Nisha Woolford

Looking for some of the best pubs to watch the football in London? Perhaps an establishment that serves up quality craft beer alongside its live sport? No matter who you support, the city is packed with brilliant boozers just waiting for you to fill it with your excited screams and anguished groans. Take a look through our list of recommended pubs and sports bars for watching football, where you’ll find an atmosphere almost as good as you would on the terraces...    

At Meltdown’s C’est Chic Vogue Ball, dressed-to-kill hopefuls will compete in a catwalk face-off in a variety of categories, including ‘realness’, ‘fashion’ and ‘design’. It’s all about vogueing and posing, but more seriously, it’s about freedom of self-expression. Stand back – the vogue battles are about to begin. 

Put your money away! Here are the week’s best free events The Great Fête Ally Pally’s summer festival is back for another year of alfresco fun. See promenade performances from local arts company Haringey Shed or throw some shapes at one of the three live music areas. Green-fingered? Learn how to grow your own veg with Edible London. And if your attempts so far have been plagued by slugs, experts will be on hand to answer any questions too. Alexandra Palace. Alexandra Palace rail. Sat Aug 17. Hatton Garden’s pop-up park Okay, they’re not quite handing out sparklers but London’s jewellery quarter is hosting three days of free activities. Expect Konditor & Cook cakes, free booze, massages, manicures and Yoga with Frame. Aaand breathe! Hatton Garden. Tube: Farringdon. Wed Aug 14-Fri Aug 16. Summer Streets The usually heaving Regent Street will become a traffic-free zone this Sunday to celebrate its 200th birthday.  There will be free  recipe demos to tackle food waste and upcycling  workshops where you can learn how to tart up your old garms. Neat! Regent Street. Tube: Oxford Circus. Sun Aug 18. ‘Moulin Rouge!’ screening Can’t face the gym? Trick yourself into a low-key workout at this screening of noughties classic ‘Moulin Rouge!’. The whole thing is powered by Electric Pedals, so you can hop on a bike as you belt out the ‘Elephant Love Medley’. Southbank Centre. Tube: Waterloo. Wed Aug 14. Royal Wharf Summer Fête Have some good old-fashioned fun at Royal Wharf’s summer fête in

Put your money away! Here are the week’s best free events Climb London Always dreamed of tackling Mount Everest? Start small at North Face’s weekend-long event that aims to make climbing more accessible. Scale the climbing wall in one of the 45-minute sessions, complete with a photo-op at the top. Total newbie? There will be help on hand to show you the ropes, plus bouldering, live music, talks with athletes and merch giveaways. Westfield London. Tube: Shepherd’s Bush. Sat Aug 10-Sun Aug 11. Fried chicken and waffles Does anyone really want fancy granola for brunch? No. Go OTT instead with an all-American plate of fried chicken and waffles at Harlem Soul, where there will be 100 mini portions up for grabs to celebrate its new brunch menu. U-S-A! Harlem Soul. Tube: Old St. Sun Aug 11. Camden’s Big BBQ Is it even a barbecue if you don’t burn the sausages? Still, if you fancy breaking with tradition and learning a few tips, head to Camden’s Big BBQ where there will be free masterclasses, demos in the fire pit and Q&As. See ya later, burnt bangers. Camden Market. Tube: Camden Town. Fri Aug 9-Sun Aug 11. ‘Blinded by the Light’ screening Calling all Springsteen fans! Everyman Cinema and American Airlines are hosting a preview screening of ‘Blinded by the Light’, a coming-of-age story about a British-Pakistani Muslim teenager whose life changes when he discovers The Boss. Book at timeout@hopeandglorypr.com. Everyman Screen on the Green. Tube: Angel. Wed Aug 7. Mr Black Espresso Mart

Travel back to the disco heyday of Nile Rodgers and Chic on the South Bank this Saturday afternoon. At Meltdown’s C’est Chic Vogue Ball, dressed-to-kill hopefuls will compete in a catwalk face-off in a variety of categories, including ‘realness’, ‘fashion’ and ‘design’. It’s all about vogueing and posing, but more seriously, it’s also about freedom of self-expression. ‘The most important aspect of the [ballroom] culture is that it was formed by black and Latinx trans women and queer people of colour,’ says the night’s co-curator, dance artist Omar Jordan Phillips. ‘Being able to celebrate our beauty is activism in itself.’ Contestants will bring fire on the runway in outfits with an avant-garde twist. There will be recreations of Chic’s 1977 (literally) whistle-blowing album cover, drag lip-syncing and plenty of vogue battling as contenders strive for the grand prize. There’s even a ‘best-dressed spectator’ category (binge-watch the TV show ‘Pose’ for inspiration). So bring glitter, bring sequins, bring attitude, and remember: it might get hot on the South Bank, but at a vogue ball, there’ll always be shade.  Meltdown’s C’est Chic Vogue Ball takes place Sat Aug 10 on the Southbank Centre’s Riverside Terrace. Entry is free.  Find out about London’s growing ballroom scene.  Looking for more great things happening in London this month? Check out our August guide. 

What’s all the fuss? Nando’s has transcended its cheekiness by launching a summer pop-up space in Shoreditch, where it’ll be serving up its own take on brunch, which sounds… interesting. So, erm, peri-peri sauce for breakfast, then? Yep. Currently, you only get the breakfast at the Nando’s in Gatwick Airport or in the surroundings of Cobham Services, where you can munch peri-salted eggs while gazing out on to the M25. With this pop-up, you can head to east London for chicken sausage, eggs and portobello mushroom slathered in effulgent orange ooze. There’s a vegan breakfast too, called Avo Bit of That… on Toast. Anything going on (apart from the chicken sausage)? The chicken-slingers are turning up the Peri-O-Meter to ‘hits the spot without scalding your tonsils’ with a mixed bag of events. Learn to make chocolate cake using Perinaise sauce with ‘Bake Off’ presenter Liam Charles (£5), catch a gig with rapper Kojo Funds and DJ duo Bossy LDN or join a dance class with Sherrie Silver (the choreographer behind Childish Gambino’s moves in ‘This Is America’). Anything else I need to know? There’ll be a free carnival-themed day party with hair-braiding, T-shirt printing, tie-dye workshops and music curated by Peckham’s Wavey Garms. Oh, and west London grime MC Big Zuu will be running a workshop on ‘how to make your own peri-peri sauce’. Will I get a Nando’s Black Card out of it, though? Afraid not. Those are reserved for the elite. And Ed Sheeran. The Yard, 89½ Worship St. Shored

A festival about the Moon? In London? Never heard of it. That’s because it’s brand new. It’s London’s first ever fest dedicated to all things lunar and it will have lift-off this week in Woolwich.  What’s it all for? Saturday (July 20) will be the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, and this ode to the orb of the night has been in the works since 2018 to mark the occasion. It may have been half a century since Aldrin and Armstrong arrived there (whether you believe it happened or not) but we’re still fascinated by that pockmarked ball of rock. Will there be a lot of Moon worship? Can’t have a Moon Festival without a touch of mysticism! Look out for a keynote speech by author Margaret Atwood, a talk on the witch covens up and down the country that worship the Moon and a carnivalesque opening street party in General Gordon Square. Got it. What else is happening? There’s a ‘Vibe Under the Moon’ club night, Moon-inspired poetry, moonlit yoga and a storytelling performance set to the sound of a theremin. To top it all off, the National Maritime Museum is throwing the Moon Festival’s free grand finale party – a night of science, fantasy, conspiracies and fashion influenced by (you guessed it) the Moon.  Anything else I should know? Yep. Mercury is in retrograde. Only the light of the Moon can save you now!  Various London locations. Fri Jul 19-Jul 26. Prices vary. Get discount tickets here.  More into Mars? You might want to read about the Design Museum’s upcoming

Put your money away! Here are the week’s best free events BST Open House If you can’t fork out for British Summer Time tickets, Hyde Park is putting on a whole host of free activities all day, every day of the week before the weekend gigs. Visit for outdoor movies, music and family-friendly drag. Hyde Park. Tube: Hyde Park Corner. Tue Jul 9-Thu Jul 11. Frieze Sculpture Park One of  London’s prettiest parks has been transformed into a massive outdoor gallery, featuring a 4m long bronze from  Tracey Emin. Slap on some factor 50 and go soak up the sculpture. Regent’s Park. Tube: Baker St. Until Oct 6. The Batty Mama This south London collective is all about creating a safe, exciting party space for queer, trans and intersex people of colour.  Watch them funk up the South Bank with a banging DJ residency. Royal Festival Hall. Tube: Waterloo. Thursdays from Thu Jul 11. Turning Tides The riverside music and arts fest returns for a second weekend. See Tank And The Bangas, join a morning rave and add to Yoko Ono’s ‘Wish Trees’. Greenwich Peninsula. Tube: North Greenwich. Fri Jul 12-Sun Jul 14. Find more free things to do in London

Put your money away! Here are the week’s best free events River Stage The famous River Stage returns to the South Bank this weekend. The fun kicks off with a takeover by The Glory – east London’s purveyor of the finest drag – as it stages a three-day Pride celebration. There’ll be lip-syncing, Kylie tributes, cabaret and the ‘We Love EU Party’ (think Italian disco, Swedish pop and French house!). South Bank. Tube: Waterloo. Fri Jul 5-Aug 4. Flat Iron tasting club Want to help decide which steak dish ends up on Flat Iron’s menu? Head to the restaurant’s tasting club where you’ll get to try some works in progress. Book your spot at spitalfieldssteakclub@flatironsteak.co.uk.Flat Iron. Shoreditch High St Overground. Wed Jul 3. Yoga in a teepee If you go down to Grosvenor Square today you’re in for a big surprise… Free yoga sessions held in a pop-up teepee! All abilities are welcome and they run every weekday at lunchtime – a dreamy break from the stresses of office life. Grosvenor Square. Tube: Bond St. Weekdays from Tue Jul 2, 1pm. ‘A Star Is Born’ Missed out on the hype around Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s Oscar-winning double act? Not to worry, ‘A Star Is Born’ is showing on Wembley Park’ s big outdoor screen. Arrive early to grab a deckchair and get involved with pre-screening karaoke – with drag queens! Wembley Park. Tube: Wembley Park. Fri Jul 5. Football training Feeling inspired by the Women’s World Cup ? This football taster session, run by the Chelsea FC Foundation, is

Put your money away! Here are the week’s best free events Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival A fleet of brightly coloured dragon boats will be making waves on the usually calm waters of the Royal Docks as more than 40 teams battle it out in this annual competition. Meanwhile, on dry land, there will be traditional Chinese lion dancing, martial arts demonstrations and live music. Royal Docks Adventure. Royal Albert DLR. Sun Jun 30. Negroni giveaway Mr Fogg’s Society of Exploration is celebrating 100 years of Negronis by handing out – you guessed it – 100 of them for free. The drinks will be made by a mechanical mixologist, which whips up cocktails on demand. Cheers! Mr Fogg’s Society of Exploration. Tube: Charing Cross. Wed Jun 26. ‘Battle of the Sexes’ Get in the mood for Wimbledon at an alfresco screening of the movie about the match between women’s number one Billie Jean King and men’s ex-champ Bobby Riggs. It starts at 5.30pm, get there early to grab a deckchair. Merchant Square. Tube: Edgware Rd. Wed Jun 26. Kindness Café Proving that there is such a thing as a free lunch, you can pledge to do an act of kindness in exchange for gratis food at The Gosh! Kindness Café. Pin your pledge to the wall and grab a salad with Moroccan falafels or sweet potato pakora. Boxpark. Shoreditch High St Overground. Fri Jun 28-Sat Jun 29. Free daiquiris You’ve got National Pineapple Day in your diary, right? No? Well, get it in there because Harvey Nichols has teamed up with Plantation Rum to ha

The Jellied Eel is back! No, not the gross/historic London dish, but The Jellied Eel cocktail bar, a quirky pop-up located in L Manze’s pie-and-mash shop in Walthamstow Market. The bar first set up shop there in November 2018 and returned in March and April this year, treating the locals to an exciting combination of experimental cocktails and gourmet croquetas. Its new summer residency begins on June 21 and continues every Friday and Saturday night until the end of July: a short but definitely sweet time. © Paul Jellis Highlights of the opening night party on Friday include the opening up of Manze’s goods yard so you can enjoy 2-for-1 cocktails from 10.30pm until kicking out time, alfresco style. The following evening is an Art Night London special, as the shop is perfectly located along the arty trail. As well as all its boozy treats, The Jellied Eel lets you enjoy the amazing surroundings of L Manze’s, which includes art deco tiling and an exquisitely ornate ceiling. Pie-and-mash shops are London’s traditional fast-food joints, and design classics, but many are struggling – so head to The Jellied Eel this summer, sip on a Sailor’s Old-Fashioned or a Rhubarb Negroni in a cosy booth and show them some love. The Jellied Eel will be popping up at L Manze’s, 76 High Street, E17 7LD. Fridays and Saturdays, Fri Jun 21-Sat Jul 27. Find more surprising places to drink in our guide to the best secret bars in London. Get more boozy news delivered to your inbox when you sign up to T