Paddington The Musical at the Savoy Theatre(2) Staff – Hi Rachel. Quoting from the official information, they say the show is “recommended for ages 6+. No admission for children under 3. Guests under 16 must be seated next to an accompanying adult” and “the production contains themes including loneliness, homesickness, peril, and threat of violence to animals”.
Skate! – Christmas ice rink at Somerset House(4) Staff – Hi Sonja. They’ll have The Chalet by Jimmy Garcia, which is like an Alpine-style restaurant, and some wooden food huts selling hots dogs, mulled wine and Christmas treats like that. But the only other one they’re advertising this year is a pop-up store called Shelter Boutique, which will be selling pre-loved vintage, designer and high-street clothing.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall(2) Staff – Hi Patti. It looks like they’ve already sold out of normal tickets. You can only book a package with Fine Dining included (£315) or with the VIP Lounge (£275) – tickets.royalalberthall.com/production/99229
Old Operating Theatre(4) Noillirk – The detail that the last entry is 45 minutes before closing is worth planning around, since a 45-minute visit doesn’t leave much slack if you arrive late in the afternoon. The herb garret’s apothecary jars sound like the kind of thing that rewards a slow look rather than a quick pass.
Candlelight Tribute to Leonard Cohen at Southwark Cathedral(2) Staff – HI Anna. It’s just instrumentals played by a string quartet – the City String Ensemble
Christmas at Kew – Illuminated Light Trail & Festive Fairground Rides(2) Staff – Hi Helen. Quoting from Kew’s own FAQs: ’Christmas at Kew is presented in the natural landscape, and while the route is on pathways, the terrain can vary in different areas of the Gardens. Whilst every effort is made to make the trail fully accessible, by its very nature it will cover some difficult terrain with a number of varying gradients. These areas may be challenging during wet weather… The trail is 3km long and can take more than 2 hours to walk around… Wheelchairs are available to borrow on a first come first served basis, these cannot be reserved.’ – You can read the full information at kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/christmas/everything-you-need-to-know
Window shopping self-guided walk(2) Craig – Hi Richard. That’s always a good area to take a tourist, walking them down Regent Street down to Piccadilly Circus, then maybe cutting through Leicester Square to Covent Garden. Lots of impressive places to show them
Wicked – The untold story of The Wizard of Oz witches(2) T Wilson – We treated our granddaughters to their first West End experience because they enjoyed the films so much (the modern ones I hasten to add – they are bit too young for the Judy Garland version!) and they loved it. We had such a wonderful evening in London, thank you! 👏 👍
Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap at St. Martin’s Theatre(3) Amit – We’ve been meaning to watch this show for a long time so I finally treated my wife to a weekend in London to celebrate our 40th anniversary, and I am happy to say she thoroughly enjoyed it
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera(3) Vince – I’ve never seen it before but our friends recommended it and they were right to – an epic show, great songs, fantastic sets. The whole night was great. Go and see it!
Mamma Mia! – ABBA’s smash-hit West End musical(3) Margaret – We have seen Les Mis, Phantom, Wicked, The Lion King, Jersey Boys, and we agree that the only show that came anywhere close to this was the Buddy Holly Story many years ago. We absolutely loved it and we are not even abba fans! We are already planning another fantastic weekend in London to see it again
Saturday afternoon stand-up at the JK Comedy Club(2) Staff – Hi CM. The doors open at 3:30 and the show is from 4 to 5:30
Noel Coward’s Hay Fever at Wyndham’s Theatre – with Richard E Grant(2) Staff – Hi Paul. There is some innuendo and very mild language (words like damn) but to our knowledge nothing worse than that. The only warning that they give themselves is for flashing lights and smoking on stage
Disney’s The Lion King Musical (with songs by Elton John)(4) Paula – The best show I have ever seen 👏 It was absolutely awesome and you will love it. I have seen it three times 😆
Notting Hill Carnival – Europe’s biggest street party(2) Staff – Hi BS. Family Day best describes all the family-friendly activities on offer. There will be lots of kids performing in the parade as well. It’s not quite as loud and lively as Monday, but the crowd size will still be huge. There could be up to ½ million on Sunday, compared to 1 million on Monday
One New Change(6) Tprice – I have enjoyed this view many times but they have erected some glass walls which I fervently hope they will remove. I can’t imagine for a single second that anyone actually fell over the edge 👎
Banqueting House(6) Johnt – I re-visited Banqueting House after its recent refurbishment and I am glad to report that the painting is still as stunning as ever 👍 . I did however struggle with the new way they present the information, but after talking to one of their helpful guides we did eventually get it working
Sambourne House(2) Abundock – Quite wonderful 🙂 We purchased a joint ticket with Leighton House which they offered us when we arrived at Sambourne House, which we were previously unaware of, and to see two such wonderful houses in one day was a treat 👍
Princess Diana Memorial Fountain(8) Pd – The statue that Prince William and Harry commissioned for the Sunken Garden is a much more fitting tribute to Diana because she actually lived at the palace. I certainly don’t mind this, but I struggle to see how it connects with her
Top 10 museums(1) Jan – The Natural History Museum is a nice day out for children but I wouldn’t have it at number one. The Wallace Collection should definitely be in the top five, and maybe even in the top three behind the British Museum and Victoria & Albert
St. Katharine Docks(4) Tomg – We only discovered this area a month ago completely by chance during our walk along the river, and it has now become an enjoyable part of our walk 👍
Sunday service at the Tower of London(3) Gfield – There is incredible history here, and it feels such a privilege to hear the beautiful music being sung inside so historic a place. I literally had goosebumps and would recommend it to everyone who visit the Tower of London
