Remember, Remember the 5th of November

It's that time of year when autumn has truly taken hold: dark mornings and darker evenings; the beautiful blue of a sky with the Sun sitting ever lower. The russet and golden tones dominate the trees; leaves litter the streets; scarves are pulled from the depths of the wardrobe to shield us against that autumnal chill; and when I catch a glimpse of the Houses of Parliament I think "what if?"

Now whilst I'm not sure how I feel about burning Fawke's effigy on a bonfire, I do think it gives us a reason to stop, think about and admire the stunning architecture that surrounds us here in London. I for one am thankful that the plot was foiled. 

With this in mind, I've been having a little look to see where you can catch some fireworks this year and boy have you been spoilt. With offerings from Vauxhall and Crystal Palace, to name just a couple, there is plenty of choice (and if you fancy braving the cold, you can definitely catch more than one display).

In what seems to be a controversial decision, Lambeth Council has organised this years event to take place in Brockwell Park once again. Despite some concerns over transport links (or lack of) it's set to be a good-un. This years theme is 'The Four Seasons'; different zones will be located on the park to represent Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter and to top it off, the display itself has been created by the team behind the London Olympics fireworks!

Part of a two-week Fire Festival, Vauxhall Pleasure Garden will have a full evenings entertainment. Beginning with the lighting of the bonfire, you can expect gymnasts, artists and parkour dancers to provide an insight into the origins of fire. 

Hopping out of Lambeth, Battersea Park's popular display has a 'Shrieks and Skulls' themed night - what with it being so close to Halloween and all. Unlike other events organised by their respective Council, this is going to cost you and the sooner you book your tickets the better (£6.50 until 27th October and then the price increases). Under 10s go for free, but be aware that they still need a ticket!

Southwark Park's night kicks off at 5pm and throughout the evening you can expect to see fire and light performances as well as enjoy the family fun fair. Southwark, like Lambeth, have been able to host another Bonfire Night that is free - a good choice if you are saving those pennies for Christmas!

Perhaps the most family-friendly of all the offerings however, is Crystal Palace Park. With not one, but two displays, you may feel happier about having your little one out after dark. Whilst the main display is set to music and is full of the loudest fireworks you could imagine, the children's display will be using those that are quieter and more colourful. 

You can see all the events below, with as much detail as is humanly possible! So take a look and let us know which event takes your fancy. Perhaps you've heard of another event that pips these? Don't be shy, sharing is caring and we'd love to hear what you're thinking of doing or not doing as the case may be!

It's also important to remember that safety is paramount on Bonfire Night. Keeping you safe are the good people @BonfireSafety; a beautifully designed, as well as informative, document has been filled with some little known facts, with some handy 'dos & don'ts' to keep you safe. Be sure to check it out here.

**If you are interested in going a little further afield then take a look at the spreadsheet created by IanVisits, he has gone the extra mile and collated all the information for you**

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Battersea Park

DATE: Saturday 2nd November

GATES: 18.00

BONFIRE: 19.30

DISPLAY: 20.00

PRICE: £6.50 until Sunday 27th Oct // £8 from Monday 28th October - Friday 1st November // £10 Saturday 2nd November before 6pm (buy tickets online), Children under 10 years go free, but still need a ticket.

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Brockwell Park

Dulwich Road

London

SE24 0NG

DATE: Tuesday 5th November

GATES: 17.00

PRICE: Absolutely free

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Crystal Palace Park

Thicket Road

London

SE20 8DT

DATE: Tuesday 5th November

GATES: 18.00

CHILDREN'S DISPLAY: 19.00

MAIN DISPLAY: 20.30

PRICE: £6 Adults // £4 Children (3-10yrs) // Children under 3 years go free.

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Southwark Park

Gomm Road

SE16

DATE: Tuesday 5th November

GATES: 17.00

DISPLAY: 19.00

CLOSE: 20.30

PRICE: Absolutely free!

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Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens

SE11 5HY

DATE: Friday 1st November

GATES: 18.30

BONFIRE: 19.00

STORY: 19.00

DISPLAY: 20.00

PRICE: Absolutely free!

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Lambeth - What's on for the family - January 5th-6th 2013

Happy New Year! Hope the first few days of this new year have been good. I'm back to work next week after a long maternity leave! Scary stuff.

However, lets see what we can do at the weekend:

SATURDAY (5th January)

Staying local, let the kids learn a bit about nature at the Brockwell Park Community greenhouses with the Saturday Morning Nature Explorers. Aimed at 7 to 12 year old, it runs from 10am to 12pm and cost £2  a child.

The Brockwell Park Greenhouses are located not far from the cafe on the top of the hill in Brockwell Park. Buses to the main park entrance at Herne Hill include  3, 196, 322, 68 and 37. You can also catch the overground to Herne Hill.

If you don't mind a little bit of a journey, head to the Victoria and Albert Museum for another chance to see performances from the Nutcracker.  It can be viewed in the lecture theatre at 11am, 1pm or 3pm.

The number 345 bus will take you to South Kensington; alternatively take the train or tube to Victoria and catch the District Line.

SUNDAY (6th January) 

 

Take a trip to the West End and make a collage mask at the Photographer's Gallery. The family workshop runs from 2pm to 5pm.

The gallery is located at 16 – 18 Ramillies Street, W1F 7LW, near Oxford Circus. Buses to the area include the 88, 137, 159 and 3.

Heading to London's East End, visit the Geoffrye Museum and join in the farewell to Christmas festivities including making Epiphany puppets. The workshop runs from 1:30 to 3:30pm.

Hop on the number 35 bus to Shoreditch. The museum is a five minute walk from there.

And finally, celebrate Twelfth Night outside Shakespeare's Globe, when the Holly man (the winter guise of the Green man) arrives on a boat up the Thames and toasts the people, the river and the Globe. The Bankside Mummers then perform a play. Head to the front of the globe for 2:45pm.

The Holly man arrives!

To get to Bankside on bus, the 45 which passes through Brixton stops at Blackfriars Bridge Road. Alternatively, there is always the tube to Southwark.

Enjoy taking the decorations down and have a lovely weekend!

Lambeth - What's on for the family - October 20th-21st 2012

Right, it really has got cold. I'm still searching for some kind of mitten option for the Boo-boo whilst spending my spare time in TK Maxx trying on winter coats!

Boo-boo gets to try on hats!

 Forecast for the weekend so far - Saturday is cloudy, Sunday is cloudy!!

So lets see what's on offer in the local area!

SATURDAY (20th October)

It's harvest time and places are celebrating by holding harvest events and apple days. Ruskin Park will be holding a tree planting day on the site of the Old Bowling Green. From 11am to 3pm, there will be a chance to hear live music from Dulwich Ukelele Club, plus face painting, arts and crafts and Apple Day activities to keep the little ones entertained!

Ruskin Park is located at Denmark Hill, SE5 8E. Buses in the area are 35, 42, 45, 68, 345 and 468.

Looking for more harvest time festivities? Then in the late afternoon, head to Landor Road to the Edible Bus Stop between 5pm to 7pm to celebrate their harvest festival. They ask that you bring food to share and good vibes! Landor Road is on the 322 bus route.

For something completely different, head to Cathedral Square for the RNIB Literary Wonderland. Based on Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland, it is a multi-sensory experiences set  in five magical realms, including the Mad Hatter's Story Corner and The Forest of Talking Mushrooms.

The event is from the 18th to the 20th October, 9 to 6pm at Cathedral Square, Hibernia Wharf, London Bridge, London SE1 9DA. Buses 133 and 35 head up that way.

SUNDAY (21st October)

The harvest festivals and apple days continue into Sunday! Hop on the 133 or 35 and head up to Borough Market (by London Bridge) to celebrate the apple harvest. From 12pm to 4pm learn from the market traders about the different types of apples and have a taste of the various flavours.

Loving the celebration of apples?  Then pop along the way from Borough market to the Globe Theatre where there is an Autumn harvest celebration called October Plenty which mixes ancient seasonal customs and theatre with contemporary festivity. There is a Corn Queen and a Berry Man (Autumn's Green Man) who will be part of a play performed outside the globe. There is an apple orchard created for children to decorate the trees and listen to stories. Events start at 12pm.

Want to do a bit more learning? Then Morley College (located on 61 Westminster Bridge Road in Waterloo on the 59 bus route) has a day of Family fun learning. From 11am to 4pm families can decorate cupcakes, make fruit kebabs, listen to storytelling, learn circus skills, pot a plant and many other things. Plenty to do here!

To enrol on the workshop you need to get there from 10:30am to register for the things you'd like to attend. A donation of £1 is suggested. For information, telephone 020 7450 1929.

And down the road from the college, head to Funharmonics at the Southbank Centre for some more educational fun! Between 10am to 2:30pm in the foyers at the Royal Festival Hall, have go at playing a musical instrument or join the family Orchestra workshops. The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall will be hosting a free ceilidh  at 1pm. Travel here on the 59!

So that's lots of apples and learning fun to be had! Drop us a line if there are any events in your area you would like listed! Have a good weekend!

Taking Baby for a swim. Part 3: Camberwell Leisure Centre

We haven't been swimming for the last couple of weeks due to Boo-boo having a cold and us testing out the soft play areas. However the cold seems to be clearing up and so we decided to pop to the Camberwell Leisure Centre. to check out their recently refurbished Victorian swimming pool.

Unlike our last swim visit (to the Clapham Leisure Centre) this pool has a whole wet change area dedicated to families and disabled people. There is a place to leave the buggy, big lockers and mixed size cubicles for big and little families. And it was all very clean!

Admittedly I'm still struggling to get everything done swiftly when it comes to getting the baby in and out of the pool. However I had taken a tip from Amelia's Mum blog and had my swim suit on underneath my clothes which made life a little easier.

All ready and changed, we both pranced off to the leaner pool. And what a great space it is! The pool has several longs steps going down into the pool which is similar to the Brixton Recreation Centre pool but much smaller. It seems to me that when a new swimming pool is built, there is a rule to make them smaller than they were. Am I imagining this?

There were a couple of other people in the water with their children so it really wasn't over busy though I imagine it could get a little crowed if we were all on the steps with the babies and toddlers!

After the water fun, we got out and tested the showers. Amazingly, these have some form of temperature control. Now admittedly I was a little wary of getting the tempretature right but me and the little one managed to get the water luke warm and have a shower even if we didn't get to use the shampoo because I had put it away safely and it really wasn't accessible!

When I was getting dressed, I could put the baby in the buggy which gave me peace of mind that she was in a safe space rather than on the floor finding someone's old plaster (not that this has happened!).

So to sum up, a very good experience. Pretty good changing facilities, Fab pool. Nice interior and feel to the place. And a cafe on the way out! Please do visit the place!

Camberwell Leisure Centre Information

 

Camberwell Leisure Centre is located at Artichoke Place, off Camberwell Church Street  SE5 8TS

At the leisure centre, adults (non-members)  pay £4 (off peak) or £4.30 (peak) per swim and babies (under 3) are free otherwise £1.50. Family Swim (2 adults /2 children) is £8.80. The centre can be contacted on 0844 893 3888

The opening times of the learner pool (public swim) are:

Monday       9:00 to 10:30 and 12:00 to 1:30pm
Tuesday       9:00 to 10:00 and 12:00 to 1:30pm
Wednesday  12:00 to 1:30pm and 1:30 to 3:00pm
Thursday     12:00 to 1:30pm
Friday          12:00 to 1:30pm and 3:00 to 4:00pm
Saturday     1:00 to 3:00pm
Sunday        11:00 to 3:00pm

It's always worth phoning the pool to check it's open or that there hasn't been a change to the timetable.

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Want to know more about swimming with babies in the Lambeth area and beyond? Read the following:

• our review of Latchmere Leisure Centre
• our review of Brixton Recreation Centre 
• our review of Clapham Leisure Centre
• our review of Crystal Palace National Sports Centre 

 

Lambeth - What's on for the family - September 1st -2nd 2012

Another week, another weekend. Hope you all had a good bank holiday. We popped along to the Leonard Street party and then wandered along to Spitalfields City Farm where the baby proceeded to sleep whilst we enjoyed viewing the animals. The joys of sharing stuff with the children!

So what’s on this weekend? Well, unlike last weekend we have some good local bits and pieces. Southwark has its Elephant and Nun festival which celebrates community from the Elephant and Castle through to Nunhead. We have listed a couple of events which are fairly local to Lambeth with the usual details of bus routes.

SATURDAY 1st September

Performing at Camberwell Green on Saturday at 12:30pm  and 2:30pm will be one of Barcelona's finest street clowns, Leandre. Buses 35, 45, 36 and 345 all run past the green.

Just down the road in Burgess Park,  Circumloqui present Ne Ne Titere Pas, a mixture of mayhem and theatrics presented by a puppet and a musician on top of one of those three-wheeler french little vans. Press the link and watch the clip - it looks like good fun entertainment for little and big kids! Head towards Chumleigh gardens within the park. Showtimes are at 1pm and 3:30 pm. Buses to the Camberwell Road side of the park are the 35 and 45.

If you want a bit more of an outing, then attend the  Peckham Rye Fete on the common from 12pm to 5pm. They have a dog show!! Borrow a pooch and enter him! They have a tea tent! Nom cake! They have Punch and Judy show and a Pimms tent! Sit the kids in front of the puppets and leisurely sip a glass of Pimms. An entertaining afternoon has been conjured up on the common so pop along. The number 37 will take you there!

If you are down that way don’t forget to check out the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre in East Dulwich off Lordship Lane. We mentioned it in an older blog post and then visited the other week. The baby had a go at pressing some buttons and although the exhibition is little, it was very enjoyable – definitely a family winner!

So that’s a good choice of local events happening. However for those who like a good long bus ride adventure, up in Kings Cross (at the end of the 59 route) they are having an ice cream festival. Now as a kid I loved ice cream, so free ice cream is always something I find exciting. This event has a petting zoo and an opportunity to milk a cow as well as the story of ice cream in London and lots of free ice cream samples. It is a bit in the middle of no-wheresville in Kings Cross so good if you are pushing a little one in a buggy or have kids who don't mind a little bit of walking.

SUNDAY 2^nd September

There are more events at the Elephant and Nun festival today.

The Burgess Banquet is a music and food event held at Burgess Park from 12 to 5pm near the lakeside. It features an afternoon of live music, cooking demonstrations and food-themed arts and crafts activities. Buses that run from Brixton to near the park entrance are the 35 and 45.

Caramba is a celebration of Latin music and dance held at St Mary’s Churchyard (Newington Butts, SE11) – that’s the bit of land next to the (now being dismantled) Elephant and Castle Leisure Centre. There is also a children’s play area there. Events are on between 12 to 6pm. The 133, 45, 35, 155 and 415 all go past this green space.

If none of this is quite your cup of tea, the Tate Modern has a family day in the newly opened up tanks beneath the main structure. Entitled Sound and Performance, it is described as a “participatory event inviting visitors of all ages to explore, collaborate and create, in an experiential day of sound and performance”. So parents who are experts at singing songs and making shapes with the little ones should be able to take this to the next level and make it arty. The family event is on between the hours of 11am to 5pm. I haven’t been to the tanks yet but my daughter has….

Another thing to check out while you are there, is the Under Fives Zone on the 4^th floor – an opportunity for your little ones to clamber and explore giant shapes from a cubist still-life drawing! To get to the Tate Modern on bus, the 45 which passes through Brixton stops at Blackfriars Bridge Road. Alternatively, there is always the tube to Southwark.

For those who really want to stay in Lambeth or if you loved yesterday’s Southwark dog show so much that you want MORE, there is a fun dog show from 2 til 4pm opposite the cafe on Streatham Common which is situated by the car park at the intersection of Covington Way and Streatham Common south.

Have you got a dog you want to enter or do you just want to have a look at all the dogs. Events include cutest puppy, dandiest dog, bonniest bitch, dog and spoon race and includes stalls and raffles. Event should come with a warning as undoubtedly some kids will be asking their parents for a puppy! Buses to Streatham Common are 159, 50, 333, 118, 109 and 250.

Have a great weekend!