WELCOME TO THE SEPTEMBER LIST
All in all, there are some great locations to enjoy in September from super cars to super moons, so hopefully you'll find something to tweak your interest on this month's list and, as per usual, they're all free, so enjoy.
Just to remind you that I also post updates and additional venues on our Facebook page, so you might like to join us and like us (as in Facebook likes!) to ensure you're kept fully up to date on what's happening in London during the weeks ahead.
As ever, if something changes in the weeks ahead I will put the update on the Facebook Page, in order not to bombard you with emails.
So, without further ado, here is my September list of ten things to do in London.
10 THINGS TO DO IN LONDON SEPTEMBER 2015
BOOK FOR SILENT CEREMONY
GUILDHALL
FRIDAY 13TH NOVEMBER 2015 3PM TO 3.30PM
ADMISSION FREE
The Nearest Underground Stations are Bank or St Paul's
For further details go to their website by clicking here.
Although this should actually be on the November list, you have to enter your name to get tickets by 30th September 2015, hence its inclusion on the September list.
Silent Ceremony is the event at which the new Lord Mayor of the City of London takes up office and it shows the City at its whimsical best.
Sundry officials walk in procession into Guildhall to witness the incoming Lord Mayor swear the oath of office and to watch as the outgoing Lord Mayor, Alan Yarrow, beckons the new incumbent to his seat.
Once the new Lord Mayor is seated, Alan Yarrow, the outgoing Lord Mayor, will remove his tricorne hat and, at exactly the same moment, the new Lord Mayor will don his. In this simple - and silent - ceremony the mayoralty, together with the power that goes with it, passes from the old to the new Lord Mayor.
Space is limited (you can apply for a maximum of 6 tickets) and booking is essential. All bookings must be made by Wednesday 30th September 2015. Tickets are not guaranteed and, if it is over subscribed, spaces will be allocated. But there's nothing to lose by trying! Last year, several recipients of my list applied and got tickets, so it is possible.
IMPORTANT UPDATE
Apparently this year's Silent Ceremony is hugely oversubscribed and they are now operating a waiting list only. You might, therefore, want to keep this page and apply for next year's ceremony when it opens for booking in June 2016. I'll post on the Facebook Page when it opens.
You can apply for tickets via the website by clicking here.
BATTERSEA ARTS STATION
THE POWER OF ART
Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, London SW11 5TN.
FRIDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER TO SUNDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER 2015 10AM TO 5PM
ADMISSION FREE
The Nearest Stations are Clapham Junction and Clapham Common
For further details go to their website by clicking here.
Have you ever gazed up at those four tall cream chimneys of Battersea Power Station and thought to yourself, "this place could inspire some amazing art"?
If so, your prayers have been answered because, this month, Battersea Art Station - a weekend celebrating creativity AND the Power Station - will take place.
There will be an exhibition of Power Station inspired art, architectural photography of the ongoing works, a 3D LEGO Big Build (count me in), family-friendly art workshops, performances, food and drink and much, much more.
TRY AND SEE THE 1,000MPH BLOODHOUND SUPERSONIC CAR
WHOOSH!
East Winter Garden, 43 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5NX Timings Canary Wharf
FRIDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER AND SATURDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER 2015 9AM TO 5PM
ADMISSION FREE, BUT BOOKING IS REQUIRED
The Nearest Underground Station is Canary Wharf
For further details go to their website by clicking here.
Now, as many of you who have joined me on my tours will know, I'm not one to be pedantic. But I feel that I should point out that you will actually only see 98% of the 135,000 thrust hp land speed racer, since one side of the carbon fibre bodywork will be absent in order to enable visitors to gaze upon the car's inner workings.
Visitors will also be able to "enjoy the Castrol EDGE and Jaguar BLOODHOUND Driving Simulator and Castrol EDGE Virtual Reality Experience," which sounds positively terrifying!
It is hoped that the car will attempt a new record in 2016, so you could be witnessing the early stages of a truly historical event.
ADMIRE THE POOR MAN'S PICTURE GALLERY
BP Spotlight: "Poor man's picture gallery" Victorian Art and Stereoscopic Photography
Tate Britain, Millbank, London, SW1P 4RG
TILL 1ST NOVEMBER 2015
ADMISSION FREE
The Nearest Underground Station is Pimlico
For further details go to their website by clicking here.
Hands up all those who have been longing to see an exhibition of Stereoscopic Photography? Well, those wonderful people at Tate Britain have come galloping to the rescue and are happy to satisfy your cravings and, in so doing, have become the first major British art gallery to stage an exhibition devoted to early three-dimensional photography. Phew, that was a long sentence!
These ingenious but inexpensive stereograph pictures were a nineteenth century craze, circulating world-wide in tens of thousands and more.
Brian May - yes that Brian May - has been an admirer of the art form for over 40 years, and it is he who has been instrumental in this fascinating exhibition, which sees twelve of Tate's Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite works come face to face with a rare collection of their three-dimensional counterparts. Not to be missed.
THIS IS NURSING
NURSING THROUGH THE AGES
Royal College of Nursing, 20 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0RN
TILL NOVEMBER 2015
ADMISSION FREE
The Nearest Underground Station is Oxford Circus
For further details go to their website by clicking here.
What's this exhibition all about? Well, to be honest, I can do no better than to quote, almost verbatim. from the RCN's own description. So:-
"This exhibition, using the Royal College of Nursing's collections, tells the story of innovative nursing education.
Discover the remarkable women and men who have battled for better nursing education and discover how learning has evolved alongside the profession's knowledge and expertise.
Learn about the foundation of nursing schools, the creation of a state register of nurses, and how university degrees were first introduced.
The displays include a wide variety of historic nursing equipment and memorabilia, from a collection of nursing uniforms, nurse badges, and a district nurse's bag and contents from the 1930s to a copy of Elizabeth Hanbury's 1828 book The Good Nurse - Or Hints on the Management of the Sick and Laying-in Chamber and more modern items such as an oral-nasal oxygen mask.
ENJOY A DAY OUT IN THE CITY
For Full Details visit our website
As those of you who follow my blog on our Jack the Ripper Tour website (and if you don't it's well worth it!) will know that I've recently started putting together full day itineraries for people who want to spend a full day in London prior to joining the tour in the evening.
The first of these London days out was published on the 10th September and features a full day itinerary around the City of London that follows much of the route of the Secret London Tour.
It is, however, a day out that can be done without actually doing the Jack the Ripper tour and, since it features many of the locations that we pass on Secret London, it makes for a perfect day out for those who might feel a little nostalgic about the aforementioned walk.
GUIDING LIGHTS
500 YEARS OF TRINITY HOUSE AND Safety AT SEA
National Maritime Museum, Romney Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 9NF
TILL 4TH JANUARY 2016. 10AM TO 5PM DAILY
ADMISSION FREE
The Nearest DLR Station Cutty Sark
For further details go to their website by clicking here.
I don't know about you, but I've always found lighthouses, and specifically the life of a lighthouse keeper, to be absolutely fascinating, not to mention a little chilling.
So the fact that the National Maritime Museum has been staging an exhibition that tells the "stories of the heroic and the extraordinary" from the gripping history of Trinity House - the Corporation whose express intent had been to "help sailors navigate safely at sea, preventing countless shipwrecks and immense loss of life" - had me reaching for my oilskins, donning my waders, and setting sail for the shores of Greenwich to witness an exhibition that celebrates "human fortitude in the face of the immense power of the sea."
Marking the 500th anniversary of Trinity House, the gallery displays 70 rarely seen objects from Trinity House and the Museum's own collection, whilst telling the history of Britain's lighthouses through intricate models, dramatic film and the personal effects of lighthouse keepers.
GET LOCKED INSIDE THE TOWER OF LONDON
ATTEND THE CEREMONY OF THE KEYS
The Tower of London, London, EC3N 4AB
Admission is free but advance booking is essential.
The Nearest Underground Station is Tower Hill.
IMPORTANT. Remember that if you arrive late you will not be allowed in under any circumstances, so prompt arrival for 9.30pm is an absolute must.
For over seven hundred years, in war and peace, come rain or shine, the Tower of London has been locked up each night with the ritual of the Ceremony of the Keys.
The general public can attend this wonderful ceremony and it is completely free of charge, although you do have to apply for tickets well in advance.
Indeed, to give you an idea of how popular this nightly locking of the Tower is, the ceremony is currently fully booked until January 2016.
I'm including it here, as you might want to consider a little forward planning and book your tickets for next year to ensure you get to see it, if you haven't done it already.
The Tower authorities recently introduced online booking for the ceremony. Here's the link.
Once you've secured your tickets make your way to the Tower for 9.30pm and prepare to feel like one of a select few.
A word of warning though. It can get bitterly cold inside the Tower, especially when a nose bluing (is that a word?) wind blows in off the River, so ensure that you dress warmly if you're attending during the cold months of January, February March, April, May, June July, August, September etc.!
Click here for full information.
BEHIND SACRED DOORS
700 years of art, crafts and architecture from Haringey's Churches.
Bruce Castle Museum, Lordship Lane, Tottenham, London, N17 6RT
TILL 4TH OCTOBER 2015. 1PM TO 5PM WEDNESDAY TO SUNDAY
ADMISSION FREE
The Nearest Underground Station is Seven Sisters and then a five minute walk
For further details go to their website by clicking here.
An exhibition of beautiful, functional objects created through the devotion of artists, crafts-people, local churches and patrons.
WATCH THE MOON TURN RED
WITNESS A TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
In The Sky over London and much of the rest of the UK, cloud cover permitting
28th September 2015 2.07AM TO 5.27AM. MAXIMUM EFFECT 3.47AM
ADMISSION FREE
The Nearest Underground Station Mars!
For further details visit this website.
Miss this one and you've got a long, long wait ahead of you, as the next night-sky event of this magnitude will not be occurring until 2033.
A chance to witness an extremely rare astronomical highlight for those who can stay awake till the wee small hours on 28th September 2015. Those who manage such an amazing feat of endurance will be rewarded with the ever so rare sight of a total lunar eclipse and a super moon that will both happen simultaneously.
To give you some idea of just how special this event will be, there have only been five "supermoon" lunar eclipses since 1900 - which occurred in 1910, 1928, 1946, 1964 and 1982.
The event features a full moon at its closest point to Earth - known as a "supermoon".
It will look up to 14 per cent larger and 30 times brighter than usual, which, combined with the lunar eclipse, will give the moon a red tint.
It promises to be a spectacular event, providing, of course, the skies can remain clear. So, fingers crossed!
PLEASE ENJOY
I hope you find the September list useful and that you get to enjoy at least some of the things that I have suggested.
If you require further directions to any of the places suggested could you ask it via the Facebook page as that then enables me to answer quickly and, should it be something that everybody wants to know, it becomes useful to everyone.
All the best. Richard
