Here’s your Summer 2016 newsletter giving you a taster of the exciting events coming up in the next 3 months in our capital.

If you want to hear more about anything listed (or other things you’ve heard about) send me an email (sue@itsyourlondon.co.uk) and I’ll get right back to you.

Have a look a Sue’s blog on the website (itsyourlondon.co.uk) to read about what I’ve been up to lately – a peek into life in London. I’m also on Twitter at @itsyourlondon so do join my 3900 followers for the latest news!

SPECIAL EVENTS

THEATRE

• July   Breakfast at Tiffany’s opens at the Theatre Royal Haymarket with Pixie Lott in the role of Holly Golightly made so famous by Audrey Hepburn.  After a long preview period, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 & 2 opens for real at the Palace Theatre, although tickets are impossible to find. Into The Woods and the Menier Chocolate Factory is not the usual version with ’10 actors, one piano and boundless imagination’! The Trial of Jane Fonda at the Park Theatre imagines what happened when Jane met US soldiers who served in the Vietnam War confronting her about her visits to North Vietnam when she was named ‘Hanoi Jane. Starring Anne Archer as Jane. Through The Mill at the Southwark Playhouse looks at the life of Judy Garland through the filming of the Judy Garland show in 1963. Jesus Christ Superstar comes to the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre 45 years since it first opened.
• August Yerma comes to the Young Vic starring Billie Piper in this emotional role.  By contrast, the Old Vic brings us Groundhog Day, the musical by Tim Minchin based on the famous much-loved film.  Kenneth Branagh’s season at the Garrick Theatre when he takes on the role so famously associated with Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer.
• September Much excitement about the opening of  Pinter’s No Man’s Land at the Wyndham starring Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart, set in a Hampstead pub where 2 older writers compare stories. The Royal Court’s A Father Comes Home from the War parts 1, 2 & 3 looks interesting, set in the American Civil War it is the story of a slave’s dilemmas. The Libertine starring Dominic Cooper has had a long build-up at the Theatre Royal Haymarket due to its star and its racy tale based on a true story.  As the evenings get cooler the indoor option of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the Globe is attractive with its offering of the Two Gentlemen of Verona. For hardier fold Pride and Prejudice is on at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.

• July The buzz in the art world is still the new Tate Modern extension which opened mid-June and their new show is Georgia O’Keeffe, the largest retrospective shown outside the USA with over 100 works by this pioneer of 20th-century art. At the National Portrait Gallery a new show of work by William Eggleston, an influential American photographer whose exhibition in 1976 led to photography being recognised as a contemporary art form! David Hockney’s 82 Portraits and 1 Still Life opens at the Royal Academy, each work features someone from his life, in the same chair, is the same size and has the same background colour. A new public art installation at St Pancras station by Ron Arad is a monumental blade of shiny aluminium which slowly rotates – a must see!
• August  Not many openings this month so don’t miss the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition closing this month – the world’s greatest open entry art show!  A film poster exhibition Summer Screen Prints at Somerset House looks fun, running alongside their outdoor film screenings in their magnificent courtyard, with each poster an original interpretation each of the films showing. Also at Somerset House are the World Illustration Awards, in their 40^th year and rather under publicised I must say!
• September Abstract Expressionism at the Royal Academy brings together some of the most celebrated arts from this period of American art including Pollock, Rothko and de Kooning alongside less well-known figures including women who struggled to be seen at the time. The Tate Britain hosts the contenders for the annual Turner Prize, always stirring up some controversy in the art world.

• July Don’t miss the bargains in London’s famous July sales where everyone from the High Street to Harrods slash their prices. Spitalfields Market has regular events including an Independent Label Market in July.
• August Summer is the best time to visit London’s numerous street markets: Portobello, Columbia Road, Camden, Greenwich and many more. Any day of the week one of these great markets will be just the place to while away the summer and grab some unique purchases.
• September  London Fashion Week is a chance to get ahead of the fashion curve with catwalk shows and splash out on some new clothes too, with collections looking ahead to spring/summer 2016. This year it stays at the Saatchi Gallery on the Kings Road after a successful move last year.

MUSEUMS & EXHIBITIONS

• July  A much-awaiting exhibition at the Museum of London marks the anniversary of the Great Fire of London in 1666 with an interactive, immersive experience called Fire! Fire! Great for all ages but I guess particularly good for the school holidays. The Museum of London is also organising visits to Billingsgate Roman House and Baths, which are rarely open and this is a great chance to tour these remains under the buildings of London.
• August  Few new openings in August but there is time to catch Exhibitionism at the Saatchi Gallery, the popular Rolling Stones show. Also worth a look are: Above and Beyond at the National Maritime Museum, a chance to explore space travel through fun interactive exhibits, At the British Museum the Sunken Cities is a fascinating exploration of ancient underwater cities, brought up to the surface for us to enjoy with films of how they were found on the seabed.
• September The Victoria and Albert Museum’s exhibition is called You Say You Want a Revolution: Records and Rebels 1966-70. The title says it all really, looking at the turbulent times of the late 60s, its revolutions, records, performances, activism alongside fashion, film and design.  Also at the V&A is the Opus Anglicanum: Masterpieces of English Medieval Embroidery, showcasing an art which England excelled at from the 12^th to the 15^th centuries. These ancient elaborate, luxury embroideries, with their exquisite craftsmanship, will be displayed alongside contemporary works to give them historical context.

FOODIE THINGS

• July The Soho Food Festival returns with an array of top restaurants putting their wares out into the streets to create a great buzz and endless temptation and all in a good cause as it raises cash for a local primary school.   Lots of talk about Berber and Q Shawarma Bar in Exmouth Market – reinventing the kebab – looks worth a visit. Samarkand in Charlotte Street brings us Uzbeki cuisine with a lounge bar offering caviar and vodka. Calcutta Street, bringing Bengali home cooking and communal dining, sets up its first permanent residence in Fitzrovia. After 18 years in Barcelona, Sagardi sets foot in London for the first time (and in the UK for the first time) with Basque cooking.
•  August.  The BBC Good Food Festival returns to Hampton Court with top chefs doing demos, stalls, tastings and demonstrations all in the beautiful grounds of the Palace. Chicama on the Kings Road will bring us Peruvian style seafood. Butifarra is also Peruvian, serving street food – sandwiches, ceviches and watch out for some sweet afters!  Blanchette East is the new opening of the successful Soho place offering small French plates to the Shoreditch crowd. One Aldwych is getting excited about opening a new restaurant headed by Eneko Atxa, chef at 3 Michelin starred Azurmendi Bilbao, bringing rustic Basque cuisine (yes, Basque seems popular right now)
•  September  Elystan Street is a new venue from the former chef of 2 Michelin starred The Square, Phil Howard. Anzu in St James Market is the new upmarket offering from the Tonkotsu folk. A favourite restaurant is Casse- Croute in Bermondsey and they are branching out just around the corner with Pique-Nique offering breakfast, lunch and rotisseries. Shaun Rankin moves into the Mayfair hotel Flemings with his Jersey heritage bringing modern British booking to a new restaurant called, you’ve guessed, Shaun Rankin at Flemings.  One more to look forward to is Margot from the former Maitre d’ at Bar Boulud, Paulo de Tarso, offering rustic Italian food.

PARKS & GARDENS, ROYAL PALACES

•  July The famous Flower Show takes over the grounds of Hampton Court for a wonderful weekend in a more relaxed atmosphere than the Chelsea equivalent and it’s much easier to get tickets too. Buckingham Palace starts its summer opening when the Queen goes on her holidays and she lets us look around her London home and be amazed by the huge room, amazing decorations, fabulous furniture and great paintings.   Hyde Park is home to great music as it Kew Gardens.
• August  Clarence House, the official residence of Charles, the Prince of Wales and Camilla is also open to the public, but just for August as he has shorter holidays than the Queen! The BBC Good Food Festival comes to Hampton Court’s grounds to tempt you with all kinds of goodies and top chefs from Michel Roux to John Torode and Mr Bake Off Paul Hollywood and
• September  The Last Night of the Proms is streamed live into Hyde Park so thousands can wave flags and sing their hearts out. Buckingham Palace is open to visitors for another month as the Queen is still on her holidays!  Kew Gardens host Write On Kew literary festival with interviews, readings and signings by top names such as Tracey Chevalier, Fay Weldon, Marian Keyes, Robert Harris and Alan Johnson and so many more.

SPORT

• July Wimbledon has moved on a week this year so July now has the second week of this great tournament and the hopes of the nations rest on Andy Murray.  In the cricket, England plays one of the test series against Pakistan at Lords and there is plenty of county cricket matches at the Oval and Lords.  The annual Anniversary Games at the Olympic Stadium brings big names as usual in what will be a Rio Games warm-up – Usain Bolt, Jess Ennis-Hill and David Weir are big draws but loads more stars will be there. Ride London is a massive cycling event for the public and elite competitors. 
• August. All eyes will be on Rio for the Olympics this month. The 4^th test match between England and Pakistan will be played at the Oval, County cricket will be in full flow at all the London grounds. The Premiership start in August, which always feels too early for the football season.
• September  Eyes return to Rio for the Paralympic Games where Team GB will be looking for a good medal haul. The Tour of Britain wheels into London and we may see some of the Tour de France stars in town. The cricket season is ending as the Rugby Union Premiership gears up. For something beyond the usual sports, the WWE Wrestling takes over the 02 giving you a chance to see the ‘Superstars and Divas in action’!             

MUSIC 

• July  The festival season is in full flow with British Summer Time – full of the biggest names from legends such as Carole King to Stevie Wonder, Mumfords and Take That. Kew The Music which has one of the best settings for Gipsy Kings, Simply Red, and of course Jools Holland. Somerset House rivals Kew for setting and brings us a wide range of styles including Jack Savoretti, James Morrison and St Germain. Lovebox in Victoria Park brings us Major Lazer, George Clinton and Norman Jay MBE. Let’s not forget the nightly Proms season which kicks off in July and stretches through to September.
• August  The festival South West Four on Clapham Common brings us the biggest names in dance music including Rudimental, Dizzee Rascal, Chemical Brothers and Armand van Helden. Prepare yourself for the Notting Hill Carnival – 2 days of very loud music to get us all up and dancing in the streets. Look out for Gaz’s Rocking Crew and the nearby dub reggae truck which are my favourites or get your ears blown off on All Saints Road!
• September  The festivals are still with us as On Blackheath returns with a wide range of acts from Neneh Cherry, Roachford to Hot Chip and James or Squeeze or Edwyn Collins.  The wonderful Proms come to an end with a simulcast in Hyde Park but before then you can see a line up of Rick Astley, Frankie Valli, All Saints and the multi-talented Tim Minchin.  It’s retro time around London with concerts by Billy Joel at Wembley, Dave Gilmour from Pink Floyd at the Royal Albert Hall and Ronan Keating at the Apollo. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds headline at the Brixton Academy.

*All listings correct to the best of my knowledge but exact details should be checked with each venue.