London: Tea Time in Wonderland

A bank holiday week-end, isn’t that fab? Jump into your trainers and let’s go!

- Why not try, on Saturday,  a backstage tour of the National Theatre? I’ve been told it’s fascinating experience. At £5.90, it’s so much cheaper than one of the main exhibitions!

- Revise a few dance steps for a Thriller flashmob on Saturday. Because you’re bad, you’re bad, you know it… Free!

- Learn a few dance steps for a giant flashmob on Southbank dimanche. Free!

- Discover how the Tudors cooked @ Hampton Court…(or even see Henry VIII in a tournament daily at 15.00)

- Have a drink in rhythm  @ the Beer & Jazz festival still @ Hampton Court …

- Lean more about the British nation at war in 1939 @ the Imperial War Museum.

- Have a colourful week-end thanks the Notting Hill Carnival, of course! Free!

- Find your inner child (or borrow one) and go dream @ Regent’s Park with tree houses… Free!

Your turn: what am I forgetting?

Tellement de choses, tellement peu de temps!

- Passer voir l’exposition Guinness au Brands Museum – la marque a 250 ans! (£5.80/adulte)

- S’installer sur une chaise longue et regarder un spectacle de magie sur Trafalgar Square… (gratuit)

- Ne pas rater la Flash Mob musical a la Tate samedi! (gratuit!)

- Profiter d’une piece de theatre gratuite au Scoop (Jason ou Medea selon les jours) (gratuit!)

- Dimanche, grignoter tout en vous balladant le long de Regent’s canal…

- Emmener les enfants profiter des ateliers a la Somerset House pour leur family day. Teste l’an dernier, fabuleux. Emmenez des serviettes, ils courront dans les fontaines… (gratuit!)

- Du coup, passer voir leur expo sur les costumes modernes… (gratuit!)

- Et celebrer le week-end avec un cocktail a base de gin a leur magnifique pop-up bar!

So many things, so little time!

- Rush to see the newly opened exhibition on Guinness at the Bands Museum – the famous ale is 250 this year! (£5.80/adult)

- Grab a deckchair and enjoy a magical show on Trafalgar Square… (Free!)

- Do one’s best not to miss the musical flashmob @ the Tate on saturday! (Free!)

- Enjoy a free theatre play @ the Scoop (Jason or Medea depending on the days) (Free!)

- Sunday, eat one’s  way along Regent’s  Canal…

- Take the kids to the Somerset house for their family days. Lots of worshops. Tried it last year, had great fun. Just take towels with you as they will run through the fountains… (Free!)

- At the same time, have a look at their exhibition on modern suits… (Free!)

- And if you love the place, stay a little more for a Sapphire gin cocktaiil at their splendid pop-up bar!

Petit carnet pour le week-end…

- Voyager dans le Londres d’autrefois (gratuit)

- Nager une mile au Royal Victoria Dock samedi pour une bonne cause…

- Applaudir le championnat de course libre a Trafalgar Square transforme pour l’occasion (samedi de 16.00 a 20.00, gratuit)

- Celebrer l’Asie au London Mela dimanche a 13.00-  de la musique, de la nourriture et meme des arts du cirque! (Gratuit!)

- Prendre des billets pour le Cirque Invisible, fabuleux de surprises et de droleries

-Voir Hello Dolly! en plein air (et amener son pique-nique)

- Amener les enfants jouer a Covent Garden – terrain de jeux en journee, animations et offres en magasins…

- Passer prendre une glace au tiramisu a Scoop!

A few notes for the week-end:

- See London through a lens… (free!)

- Swim a mile for Charity for a good cause on Saturday @ Royal Victoria Dock….

- Clap at the free running championship and see Trafalgar Square completely transformed to welcome it (Saturday 16.00-20.00, free)

- Celebrate Asia at the London Mela Sunday at 13.00 – music, food an even circus acts! (free!)

- Take tickets for Le cirque invisible, full of suprises, magic and laughs.

- See Hello Dolly! at the Regent Open Air Theatre, and why not bring a picnic?

- Bring the kids to play @ Covent Garden -  playgorund, animations and discounts in the shops.

- Have a tiramisu ice-cream @ Scoop!

Petites notes pour ce week-end…

Pensez a…

- Aller manger jamaican au Horniman Museum. Dimanche, 25 chefs preparent chacun deux recettes, une traditionnelle, une creative. Mmmmh! Les details par ici.

- Passer voir la piscine temporaire a Gabriel’s wharf sur Southbank

- Passer manger une glace au dulce

- Prendre une pinte au British Beer Festival: 450 bieres, cidres et poires! Sans compter les grillades et les pub games.

- Aller visiter le Parlement

- decouvrir une petite partie de Greenwich park transformee en village thai

Et vous?

A few thoughts for this week-end…

- East some Jerk food @ the Horniman Museum. On Sunday, 25 chefs will prepare two dishes each, a classic and a creative one. Yummy! Some details this way….

- Stop by the temporay swimming pool @ Gabriel’s Wharf on Southbank

_ Have a dulce ice cream

-  Have a pint @ the British Beer Festival: 450 beers, ciders and perries! And of course, there will be great food and pub games.

- Visit the Parliament

-  See a little part of Greenwich Park transformed into a Thai village

How about you?

Columbia Road is such a quiet street most of the week… On Sundays, she puts her dancing shoes, and oh, baby, the place rocks! Such a festival of colours and perfumes in the air!

Your’e bound to find happiness – from fresh cut flowers, plants in pot, banana trees, bulbes… A real market like in France: singing, vibrant, with the sellers calling you on the way for a good bargain…

Columbia Flower Market, it’s also such an atmosphere! The street becomes an urban jungle. Passers-by carry boxes and bags of plants – actually, anything goes to carry them..

And behind all the green, 60 shops or so, wooden type, very Victorian looking…

Delis, cafes as Vintage Heaven which also sells a selection of exquisite vintage cups… or Treacle with their exquisite minicupcakes and their sense of humour!

A lot of design shopping to be done too  and very varied: garden themed of course, but look out for extraordinary soaps – I found a carrot one, magical wall stickers, great mailboxes…

Oh, and don’t forget art galleries such as…

…Nelly Duff where you will find prints of Street Art Masters, including Eine and Mr Wim!

…Elphick’s where Sharon sells her creations (she uses it as her workshop the rest of the week) and alos sells art from great artists qui vend ses creations (la boutique lui sert d’atelier en semaine) et distribue d’autres artistes, entr’autres les oeuvres d’Helen Musselwhite…

…Columbia Road Gallery, more classical but you really feel like stepping in the painting and go there for a walk…

Here, no chain or Starbucks, originality wins!

It’s so… coulourful and lively. Difficult to picture the place when it was a covered market: 400 stalls, with a flat above in a gothic building. The railway project around never happened and the building finally was destroyed. Sellers prefered being outside anyway. The market survived… From being on Saturdays, it switched to Sundays, thanks to the Jewish community. It was more handy for sellers too: they could go to Covent Garden during the week, Spittafield Market on the Saturday and finish their stock here.  WWII was a hard time too… food was more important than flowers, obviously. And today? People will travel miles to come here and you will even see, from time to time, a TV crew filming for a gardening programme….

Note to parents: not the ideal place for buggies, so crowded! You’ll be better off with a scarf or a Bjorn type baby-carrier. No hysteria, people are happy to walk around and will let you go through if they can. Lots of cafes to stop at. At the beginning of the market, you’ll find a square with games for the kids. Oh, and do stop at Lapin & Me, a fantastic shop with lots of French products, colouring books and games!

Columbia Flower Market
Columbia Road
London, E2 7RG

Every Sunday from 08.00 to 14.00

Tube: Old Street  – 15mn walk to get there, take your map!