomew-s-hospital-sir-william-wallace

Tour the Argentine Ambassador's Residence

Ever wondered what life is like for an ambassador, when not attending drinks parties and eating Ferrero Rocher. Today as part of Open House London, the Argentine Ambassador's residence is open to the public for you to poke round.


Designed by Thomas Cubitt and built in 1851, the building was once the home of the Duke of Richmond, but since 1936 it has been owned by Argentina.

For more, see http://events.londonopenhouse.org/Building/16260

_{^Picture © La Malula used under a Creative Commons license^}

Attend Open House London

It's that time of year again, the special weekend when nosey Londoners get a chance to poke around the architectural gems of Greater London, and get inside the buildings they've always wanted to see with Open House London.


This year's big news is that 30 St Mary Axe - The Gherkin - isn't one of the ones that you have to prebook for, but by the time you read this it probably isn't worth joining the long snaking queue, as that means you'll be missing out on literally hundreds of other highlights. Wake up early tomorrow instead. Your author might usually go into more detail, but as usual Open House is clashing with something and today he is in another country, marking a birthday.

For a full programme, see http://events.londonopenhouse.org/

_{^Picture © RachelH_ used under a Creative Commons license^}

Find Robert Falcon Scott at Waterloo Place

A life sized statue of the explorer Robert Falcon Scott stands proudly in Waterloo Place, standing on a lofty plinth and made of bronze.


The plaque beneath the statue reminds us that Scott died with his companions returning from the South Pole in 1912, with a quote from his diary:

"Had we lived I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood endurance and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman these rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale"


For more, see http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMC584_Robert_Falcon_Scott_Statue_Europe_Waterloo_Place_London_UK

See Matisse's 'The Snail'

Completed by Henri Matisse in 1953, 'The Snail' is a collage, created by the artist using gouache paint on pieces of paper, which were then cut and pasted onto paper mounted on canvas.


We are told that Matisse created the piece at the Hotel Regina in Cimiez, Nice, and the date places its creation at the very end of his life, when he was more than 80 years old. At this stage of his life, Matisse was confined to a wheelchair and had stopped painting altogether, instead producing these cutouts with the aid of assistants. 'The Snail' is part of the Tate's permanent collection and can be seen in the Henri Matisse and Bridget Riley room on Level 4 at the Tate Modern.

For more, see http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/matisse-the-snail-t00540

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See the Sailor's Homecoming Window at John Betjeman's

Anyone who has ever come across the blue plaque at number 43 Cloth Fair, the former home of Sir John Betjeman, may like your author be interested to know why the window beside it appears to be a false window, with a painting behind it.


Over at the excellent Secret London website, the answer is found, and we are told that it was installed by a firm of architects who had first bricked up the window, and then decided that the wall was actually in need of one.

For more, see http://www.secret-london.co.uk/Smithfield_2.html

Attend the London Design Festival

The London Design Festival is in full swing, as anyone who has seen the contents of your author's inbox will be only too aware, with over 200 events taking place over ten days, ending on Sunday.


We are told that the festival has been running since 2003, and this year's Festival offers events at a range of venues across our city, with a special focus on the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Festival's own Landmark Projects, which include an intriguing sound portal opening in Trafalgar Square tomorrow.

For more, see http://www.londondesignfestival.com/

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Tour a replica of the Cutty Sark

Readers will remember that Victorian tea clipper, The Cutty Sark, burned down in 2007, and this summer a replica of the ship was opened in the dry dock the original once sat in, using some of the original metal & bits which survived the fire, but using plenty of shiny new wooden bits.


Your author visited a few weeks ago and was - as expected - rather underwhelmed by the experience, for there are plenty of things worthy of preservation and when one is completely gutted by fire, it is a little odd to pretend the replica you have created is the same as the original. The views of the tasteful sorts at the Victorian Society on the design of the surroundings for the ship are also pretty spot on.

But of course, you should probably decide for yourself, just think of the money which you pay to visit as an unprompted donation to charity. For details, see http://www.rmg.co.uk/cuttysark/

Attend Lambeth Country Show

This weekend sees the annual Lambeth Country Show hit Brockwell Park, now in its 38th year of attempting to bring a slice of semi-rural life to the urbanity of South London, and promising the likes of farm animals and horticultural shows juxtaposed with live music and slightly more urban pursuits.


The word 'eclectic' is overused, but a programme that promises sheep dog and owl displays, horse jousting, flower and vegetable competitions, bonsai trees and latin dub, afrobeat, roots and reggae bands, is probably about as close as one can get in a free event in a park.

For more, see http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Country-Show/

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