Afternoon, London! Happy Thursday. Afternoon, London! Happy Thursday. Still travelling, still delivering. Barely, but still.
Many of you are back to the school run this week, bleary-eyed at the gates. Others are still finding semi-melted Easter eggs behind the sofa and pretending that counts as breakfast before heading back next week. Both valid approaches to April.
There's a taco festival in Brixton this weekend. Obviously go. Unless you're running the London Marathon the week after, in which case, maybe just the one margarita.
Any of you running it? Hit reply. We could do a short spotlight.. tell us why you're running it and how long you've been training. Our passionate (?) readers can follow your time online next week!
Back to the 8.30am slot next week, ready to accompany your triple espresso. Right. Let's go.
..LONDON SNIPPETS..
Bits that caught our eye
You've caught up with the news by now anyway. Whenever we run the afternoon edition, you open it like yesterday's newspaper. Full snippets back next week.
..BRAIN BITES..
Wow your kid, and outsmart the other parents
London Fact: London’s wild parakeets are a bit of a mystery. 🦜 Thousands now live across the city, especially in the west. No one knows exactly how they got here. Escaped pets are the most likely answer, but the origin story is still unclear. They just showed up and made themselves at home. Very London.
Fun Fact: You can’t hum while holding your nose. 🎵 Go on, try it. The sound has nowhere to go, so it just stops. Works on adults. Works even better on kids. Dinner table chaos guaranteed.
..EVENTS SCOOP..
What’s on this week?
Bit of a quiet one this week. Most venues are taking a breath after a very Easter-heavy fortnight, and the new lineups are still being put together. A few good options below regardless; and with the weather looking decent this weekend, just go outside!
🎺 Bach to Baby Easter Family Concert @ St Stephen's Church
Date & Loc: Apr 17 (Fri), South Kensington SW7
Classical concert for babies and toddlers at a local church, this one featuring trumpets.
Age: Under 5 | Price: from £16 | Info
🦕 Jurassic Jungle @ The Brunswick Centre
Date & Loc: Apr 18 (Sat), Bloomsbury WC1N
Giant roaming dinosaurs at the Brunswick Centre: T-Rex, Brontosaurus, Dino Babies and two live shows.
Age: Everyone | Price: No cost | Info
🦆 Quacky Races @ Morden Hall Park
Date & Loc: Apr 18 (Sat), Morden SM4
Sponsor a numbered plastic duck and cheer it down the River Wandle. One of the park's most popular annual traditions.
Age: Everyone | Price: from £2.50 | Info
🎪 The Daily Scream (Le Cri Quotidien) @ Well Walk Theatre
Date & Loc: Apr 18–19, Hampstead NW3
French puppet show performed in English, with live music. A world where the headlines stop making sense, told through puppetry and sound.
Age: 8+ | Price: £15.90 | Info
🎧 V&A East Opening @ Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Date & Loc: From Apr 18, Stratford E20
A brand new museum opening with free galleries and a big first exhibition on 125 years of Black music in Britain. Worth checking out early before the crowds fully catch on.
Age: Everyone | Price: No cost | Info
📦 Out of the Box @ Artsdepot
Date & Loc: Apr 19 (Sun), North Finchley N12
Edinburgh Fringe five-star show: juggling, physical comedy and audience interaction using everyday objects. Wordless, joyful, genuinely funny for all ages.
Age: Everyone | Price: £13.75 | Info
⚔️ St George's Day and Wheelbarrow Race @ Pinner Village
Date & Loc: Apr 19 (Sun), Pinner HA5
Bellringing, folk dancing, live music, Punch & Judy, face painting, food stalls and a wheelbarrow race through the High Street. Pinner does St George's Day properly.
Age: Everyone | Price: No cost | Info
🎧 Raver Tots Ministry of Sound (Early)
Date & Loc: Apr 19 (Sun), Newington SE1
The family rave at Ministry of Sound: house, garage, drum and bass and old skool classics, with lasers, lights and face painting.
Age: Everyone | Price: from £16 | Info
👶 Laaaunch! @ Polka Theatre
Date & Loc: Apr 22–26, Wimbledon SW19
A sensory theatre show designed just for babies, with music, movement and plenty of space to wriggle around.
Age: 0–12 months | Price: from £26 | Info
🎤 David Bowie: You’re Not Alone @ Lightroom
Date & Loc: Apr 22–Oct 10, King’s Cross N1C
An immersive Bowie experience with huge visuals, rare footage and plenty of iconic moments. Less “kids event”, more “cool parents drag them along”.
Age: Everyone | Price: from £25 | Info
📖 North London Book Festival @ Alexandra Palace
Date & Loc: Apr 23–26, Wood Green N22
Michael Rosen, Onjali Q Raúf, Simon Mole and more at Ally Pally: readings, panels, workshops and signings. Children's events and a Waterstones bookshop on site.
Age: Everyone | Price: no cost | Info
😴 Mr Sleepybum's Dream Machine @ OSO Arts Centre
Date & Loc: Apr 24–25, Barnes SW13
Mr Sleepybum can't dream, so he builds a machine to fix that. Slapstick, sketches and silliness: dinosaurs, robots, car chases and the world's largest blanket. Award-winning interactive show for young kids.
Age: 3–8 | Price: from £15 | Info
🪴 Little Green Fingers @ Fulham Palace
Date & Loc: Apr 25 (Sat), Fulham SW6
Planting seeds and learning to grow veg in the beautiful walled garden at Fulham Palace. A hands-on outdoor day for little gardeners and their grown-ups.
Age: 3–7 | Price: £20 | Info
🎬 Little Venice Film Festival – Kids Showcase @ Puppet Theatre Barge
Date & Loc: Apr 25 (Sat), Little Venice W9
Short films made by and for young people, shown on the floating puppet theatre in Little Venice.
Age: 6-12yo | Price: from £14.25 | Info
🎶 The Big Sing: Spring Gospel Concert @ Old Royal Naval College
Date & Loc: Apr 25 (Sat), Greenwich SE10
Mass gospel sing bringing choirs and vocal groups together in one of London's most extraordinary spaces.
Age: 9+ | Price: from £10 | Info
🎼 Echoes 11: Colours of Sound @ Royal Albert Hall
Date & Loc: Apr 27 (Mon), South Kensington SW7
Annual large-scale school music concert with choirs and orchestras from schools across the area. If your child is performing, grab tickets early.
Age: 5+ | Price: from £30 | Info
🐺 The Gruffalo @ The Radlett Centre
Date & Loc: Apr 28–30, Radlett WD7
Tall Stories' 25th anniversary tour: Mouse, monsters and woodland songs, the classic Donaldson/Scheffler picture book done properly on stage. Note: Outside London.
Age: 3+ | Price: £15.50 | Info
🥋 Karate Kid The Musical @ New Wimbledon Theatre
Date & Loc: Apr 28–May 9, Wimbledon SW19
The coming-of-age story reimagined as a musical with inventive choreography and energetic storytelling. Based on the iconic film about underdogs, balance and wax-on-wax-off.
Age: 6+ | Price: from £22 | Info
🤹 Rollercoaster @ Jacksons Lane
Date & Loc: Apr 28 (Tue), Highgate N6
Pop-punk juggling show from one of the world's best jugglers, featuring a four-metre transparent tube and a lot of electronic noise.
Age: Everyone | Price: from £18 | Info
🌱 Museum of Edible Earth @ Somerset House
Date & Loc: until Apr 26, Strand WC2R
An exhibition about geophagy, the practice of eating earth for health, ritual and culinary benefit.
Age: Everyone | Price: No cost | 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
Is this format for events working for you?
. TINY FAVOUR..
🙏 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!
..PARTNER UP..
..SPREAD THE LOVE..
Thank you for reading ❤️
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