The World in London

This is a BAFTA winning short animation made for the BBC's Learning Zone by Mosaic Films called Seeking Refuge.  It's one of the most moving little films I've seen.  

Lots of people come to London as refugees, and have done throughout history.  One of the chapters in our book The Bumper Book of London is about the ethnic diversity of our great city.  Londoners speak more than 300 different languages, more than in any other city in the world.  

There is a mosque on Brick Lane that encapsulates the story of London immigration.  It began life as La Neuve Eglise, a Hugenot Chapel, in 1742.  By 1809 it was known as the Jew's Chapel, and given the task of promoting Christianity to the Jewish immigrants who arrived after fleeing the Russian pogroms.  By 1898, it had become the Spitalfields Great Synagogue.  Finally, in 1976, it became (and remains) the Brick Lane Jamme Masjid Mosque.  Worth putting on your list of London places to explore.

Love is in the air

We have gathered our favourite ideas to inspire you for a Romantic Valentine's Day, assuming of course that you can squeeze out some moments without the children.  Leave home early for a secret breakfast, have a lunchtime assignation, or a mid afternoon escape.  Believe us, Valentine's Dinner is so not the way to do it...

 

Meet for tea and delicious cakes at London's oldest and finest patisserie Maison Bertaux at 28 Greek Street in Soho.

Take a Thames Clipper on a moonlit boat trip along the river.

With the sound of Bow Bells to accompany you, take the glass lift to the roof terrace of  One New Change on Cheapside for one the most breathtaking free views of London.   

Baby it's cold outside, but it is never too cold to eat the delicious artisan ice cream at Bocca de Lupo's Gelupo on Archer Street in Soho.  

Arrange a lunchtime rendez-vous underneath Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square and get close up to the glamorous Man Ray photographic portraits of the stars of the twentieth century at the National Portrait Gallery.

Escape early and meet for breakfast at the Rose Bakery in the cool Dover Street Market, Piccadilly.

Take the overground out to Richmond and walk along the river to Petersham Meadows and the delectable Petersham Nurseries Teahouse for a slice of cake or a bowl of warm soup.

Eat chocolate at London's finest Chocolatier, Paul A Young, in Camden Passage, Islington.

Watch an old movie for free at the BFI Mediatheque on the South Bank. Stroll along the lamplit embankment afterwards, like that scene in Four Weddings and a Funeral, but hopefully more articulate.  

Meet at our favourite deli cafe, Verde and Co in the heart of eighteenth century Spitalfields on Brushfield Street.  

But if you can't get away, just watch this clip from Cinema Paradiso to get you in the mood.  Happy Valentine's Day.

Happy Chinese New Year

10 ways to get a breath of fresh air this half term

1. Run along the South Bank and join in the free fun at the annual Imagine Children's Festival. Things you can do include: writing and performing your very own three minute story, painting a back drop for a real live show, listening to some stories from authors Frank Cotterel Boyce and Michael Rosen, making a din at the Big Bash with Colin Currie or playing poetry hopscotch. The Imagine Festival runs from 11 February - 24th February 2013.

2. Send a message in a bottle to the other side of the world from the beach at Mersea Island in the Blackwater Estuary, Essex.  Collect shells to make a delicate necklace, build a sandcastle and peer through your binoculars to identify swooping sea birds. Take the ferry across the water to Brightlingsea for some crispy fish and chips.  Or eat Oysters at one of the charming oyster shacks along the coast.




3. Discover the story of ice cream in London and follow the towpath of the Regent's Canal from the Canal Museum at King's Cross all the way to Camden Market. Make some lemon ice from the recipe on page 180 in London Adventure Walks when you get home.




4. Hire a pair of binoculars at Rainham Marshes visitor centre and see what birds have gathered over winter to feed and keep warm on this ancient marshland. Only a short skip and a jump from the noisy, hustle and bustle of central London, you can still see Canary Wharf on the horizon, but the air here is only punctuated by birdsong. 

 5. Book your place at The Glasshouse at RHS Garden Wisley and be awed by the exotic butterflies as they feed on plant nectar and engage in romantic flights of courtship.

6.  Get your hands mucky down at one of London's City Farms and get a taste of the country without even leaving town. Hackney City Farm, Mudchute Farm, Hounslow Urban Farm, Freightliners Farm, Crystal Palace Park Farm, Kentish Town City Farm, Stepney City Farm, Surrey Docks Farm, Vauxhall City Farm, Spitalfields City Farm and Belmont Children's Farm. 

7. Go on a scavenger hunt in one of London's Royal parks. Look for: a pigeon's feather, a seed, a pine cone, nuts and berries (don't eat these!), a bird's footprint, a bird's nest, a bird's song, an animal track, a duck and a mushroom or toadstool. 

8. Play Pooh Sticks in the Enchanted Ashdown Forest in East Sussex,  just like Winnie the Pooh and his friends. Gather pine cones and build Eeyore's house, sing some Poohish style songs and eat some delicious honey sandwiches. 


9. Fly over the Thames and grab some great views from in London's newest attraction: the Emirates Cable Car which straddles the river between Greenwich and the Royal Docks. 





10. Take the train to Sydenham Hill and play follow the leader through one of London's wildest ancient woodlands,  Dulwich and Sydenham Hill Woods. Build a shelter, set a trail and lay an ambush. 

Detailed walks can be found in our books, Adventure Walks for Families in and around London and London Adventure Walks. 

Fancy a Cuppa?

Buy yourself a celebratory cup of tea at one of the thirteen surviving London Cabmen's Shelters - it's their 138th anniversary this February. They were set up in 1875 by newspaper publisher Sir George Armstrong to provide welcome refreshment at a time when London's cabbies rode on top of their horse drawn taxis, exposed to the elements whatever the weather. The shelters were set up on the highway to give cabbies a chance to get something hot to eat and drink without leaving their cabs.  Cabbies' mugs were for them kept at the shelter and looked after by 'shelter boys'. 

If you don't know what to look for, they are the green glorified sheds dotted round some of London's streets, often with lines of taxis outside. They are quite small - the size of a horse and cart - but squeezed inside is a kitchen, books, newspapers and tables and chairs for about ten cabbies.  

There are only thirteen left in London: Chelsea Embankment; Embankment Place; Grosvenor Gardens; Hanover Square; Kensington Park Road; Kensington Road; Pont Street; Russell Square; St George’s Square, Pimlico; Temple Place; Thurloe Place, Kensington (in the middle of the road opposite the Victoria & Albert Museum); Warwick Avenue; and Wellington Place, St John’s Wood.

Irish Charm

This is one of most charming little films we've come across.  A cross between animation and documentary, it is an absolute delight to see.  Enjoy.