South Kensington

This Week in London – “Our Story with Sir David Attenborough”; the Royal Academy’s 257th Summer Exhibition; and, an appeal for restoring three Underground carriages…

by exploringlondon
Our Story with David Attenborough. PICTURE: © Trustees of the Natural History Museum

• Our Story with David Attenborough – the first ever immersive experience at the Natural History Museum – opens its doors today. Created by Open Planet Studios, the 50 minute experience in the Jerwood Gallery features animations, projections, real-world footage and full 360 degree immersion as Sir David draws on his life of exploration to tell the story of humanity and the planet on which we live. The experience is taking bookings until 18th January, 2026. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/our-story-with-david-attenborough.

• The Royal Academy’s 257th Summer Exhibition opened this week. Co-ordinated by internationally acclaimed architect and Royal Academician Farshid Moussavi in conjunction with the Summer Exhibition Committee, this year’s display of art and architecture explores the theme of ‘Dialogues’. Among the works on show is a six metre high installation of ostrich feathers and steel chain by British artist Alice Channer, a 4.5 metre high and seven metre wide wall made from deconstructed matchboxes by Brazilian artist Antonio Tarsis, and installation of textile carcasses by Argentine-American artist Tamara Kostianovsky. Meanwhile, the Annenberg Courtyard hosts a large scale installation by Royal Academician Ryan Gander which features five three metre diameter inflatable balls inscribed with absurd questions developed with children in a representation of the “inquisitiveness of children who ask what grown-up minds often dismiss as nonsensical or illogical”. Runs until 17th August. Admission charge applies. For more, see royalacademy.org.uk.

• The London Transport Museum has launched an appeal for £30,000 to help complete the restoration of three 1930s Q stock Underground carriages. The funds will be used to re-upholster the seats of two of the Underground cars in moquette – the durable, woollen seating material used in upholstery on public transport all over the world. Q stock trains first entered service on the District line in November, 1938, and were retired from service in 1971. The restoration of the three carriages – which aims to restore them to operational condition – has mainly been carried out at the London Transport Museum Depot in Acton, west London. Donations can be made on London Transport Museum’s website: www.ltmuseum.co.uk/make-donation?campaign=qstock

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This Week in London – ‘Design and Disability’ at the V&A; Eid on the Square; and, James Brimble’s pictures of Epping Forest…

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Xbox Adaptive Controller, developed by Microsoft. PICTURE © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 

• The intersection between design and disability is at the focus of a new exhibition at the V&A which opens on Saturday. Design and Disability showcases the contributions of disabled, deaf and neurodivergent people to contemporary culture from the 1940s until now and spans the disciplines of design, art, architecture, fashion and photography. Highlights include: the world’s first commercially made adaptive Xbox controller by Microsoft; photographs by Simon Way which capture the work of Jaipur Foot as it makes free prosthetic legs, feet and arms for millions of people across India; the
McGonagle Reader – an audio-assisted voting device to help Blind and low vision people to vote independently; and, the Squeeze Chaise Longue, a red recliner developed by artist Wendy Jacobs, which embraces the sitter between two red mohair arms and provides comforting sensory feedback for those who appreciate deep pressure stimulation. The exhibition in The Porter Gallery at the South Kensington institution runs until 15th February. Admission charges apply. For more, see
vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/design-and-disability.

• Eid on the Square returns to Trafalgar Square this Sunday. The free, family-friendly festival, hosted by Deana Soni and Haroon Rashid, will feature traditional and contemporary performances by Nasheed artist Mesut Kurtis, Chand Ali Khan Qawwal & Group, the Indonesian Angklung Ensemble feat HE Dr Desra Percaya, and children’s entertainers Omar & Hana. Halal Tourism Britain are running guided walking tours and presenting a pop-up Muslim Museum of Britain, and there will be workshops including drumming, coconut leaf weaving, calligraphy and poetry at the WAW Creative Arts Family Zone, while Rumi’s Cave – Spearhead Creatives will hosts an interactive tent which blends comedy, music and creative writing. Market stalls will offer books, crafts and jewellery, and the chance to indulge in delicious dishes ranging from Uzbek and Afghan cuisine to Korean fried chicken, churros and much more. Runs from noon to 6pm. For more, see www.london.gov.uk/events/eid-square-2025.

• On Now – James Brimble’s Picture Archive. This free exhibition at the Epping Forest Visitor Centre in Chingford celebrates James Brimble’s 1950 book London’s Epping Forest and includes a range of restored images by James, most of which are previously unpublished, including framed prints and a digital display of around 100 images of Epping Forest and the surrounding areas from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The display also contains some of the original copper printing plates from his book and supporting material depicting Brimble’s photographic legacy. Can be seen until 28th September. For more, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/epping-forest/where-to-go-in-epping-forest/chingford-visitor-centre.

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This Week in London – The glamour of the Edwardian Royals; tulips at Hampton Court; and, Cartier jewels at the V&A…

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Attributed to R. & S. Garrard, ‘Love Trophy’ Collar, 1901
Charles Baugniet, ‘After the Ball’: a Lady in a Ballgown Asleep on a Sofa, c1860–67

• The glamour and opulence of the Edwardian era – and the two royal couples that exemplified it – is the subject of a new exhibition opening at The King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace tomorrow. The Edwardians: Age of Elegance takes an in-depth look at the lives of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, and King George V and Queen Mary, exploring not only their family interactions but their glittering social circles, travel adventures and, of course, the royal events they attended. More than 300 items are on display in the exhibition – almost half on show for the first time – with highlights including Queen Mary’s ‘Love Trophy’ Collar necklace which is on display for the first time, a Cartier crystal pencil case set with diamonds and rubies, and, a blue enamel Fabergé cigarette case featuring a diamond-encrusted snake biting its own tail which was given to King Edward VII in 1908 by his favourite mistress as a symbol of eternal love. There’s also a never-before-seen photograph of Edward wearing fancy-dress as a knight of the Order of Malta as he attended a ball celebrating Queen Victoria’s 1897 Diamond Jubilee, a previously unseen study of Sleeping Beauty by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Sir Edward Burne-Jones, and, Charles Baugniet’s After the Ball which is on show for the first time in more than a century. Runs until 23rd November. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.rct.uk.

• More than 100,000 tulip bulbs are springing to life at Hampton Court Palace for its annual Tulip Festival. The display includes an installation of 10,000 tulips in the palace’s Fountain Court, floating tulip bowls in the Great Fountain, a vintage horse cart spilling tulips in the Clock Court, free-style planting, inspired by the tulip fields of the Netherlands, in the Kitchen Garden and rare, historic and specialist varieties of tulips in the Lower Orangery. There will be daily “tulip talks” in the palace’s wine cellar exploring the history of the flower and how Queen Mary II introduced them to the palace. Runs from Friday until 5th May. Included in general admission. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk.

Rose clip brooch, Cartier London, 1938. Diamonds and platinum. Vincent Wulveryck, Collection Cartier © Cartier

• The first major exhibition in 30 years dedicated to Cartier jewels and watches opens at the V&A this Saturday. Cartier, which is being held in The Sainsbury Gallery, charts the rise of the globally recognised jewellery house and how it became known as “the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers”. The display features more than 350 objects with highlights including the Williamson Diamond brooch which was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and which features the rare 23.6 carat pink Williamson diamond; the Scroll Tiara commissioned in 1902 and worn to the coronation of Elizabeth II and later by Rihanna on the cover of W magazine in 2016; Grace Kelly’s engagement ring (1956) that she wore in her final film High Society; Mexican film star María Félix’s snake necklace (1968); and, a selection of Cartier timepieces that embody its pioneering approach to watchmaking, including the Crash wristwatch, designed by Cartier London (1967). The exhibition runs until 16th November. Admission charge applies. For more, see vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/cartier.

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This Week in London – Mudlarking finds celebrated; MI5 reveals its secrets; and, fixing the broken planet at the Natural History Museum…

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The neck from a stoneware bottle with a bearded face known as a Bartmann bottle 1500s – 1600s. The bearded face decorating the neck lies half-buried on the foreshore. PICTURE:
© Alessio Checconi /London Museum.
Gold finger ring, late medieval, mid 15th century, with pink ‘spinel’ stone. The engraved band includes an inscription ‘pour amor say donne’- For Love I am Given. © London Museum

• The first major exhibition on mudlarking opens at the Museum of London Docklands tomorrow. Secrets of the Thames: Mudlarking London’s lost treasures features some of the fascinating finds made along the Thames foreshore – from a Tudor head-dress and a medieval gold ring to an an elaborately decorated Viking era dagger and a pair of 18th century false teeth. While mudlarking was historically an activity of the poor, often children, during the 19th century, it has evolved into a popular hobby for some (albeir permits are required) and in recent years led to some spectacular finds. Others among the more than 350 objects on show include a 16th century ivory sundial, the nationally significant Iron Age Battersea Shield, a pair of medieval spectacles, 16th century wig curlers, and a Roman badge decorated with a phallus. The exhibition also features the installation, The Moon by artist Luke Jerram, which highlights the role the moon and tides play in creating the unique conditions for mudlarks to explore the river’s banks. Admission charge applies. Runs until 1st March next year. For more, see www.londonmuseum.org.uk/whats-on/secrets-thames/.

• The hidden world of MI5 is being revealed in a new exhibition opening at the National Archives in Kew on Saturday. MI5: Official Secrets features original case files, photographs and papers alongside equipment used by spies and spy-catchers during the organisation’s 115 year history. Among the items on show are first-hand account of Kim Philby’s confession in 1963, papers related to the past activities of Cambridge spy Anthony Blunt, M15’s first camera – a pocket-sized ‘Ensignette’ made by Houghton Ltd from 1910, evidence that led to German spy Josef Jakobs being the last person executed at the Tower of London, and, advanced radio equipment found buried in the garden of Soviet spies Helen and Peter Kroger in the 1960s. The exhibition also features video insights from former MI5 directors general, intelligence experts including Professor Christopher Andrew – author of MI5’s official history, and Baroness May, former Prime Minister and one of Britain’s longest serving Home Secretaries. The exhibition is free to visit and runs until 28th September. For more, see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mi5-official-secrets/.

• The first new permanent gallery at the Natural History Museum – Fixing Our Broken Planet – opens today. The new gallery brings together pioneering research from the museum’s scientists with advice from environmentalists and young changemakers on how to better care for the planet and its future and aims to be a “definitive destination for those looking to explore the threats to our natural world whilst discovering where solutions can be found”. Visitors will come face-to-face with more than 250 specimens including a Sumatran rhinoceros, parasitic worms and whale’s earwax; each telling an important story about our fragile relationship with the natural world and will also see research showing how fungi is used to fertilise crops, how bacteria can be harnessed to extract copper from mine waste, how bison are helping to engineer forests in the UK to store more carbon and how vital DNA analysis on mosquitos is being used to fight mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria. The new display is located in the restored original 1881 Waterhouse building. The gallery is free to visit. For more, see www.nhm.ac.uk.

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This Week in London – ‘Making Egypt’ at the Young V&A; new memorial to humanitarian aid workers; and, Science Museum’s ‘Exploring Space’ gallery to close soon…

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Wooden Funerary Boat approx. 3000 years old. PICTURE: Courtesy of Chiddingstone Castle

• A new exhibition exploring how stories and images from ancient Egypt continue to influence art, design and popular culture today opens at the Young V&A in Bethnal Green on Saturday. Making Egypt is divided into three sections – Storytelling, Communicating and Making – and features more than 200 objects which, as well as ancient artifacts, include contemporary responses from jewellery and fashion designers, graphic novelists and ceramic artists throughout. Highlights include everything from a 4000-year-old small wooden painted model funerary boat and an amulet of Taweret, goddess of childbirth and fertility, dating from between 664 BC to 332 BC to a rare carved wooden scribe’s palette which was used to hold ink and brushes, and Egyptian faience shabtis dating from between 380 BC to 343 BC which represent just a handful of more than 300 small funerary figures discovered in the tomb of Djedhor. Runs until 2nd November. Admission charge applies. For more, see vam.ac.uk/young.

• A new plaque commemorating humanitarian aid workers has been unveiled in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral. Located near the memorial to Florence Nightingale, the plaque “celebrates the bravery of those who dedicate their lives to helping others and remembers those who have been murdered or injured while delivering humanitarian assistance”. Hand-carved by stonemason Martin Gwilliams, the plaque reads: “In celebration of Humanitarian Aid Workers. Helping those in need whoever and wherever they are. And in remembrance of those who have died in the pursuit of their calling.” The plaque is the first in the UK in a public space to honour humanitarian aid workers and their work in conflict zones and disaster-stricken areas around the world. For more, see www.stpauls.co.uk.

• After almost 40 years, the Science Museum’s ‘Exploring Space’ gallery at the South Kensington institution will partially close on 22nd April and fully close in early June as part of preparations for the museum’s new ‘Space’ gallery. Key objects on display include the Soyuz spacecraft that carried astronaut Tim Peake back to Earth, the spacesuit worn by Helen Sharman, the first Briton in space, during a 1991 spaceflight and a three-billion-year-old piece of the Moon. Other items include a British Black Arrow rocket and a United States Scout rocket suspended from the gallery’s ceiling, a RL10 rocket engine and a J-2 rocket engine which powered the Apollo astronauts to the Moon. For more, see www.sciencemuseum.org.uk

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This Week in London – Natural History Museum scientists name new species; Ketna Patel at the Heath Robinson Museum; and, David Hoffman’s images of the East End…

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Interior of the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. PICTURE: Michael D Beckwith/Unsplash

• A snake named after actor Leonardo DiCaprio, fossilised dung named after the author of Winnie the Pooh and a piranha named after Sauron, the evil Lord of the Rings figure, are among 190 new species named by London’s Natural History Museum scientists in 2024. The Anguiculus dicaprioi, or DiCaprio’s Himalayan snake, was named after DiCaprio while Alococopros milnei is a fossilised dung named after AA Milne in recognition of Winnie the Pooh (get it?) and a vegetarian piranha, or pacu, was named Myloplus sauron due to its resemblance to JRR Tolkien’s Eye of Sauron. Other newly named species included a new dinosaur from the Isle of Wight, now known as Comptonatus chasei, which was named for fossil hunter, Nick Chase, and a new species of pterosaur which was named Ceoptera evansae. For more on the museum, see www.nhm.ac.uk.

• The work of British-Indian artist Ketna Patel is the subject of a new exhibition at the Heath Robinson Museum. REMIXOLOGY: The Art of Cultural Storytelling by Ketna Patel invites audiences to
“reflect on how identity is shaped – by ourselves and by society” and celebrates what is described as her “signature approach” to her work which involves remixing diverse cultural influences into something new. The display can be seen at the Pinner museum until 8th February. Museum admission charge applies. For more, see www.heathrobinsonmuseum.org.

• Now on: Endurance & Joy in the East End: The photography of David Hoffman. This exhibition, hosted by the Museum of the Home, features the work of one of the leading “photographers of protest” in the UK and spans a 10 year period starting in 1973 when Hoffman lived in a squat in Fieldgate Mansions and documented issues seen in Whitechapel including homelessness, racism and the rise of protest. Running until 30th March, it can be seen in the Undercroft at 136 Kingsland Road. For more, see www.museumofthehome.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions-and-installations/endurance-and-joy-david-hoffman/

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Where’s London’s oldest…greeting card shop?

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It’s that time of year and while it seems less people are these days sending Christmas cards, there are many who still do.

While we’ve previously written about the origins of greeting cards at Christmas (and who first sent them), today we’re taking a look at the oldest shop in which they’re still sold in London – often said to be the Medici Gallery in South Kensington.

The Medici Gallery in South Kensington: PICTURE: Google Maps

The gallery was opened by the Medici Society in 1908. This organisation had been founded by Philip Lee Warner and Eustace Gurney with the intention of promoting the work of artists to a wider audience. It initially operated on a subscription basis under which subscribers pay a set rate and then obtain copies of prints but later became a limited company.

The name Medici was said to have been chosen as a homage to the Medici family known for, among other things, the promotion of the arts in Florence during the Renaissance.

The gallery first started selling greeting cards in the 1930s and continues to do so today.

For more on the shop at 26 Thurloe Street, see www.medici.co.uk/.

This Week in London – One of the world’s most valuable watches at Science Museum; medieval silk bag (with a story) goes on show at Westminster Abbey; and, new electric bus display at London Transport Museum…

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The ‘Marie Antoinette’ perpetuelle, Breguet, No 160, Paris, 1783-1820
© The Museum for Islamic Art, Jerusalem

• One of the world’s most valuable watches – the No 160 watch which Abraham-Louis Breguet designed for Marie Antoinette but which wasn’t completed until the 1820s, well after her death – is the star of the show at the Science Museum’s new exhibition Versailles: Science and Splendour. Opening today, the exhibition, created in partnership with the Palace of Versailles, takes visitors on “a 120-year journey through the evolution of science at Versailles” and explores how Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI encouraged the pursuit of scientific knowledge and harnessed that knowledge as a tool of power. More than 100 objects are on display and, along with Breguet’s watch, they include Louis XV’s rhinoceros, a detailed map of the moon by Jean-Dominique Cassini, and Claude-Siméon Passemant’s Clock of the Creation of the World (1754). The watch, meanwhile, has its own fascinating history, including two decades in which its whereabouts were unknown after it was stolen in 1983 (in fact, its display in this exhibition marks the first time the timepiece has travelled abroad since its safe return to the LA Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in 2008). Runs until 21st April. Admission charge applies. For more, see sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/versailles.

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• A medieval silk seal bag, which dates from the reign of King Henry III, has gone on public display for the first time in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey. The display follows the discovery by scholars that the bag’s material is a perfect match to the silk cloth used to wrap the remains of the Emperor Charlemagne when he was buried in Germany’s Aachen Cathedral (Charlemagne, seen as the first Holy Roman Emperor, died in 814 but was re-buried in the karlsschrein (Charles’s shrine) at Aachen in 1215). The bag at the abbey contains a wax seal, the Great Seal of King Henry III, which was attached to an inventory of the jewels and precious items on Edward the Confessor’s shrine located in the heart of the abbey. It was drawn up in 1267 when Henry III was in financial difficulties and forced to pawn items from the shrine to Italian merchants to raise funds (it is believed the items were all returned within 18 months). The silk used for Charlemagne’s shroud is believed to have been spun in the 12th century in Spain or the eastern Mediterranean and, while the small piece at the Abbey originates from a separate silk, it is understood that it would have been produced by the same weavers on the same loom. The bag can been seen until Easter next year. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.westminster-abbey.org/visit-us/plan-your-visit/the-queens-diamond-jubilee-galleries/.

• A new interactive electric bus display has opened at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. The Wrightbus Electroliner display – which has been provided by Transport UK London Bus – is based on an electric vehicle bus type which has been part of the fleet of buses operating in London since 2023. The new display features the front of the bus and includes an interactive driver cab and passenger space. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.ltmuseum.co.uk.

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This Week in London – Christmas at Kew; Picasso’s prints; and, the T rex dons its Christmas jumper…

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• World premiere installations Ombre by TILT – which takes the “form of a series of giant plants in bloom springing up from the landscape in a spectrum of vibrant shades” – and Threshold by Studio Vertigo – an “illuminated helix-like shape, bathed in golden yellow light to evoke the warmth and joy of the festive season” are at the centre of this year’s Christmas light trail at Kew Gardens. Other highlights at this year’s festive showing include Camellia Walk, which has been transformed into a snowy lane which showcases the spectacular tree canopy and evoking a wintery wonderland, Fish are Jumping by Dutch artists TOER and Mist Arches by Culture Creative which create “an atmospheric ambience across Kew’s Lake Crossing”. Annual favourites such as the light show on the Temperate House, the Fire Garden and Christmas Cathedral have also returned along with the Palm House finale. The trail can be visited on selected dates until 5th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see
www.kew.org/christmas.

The frugal meal, 1904 © Succession Picasso/DACS, London 2024

• Around 100 prints by Pablo Picasso – including some from his 347 Suite which have never been displayed before – are on show in a new exhibition at the British Museum. Picasso: Printmaker charts the artist’s engagement with printmaking (he produced around 2,400 in total) and centres on some of the more than 500 now in the British Museum’s collection (the largest in the UK). Highlights include his first professional print – The Frugal Meal (1904 – pictured) – as well as prints from the Vollard Suite (1930-1937) such as the aquatint Faun Uncovering a Woman (1936), and, the 347 Suite‘s Tree in the Storm, with Flight Towards a Church (1968). The exhibition can be seen in Room 90 until 30th March. Admission charges apply. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org/picasso.

• The T rex’s new Christmas jumper has been unveiled at the Natural History Museum. This year’s design – which can be seen modelled by the T rex – features festive colours of red, blue, green and white and an image of the museum’s latest prehistoric resident, Fern the Diplodocus, who took up residence in the redesigned gardens earlier this year. The jumper can be seen in the Dinosaur’s Gallery until January. Human-sizxed versions can be bought in the museum shop (www.nhmshop.co.uk). For more, see nhm.ac.uk.

The Natural History Museum unveils its 2024 Christmas jumper on its famous animatronic T rex in annual festive display. PICTURE: © Trustees of the Natural History Museu

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This Week in London – Lord Mayor’s Show; ‘Poppy Fields at the Tower’; and, ‘The Great Mughals’ at the V&A…

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• The Lord Mayor’s Show – featuring the 696th Lord Mayor of London, Alastair King – will be held this Saturday. The three-mile long procession – in which the Lord Mayor will ride in the Gold State Coach – features some 7,000 people, 250 horses, and 150 floats. It will set off from Mansion House at 11am and travel down Poultry and Cheapside to St Paul’s Cathedral before moving on down Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street to the Royal Courts of Justice. The return journey will set off again at 1:10pm from Temple Place and travel via Queen Victoria Street back to Mansion House where he will take the salute from the Pikemen and Musketeers at 2:40pm. For more information, including where to watch the show, head to https://lordmayorsshow.london.

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 Poppy Field at the Tower. PICTURE: © Luxmuralis / Historic Royal Palaces.

• An immersive sound and light show commemorating World War I and II opens at the Tower of London tomorrow ahead of Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday. Historic Royal Palaces has partnered with Luxmuralis to present Poppy Fields at the Tower with visitors invited to go inside the Tower where – recalling the 2014 display Bloodswept Lands and Seas of Red in the Tower of London moat to mark the centenary of World War I – the walls will not only be illuminated with tumbling poppies but also historic photographs, documents and plans. The display is being accompanied by music composed by David Harper, and poetry recordings. Visitors will also be granted special access to see the Crown Jewels after-hours to learn more about their removal from the Tower during both World Wars. Runs until 16th November and should be pre-booked. Admission charges apply. For more, see https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/whats-on/poppy-fields-at-the-tower/.

Akbar handing the imperial crown to Shah Jahan in the presence of Jahangir, Bichitr. Dated regnal year 3 (18th January 1630–7 January 1631), the borders c1630–1640. Opaque watercolour and gold on paper. Folio
from the Minto Album. © CC BY – 4.0. Chester Beatty, Dublin

• An exhibition celebrating the golden age of the Mughal Court opens at the V&A in South Kensington on Saturday. The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence examines the “creative output and internationalist culture” of Mughal Hindustan during the age of its greatest emperors, a period spanning c1560 to 1660. More than 200 objects are on display arranged in three sections corresponding to the reigns of the Emperor Akbar (1556-1605), Jahangir (1605 to 1627) and Shah Jahan (1628 to 1658). The objects include paintings, illustrated manuscripts, vessels made from mother of pearl, rock crystal, jade and precious metals. Highlights include four folios from the Book of Hamza, commissioned by Akbar in 1570, and the Ames carpet which was made in the imperial workshops between c1590 and 1600 and is on display for the first time in the UK. There’s also a unique wine cup made from white nephrite jade in the shape of a ram’s head for Shah Jahan in 1657, two paintings depicting a North American Turkey Cock and an African zebra created by Jahangir’s artists, and a gold dagger and scabbard set with over 2,000 rubies, emeralds and diamonds. Runs in Galleries 38 and 39 until 5th May. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.vam.ac.uk.

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This Week in London – ‘The World of Tim Burton’; Halloween at Hampton Court, the Tower, and Kew Gardens; and, Diwali celebrations…

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Tim Burton and curator Maria McLintock visit ‘The World of Tim Burton’ , on 23rd October. PICTURE: Matt Crossick/PA Media A (courtesy of the Design Museum)
Tim Burton, Untitled (Edward Scissorhands), 1990. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS ©1990. 20th Century Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

• The fantastical world of celebrated film-maker Tim Burton is on display in a touring exhibition opening at the Design Museum on Friday. The World of Tim Burton, making its final stop after a decade-long world tour, showcases his 50 years of creative output and looks at not only his role as film-maker but as illustrator, painter, photographer and author. Drawn from Tim Burton’s personal archive as well as film studio collections and other private holdings, the more than 600 objects include film props, drawings, paintings, photographs, sketchbooks, moving-image works, sculptural installations, set and costume design. Highlights include the Catwoman suit from 1992’s Batman Returns, Wednesday Addams’ viral Rave’N dance dress from the recent Netflix series and the Edward Scissorhands costume worn by actor Johnny Depp in the 1990 film. There’s also early drawings of the Martians from Mars Attacks! (1996), the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Emily in Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2005) and a specially created cinema experience which gives voice to some of Burton’s key collaborators and is being shown in a bespoke art-deco space reminiscent of the theatres Burton frequented as a child growing up in Hollywood. Runs until 21st April. Admission charge applies. For more, see https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/the-world-of-tim-burton.

• Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London are marking Halloween with a series of spine-tingling events which delve into the mysterious past of the royal residences. From Saturday, visitors to Hampton Court Palace can, among other things, discover the ‘Alchemist’s Apothecary’ and meet the ghost of a long-departed alchemist, venture into the ‘Spider’s Lair’ in the depths of the palace’s wine cellar, catch a glimpse the frantic ghost of Catherine Howard in the Haunted Gallery, and encounter the spirit of Sybil Penn, a former nurse to Henry VIII’s son Edward, who has haunted the palace hallways ever since her tomb was disturbed. At the the Tower of London, meanwhile, the grounds have been transformed, hosting everything from a haunted chess game on the South Lawn to a glimpse into the tower’s astronomical past, complete with celestial maps and scientific instruments. Events take place until 3rd November. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/ or www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/.

• The first Halloween-themed light trail has opened at Kew Gardens with eerie illuminated trees, ghoulish installations and fire performers. Visitors can wander through an illuminated spiders web or discover a neon Carnivorous Tree feeding on unsuspecting skeletons by choosing one of three sessions to attend (daylight, twilight and moonlight) with things getting scarier as the evening progresses. Runs until 3rd November. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/halloween-at-kew.

• Diwali is being celebrated on Trafalgar Square this Sunday in a free, family-friendly festival. Delivered in partnership with the volunteer-led Diwali in London committee, the event – which showcases the culture of London’s Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities – features a programme of dance, music, activities and food. Highlights include dance workshops, sari and turban tying and the new Bhajan singing space where groups will perform throughout the day. The day runs from 1pm to 7pm. For more, see www.london.gov.uk/events/diwali-square-2024.

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10 towers with a history in London – 9. The Queen’s Tower, Imperial College London…

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This free-standing, 287 foot-high tower is a survivor – it’s all that remains of the Imperial Institute.

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London Explained – Albertopolis…

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An aerial view of the area known as Albertopolis. PICTURE: Andreas Praefcke/Public Domain

A nickname, connected to Prince Albert (beloved husband of Queen Victoria), which was given to an area of South Kensington centred on Exhibition Road which is packed with various cultural and educational institutions.

The land, which had been the Kensington Gore Estate, was purchased by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 on the suggestion of Prince Albert using the profits made from the Great Exhibition which had been held just to the north in Hyde Park. His vision was for arts and science quarter which included schools, colleges and libraries as well as museums, exhibition rooms and spaces for events.

Among the buildings subsequently constructed upon it were those bearing Prince Albert’s name including Royal Albert Hall and the Victoria and Albert Museum along with the huge Albert Memorial.

Other institutions on the land include the Natural History Museum, Imperial College London, the Royal College of Music, the Royal College of Art, the Science Museum, the Royal Geographical Society and the since removed Royal Horticultural Society Gardens.

The area gained its nickname in the 1850s due to the Prince’s role in the Great Exhibition and its subsequent purchase and was seen to both celebrate, but also by some, to satirise him. It fell out of use after the Prince’s death in 1861 but was subsequently revived in the 1960s and since to bring attention to buildings in the area threatened with demolition.

A pedestrian subway under Exhibition Road runs north from South Kensington Station and gives access to the museums (when it was built in 1885, a toll of one penny was charged to use it).

This Week in London – Dick Whittington explored at the Guildhall Library; Francis Bacon’s portraits; and, the 60th Photographer of the Year competition…

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PICTURE: Courtesy of the City of London Corporation

• A new exhibition exploring the life of one of the City of London’s most famous Lord Mayors has opened at the City of London’s Guildhall Library. Marking the library’s 600th anniversary, Whittington, the Man, the Myth and the Cat uses chapbooks (small printed booklets used for street literature in early modern Europe), children’s books, and works relating to pantomimes, to investigate Whittington’s story (including the question of whether or not he owned a cat). The exhibition details Whittington’s “rags to riches” tale and the many myths that later grew up around him, revealing information about his many loans to to kings (Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V), how he was three times Lord Mayor of London (1397, 1406 and 1419) and how he paid for the building of public lavatories at St Martin Vintry and a refuge for unmarried mothers at St Thomas’ Hospital as well as the rebuilding of Newgate Prison, and the establishment of the first library at Guildhall. Addressing the myth of the Whittington’s cat, it explains how it may have come about as a result of a play on words – ‘cat’ (or cattes) being a word used to describe a fleet of boats used for importing and exporting which was a mistranslation of the French word, ‘achat’, for trade. The exhibition, which runs until April next year, is free to visit. For more, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/libraries/guildhall-library.

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• The first exhibition in almost 20 years to focus on Francis Bacon’s portraits opened at the National Portrait Gallery, off Trafalgar Square, this week. Francis Bacon: Human Presence charts the artist’s career through 50 of his works arranged in five sections – ‘Portraits Emerge’, ‘Beyond Appearance’, ‘Painting from the Masters’, ‘Self Portraits’, and ‘Friends and Lovers’. Works on show include self-portraits as well as Head VI (1949), Study for a Pope I (1961), Three Studies for a Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne (1965) and Portrait of a Man Walking Down Steps (1972). The exhibition also includes photographic portraits and film of Bacon by some of the century’s leading photographers, including Cecil Beaton, Arnold Newman, and Bill Brandt. Can be seen until 19th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.npg.org.uk.

‘The Swarm of Life’ by Shane Gross, Canada, winner of the 60th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

• A Canadian marine conservation photojournalist, Shane Gross, has won this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition for an image capturing the magical underwater world of western toad tadpoles. The Swarm of Life is among 100 prize-winning images which are going on show at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington from tomorrow as it celebrates the 60th year of its Photographer of the Year competition. This year’s contest attracted a record-breaking 59,228 entries from 117 countries and territories. Among the other images on display are German Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas’ Life Under Dead Wood  depicting the fruiting bodies of slime mould with a tiny springtail (Tinker-Tsavalas won Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year). Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. The exhibition runs until 29th June. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy.

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This Week in London – Theatre and Performance at the V&A; blue plaque for Diana Beck; and, the Royal Academy celebrates Michael Craig-Martin…

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The V&A in South Kensington. PICTURE: graham chandler (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

• The V&A in South Kensington is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its Theatre and Performance collections with Enthoven Unboxed: 100 Years of Collecting Performance, which opened last weekend. The exhibition commemorates the 1924 donation of more than 80,000 playbills, programmes, and ephemera from collector, humanitarian, and campaigner Gabrielle Enthoven. Highlights among the objects on display include John Pasch’s artwork featuring the original Rolling Stones tongue and lips, a pair of semi-quaver spectacles worn by Elton John during his 1981-2 British and world tours, a self-portrait bust by 18th century actress Sarah Siddons, a set model designed by Misty Buckley for Stormzy’s headline set at Glastonbury Festival in 2019, and, a prompt script used by Phoebe Waller-Bridge for Fleabag in the West End. The free display can be seen in the Theatre and Performance Galleries (Rooms 103-106) until 4th January. For more., see www.vam.ac.uk,

• Diana Beck, the first female neurosurgeon in Britain, has been honoured with an English Heritage Blue Plaque. Unveiled earlier this month, the plaque marks the site of her former home and consulting rooms at 53 Wimpole Street in Marylebone. Beck lived at the property from 1948 to 1954, a period during which she created and ran a neurosurgical department at Middlesex Hospital. It was also during this period that Beck operated on her most famous patient – Winnie the Pooh author AA Milne, who had suffered a stroke in 1952. For more, see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/

Michael Craig-Martin, ‘Common History: Conference, 1999’. Acrylic on aluminium, 274.3 x 508 cm. Gagosian, London © Michael Craig-Martin. Image courtesy of Gagosian

• The largest retrospective of the work of artist (and Royal Academician) Michael Craig-Martin has opens at the Royal Academy on Saturday. The exhibition in Royal Academy’s Main Galleries features more than 120 works spanning the period from the 1960s through to today and includes sculpture, installation, painting and drawing, as well as works newly created for the display. Among the highlights are the installations On the Table (1970) and An Oak Tree (1973), the large scale wall drawing in tape, Interlocked (MoMA project 1990) and the large scale painting Eye of the Storm (2003) as well as his depictions of single objects and word paintings. The exhibition runs until 10tH December. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.royalacademy.org.uk.

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This Week in London – ‘Lucky Jim’ reunited with historic plane; Banksy work related to Guildhall Yard; and, a new Kew audio tour…

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• ‘Lucky Jim’, a toy cat mascot belong to Jim Alcock – pilot of the first trans-Atlantic flight, has been reunited with the Vickers Vimy biplane aircraft that made the flight for the first time since 1919. The cat accompanied the famous aviator and his navigator Arthur Whitten Brown on their historic 17 hour, 1,880 mile journey. Following preservation efforts is now displayed alongside the aircraft in the Flight gallery at the Science Museum in South Kensington. Lucky Jim was previously displayed at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester until 2019. A cartoon version of the cat is also the star of a new family trail around the gallery. For more, see https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/flight.

The Palm House at Kew Gardens. PICTURE: Annie Spratt/Unsplash

• Explore the plants of Kew Gardens’ historic Palm House with a new audio tour. Created by Kew’s Community Horticulture Programme in collaboration with outreach participants, Pollinators of the Palm House puts a spotlight on some of the remarkable stories and pollination tricks of incredible plants inside the 175-year-old structure. These include the giant cycad (Encephalartos altensteinii) – officially the oldest pot plant in the world, and the traveller’s palm (Ravenala madagascariensis), which is pollinated by lemurs in the wild on Madagascar. For more, see www.kew.org.

• An artwork by Banksy has been relocated to Guildhall Yard for its protection. The work, which depicts swimming piranhas, appeared on a sentry box near Ludgate Hill earlier this month. A City of London Corporation spokesperson saying a permanent home would be found “in due course”.

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This week in London – Re-live the ‘Golden Age of Piracy’; getting below the surface of the Thames; a look inside East London houses through time; and, a new public garden in the City…

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The Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. PICTURE: Robert Bye/Unsplash

• ‘The Golden Age of Piracy’ will come to life in a living history weekend this Saturday and Sunday at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. With the focus on the period between 1650 and 1720 (when more than 5,000 pirates were said to have been active), visitors will learn how to separate pirate fact from fiction, enjoy songs of the sea, witness sword and cutlass fights, and hear the tale of a real 18th-century mutiny. Each day culminates with a demonstration of the firepower of pirates and marines in the arena on the lawns overlooking the River Thames. There’s also the opportunity to wander through the pirate encampment and learn about the clothes and weapons of the period, listen to some love music and sample food from the Taste of History period kitchen. Runs from 11am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday. Admission charge applies. For more, see https://ornc.org/whats-on/golden-age-of-piracy/.

• The world of sound below the surface of the River Thames is the subject of a new contemporary art installation at the Natural History Museum which opens tomorrow. The River, composed by Norwegian sound artist Jana Winderen in collaboration with spatial audio expert Tony Myatt, uses underwater audio recordings to immerse visitors in a 360 degree audio composition which spans the river from the source by Kemble through central London and on to the sprawling estuary leading into the North Sea. The River is free to visit. Bookings, to ensure entry, can be made at https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit.html.

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One of the new rooms at the Museum of the Home – a Jewish tenement flat from 1913. PICTURE: Courtesy of the Museum of the Home.

• Seven new and reimagined period rooms reflecting the stories of our East London community, past, present and future, have been unveiled at the Museum of the Home in Shoreditch. Thanks to the Real Rooms project, the expanded ‘Rooms Through Time: 1878-2049’ now includes a Jewish tenement flat from 1913, an Irish couple’s house in the 1950s, LGBTQ+ renters sharing an ex-council home in the 2005, a British-Vietnamese home in 2024, and the Innovo Room of the Future, which explores real homes amid challenges such as the climate crisis and technological advances. The scope of the existing 1870s Parlour and Front Room in 1976 have also both been expanded. Entry to the permanent display is free. For more, see https://www.museumofthehome.org.uk.

• A new public garden has been opened at the intersection of Cheapside and New Change in the City of London. Formerly known as the Sunken Garden, the area has undergone a transformation and now features benches created from 150-year-old-plus granite stones salvaged from the Thames River Wall and recycled timber from fallen London Plane trees. There’s also new permeable paving which lets rain drain freely into the ground and stores it for trees to use later, reducing pressure on the sewer system while new plant species have been selected with local wildlife in mind.

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LondonLife – ‘Fern the Diplodicus’ takes up new post at the Natural History Museum…

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‘Fern the Diplodicus’ has been unveiled at the Natural History Museum this morning, the latest addition to its transformed gardens which open to public on Thursday.

The cast of Fern the Diplodocus arrives at the Natural History Museum. PICTURE: © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

The bronze cast of the museum’s moved loved figure takes pride of place in the new Evolution Garden, which, along with the Nature Discovery Garden, sit within five acres of green space surrounding the South Kensington museum.

The Evolution Garden provides the opportunity to explore the 2.7 billion history of the planet and, as well as Fern, features a canyon clad in ancient Scottish stone, and a second dinosaur, Hypsiophodon.

The cast of Hypsiophodon in the garden. PICTURE: © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London

The Nature Discovery Garden showcases different wildlife habitats in the UK’s urban spaces – complete with the frogs, newts, dragonflies and mandarin ducks that are already living there – and features a nw Nature Activity Centre which combines scientific facilities with a hub for school workshops and family activities.

For more, see www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/galleries-and-museum-map/our-gardens.html

This Week in London – Trail-blazing women celebrated at the Tower; ‘The Judgement of Paris’ back on show; and, Barbie at the Design Museum…

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PICTURE: Joseph Gilbey/Unsplash

• The lives of five little-known trail-blazing women are being celebrated at the Tower of London. The five women – who will take part in a guided procession through the grounds and features in staged performances and face-to-face interactions at the Tower this summer – include Winifred Maxwell, a fearless Jacobite who smuggled her husband out of the Tower the night before his execution and Katherine le Fevre, who served as the Master Smith of the Tower during the Hundred Year War with France. Also represented are Phillis Wheatley, an intellectual prodigy and enslaved woman hailing from West Africa who became the first African-American author of a published book of poetry; Catalina of Motril, a Granadan bedchamber attendant of Katherine of Aragon who was privy to her former mistress’ secrets; and, Leonora Cohen, Yorkshire-born Suffragette who smashed the case holding the Crown Jewels at the Tower with an iron bar – and kept campaigning until she was 105. The chance to meet the women is included in general admission until 1st September. For more, see www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/.

• Peter Paul Rubens’ The Judgement of Paris has returned to public display after a 14 month restoration project. The project found that the painting, believed to date from 1632‒5 during the last decade of Ruben’s life, has been restored several times including a significant re-working of the composition sometime between 1676 and 1721. The new analysis reveals what changes were made by Rubens himself to the work – which arrived in Britain in 1792 and was acquired by the National Gallery in 1844 – and which were done after his death. For more, see www.nationalgallery.org.uk.

• A major exhibition on the creation and evolution of Barbie opens at the Design Museum on Friday. Barbie: The Exhibition, which coincides with the 65th anniversary of the Barbie brand, showcases the diversity of the Barbie range, as well as her friends (and, of course Ken) and looks at how Barbie’s homes, vehicles and other products have reflected the tastes and trends of day. Highlights include a rare first edition of the first doll released by Mattel in 1959 (‘Number 1 Barbie’), the ground-breaking ‘Day to Night Barbie’ from 1985 and the best-selling Barbie of all time, 1992’s ‘Totally Hair Barbie’, which sold more than 10 million across the globe. There are also examples of the first Black, Hispanic and Asian dolls to bear the Barbie name as well as the first Barbie with Down syndrome, the first to use a wheelchair, and the first to be designed with a curvy body shape. Runs until 23rd February. Admission change applies. For more, see https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/barbie-the-exhibition.

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This Week in London – RNLI’s first HQ commemorated; “weird and wonderful” birds; and, Princess Diana in photographs…

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• The City of London has unveiled a new blue plaque commemorating the Royal National Lifeboat Institution which is this year marking its 200th anniversary. The plaque is on the Furniture Makers’ Hall in Austin Friars which is where the organisation has its first headquarters from 1824 to 1826. The plaque was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of London, Professor Michael Mainelli. The RNLI, which today operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland including four on the River Thames, was founded by Sir William Hillary in the City of London Tavern in Bishopsgate on 4th March, 1824, and early meetings were held at various addresses until it moved into 12 Austin Friars. Meanwhile, ‘Ian Visits’ reports that a new plaque has also been installed at Limehouse Basin to commemorate Lifbåt 416 which was built there by Forrestt & Son’s boatyard in 1868 and sent as a gift to the King of Sweden, Karl XV. The Lifbåt 416, which has been restored, returned to Limehouse Basin this week after attending RNLI commemorations in Poole, Dorset (where it was the oldest lifeboat to take part in a mile-long flotilla).

Hargila army papier-mache headdress close up. PICTURE: Courtesy of Natural History Museum

• The “weird and wonderful” ways birds have adapted to survive are celebrated in a new exhibition at the Natural History Museum. Birds: Brilliant and Bizarre, which opens at the South Kensington institution on Friday, has been created in partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and features installations and hands-on exhibits which allow visitors to feel how fast a hummingbird’s heart beats when in flight, smell the strange oil one bird uses to protect its eggs and listen to the sound of a dawn chorus of birds in the year 2050. Objects on show include the ‘Wonderchicken’ – the oldest known fossil of a modern bird, a replica of a stork that flew across the world from the African continent with a spear lodged in its neck, and a headdress of the ‘Hargila army’ (pictured), a group of women in the Indian state of Assam who work to protect one of the world’s rarest storks. Admission charge applies. Runs until 5th January. For more, see www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/birds-brilliant-bizarre.html.

• A walk-through photographic exhibition featuring some of the most iconic photos of Princess Diana opens on Saturday. Princess Diana: Accredited Access features 75 life-sized photographs by her official royal photographer, Anwar Hussein, and his two sons – Samir and Zak – which include behind the scenes access. The exhibition at the Dockside Vaults, St Katharine Docks, runs until 2nd September. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.princessdianaexhibit.com.

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