🏡 5 things to do in London this weekend with the kids (21–22 September)

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Hey DiLFs, 

I’ve had to leave out an awful lot of fabulous events this weekend because I don’t want to burden you with too many suggestions. This happens a lot: I have to cull about half the activities/events because otherwise the email is too long (and you only have so much time to read it). 

But… would you actually prefer a wider selection? Or are you happy with five(ish) events each week? I think this calls for a poll! 

Assuming I curate the list of events and don’t just tell you about EVERYTHING going on each weekend (because that would be no use at all), how many events/activities would you like to know about in the Dads in London newsletter? 

Results next week! Now onto the listings!

Jeff xx

1: Celebrate the Thames with boat-building, boat-watching and boatloads of fun 

Thames Day
Sunday 22 September, 12:00–16:00
On the riverside by Lower Thames Street (in front of the Church of St Magnus the Martyr), EC3R 8AJ
FREE

This event has the most fabulous selection of activities on offer throughout the day, but, bizarrely, the organisers seem particularly excited by the promise of a face painter. 

I can (almost) promise you this: the Thames Festival has so much to offer that your children won’t even ask for a sofa-wrecking purple glittery butterfly across their cheeks. Not when they can build their own wooden boat, see the beautiful Blue Mermaid sail along the Thames, listen to a steel band, tuck into delicious food, explore the Thames Lens photography exhibition (last year’s winners are INSANE), and watch the Cod Choir walkabout act – who sing terrible-but-funny renditions of traditional sea shanties and make lots of terrible-but-funny fish jokes. 

And if they still want to look like a scary lion after all that, just wash it off in the river before you leave. If that’s allowed. Which it probably isn’t. 

Find out more: https://www.thecityofldn.com/event/thames-day/ 

2: Rave like the old days, but be in bed on time

Big Fish Little Fish “Dinosaur” Ultimate Family Rave
Sunday 22 September, 14:00–16:30
fabric London, 77A Charterhouse Street, EC1M 6HJ
Adults £15.02, children £10.80, pre-walking infants free

Big Fish Little Fish promises a proper rave experience for families, complete with actual rave legends (according to those in the know). Slipmatt, who I’m told is the "Godfather of Rave", will be headlining in one of the rooms – and if that doesn’t mean much to you either, you’re in good company. The other room has DJ Chef and Charlie Wright spinning some bass-heavy drum and bass. Again, not my wheelhouse because I spent my younger years listening to embarrassing pop and cringeworthy indie, but I’m sure they’re as loud and impressive as they seem. 

Unless your kids prefer Sandstorm to Let It Go, they’ll probably care more about the bubbles, foam, and confetti cannons anyway. There’s also face painting (of course), crafting, a giant mural to colour in, and a parachute dance finale that sounds like something I’ll definitely enjoy. The theme of the event is “Dinosaur” – but you might prefer to dress them as a superhero if you tend to lose them at big gatherings. 

If you forget the snacks, you can buy some homemade goodies by Baker Chef (no relation to the DJ, I presume). And yes, there’s a bar — because there’s no way I’m tackling a bubble-filled dance fest completely sober. 

I’ve been to a BFLF party before, and it genuinely feels like a full-on rave — just with raisins falling out of my pockets and a guaranteed early bedtime.

Find out more: https://bigfishlittlefishevents.com/events/fabric-dinosaur-ultimate-family-rave-22-september-2-430pm/ 

While you’re there… 

👍️ The children’s menu at The Fable Bar & Restaurant is good value (£10.95 for two courses and a drink) – especially when you see just how huge the portion sizes are. If you think you can get away with pretending to be a child, I recommend the “battered fish with chips” followed by a “build your own sundae”, and a “homemade lemonade” to drink. 

👍️ In addition to the spectacular Mail Rail at the Postal Museum, there’s Sorted! (exclamation mark included), which is an indoor postal-themed play space that looks like a miniature town. There’s a sorting office (with scanners, sorting sacks, sorting shelves, etc.), a post office, little houses with letterboxes for delivering the mail, postal trolleys and errr, a slide. Maybe sorting offices have secret slides? 

Tip: you can buy Sorted! play sessions without purchasing a Postal Museum/Mail Rail entrance ticket (£4 online or £5 on the door).

3: Uncover the secrets of space with hands-on fun

Secret Space Waves
Saturday 21 September, 14:00–15:15
The Royal Institution of Great Britain, 21 Albemarle Street, W1S 4BS
Adults £17.06, under-16s (see the “concessions” option when booking) £10.85

The description on the website says this event was originally called “Discovering Nature’s Secrets (Family)”. I’m guessing that at some point, a child-owning person went over to the panicked marketing team – who hadn’t offloaded as many tickets as hoped – and said in an exasperated voice, “You want to know how to make this thing popular?” Put ‘Space’ in the goddamn title.” 

And they’ll have said, “But it’s about gravitational waves, and about how they were an undiscovered secret until recently.” And he’ll have said, “Gravitational waves are in space, aren’t they?? We’re all IN space, aren’t we??? And even if that isn’t true: artistic licence.” 

And then he’ll have walked away, shaking his head sadly and mumbling “Amateurs” under his breath. 

I have no idea if “Secret Space Waves” will be any good, because – as has been discussed in previous newsletters – I have close to zero knowledge or understanding of physics. It certainly seems like an excellent Sunday afternoon activity for space enthusiasts: a discussion and demonstration about a proposed new telescope that will observe gravitational waves. It will include an explanation of what gravitational waves are (thank heavens for that), how the telescope will measure them, and “why they can help unlock the secrets of the universe and the exciting discoveries that are coming our way”. 

Find out more: https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/secret-space-waves 

While you’re there… 

👍️ Mayfair has some of the loveliest streets in London – and this self-guided walking tour is a great way to see them. Two maps (for parts 1 and 2 of the tour) are at the bottom of the written description of the route. 

👍️ If the weather’s nice, you could get a cold drink or ice cream from the kiosk in front of the Royal Academy, then sit in the courtyard and admire the lovely building. (You could also go inside the lovely building if you like: a new Sir Michael Craig-Martin exhibition is on at the moment, and it looks superb.)

4: Be creative, be you! (Translation: Huh?)

Family Day: Marvellous Me
Saturday 21 September, 12:00–16:00
British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1 2DB
FREE

Don’t get me wrong: I understand the appeal of under-promising and over-delivering. After all, there’s nothing more mortifying than being the next Fyre Festival, Segway or Cyberpunk 2077. It’s just that when venues use a bunch of feel-good buzzwords and vague, abstract language that tells you nothing concrete, it leaves the door open for people like me to insert our own interpretation on things. 

So… 

“Take part in this creative day celebrating being you!” must mean we’ll all be donning costumes that represent our inner spirit animals – and then there’ll be a parade in which we high-five mirrors to really appreciate ourselves. 

“Discover what inspires us and makes us unique, as well as champion other people and explore their untold stories” is a real clunker of a sentence. That aside, I’ve decided that it implies we’ll be writing haikus inspired by each other’s childhood lunchboxes. And then we’ll perform dramatic monologues as historical figures no one’s ever heard of.

Egg mayo surprise,
Wafting through the classroom air –
I sit alone now.

If the reason for their vagueness is “Errr we haven’t quite decided what we’re doing yet,” I urge them to get on board with my vision because HOW FUN WOULD THAT BE??? 

But even if they shun my suggestions, at least you know that whatever you do will end up being better than what’s been promised. 

Find out more: https://thebritishlibraryfamilyevents.seetickets.com/event/family-day-marvellous-me/british-library/3043529 

While you’re there… 

👍️ Sometimes I read about a brand that has all these overreaching and pretentious aspirations about improving the world in some way, and I’m thinking, “Dudes. You’re providing desks to freelancers and workout clothes for yogis, not ‘elevating the world’s consciousness’ or ‘elevating the world from mediocrity to greatness’. Get over yourselves. Both of you. All of you.” 

These up-their-arse brands have ruined it for the ones that are making a proper difference. Like Global Generation, which works with the local community to co-create gardens from disused urban spaces, and aims to “grow food, people and community for a just world”. 

Global Generation’s vision is legit. In fact, the organisation has already achieved SO much that I’m recommending its annual report as must-read material. 

One of Global Generation’s gardens is called Story Garden, and it’s right by the British Library. (Ah ha: there’s the link to the British Library!) It’s open to the public every Tuesday to Saturday, and is “an abundant habitat where food and flowers are grown… Classrooms and meeting spaces have sprung up. Polytunnels and raised beds have appeared. Nature is multiplying.” 

They hold a Family Saturday every week: a mix of gardening, cooking and creative natural crafts for children and their parents/carers. Attendance is free but registration is essential. 

And really: skim the annual report. It elevates like no one’s business. 

5: Watch a play about Roald Dahl’s missing stories, and help to recover them

Road Dahl and the Imagination Seekers
Sunday 22 September, 11:00 and 14:00
arts depot, 5 Nether Street, Tally Ho Corner, N12 0GA
£12 per person

Tickets are running out fast!

So. Roald Dahl. A raging anti-semitic, racist and misogynistic misanthrope who happened to write some of the most magical and memorable children’s books of the past century. (Although George’s Marvellous Medicine was a bit of a dud, let’s be honest.) What do we do about someone so problematic? 

If you’re me, you rationalise it by remembering that you’re still trying to learn the Thriller dance moves – and if that’s OK, then it’s definitely fine to continue forcing the Twits, Wormwoods, and Veruca Salt on your children. 

This is all beside the point: I distracted myself. The play isn’t even a Roald Dahl adaptation (thank goodness, because those have been done enough times): it’s an intriguing and unique story of how Roald Dahl’s words are disappearing around the world ​– not just in books, but in children’s minds too. And now, “only a secret organisation known as the Ancient Guild of TaleTenders can save the stories – and they need your help…” 

It sounds brilliant to me! But if you’re an RD hater who hopes there’ll be a tragic ending to the story, a) be aware that you’ll still have to put up with multiple references to his books throughout the show, and b) I have a feeling you’ll be disappointed. 

Find out more: https://www.artsdepot.co.uk/event/roald-dahl-and-the-imagination-seekers 

Reminder! The Open House Festival is still on!

During the annual Open House Festival, many buildings considered to be architecturally significant open their doors for public tours and drop-ins. While the festival runs from 14 to 22 September, buildings are only “open” on certain days -s​​o you’ll need to look at individual listings to find out which are available this weekend. Most are “drop in” (meaning you can go at any time on the day), some require that you book in advance (especially if there’s a tour involved) and a few are for ballot winners only. 

Last week I shared what I thought were the best buildings to view during the first weekend of the festival, and here are my favourites for this weekend: 

• Pirouette House (Saturday; guided tour every 30 minutes): an ex-local-authority home in Islington with a series of spaces that “pirouette” around a triangular column.  

• Tin House (Saturday): bonkers and hugely fun-looking residential home. 

• Two-up Two-down House (Saturday): an incredible and modern reworking of a regular Victorian mid-terrace. 

• Jubilee Line Extension Treasure Hunt (Saturday): a treasure hunt that “will allow visitors to explore and discover these stations with new eyes, looking for clues about their use and learning their history”.

• London Museum (Saturday; family activities throughout the day): get to be one of the first to see inside the brand new London Museum, opening in 2026. 

• The Barbican & The City Gardens (Saturday and Sunday): explore the secret gardens and water features in between the Barbican’s residential buildings.  

• 62 Twyford Avenue (Sunday): a low-energy home that “always has a view of the sky” – plus a gym, basement bar and cinema room.