Hey Neighbour,
Last week I asked how you were doing, and quite a few of you replied. I went to my favourite corner of the sofa and read through every single one. My face was like this the whole way through:
Thank you for taking the time to reply. Special shout-out to Rodney, who told me he got married last Wednesday at Islington Town Hall. Congratulations, Rodney! 🥳
In the meantime...
Plan Your Weekend:
Round Up
Bits and bobs worth knowing.
✨ Rupert Grint and Alex Zane switching on Highgate Christmas lights: The Harry Potter star returns to Pond Square for the festive event on Wednesday 19 Nov from 4pm. Highgate Brass Ensemble plays seasonal tunes, plus Father Christmas meet-and-greet at The Gatehouse. Free event.
☕ Hampstead Heath cafes decision coming in December: After months of campaigning, the final call on five cafe leases happens 8 Dec. Current operators face potential replacement by chains despite 20,000-signature petition and celebrity backing from Benedict Cumberbatch and James McAvoy. Preferred bidders announced 17 Nov.
🚴 Camden's Holborn road changes get rave reviews from cyclists: New plans for Theobald's Road, Southampton Row, Kingsway and High Holborn described as "mind-blowingly good" by London Cycling Campaign. Major layout changes aim to improve cycling and pedestrian safety across the area.
🧸 Every year around 250,000 items are left behind on TfL trains: New behind-the-scenes video shows Europe's largest lost property operation and what happens to all that forgotten stuff. Ever wondered where your phone/wallet/keys ended up?
🪦 Highgate Cemetery approved for £18m restoration: Camden Council greenlit plans to fix up the historic site with a new café, restored chapel, and better wildlife areas. Controversial staff building was scrapped after families complained. Work happening over the next 25 years.
My North London Top Events
Camden Vintage Bus Running Day | 📍Camden | 16 November | Free rides
Vintage bus running day is back, this time in Camden. Old buses running routes 31, 134 and 253 from 10:30am - rides are free all day. Programme with timetables and history available to buy. All proceeds to BBC Children in Need. I went to the one in Muswell Hill and had a great time (see video here) - would recommend. Note: their website might show a security warning but it's fine, just old-fashioned.
Crafty Fox Market at British Library | 📍British Library, NW1 | 15-16 Nov | Free
Christmas market in the British Library with 40+ makers each day - Saturday and Sunday have completely different traders. Handmade jewellery, ceramics, prints, cards and homeware. Crafty Fox has been running markets since 2010. Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 11am-5pm, free entry, accessible.
Xmas Art + Design Market | 📍Abney Hall, N16 | 15-16 Nov | Free
Christmas market at Abney Hall in Stokey with 65 makers selling jewellery, ceramics, prints and fashion from 11am-5pm both days. Grab MARGOT's pierogi, browse the stalls, then make an afternoon of it - Spence Bakery or 13th Floor Coffee on Church Street, Clissold Park with the deer across the road, or Abney Park Cemetery (one of the Magnificent Seven) next door. Dog-friendly.
Source: Muswell Hill Vintage Bus Running Day
Glow in the Angel | 📍Angel Central & Islington Square, N1 | 15 Nov | Free
Festive day across Angel from 12-5pm. Angel Central has North Pole Post Office to write to Santa, carol singing, festive crafts, sustainable market and meet the King's Head Theatre panto cast. Islington Square is dog-friendly with live music, face painting, dog caricaturist and Christmas market by Urban Food Fest. Activity in Camden Passage too. Supporting Islington Giving's winter appeal.
Tree & Fungi Walk | 📍Highgate Wood, N10 | 15 Nov | Free
Guided walk exploring trees and fungi in Highgate Wood from 11:30am. Learn how fungi support biodiversity and keep woodland healthy. Meet at the information hut by the café. Free, no booking needed.
The Big Market | 📍Boxpark Wembley, HA9 | 16 Nov | Free
New monthly market launching at Boxpark Wembley with up to 30 local makers, designers and small businesses from 10am-3:30pm. Free artist workshop, craft area for kids and activity book. DJ all day. Free entry.
Good Housekeeping Christmas Market | 📍Business Design Centre, N1 | 12-15 Nov | (£)
Christmas market over four days with hundreds of stalls selling handmade gifts and festive food. Standard tickets £25 for browsing and shopping. VIP tickets cost more but include talks from Claire Balding, Jojo Moyes, Dame Jacqueline Wilson and David Suchet. Champagne bar and food market on site. At Business Design Centre, Islington. Sold out last year so book ahead if you want to go.
Source: Hearst Owned/ Good Housekeeping Christmas Market
Walk & Book Swap | 📍Finsbury Park, N4 | 15 Nov | Free
Take a leisurely stroll through North London, explore local bookshops, and end with drinks and a book swap from 11am-1pm. Bring a book to trade. Meet at Gail's. Run by Wholesome London.
PW Ceramic Studios Open Studio | 📍PW Ceramics Studios, N22 | 14-16 Nov | Free
Ceramic studio in a historic sweet factory opening for the weekend. Over 20 artists showing pottery, sculpture, glass and 3D printed work. Live throwing demos Saturday and Sunday 1pm. Buy pieces or commission work. Friday 12-5pm (private view 6-8pm), Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 11am-4pm.
Chelsea Ballet: Classical Ballet Favourites | 📍Arts Depot, N12 | 15 Nov | (£)
Ballet without West End prices. Chelsea Ballet performing highlights from Coppélia, Paquita and The Nutcracker at 2:30pm and 7:30pm. The joyous Coppélia wedding, Spanish-inspired Paquita with fiery solos, and Nutcracker's Kingdom of Sweets to kick off Christmas season. Company's been running for 58 years. Dedicated to Tony Latham's memory.
💪 30 Minutes To Stop Feeling Helpless
Someone's being hassled on the bus. You see it happening, but you freeze – not because you don't care, but because you don't know what to do that would actually help.
Most of us have either experienced harassment, watched it happen, or heard about it happening to someone we care about.
There’s free online training session that teaches you what to actually do in those moments.
Barnet Council is running a 30-minute bystander training session on Tuesday 25th November, 12.30-1pm. It's run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust and teaches you practical, safe ways to step in when you witness harassment. Whether that's on the bus, at the station, the high street, outside school.
It's not about being brave or confrontational. It's about having a couple of techniques you can actually use in those moments when something feels off.
The training is online, cameras off, and you can participate via chat or just listen. It's designed for anyone – whether you've experienced harassment yourself, you're worried about someone you love, or you just want to feel less helpless.
This is the last session they're running, so if this sounds useful – sign up.
**Full transparency: Barnet Council paid for this feature. I said yes because I genuinely think this kind of training could make a difference. The more people who know what to do, the safer we all could be.
🎄Your North London Winter Markets Guide is Here
I've put together a guide to every Christmas market, craft fair, and festive pop-up happening across our corner of London between now and New Year.
From Highgate to Tottenham, Muswell Hill to Stoke Newington—dozens of markets with handmade gifts, local makers, and all the mulled wine you can handle.
I've organized everything by week so you can actually plan your weekends instead of finding out about things the day after they happen. The page is staying live and I'll keep updating it as more events get announced.
Check it out here and bookmark it for later.
🎟️ Heads up
Upcoming events you should consider booking in advance or planning ahead for. In and out of North London. Events marked with (£) require a ticket in advance.
Bryan Cranston: The Chemistry of Breaking Bad | 📍Natural History Museum, SW7 | 24 Nov | (£)
Calling all Breaking Bad fans - Bryan Cranston talking all things Walter White at the Natural History Museum from 7-9:15pm. He's joined by museum mineralogist Alan Hart exploring how science and storytelling intersect. Behind-the-scenes stories from the show, the craft of acting, and how the character shaped his career. Hosted by Sing for Science's Matt Whyte
Enfield Christmas Parade of Light | 📍Enfield Town | 30 Nov | Free
Big community Christmas parade through Enfield Town from 4pm. Local scouts, brownies, youth groups and festive floats starting at the Civic Centre, going through town to Church Street. Carols around 5:20pm, fireworks in Market Square around 5:40pm. Earlier in the day: lantern-making workshop at Boho Flo from 2pm, performances at the market, activities at Palace Shopping from 12pm. Big shout to Christina Culora for organising this.
Forty Hall Christmas Fayre | 📍Forty Hall, EN2 | 29-30 Nov | (£)
Christmas market across two days from 11am-4pm with over 50 stalls in the period rooms and historic courtyard. Handmade crafts, gifts, local makers. Food court with seasonal food and drinks, plus mulled wine and mince pies. Outdoor music.
London's Forgotten Heroes | 📍Horse Hospital, WC1N | 27 Nov | (£)
Stories behind the Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice in Postman's Park - the Victorian memorial to ordinary Londoners who died saving others. Historian Dr John Price shares the stories of two of the nine women commemorated. Folklorist Alessandra Curtis tells the story of Albert Roy Luxton, who in 1912 steered his brakeless bus into a wall on Highgate Hill rather than hit a crowd, dying from his injuries a week later.
What’s On This Weekend: 15th - 14th November 2025
Your guide to what’s happening in North London this week. Events marked with (£) require a ticket in advance.
🎄MARKETS, FAIRS & FESTIVALS
Wood Green Winter Market | 📍Lymington Avenue, N22 | 15 Nov-20 Dec | Free
New Saturday market running for six weeks from 11am-5pm. Street food, bakes, handmade gifts, crafts and Christmas entertainment. Local traders. Near Lidl on Lymington Avenue. Partnership between Myddleton Market and Wood Green BID.
Christmas Craft Market | 📍The Pavilion, N22 | 15 Nov | Free
Christmas market at The Pavilion from 10:30am-4pm. Local makers selling handmade gifts - ceramics, jewellery, textiles, cards and more. Mulled wine and festive music. Free entry.
Courtyard Market | 📍St Augustine's Church Hall, N6 | 16 Nov | Free
Indoor makers' market at St Augustine's Church from 11am-4pm. Handmade crafts and gifts from Highgate makers - art prints, stationery, homewares, jewellery, pet accessories and more. Food and drinks available.
Christmas Craft Market | 📍Hocking Hall, Whittington Park, N19 | 15 Nov | Free
Christmas market from 11:30am-4pm at Whittington Park with local makers selling handmade gifts, decorations and festive treats.
Bloomsbury Jamboree Fair | 📍Art Workers' Guild, WC1N | 15-16 Nov | Free entry
Christmas fair in the Art Workers' Guild from 10:30am-4:30pm. Illustration, ceramics, jewellery, folk art, fairtrade food and books. Artist talks throughout the weekend (separate tickets).
Qiao Qiao Pet Festival | 📍ESEA Community Centre, N1 | 15 Nov | Free
Pet festival at the East & Southeast Asian Community Centre from 10:30am-4:30pm. Bring your dog or cat and browse 20 stalls with handmade crafts, pet products, art and local food.
🎬 FILM & MUSIC
Lutan Fyah | 📍The Jazz Cafe, NW1 | 16 Nov | (£)
Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist Lutan Fyah performing from 7pm. Hard-hitting rhythms and conscious lyrics rooted in Rastafari spirituality - former footballer and architecture student turned global reggae artist. Collaborated with Chronixx, Luciano and Anthony B.
EFG London Jazz Festival | 📍Various London venues | 14-23 November | (£)
Ten days of jazz gigs across London venues - big names and over 300 gigs so check the programme for what's on where and when. November jazz takeover if you're into it or want to try catching some live music around town.
Brent Symphony Orchestra | 📍St Martin's Church, Kensal Green NW10 | 15 Nov | (£)
Fancy hearing your local orchestra play Mahler? Brent Symphony Orchestra performing Mahler's Symphony No. 1 and Strauss's Four Last Songs from 7:30pm. Soprano Elizabeth Roberts, conducted by Levon Parikian.
Source: Courtyard Market
💡IDEAS
Literary Salon: Queer Domesticity | 📍Queer Britain, N1C | 15 Nov | (£)
What does 'home' mean when you're queer? Dr Hannah Roche leads a discussion from 2pm exploring how writers like James Baldwin, Gertrude Stein and Leslie Feinberg wrote about domestic space and belonging. Small group chat, plus writing some experimental poems together. Extracts sent beforehand. Previous sessions changed people's minds about books they thought weren't for them.
THANKS FOR READING!
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