Hey Neighbour,
Last weekend was one of the few times I didn't mind being in the rain. In fact, I barely noticed it. I ended up on Hampstead Heath with two strangers-turned-friends, all of us fascinated by sheep doing conservation work, none of us caring that we were getting soaked. Sometimes the best discoveries aren't the ones you plan for...that's been a common theme for me lately.
I ended up speaking to John Beyer, Vice-Chair of the Heath & Hampstead Society, about the incredible conservation work these sheep are doing. You can watch a short video of our conversation here. It was wonderful to learn how much of a real difference volunteers like John are making for the Heath's biodiversity.
How about you, what did you end up doing last weekend? Reply back and let me know.
In the meantime...
Plan Your Weekend:
Round Up
Bits and bobs worth knowing.
🍗 Chick 'n' Sours is back with 50% off at Big Chill: The chicken place everyone missed opens Tuesday 17 Sep at King's Cross with kung pao wings and cocktails. Half-price food until 21 Sep - 257 Pentonville Road, N1.
❄️ Get £1 Winter Wonderland tickets for daytime visits: Hyde Park's Christmas market opens 14 Nov with cheap entry for morning/lunch slots instead of £5+ evening tickets. Perfect for wandering and food without crowds. Book specific time slots from November through December.
⚽ Wood Green Common gets new playground and rare FA Playzone: Revamped play area now open with children's playground, outdoor gym, and one of London's first Football Association training zones. Located on Wood Green Common.
Fed-up residents clean up Islington canal towpaths themselves: 50 locals from Angel and New North Road estates picked up litter and repainted walls after Canal & River Trust neglect. Councillor plans another cleanup later this year - volunteers can join regular events.
🏗️ Free construction training with guaranteed job interviews in Camden: New Euston Skills Yard offers courses in civil engineering and groundworks on the HS2 site. Complete training, get guaranteed interview with major employers. Open now for Camden residents.
🚌 New express bus SL13 connects Hendon to Ealing via Brent Cross: TfL plans 12-minute frequency service from Hendon War Memorial through Brent Cross Shopping Centre to Ealing Broadway. Runs 5am-12:30am daily. Consultation open until 22 Oct - share your views.
🎨 Uni lecturer reveals he's "Shanksy" behind Clerkenwell pranks: Chris Walker admits to 5 years of fake Banksy and Jeremy Corbyn stunts around toilet hoardings. The Westminster University lecturer wanted Islington Council to fix the "ugly" site. Council now promises action.
🎰 Former Lloyds bank in Willesden Green becomes adult gaming centre: Brent Council approved conversion despite 60+ resident objections and concerns about gambling addiction. MP Dawn Butler also opposed the plan. Borough now has 102 gambling premises - council wants law changes to block future applications.
🚶♀️ Camden offers free bystander training to tackle street harassment: Learn how to safely intervene when witnessing inappropriate behavior through online courses or in-person workshops. Next session Thursday 25 Sep - book online or register interest for future dates.
My North London Top Events
Camden Inspire Festival | 📍Camden Collective, N1C | 20 September | Free
One-day climate and design festival focused on upcycling and reuse. Designers are transforming furniture destined for landfill into one-off pieces you can actually bid on, plus there's hands-on workshops where you can make mosaics, try fermenting, and learn how to fix things instead of binning them.
Art Car Boot Fair | 📍Lewis Cubitt Square, N1C | 20 September | (£)
Over 120 artists sell their work from actual car boots at King's Cross. This time the theme's comedy, so expect clowns and comics while you browse. It's basically a car boot sale but with art instead of old toasters.
Source: Coals Drop Yard, Kings Cross
Camden at 60: Camden as a Catwalk | 📍Camden High Street, NW1 | 21 September | Free
Camden High Street becomes a fashion runway for the day. Afternoon workshops 1-4:30pm on fixing clothes and swapping items - you can turn old t-shirts into bags. The main event is a fashion show at 6:30pm featuring local designers and eco-friendly fashion. Free entry, turn up and find a spot. Some front row seats might become available 15 minutes before the show starts.
Cumberland Road Open Studios | 📍Wood Green, N22 | 20-21 September | Free
Old council offices in Wood Green have been turned into artist studios and they're opening up for the weekend from 12-6pm. You can wander around and see painters, filmmakers, photographers and sculptors actually working, plus watch demos and join workshops. Part of London Open House so it's free to nose around.
HowTheLightGetsIn 2025 | 📍Kenwood Gardens, Hampstead Heath NW3 | 20–21 September | (£)
The world’s biggest philosophy and music festival returns to Hampstead Heath with 150+ events. Expect debates, comedy, cabaret, live music, long-table banquets and late-night parties. This year’s theme is After the West, A New World, with speakers including Brian Cox, Alain de Botton, Mary Trump and Alastair Campbell.
Crossroads Music Festival | 📍Multiple venues, Cricklewood NW2 | 19-21 & 26-28 September | Free & (£)
Two weekends of world music celebrating Cricklewood's cultural diversity. Free outdoor events include Afrobeat at Cricklewood Green, Irish music, Indian drumming, and Ethiopian grooves at various local spots. Mix of grassroots community performances and established artists across multiple genres and locations.
🎟️ 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.
🛍️ Autumn Makers Fair | 📍St James Square, N10 | 27 September | Free
Makers fair in St James Square from 10:30am-5pm with local artists and designers selling handmade stuff. Jewellery, leather bags, prints, homewares, ceramics, and clothing from independent makers. It's right outside Planet Organic and Everyman Cinema so could easily combine it with other errands or weekly shopping.
🍿 Tottenham Film Festival | 📍The Beehive Pub, N17 | 4 October | (£)
Film Tottenham's second festival at The Beehive– 29 short films on a big screen in the function room behind the bar. Runs 1:30pm-10pm with different sessions for comedy, drama, international films, and horror. You can buy tickets for individual sessions or stay all day and vote for your favourite film.
🎆 Town Park Fireworks | 📍Enfield Town, EN2 | 8 November | (£)
Enfield's annual fireworks show with "A Night at the Movies" theme. The fireworks go off at 6:30pm with food stalls and family entertainment from 4-8pm. Tickets are £14 for adults, less for kids, and there's a family deal for £32.
🎃 Pumpkin Time | 📍GROW Farm, Totteridge Academy N22 | 25 October | Free
A chance to pick your own pumpkins at an actual working farm in North London. GROW Farm has nine varieties including ones with mad names like Turks Turban and Hungarian Blues. Homemade soup around a fire, farm tours, kids activities, and you can buy seasonal veg to take home. Free entry, pay for what you pick. Only farm I've found doing this so far in North London.
🎄 Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol | 📍Alexandra Palace Theatre, N22 | 21 November - 4 January 2026 | (£)
Mark Gatiss's spooky take on A Christmas Carol is back at Alexandra Palace Theatre. Neil Morrissey from Men Behaving Badly plays Jacob Marley, with Matthew Cottle from Bridgerton as Scrooge. It's more of a ghost story than a traditional Christmas show. Got great reviews last time including Times calling it "the perfect dramatisation."
What’s On This Weekend: 20th - 21st September 2025
Your guide to what’s happening in North London this week. Events marked with (£) require a ticket in advance.
COMMUNITY
💃 Freeling Street Party | 📍Freeling Street, N1 | 21 September | Free
Street party on Freeling Street from 1-4pm with music, free food, dancing, face painting, and boxing sessions with Rival Boxing Gym. ClueQuest has designed a treasure hunt specially for the area. It's organized by Cally Traders Association with support from Islington Council and Mayor of London.
🖼️ Day Dreaming In Tottenham | 📍Tottenham Community Sports Centre, N17 | 20 September | Free
Free art festival aimed at young people with hands-on workshops including spray painting, portrait work exploring identity, cyanotype printing, jewellery making, collage, and t-shirt printing.
🔎 HADAS Open Day | 📍Stephens House and Gardens, N3 | 21 September | Free
Hendon and District Archaeological Society open day from 10am-4pm showing off finds from local digs around the borough. The Finchley Society also displays historical objects and images. There's activities, archaeological artifacts to see in the dining room, and you can join the society on the day.
DOG FRIENDLY
🐶 The Great Hampstead Bark Off | 📍Parliament Hill Cricket Pitch, Hampstead Heath NW3 | 20 September | (£)
Dog show on Hampstead Heath from 11am-3pm with six competitions including Golden Oldie for dogs 7+, Best Rescue, and Waggiest Tail. There's celebrity judges, stalls, and a raffle draw. Dogs stay on leads the whole time, and if it hits 23 degrees they postpone the whole thing. Limited day tickets available but better to book ahead.
🏷️ Bull & Gate Boot Sale | 📍Bull & Gate, NW5 | 20-21 September | Entry fee
Charity boot sale at the Bull & Gate pub to celebrate Young's Day. Second-hand clothes, books, household items and other pre-loved treasures from 11am onwards. All proceeds go to Dogs for Good UK, which trains assistance dogs.
Source: pennyspetpawtraits
ART & DESIGN
♻️ UnBroken: Private View and Auction | 📍Camden Collective, NW1 | 20 September | (£)
Ten designers have taken stuff that was heading to the bin and turned it into furniture and art you can actually use. Think theatre props transformed into coffee tables or lighting. Private viewing from 5-7pm with drinks and snacks, then you can bid on the pieces if you like them. The money goes to environmental projects in Camden and the charity that saved the original items from landfill.
🗿 Frieze Sculpture | 📍Regent's Park, NW1 | 17 September-2 November | Free
Free outdoor sculpture exhibition in Regent's Park with 14 large artworks scattered around the gardens. This year's theme is 'In the Shadows' - basically sculptures that play with darkness, hidden things, and what you can't see. Seven weeks to get your steps in and see some contemporary art. Part of London Sculpture Week if you're into that sort of thing.
LATE NIGHTS
🎤 Sergi Polo - Work in Progress | 📍The Bill Murray | 21 September | (£)
Spanish comedian Sergi Polo trying out new material at The Bill Murray from 5:30pm. He's been on BBC One, BBC Three and Radio 4, plus performs at top UK clubs like The Comedy Store and Angel Comedy.
🎲 H.A.T.E Club (Hobby and Tabletop Enthusiasts) | 📍Karamel, Wood Green N22 | 21 September | (£)
Gaming club that's been going since 2010 for people into board games, Warhammer, and role-playing games. They meet Wednesday evenings and alternate Sundays at Karamel in Wood Green. £3 if you bring your own games, more if you use their terrain and figures. They're LGBTQ+ friendly and call themselves the friendliest gaming club in London.
Is It Worth Leaving North London for?
I don’t know, but here’s what caught my eye.
🚶 This is Oxford Street | 📍Oxford Street | 21 September | Free
Oxford Street goes car-free for the day to show what it could look like pedestrianised. Food stalls, live music, fashion pop-ups, and activities from 12-8pm. The Mayor of London wants to turn it into a permanent pedestrian zone so this is the trial run.
🥘 Brick Lane Curry Festival | 📍Brick Lane, E1 | 19-21 September | Free
Three-day curry festival on Brick Lane. Friday and Saturday have workshops and dancing, Sunday has the main street party with food stalls, cooking demos, and street performers. Free to attend, plus 20% off participating restaurants if you register.
HELP ME FIND THE GOOD STUFF!
Street food market? Your mate's coffee shop event? New launch? Festival? Art gallery? Nothing is too big or too small, send it all.
THANKS FOR READING!
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