
Looking south towards the Houses of Parliament from the River Thames.

Looking south towards the Houses of Parliament from the River Thames.

CONGREGATION, a new large-scale installation by Es Devlin, can be seen at the church of St Mary Le Strand – but you’ll have to be quick, it’s only there for two more days (until 9th October). The work, curated by Ekow Eshun, was created in partnership with UK for UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and was developed in collaboration with King’s College London and The Courtauld. Created over four months, it features chalk and charcoal portraits of 50 Londoners who have experienced forced displacement from their homelands. Ranging in age from 18 to 90, these “co-authors” have roots in countries ranging from Syria to Sri Lanka; from Rwanda to Albania. An accompanying soundscape has been composed by Polyphonia and features the voices of the sitters while film sequences have been created in collaboration with filmmaker Ruth Hogben and choreographer Botis Seva. CONGREGATION is free to visit and is open to the public daily from 11am till 9pm with free public choral performances outside the church at 7pm each evening to coincide with Frieze London. To book tickets, head to https://www.unrefugees.org.uk/esdevlin-congregation/.

The ‘Little Cloud World’ installation by Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III – aka FriendsWithYou, which has been in Covent Garden’s Market Building since the start of August, ends today. Launched in partnership with charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), the 40 inflatable clouds were about spreading a message of “spreading kindness, positivity and helping others”. For more, see www.coventgarden.london/experience/things-to-do/little-cloud-world/.




The Queen’s House Colonnade.


The Albert Bridge in Chelsea which dates from 1873 with subsequent modifications made in the 1880s.


Last Wednesday, 17th July, was the State Opening of Parliament, the first since the new Labour government took office. More than 1,100 members of the armed forces were in attendance, accompanied by 200 military horses, as the procession of King Charles III and Queen Camilla made its way to the Houses of Parliament where the King delivered a speech outlining the government’s plans.






‘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 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 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







Established in the 1970s, Mudchute Farm and Park – at 32 acres – is one of the largest urban farms in Europe and is home to more than 100 animals including, as well as these sheep, pigs, goats, cows, ducks, geese, chickens, rabbits, and llamas. For more, see www.mudchute.org.

The King’s Birthday Parade took place in central London on Saturday featuring some 242 military working horses, 250 military musicians, 40 pipers and drummers, and more than 1,000 dual role soldiers of the British Army’s Household Division. The parade is a gift from the British Army’s Household Division to the King and is traditionally held on the second Saturday in June, regardless of the Sovereign’s actual date of birth.





Members of the Household Division in London rehearse for the King’s Birthday Parade, known as Trooping the Colour. The Colonel’s Review is held one week before and saw some 250 musicians, 20 pipers, 240 military working horses, and almost 1,000 dual role soldiers of the British Army’s Household Division run through their paces on Saturday. Trooping the Colour will take place on 15th June.



