Morning, London! Happy Thursday. The wisteria is out and London has entered its annual two-week period where entire neighbourhoods start looking suspiciously Mediterranean. People stopping mid-pavement to photograph purple flowers attached to random walls. Phones out. Traffic building behind them. To be fair, it does look quite good.

Meanwhile the skies go from blue to dark grey and back to blue again in about seven minutes. Sun is shining as I send this out. Proper Floyd May-weather. Sorry, had to. Anyway, we’ve all started checking the half term forecast despite it still being 11 days away. Can we trust it? Absolutely not. But we’ll continue monitoring the situation closely.

Also, 28 days until the Club World Cup. Just planting that information into the group chat. Right. Let’s go.

🎭 London Named the Best City in the World for Culture. Time Out has crowned London the best city in the world for culture, praising everything from museums and theatre to comedy and live music. To be fair, you can watch world-class opera, eat noodles at midnight and accidentally end up in a basement jazz bar all in the same evening. Full story

🚄 Direct Trains From London to Geneva Move Closer. A direct train from London to Geneva could finally become reality after Eurostar and Swiss rail operators signed an agreement to explore the route. Journeys would take around five and a half hours. Ski season without airports? Londoners are listening. Full story

🦫 A Baby Capybara Has Been Born in Scotland. Yes, I know, not London news, but given half the children in this city seem emotionally attached to capybaras right now, this felt important. Edinburgh Zoo has welcomed its first baby capybara in 18 years. Tell your kids. Full story

For those with slightly older kids, 10 and up, and honestly maybe for you too.

A software engineer couldn't find a good way to explain AI to his 11-year-old son. So he built one. Learn AI Layer by Layer is a free online book that walks you through how large language models actually work, with interactive playgrounds in every chapter so you can see it happening in real time. No jargon, no hand-waving.

Good for curious kids. Also good for parents who've been nodding along to AI conversations for two years without fully understanding what's going on. Give it a go!

🎊 Dulwich Festival 2026
Date & Loc: May 14–17, Dulwich SE21
Annual community arts festival across Dulwich with open houses, performances, walks, talks and family-friendly events. Local artists, mostly free, and a genuinely good-natured stretch of south London culture.
Age: Everyone | Price: No cost | Info

🎧 Toto Kerblammo! @ Unicorn Theatre
Date & Loc: until May 22, London Bridge SE1
A powerful theatre show experienced through headphones and immersive 3D sound. Funny, moving and inventive in a way kids will remember for ages.
Age: 10+ | Price: from £16.50 | Info

🐢 Tortoise and the Hare @ Polka Theatre
Date & Loc: until May 31, Wimbledon SW19
A classic fable turned into a lively, toe-tapping show with puppets, music and just enough chaos to keep small attention spans locked in.
Age: 3–7 | Price: from £10 | Info

🏠 Kensington Dollshouse Festival @ Kensington Town Hall
Date & Loc: May 15–16, Kensington W8
A gloriously detailed world of tiny furniture, miniature bakeries, dollhouses and impossibly patient people crafting things smaller than your fingernail.
Age: All | Price: £10 | Info

⛵ Pie-Rat Island @ Half Moon Theatre
Date & Loc: May 15–16, Limehouse E1
A gentle play-along theatre adventure for little ones with puppetry, music, games and lots of imaginative chaos.
Age: 2–6 | Price: £9 | Info

🐀 Ratatouille @ Rooftop Film Club
Date & Loc: May 16, Peckham SE15
Pixar’s tiny chef masterpiece returns to the big screen. Paris, butter, existential career pressure and one extremely talented rat. Sill one of the best food films ever made.
Age: All | Price: from £8 | Info

🏖️ Beach in a Jar Family Workshop @ Dockland Settl. 2
Date & Loc: May 16, Canary Wharf E14
Tiny beaches in jars. Honestly quite relaxing-looking. Kids build their own mini terrariums with coloured sand, shells and plants while pretending they’re on holiday instead of in east London.
Age: 5–11 | Price: from £15 | Info

🌿 Vauxhall May Fair @ Vauxhall City Farm
Date & Loc: May 16–17, Vauxhall SE11
Sheep shearing, live music, face painting, seed sowing, wool spinning, Best in Show and a Cuddle Corner at the city farm's annual May Fair.
Age: Everyone | Price: No cost | Info

⛵ Heritage Crafts Weekend @ Cutty Sark
Date & Loc: May 16–17, Greenwich SE10
Drop-in family activities celebrating the old-school craft skills that kept the Cutty Sark afloat. Rope-making, traditional caulking and plenty of maritime tinkering for kids who enjoy tying knots onto absolutely everything afterwards.
Age: 5+ | Price: included with entry | Info

🦢 The Ugly Duckling @ Puppet Theatre Barge
Date & Loc: May 16–31, Little Venice W9
Andersen's story about not fitting in, told with puppets on the barge in Little Venice. A moving and careful piece of puppet work for a two-week run.
Age: 4–10 | Price: £12 | Info

🎬 Honey, I Shrunk The Kids @ The Garden Cinema
Date & Loc: May 16–17, Covent Garden WC2
The gloriously chaotic 1989 classic where Rick Moranis accidentally shrinks his children and sends them into the terrifying wilderness known as… the back garden. Still holds up. Kids’ activity afterwards.
Age: 5+ | Price: Pay What You Can | Info

🐴 War Horse @ National Theatre
Date & Loc: May 16–Jul 30, Southbank SE1
The National Theatre's production with the life-sized Handspring puppet horses is back in London for the summer.
Age: 10+ | Price: from £30 | Info

🧩 The Together Space May Family Event @ Gnome House
Date & Loc: May 17, Walthamstow E17
An inclusive family play event. Dance workshops, painting sessions, sensory play, soft play, balance boards and plenty of space for kids to run.
Age: All | Price: £15 | Info

🏴‍☠️ BFLF Pirate Family Rave @ Fox and Firkin
Date & Loc: May 17 (Sun), Lewisham SE13
Big Fish Little Fish outdoor rave with a pirate theme. Proper club music, bubbles, balloons, parachute dance, craft tables and homemade pizza.
Age: 0–8yo | Price: from £9.75 | Info

🎻 FUNharmonics: Stan and Mabel and the Race for Space @ Southbank Centre
Date & Loc: May 17 (Sun), South Bank SE1
An interactive orchestral adventure with the London Philharmonic Orchestra featuring a dog, a cat and a dramatic escape story involving animals in space.
Age: 5+ | Price: from £18 | Info

🤠 Country for Kids @ Royal Albert Hall
Date & Loc: May 17 (Sun), South Kensington SW7
A relaxed family country music gig where children are actively encouraged not to sit still quietly for an hour. Expect live music, Nashville vibes and plenty of tiny boot-scooters roaming the aisles.
Age: 4–11 | Price: from £12 | Info

🐷 Young MacDonald Wants a Farm @ artsdepot
Date & Loc: May 17 (Sun), North Finchley N12
A playful theatre show for little ones packed with farm animals, songs and gentle audience interaction.
Age: 2–6 | Price: from £13.75 | Info

🧒 Festival of The Boy @ Big Penny Social
Date & Loc: May 17 (Sun), Walthamstow E17
A day of workshops, adventures, sports and creative activities designed mainly for boys though everyone’s welcome.
Age: 7–11 | Price: from £5.20 | Info

🐱 Toto The Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape @ Little Angel Theatre
Date & Loc: May 17–Jul 19, Islington N1
Dermot O'Leary's bestselling children's book comes alive with music, laugh-out-loud fun and extraordinary puppetry.
Age: 5+ | Price: £13.50 | Info

🌸 Belgravia in Bloom @ Belgravia
Date & Loc: May 18–24, Belgravia SW1
One of London’s fanciest flower competition returns, with entire shopfronts and streets turned into giant floral displays. This year’s theme is fairy tales, so expect plenty of magical-looking photo spots.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost | Info

🌺 Chelsea in Bloom @ Chelsea
Date & Loc: May 18–24, Chelsea SW3
Basically the floral Olympics for west London. Streets and shopfronts get covered in giant flower displays, with this year’s theme going full cosmic: planets, stars and “out of this world” creations everywhere.
Age: All ages | Price: no cost | Info

🎪 Giffords Circus @ Chiswick House and Gardens
Date & Loc: May 21–Jun 1, Chiswick W4
Giffords Circus pitches up in the grounds of Chiswick House. Small tent, performers right up close.
Age: Everyone | Price: from £16 | Info

🦸 MCM Comic Con @ ExCeL London
Date & Loc: May 22–24, Royal Docks E16
Three days of cosplay, anime, gaming, movie stars, comics and children begging you for merchandise that costs more than your weekly food shop.
Age: All ages | Price: from £27 | Info

🦕 Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep @ Natural History Museum
Date & Loc: from May 22, South Kensington SW7
New exhibition at the Natural History Museum. Giant prehistoric sea monsters, huge fossils and the sort of creatures that make sharks look quite manageable.
Age: 5+ | Price: from £7.50 | Info

💫 evim [my home] @ The Place
Date & Loc: May 23 (Sat), Euston WC1H
A gentle, sensory dance show inspired by Rumi and whirling dervishes. Think music, movement and a bit of magic as kids explore the idea of “home” in a very calm, slightly hypnotic way.
Age: 2–7 | Price: £10–£14 | Info

🎂 Michael Rosen's Birthday @ Southbank Centre
Date & Loc: May 23 (Sat), Southbank SE1
The author and poet turns 80 and the Southbank throws a party. Silly rhymes, storytelling and special guests for the whole day.
Age: 5+ | Price: No cost | Info

🫧 Bubble Explorers @ Science Museum
Date & Loc: May 23–Jul 12, South Kensington SW7
A live bubble show for younger kids at the Science Museum, featuring experiments, giant bubbles.
Age: 7 and under | Price: £4.50 | Info

📚 The Fairy Tale Fan Club @ British Library
Date & Loc: May 26 (Tue), King’s Cross NW1
Richard Ayoade + fairy tales is already a strong combo. Expect funny twists on classic stories, live readings, and plenty of “wait… what happened after?” moments.
Age: 8+ | Price: £12 | Info

🚤 Canal Museum Family Open Day @ London Canal Museum
Date & Loc: May 26 (Tue), King’s Cross N1
Boat rides, wildlife spotting and canal-themed crafts at the wonderfully niche London Canal Museum.
Age: All ages | Price: from £5.50 | Info

🧪 Kitchen Lab @ The Royal Institution
Date & Loc: May 26 (Tue), Mayfair W1
Turns out your kitchen is basically a science lab with snacks. Kids mix, experiment and make controlled chaos with everyday ingredients while learning the chemistry behind it all.
Age: 9–11 | Price: £25 | Info

🪄 Enchanted Creatures and How to Become One @ Royal Albert Hall
Date & Loc: May 26 (Tue), South Kensington SW7
Part shadow-puppet show, part interactive music session, part dreamy woodland fever dream. Kids help bring animated creatures to life with sounds, rhythms and live instruments in this beautifully odd little performance.
Age: 5+ | Price: from £12 | Info

🎻 Play Along: Virtual Orchestra @ Southbank Centre
Date & Loc: May 27–28, South Bank SE1
Kids can put on a VR headset, grab a virtual instrument and pretend they’re performing with a full orchestra.
Age: 5+ | Price: no cost | Info

🎪 Bop Stars Circus School @ Fulham Pier
Date & Loc: May 28, Fulham SW6
Circus skills for kids without the stress of actually running away to join one. Juggling, plate spinning, ribbon work and even aerial silks.
Age: 3–8 | Price: £15 | Info

🧬 Mark Thompson’s Spectacular Science Show @ Leicester Square Theatre
Date & Loc: May 30 (Sat), Leicester Square WC2
Explosions, fire, flying objects and the sort of experiments that make children immediately ask to “try one at home”.
Age: 5+ | Price: from £18 | Info

🧸 Teddy Bear Picnic @ Fulham Palace
Date & Loc: Jun 7, Fulham SW6
Pack the picnic blanket, grab the fluffiest member of the family and head to Fulham Palace for a teddy-themed day in the gardens. Outdoor theatre, games, crafts and small humans taking their teddy’s social calendar very seriously.
Age: All | Price: from £12 | Info

🕵️ Sherlock Holmes @ Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Date & Loc: until Jun 6, Regent’s Park NW1
A brand new Sherlock Holmes mystery set in Victorian London, performed outdoors in Regent’s Park. Fog, conspiracies and a bit of Baker Street.
Age: 12+ | Price: from £15 | Info

🛹 Skate 50 @ Southbank Centre
Date & Loc: until Jun 21, Southbank SE1
A celebration of London’s legendary skate scene with photography, video and stories from the Undercroft over the last 50 years. Cool enough that even non-skaters will suddenly want Vans.
Age: All | Price: Pay What You Can | Info

🛁 The Flying Bath @ Little Angel Theatre
Date & Loc: until Jul 12, Islington N1
Julia Donaldson and David Roberts' story about a bath that flies off into the night, with catchy songs, rubber ducks and everyday heroes.
Age: 2–5 | Price: £13.50 | Info

🐕 Dog Man: The Musical @ Southbank Centre
Date & Loc: Jul 30–Aug 16, Southbank SE1
Based on Dav Pilkey's bestselling books, hilarious and heartfelt in equal measure, with a dog for a hero. Tickets on sale now for the summer holidays.
Age: 5+ | Price: £27 | Info

🧚 Fairy Tales @ British Library
Date & Loc: until Aug 23, King's Cross N1C
The British Library opens a fairy tales exhibition with books, original illustrations, theatre costumes, puppets and pop-ups.
Age: 3-10yo | Price: £11.50 | Info

🙏 If this makes your week a bit easier, pls think of two parents who'd love it, or drop it in a WhatsApp group. Takes 20 seconds. Please don’t ignore me 😂.
Appreciated, kind Londoner!

Got any comments or suggestions? Feel free to reply; I’d love to hear from you.

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HBTM