EMILY NORRIS
“As a mother of three young boys, we rarely have a weekend that isn’t full of sports fixtures, but in the summer we have more opportunity to visit London. We can conveniently now jump on the Elizabeth Line and be in our great city in minutes. The boys love a trip to the National History Museum followed by a stroll through Hyde Park - watching the various gatherings, games of volleyball and lots more. We often end up eating somewhere offering Teppanyaki as the boys love the show and Japanese food. We also love long walks in Essex national parks.”
Emily Norris, Social Media Star
“This month’s Hotlister is social media phenomenon Emily Norris ( ex Halpernite!). With a global digital reach of over 2 million, Emily shares viral hacks and organisational content designed to create a more harmonious life for any family. Most recently, she launched her successful YouTube series ‘Hack your Home’ which sees Emily clean and re-organise the homes of those in need of a helping hand. Emily will be an official guest speaker at this year's The Clean and Tidy Home show.”
Jenny Halpern Prince
Food & Drink: 310 Portobello
Ok so RUN don’t walk to this one - 310 Portobello is this summer's hottest pop up in London and it’s a mash up of two phenomenal food spots who have come together to create this gastronomical delight. The Pelican and Straker's have taken over the site on Portobello Road that was Pizza East for a pop-up. With a short but delectable menu on offer, we can choose from dishes such as fritto misto and aubergine parmigiana together with the fabulous Straker’s flatbreads that forever have diners raving. Head Chef Thomas will be taking the same infamous flatbreads to his new restaurant in Arcade Battersea which we told you about last month. The new flavours on offer are; Tomato, oregano, olive oil, Girolles, garlic, parsley, lemon and Lobster, fennel, chilli, butter. Yum. As for drinks, it’s another concise but expert list of wines along with frozen margaritas, palomas and Aperol spritzes. 310 Portobello is open for three months over the summer, following which the space will be refurbished to turn it back into a pub which is what the site was around 13 years ago for anyone that remembers The Fat Badger?
Festival: GDIF
Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF) is London’s leading festival of free outdoor theatre and performing arts and, in the words of The Guardian, makes an “unrivalled contribution to the happiness of the people of London”. GDIF is committed to breaking new ground in outdoor performance and raising the ambition, quality and diversity of outdoor work produced in the UK. GDIF forms part of the Royal Greenwich Festivals, an annual series of high-quality events organised by the Royal Borough of Greenwich to celebrate cultural vibrancy. Free for everyone to enjoy, it is only typically, a handful of performances are partially ticketed each year because of capacity constraints. So, what to expect from GDIF 2023? Here is a small insight into some of the magic things you can expect to see when it all kicks off this month: Watch in awe as aerial acrobats take to the sky above General Gordon Square for Open Lines, including the crossing of a world renowned tight-rope walker alongside live music. Bring the family to Greenwich Fair for a day filled with street art, performances, circus and games in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, Cutty Sark Gardens and Greenwich Park. Enjoy a sensory spectacle at Cygnus where a regatta of 12 life-size swans perform a ballet on the surface of the Royal Victoria Dock. Reflect on the natural world during Rozeo, a poetic living installation of performers swaying above the river Thames on 10m (33ft) high poles. Go on a theatrical journey through South-East London aboard an iconic red bus at The Architect, a show that celebrates Black Lives or venture to Canary Wharf for Dancing City as the area's spaces and waterfronts are bought to life in the form of dance performances. Check out the website for the full programme but there is so much to see and do.
Music: South Facing Festival
South Facing Festival is a month-long series of open-air concerts taking place this summer at Crystal Palace Park. Placed within the breath-taking location of a natural amphitheatre facing lake, South Facing is a truly innovative concert space with its stage ‘floating’ on the lake amongst the lush backdrop of one of London’s best parks. This truly unique setting will help to create moments to remember for all in attendance as fans will be able to witness some of their most loved artists in a venue space unlike anything they have experienced before. The line up for August is pretty impressive with Primal Scream, Rudimental, Sister Sledge, James & Happy Mondays, First Aid Kit and finishing off with Craig David. Tickets are priced from £40 which for a day festival is pretty good and so worth it for the venue and atmosphere alone. Food and Drink is all provided on site so pack your face glitter and head down for the best day out with some incredible music.
Tour: Hidden London
Imagine going behind the scenes at some of London’s busiest stations, as expert guides reveal the extraordinary infrastructure and feats of engineering usually hidden away below your feet. Discover something completely new as you venture into ‘forgotten’ historical Underground stations which are usually closed to the public. Step into a time capsule of historic posters, signage and vintage tiles in a long-disused tunnel, or stand where history was made during the Second World War. You’ll learn about the people who shaped London’s transport network, as knowledgeable guides use research from London Transport Museum’s collection to share incredible stories. Hidden London is a brand new tour series taking us into the depths of secret tunnels under the city where we can explore things like the Jubilee line platforms at Charing Cross which are now synonymous with movies and TV. You can discover the station’s history and find out how it became to be used as a filming location for popular TV shows such as Killing Eve as well as blockbuster films like the Bond hit Skyfall. Or head down to Down Street station, located in Mayfair between Hyde Park Corner and Green Park stations. Down Street had a short life as a working station from 1907 to 1932 but became critical to winning the Second World War when covertly transformed into the Railway Executive Committee’s bomb-proof headquarters. Experience the warren of narrow tunnels where the nation’s railways were coordinated, and where Prime Minister Winston Churchill secretly took refuge at the height of the Blitz. Fascinating and just so special to be able to witness so much hidden history right beneath our feet.
Kids: Perform in the Park
Perform in the Park is London's first ever festival of children's theatre. With a 500 seat indoor air-conditioned theatre in Coram's Fields, Bloomsbury, there are live performances all day every day from now until 28th August. There are four fantastic children's shows to see plus wood-fired pizzas, ice-creams and the playgrounds, sandpits and the paddling pool of Coram's Fields so you can make a day of it. For ages 2-7, hold on to your horns and join the three billy goats on their wild and wacky adventure, as they bravely cross the rickety bridge to greener pastures. For 3-8 year olds, join Elephant & Piggie from Mo Willems' best-selling children's books, as they take to the stage in a rollicking adventure that is perfect for young audiences. 4 to 11 year olds can set sail for a swishy-swashbuckling musical adventure packed with calypso-infused songs, salsa-inspired dancing and laugh-out-loud humour with Mermaids & Pirates. And lastly, 7 - 14 year olds can settle down with media moguls, popstars and YouTubers, in a Shakespeare's classic, A Midsummer Night's Dream, rebooted for a new generation. In addition to these 4 stellar performances there is also an ‘Evenings in the Park’ interview series happening which is a set of shows geared towards teens and young people featuring some of their favourite household names. Curated by Julian Bird OBE and hosted by Riyadh Khalaf, the show might include a Q&A, perhaps a book reading, maybe a few songs and definitely a whole lot of fun. A 90-minute intimate get-to-know-you session geared at inspiring the younger generation. Guests set to appear include Tomasz Schafernaker, Ore Oduba, Jason Manford, Dr Alex George and Naomi Wilkinson. Get your tickets here.
Exhibition: Paul McCartney Photographs
An unprecedented exhibition, revealing – for the first time – extraordinary photographs taken by Paul McCartney. In this new show at the newly reopened National Portrait Gallery, the focus is on portraits captured by McCartney, using his own camera, between December 1963 and February 1964 – a time when The Beatles were catapulted from a British sensation to a global phenomenon. These never-before-seen images offer a uniquely personal perspective on what it was like to be a ‘Beatle’ at the start of ‘Beatlemania’ – and adjusting from playing gigs on UK stages, to performing to 73 million Americans on The Ed Sullivan Show. At a time when so many camera lenses were on the band, Paul McCartney’s photographs offer a crucial new perspective on the story of a band creating cultural history – in one of its most exciting chapters. Available to view until October, the exhibition costs from £22 to see a slice of history.
Event: Walthamstow on Sea
If you’re struggling to find the time or the inclination to pack up the car and escape London to get to the seaside then fear not because it’s coming to you. (Although this weather could do with bucking up its ideas). Walthamstow is becoming ‘Walthamstow-on-Sea’ until September as Big Penny Social is transforming its terrace into a British seaside resort. Kitted out with deckchairs, sand pits and private beach huts, the pop-up beach is open all week for Londoners to soak up the sun with classic fish & chips, soft-serve ice cream, draught beers and frozen cocktails. There is also a programme of family-friendly entertainment during the day and live DJs in the evening to keep all age groups entertained. Ok so it’s not quite the Costa Del Sol or a Bali beachscape but you can head home with minimal sunburn but all the joys of a day out with pals and the sand.
Immersive Experience: Studio Dreamachine
Dreamachine is an immersive experience developed by an interdisciplinary team of artists, composers, technologists, scientists and philosophers, located in Hackney. Conjured by a choreography of light and music, a colourful world will unfold behind your closed eyes, created by the power of your brain and completely unique to you. Say what?! We are invited to sit back, close our eyes and join them on an extraordinary journey into the potential of our minds. You might see patterns and shapes, cities and landscapes, or abstract waves of shifting colours. It might feel like a rollercoaster ride, a journey through time and space, or you might even drift into sleep. Only you will know. This is too intriguing to miss. The High Sensory experience combines flickering white lights - known as strobe lighting - with a bespoke score, to create a deeply personal and immersive experience. For many, the choreography of lights and music conjures colourful patterns and visuals behind closed eyes. The experience is created by your own brain and completely unique to you. Alternatively the Deep Listening experience is an audio experience designed to be enjoyed in the dark and is considered suitable for autistic people and those with epilepsy, a learning disability, or a sensitivity to strobe lighting or high sensory environments. At £15 a session it’s definitely worth a visit and Studio Dreamachine is open until September so book your ticket via the website today.
Charity of the Month: UN World Youth Day
International Youth Day is commemorated every year on 12 August, bringing youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrating the potential of youth as partners in today’s global society. This year’s theme is ‘Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World’. The shift towards an environmentally sustainable and climate-friendly world is critical not only for responding to the global climate crisis but also for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. A successful transition towards a greener world will depend on the development of green skills in the population. Green skills are “knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society”. These include technical knowledge and skills that enable the effective use of green technologies and processes in occupational settings, as well as transversal skills that draw on a range of knowledge, values and attitudes to facilitate environmentally sustainable decisions in work and in life. While green skills are relevant for people of all ages, they have heightened importance for younger people, who can contribute to the green transition for a longer period of time. To take part in the conversation, the youth-led takeover kicks off across all their social channels on 1st August, where you can follow along at @UNYouthEnvoy on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. You can celebrate and amplify the amazing work young people are doing all around the world by re-sharing the content, creating your own #YouthLead content and sharing some of the key messages.
App of the month: Love Clean Streets
Are you fed up of seeing mess and damage on your local streets and unsure what to do about it? Love Clean Streets is the UK's leading and most used environmental reporting service. Their leading app enables you to report environmental issues, such as fly-tipping, dog mess or potholes, quickly and directly to your local authority in a four step process, for free: 1) See a problem, 2) Open the Love Clean Streets app, 3) Take a picture, your location is automatically detected and displays the authorities colours if they’re in the Love Clean Streets Family, 4) Enter some basic information and post the report – in seconds! Your report is then sent directly to the relevant authority to deal with. You will be kept informed of the progress of your report via the app and email. By reporting an issue, you will make your street a cleaner, happier place to live and the council are able to save time and money. Love Clean Streets is the only app recommended and supported by Keep Britain Tidy and we should all be doing our bit to keep London and the rest of the country as clean and tidy as possible!