Forest Hill

This Week in London – Jousting at Eltham; Thamesmead Festival returns; and, ‘Robot Zoo’ at the Horniman…

by exploringlondon
A knight prepares to joust at an earlier event at Hampton Court Palace. PICTURE: David Adams

• Eltham Palace returns to the medieval age this weekend with a jousting tournament in which knights will compete for glory. The ‘Legendary Joust’ will feature four knights, each representing a character from myth or legend including The Wyvern, The Wildman, Sir Lancelot and Jason of the Argonauts. The event runs from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. Admission charge applies. For more, see https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/whats-on/eltham-palace-legendary-joust-2-3-aug-2025/.

• The Thamesmead Festival returns to Southmere Park in south-east London over the next two weekends. The free, family-friendly festival boasts four big stages with headline guest Omar and musical performances across genres including Afrobeat, R&B, rock and pop as well as spoken word, comedy, and street dance. There will also be a market featuring local artists and food from around the world. Runs from 12pm to 7:30pm on Saturday and on 8th August. For more, head to https://www.thamesmeadnow.org.uk/whats-on/arts-culture/thamesmead-festival-2025/.

• On Now: Robot Zoo. This exhibition at the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill features a range of larger-than-life animals recreated using machine parts and gadgets in a bid to reveal how their real life counterparts see, eat, hunt and hide. The display also features interactive exhibits giving visitors the chance to try jet-propelled squid racing and shoot a chameleon’s ‘tongue-gun’. There’s also two specially commissioned interactive murals by artist Giulia Casarotto. Runs until 2nd November. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.horniman.ac.uk/event/robot-zoo/.

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London pub signs – Three quirky pub names (briefly) explained…

by exploringlondon

We pause from our usual London pub names entries to mention three pub names which, while they don’t come from any association with important historical figures or events of the past, do have an interesting, if briefly explained, origin story.

First up its John the Unicorn, located in a former decorator’s shop at 157-159 Rye Lane in Peckham. The story goes that the pub’s first landlord (and it’s only been opened since 2016), named it after his child’s toy – a fluffy unicorn named, you guessed it, John.

The Sylvan Post in Forest Hill in March, 2023. PICTURE: Courtesy of Google Maps

The Sylvan Post at 24-28 Dartmouth Road in Forest Hill is located – yes, you guessed it – in a former post office. The “Sylvan” part comes from the location in Forest Hill. Get it?

Then we come to The Pregnant Man at 40 Chancery Lane. Located under the headquarters of advertising behemoth Saatchi & Saatchi, the pub was named for one of their most memorable ad campaigns of the 1970s which, run on behalf the Family Planning Association, featured a pregnant man with the caption, “Would you be more careful if it was you who got pregnant?”.