RAHUL JANDIAL
“Recently I’ve been thinking about how humans have evolved with the capacity both to create and also to stand in awe of others’ creative works. I have the good fortune to indulge my curiosity in the neuroscience behind this duality in two great cities, Los Angeles and London. I’ll be taking a private tour at the Tate Modern, which allows me to ask questions about how some art stirs us and creates the experience of wonder. In Los Angeles, I’m collaborating with the Los Angeles Ballet, giving me the opportunity to attend rehearsals. Seeing the ballet's creativity in movement is something that captivates me as a surgeon. I love Los Angeles. And I love London. In April, I will have the joy and thrill of having adventures in both in a single month; I'll be driving the labyrinth freeways of LA and walking the hallowed streets of London. In both cities, I'll be reveling in the creativity we all share.“
Rahul Jandial, Surgeon & Neuroscientist
Restaurant: CARMEL
Carmel is an Eastern Mediterranean restaurant in Queens Park from the team behind Berber & Q. its hugely popular and now chefs Josh Katz and Jeremy Borrow, Katz’s brother Paul and sommelier Mattia Bianchi are opening a second branch in Fitzrovia this month. The larger 95-seater beast will be in Market Place just off Oxford Street with a huge open kitchen overlooking scattered tables, banquettes and counter seats. Borrow’s modern menu includes dishes such as monkfish crudo with sheep’s yoghurt & tomato; lamb tartare served with fluffy challah and sprinkled with za’atar; whole sea bream cooked with a spicy Calabrian hot honey & tangy lemon butter; grilled hanger steak çis with charred onion & sour cherry molasses, and more. Every day there will be fresh pasta for seafood parpadelle and more. The wine list features over 150 wines from across the globe and there’s a cocktail bar to boot.
Drinks: Three Sheets, Soho
Three Sheets already has a very popular bar in Dalston and now they are bringing their magic to the streets of Soho. Run by Max and Noel Venning, the bar will be on Manette Street, part of Soho that's seen a huge amount of change over the last year thanks to the Elizabeth Line opening. The all day affair (because we’d all like a mid morning cocktail) also offers up coffee and pastries. The cocktail list includes all the classics such as the French 75 - Gin - Clarified Lemon - Moscato - Orange Flower - Verjus - Carbonated, a Mango Ice Tea - Pickled Mango - Cloud & Lapsang Teas - Rum or a Scottish Coffee - Buttered Scotch - Salted Coffee - Shortbread Cream. The food menu has been put together by ex-Lyle’s chef and butcher William Blank and includes salt beef sandwiches, croquettes, triple-cooked chips and fresh oysters. Come summer the fun will spill out onto the street with some space outside for alfresco drinks. A wonderful new addition to Soho.
Theatre: The Cherry Orchard
The Donmar Warehouse presents a new production of Anton Checkhov’s The Cherry Orchard starring Homeland’s Nina Hoss and Sherwood’s Adeel Akhtar. From the 26th of April this new production by has been adapted and directed by acclaimed, award-winning creator Benedict Andrews. The play revolves around an aristocratic Russian landowner who returns to her family estate (which includes a large and well-known cherry orchard) just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. Unresponsive to offers to save the estate, she allows its sale to the son of a former serf; the family leaves to the sound of the cherry orchard being cut down. The story presents themes of cultural futility – both the futile attempts of the aristocracy to maintain its status and of the bourgeoisie to find meaning in its new-found materialism. It dramatizes the socioeconomic forces in Russia at the turn of the 20th century, including the rise of the middle class after the abolition of serfdom in the mid-19th century and the decline of the power of the aristocracy. The Cherry Orchard is playing at the Donmar Warehouse from 26th April to 22 June 2024 and tickets are available from £15.
Art/Food: UnlocK
Unlock is a brand new pizza restaurant, cocktail bar and art collective space in Hackney Wick from two Napoli-born siblings who are making the whole thing as authentic as it gets. In the kitchen is Arianna Izzo who previously worked as a pastry chef at Tarallificio Leopoldo in Naples, and she's joined by her brother Giovanni. Obviously pizzas are the main event here, made from traditional 30-hour fermented dough, and split into classic and artisanal pizzas. The classics feature a Margherita DOP topped with Fior di latte, pacchetelle and fresh basil and the artisanal pizzas feature the following deliciousness- Truffle cream, mortadella DOP, burrata from Andria, hazelnut crumbs, and fresh basil; Gorgonzola lombardo, provola d'Agerola, Parmigiano Reggiano, crocchè, shaved truffle, black pepper, and rosemary and Aubergine cream with nduja calabrese, provola d'Agerola, fried basil and pacchetelle tomatoes. Incroyable. For anyone who doesn’t fancy pizza (What’s wrong with you firstly?) there are other dishes on the menu like meatballs with fries and cheddar sauce. In terms of cocktails there is a separate bar, seating around 18, with cocktails including a twist on the classic Aperol featuring white vermouth, honey and grapefruit juice. What makes the space extra special though is the rotating artwork from both Italian and local Hackney artists, with the featured artwork changing every two months. The interior decor is dedicated to the 60s and 70s and when summer comes we can enjoy all this from the terrace that overlooks the canal. Superb.
Music: In the Round Festival
In the Round Festival at the Roundhouse returns for its seventh year with an eclectic line up of emerging and established artists, with intimate performances set on the unique circular stage. Did you know the building is a Grade II* listed former railway engine shed, erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, a circular building containing a railway turntable, but was used for that purpose for only about a decade. After being used as a warehouse for a number of years, the building fell into disuse just before World War II. It was first made a listed building in 1954 and reopened after 25 years, in 1964, as a performing arts venue, when the playwright Arnold Wesker established the Centre 42 Theatre Company and adapted the building as a theatre. Steeped in fascinating history, it's an iconic venue for this returning and popular festival. This year we can discover unmissable shows from the likes of Tirzah, Vashti Bunyan and Lonnie Holley plus a very special tribute to Joni Mitchell for her 80th birthday featuring Emeli Sandé, Sam Amidon, Kate Stables (This Is The Kit) and hosted by Cerys Matthews.
Exhibition: The Garden Museum Spring Plant Fair
Every year at the Garden Museum Spring Plant Fair, expert plant growers and specialist nurseries from around the country come together to sell some of the best garden plants you’ll find in London. From shade specialists to plants for pollinators, we are invited to meet the growers and pick their brains on what will flourish in our gardens, balcony or allotment. Stalls at this year’s fair will include Great Dixter Nursery and Beth Chatto’s Plants & Gardens, providing a rare opportunity for Londoners to shop garden plants grown by these beloved and historic nurseries. The event programme is curated by Susanna Grant, garden designer and founder of Hackney-based shade specialist plant shop Hello There Linda. Highlights of the green fingered programme include a Willow Climber Making class where you can have a go at making your own willow plant climber to take home. Weaving is a calming, therapeutic and productive skill. At the Worm Compost Bins class you can learn how to use worms to turn your food waste into compost. Using recycled materials, you can create your own worm farm, to help break down food scraps into an amazing nutrient-dense soil enhancer for your garden. Lastly we’d recommend the talk on solitary bee’s to help you understand which plants to choose, the wide variety of pollinators, the importance of providing food and habitat for solitary bees and a basic solitary bee ID so you can spot any that come to your garden.
Celebrate: Vaisakhi FestivaL
Twenty million people worldwide celebrate Vaisakhi, a celebration of Sikh and Punjabi tradition, heritage, culture, and the birth of the Khalsa (modern day Sikhism). London hosts a Vaisakhi Festival each year which as many as 30,000 have attended in past years. The 2024 free festival takes place on Saturday 6th April in Trafalgar Square from midday to 6pm. The event hosts an exciting main stage line up, demonstrations of Gatka (martial arts), turban tying workshops, educational talks, community, and food stalls and a host of family friendly activities for all to enjoy. There will also be free light bites and Langar (Indian tea). This year’s event also marks the 40th anniversary of the 1984 genocide in India. Supported by the Vaisakhi Community Advisory Group, this festival offers a great opportunity to learn about Sikh heritage and history.
Charity of the Month: Earth Day Paint Workshop
Earth Day is an annual event on the 22nd of April to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held in 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally and includes 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. The official theme for 2024 is "Planet vs. Plastics.” and to mark the day why not head to Keats House on the 20th for a planet friendly, nature-influenced, paint workshop. Whether you’re a total beginner or a well-seasoned artist, this workshop is a perfect place to learn something new, get your creative juices flowing with a like-minded community, and to help spread an eco-message through the power of art! Guests are encouraged to bring your favourite Keats poem to the workshop for an extra creative twist. Everyone will use a paint card from Planet Friendly Paint, with paint made from recycled makeup, alongside nature- and poetry-themed materials and prompts, to inspire your artistic masterpiece. After the session, you can take home your paint card to continue practising your new skills.
App of the month: Memrise
Memrise is a British language platform and app that uses spaced repetition of flashcards to increase the rate of learning, combined with a GPT3-powered "AI Language partner" that allows learners to practice human-like conversations, which Memrise believes can help learners to overcome the "confidence gap" in language acquisition. The Memrise app has courses in 20 languages and its combinations, while the website for "community courses" has a great many more languages available, including minority and ancient languages. You can choose from hundreds of real-life scenarios related to your goals, build vocab by learning relevant words & phrases the locals actually use, practice listening to native speaker videos using what you’ve just learned and then build confidence speaking in private with your AI language tutor. Make 2024 the year you expand your horizons and learn a new language!