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👻 5 things to do in London this weekend with the kids (17–18 August)

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Jeff – Dads in London
August 14, 2024

Hello DiLFs, and welcome back to another edition!

This week, I’ve got a real gem for you: “Sculpture in the City Little Art Critics TV”. If you can get past the absurd lack of punctuation, it’s an AMAZING free activity for kids (the full details are below). But here’s the catch: tickets are almost gone. I’ve known about this event for months, but I usually focus on what’s happening this weekend, not months ahead.

This got me thinking: would you find it helpful if I sent an extra weekly email about events and activities you should book now, before they sell out? It would be a quick, bullet-point list, featuring preview tickets, early-bird discounts and other “must book” items.

Would you like to receive this extra email each week?

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Let me know what you think, and I’ll share the poll results next week!

Now, onto this weekend!

Jeff xx

Doctor Who – Cyberman Episode Showcase with Live Q&A
Saturday 17 August, 14:00
Riverside Studios, 101 Queen Caroline Street, W6 9BN
Adults and children ÂŁ13 each

I know three things about Doctor Who: he breathes deeply and says he’s someone’s father; he has ridiculously pointy ears; and he’s the subject of a great “knock knock” joke. 

… And this is why I won’t be attending Doctor Who – Cyberman Episode Showcase with Live Q&A. I don’t even know what half those words bloody mean. But if you’re a normal human and you have normal human offspring, you’ll probably be keen on attending whatever this is. 

At the event, Doctor Who writers and episode lineup curators Gavin Rymill and James Goss (I was about to say, “No, me neither,” but I’ve just realised you’re probably jumping up and down with excitement on seeing their names) will introduce each Cyber episode with a brief watcher’s guide, then provide a quick “post-show post-mortem” before moving on to the next episode. There’ll also be a final Q&A after the third and last episode in the showcase.

If this were Friends – Marcel the Monkey Episode Showcase with Live Q&A, I’d be there. Which is to say: I get the appeal of this sort of occasion. I really do. So, as Doctor Who himself would say (I think), “Run, Toto, Run towards the tickets!”

Sculpture in the City
Saturday and Sunday, and every day (at any time of day) until Spring 2025
City of London area
FREE

I wouldn’t exactly describe Sculpture in the City as a sculpture treasure hunt, but if that’s what it takes to convince your kids, then sure: it’s a sculpture treasure hunt. 

(Aside: I can touch-type at 130-ish wpm but I’m reduced to a crawl every time I type “sculpture treasure hunt”. Try it!)

But what is it really? It’s a selection of public artworks from internationally acclaimed and emerging artists, and they're plonked in various locations around the City every summer. This outdoor exhibition has been going since 2011 (when there were just four sculptures), and it turns the city into a kind of big, open-air art gallery. This year there are 17 sculptures from 15 artists dotted around – which, according to my calculations, means two of those artists are Teacher’s Pet and all the others are fuming. 

While you’re there… 

👍️ There’s a thing on Saturday morning called Sculpture in the City Little Art Critics TV, in which children aged 5–12 can take the microphone, stand in front of a camera, and provide their unfiltered reactions to the sculptures for a special TV show. They’ll be directed by professional filmmakers from Young Film Academy, and then the final film will be shown on a ten-foot screen in the City at 18:30 that evening. (Don’t worry: it won’t be a long one. Last year’s video was six minutes long, and the event itself only lasts half an hour.) 

Amazingly, this is free. Less amazingly, there are hardly any spots left. So hurry!

👍️ One of the sculptures (#09) can be found at 120 Fenchurch Street – which happens to have a lovely roof garden. It’s free to enter and you don’t need to book, but be prepared for some serious security checks (x-rays and everything). 

Depending on the day and time, there could also be a bit of a queue – but there’s a brilliant “live footfall counter”, which shows you how busy it is at any given moment. At the time of writing, it’s at 104% capacity, which makes me both glad I’m not there and worried about what’s happened to the employee who’s meant to be counting heads. 

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Exhibition: Den! at Camden Art Centre
Saturday and Sunday, 11:00–16:00, then every day except Mondays (open until 21:00 every Thursday) until 8 September
Arkwright Road, NW3 6DG
FREE

Whenever I read an exhibition description, I want it to explain what I’ll see and do when I get there, and leave it at that. A bit of background information is fine too, as long as it’s quick. I don’t want any faux-profound drivel about process or feelings or intentions, which always seems to have been written by an intern who’s too familiar with online jargon generators and is getting a kick out of making us think it’s meaningful.

At Camden Art Centre, a group of kids foraged for materials in the centre’s garden and in the streets, then used them to create dens over the course of a year. Nice. But in the words of the centre? “... the group have formed a language of intuitive construction and playful decoration with practical and aesthetic decision making led by a sense of play.” Don’t even get me started on the punctuation issues with that sentence. 

The venue’s about page is fantastic, though – and it’s convinced me to overlook the fluff on the exhibition page and visit with an open mind. 

Get Inspired!
Saturday 17 August, 11:00–16:00
National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE
FREE

This actually sounds rather lovely. It’s a series of art workshops led by the gallery’s Youth Forum, and aims to inspire children to pick up a pencil or paintbrush themselves. 

There’s also a tie-in with the NPG’s world-famous Portrait Award exhibition, which is on display in the same building. Members of the Youth Forum have written creative interpretations of many of those portraits, and will offer tours of the artworks to encourage children to look at them in new, surprising ways. 

While you’re there… 

👍️ As you’ll have seen above, the NPG’s world-famous annual Portrait Award is on at the moment. It’s no longer the BP Portrait Award: it’s now the Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award due to a change in sponsorship, and I have a feeling the new name will struggle to catch on.  

The Portrait Award “showcases the very best in contemporary portrait painting”. Anyone aged 18+ can enter, and this year the judges decided that 50 entries (of 1,647 in total) were worthy of being exhibited. The judges also handed out generous cash prizes for best, second best and third best artwork (I don’t know why I phrased it like that), and there’s also a Young Artist Award for entrants who were never alive when Czechoslovakia existed. 

My family and I have been going for years, and it’s always fun to create our own prize categories, including: “Looks most like a photograph”, “Must be friends with the judges”, “The picture I’d most like to have in my home” and “I wish I had the skills to do that”. 

The shoes that made me believe in love at first step (part-advert, part-love story)

Back in 2019, I listened to an interview with the Allbirds cofounders. By the end of it, they’d convinced me that Allbirds shoes would be the most comfortable things I’d ever wear, that I’d never suffer from sweaty feet again, and that I should really start caring about sustainable materials (which, it turns out, are better for tootsies anyway).

So, in a rare moment of impulsivity, I bought a pair of their best-selling Tree Runners. When they arrived, I put them on and – I kid you not – I actually moaned. In comfort. In serenity. Maybe even in love? It was like walking on clouds

And then, because I’m me, I returned them.

Why? Because I’d somehow managed to choose a colour so horrible that it shouldn’t legally be allowed to exist. Thankfully, Allbirds’ customer service folks were an utter joy when I swapped them out for a much safer grey/white pair, which I’ve been happily wearing ever since.

But I’m already planning for the future, and when it’s finally time to replace them (which, let’s be honest, might be a while since these things last forever), I’ve got my eyes on the white Tree Pipers. Not only do they look great on Ben Affleck, but I’m hoping they’ll give me just a tiny fraction of his coolness (minus the complicated love life and that awful back tattoo).

So, why am I going on about Allbirds?

Because these shoes are pretty much perfect. Depending on the style, they’re made from either the wool of happy Kiwi sheep or sustainably sourced tree fibres. Plus, their whole ethical practices thing isn’t just a trendy add-on – it’s built into their company DNA.

The shoes go with everything, they’ve survived five years of my abuse (and counting), they’re machine washable, and – I can’t stress this enough – they’re ridiculously comfortable.

Allbirds doesn’t really do discount codes, but honestly, they don’t need to. They’re pretty reasonably priced, ranging from £70ish to £115ish depending on the style, and you’ll get years out of them. Heads-up: the popular colours tend to sell out fast, so if you see a pair you love, you might want to grab them before someone else does.

So check out the entire Allbirds collection and find your perfect pair before they’re gone. But maybe think twice before impulse-buying a brown-and-yellow (or “poo and wee”) pair like I did. Or don’t – no judgement here.

5: Watch a show about giving up the ghost (literally-ish)

Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Ghosts
Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 and 14:30
Polka Theatre, 240 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London SW19 1SB
Adults and children from ÂŁ10 (plus ÂŁ2.50 booking fee)

The photo alone makes me want to see this show. It’s about a boy who’s determined to brave up, face his fears, and be totally fine with the concept of ghosts so that he can defeat the Ghost King once and for all. 

There’s a trailer on the event page, and it looks genuinely good fun – with lots of singing, dancing, flashing lights, smoke and fog. The ghost is literally a man with a bed sheet over his head, so I wouldn’t worry if your own kids are phantom-phobic. 

While you’re there… 

👍️ Polka Theatre has a lovely little indoor play area with a book corner, dressing-up costumes, magnetic boards and activity sheets. There’s also a multi-sensory garden with bug hotels, log piles, and bird and bat boxes; I’m sure it’s wonderful but I’m not a fan of sensing anything to do with insects or flying mammals. 

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