Swotty witch Hermione Grainger used a time-turning device to get to two lessons at the same time. This Saturday you too may find yourself wishing that you could be in two places at once.
For a start, the first ever Wimbledon Comic Art Festival launches on Saturday, organised by local comic creator Rik Jackson. Buy, browse the works on show, chat to the artists at their stalls, join one of the drawing workshops, and marvel at the cosplay as people dress up as their favourite characters. An event that could even appeal to a stroppy teenager, which is saying something. The festival is in Merton Arts Space at Wimbledon Library, free, from 9am – 6pm. Find out who’s going to be there on the website and follow @wimblecomicfest on Twitter.
Saturday is also the first night of the Wimbledon International Music Festival 2017, a 16 day feast of classical and contemporary music that has quietly established itself as one of the leading music events in the capital. Saturday being Armistice Day it’s fitting that the festival opens with the London premiere of The Cool Web, a new oratorio set to poetry composed by Wimbledon author Robert Graves and reflecting the passion, intensity and pain of his time as a teenager in the trenches during the battle of the Somme. Listen to the two haunting excerpts below, and browse the festival website for more musical gems.
I can’t leave Saturday without mentioning a modest celebration called the Lord Mayor’s Show, taking place in central London. For over 800 years the new Lord Mayor has travelled from the City to Westminster to swear loyalty to the Crown. The Thames flotilla begins from Westminster at 8.30am, with Tower Bridge opening at 9.25am; the full-blown carnival street procession sets off from Mansion House at 11am; and celebratory fireworks blast off over the Thames between Waterloo and Blackfriars bridges at 5.15pm. Find a vantage spot to watch the show. More details here.
There are good shows on in local theatres. Treat yourself to a dramatic blast of the 1960s by going to see Cilla the Musical (main picture), on at New Wimbledon Theatre until Saturday. Read my review here. If you’re feeling in need of a belly laugh, try the psychological Christmas farce Rules For Living at the Rose Theatre in Kingston. My preview is here.
Anyone with small children is probably already aware that Paddington 2 comes out on Friday. It’s one of those film franchises that you can rely on to cheer everyone up. On at the Odeon Wimbledon.
Last but not least, the EFG London Jazz Festival is back bigger and better than ever, with concerts, workshops, lectures and more at the Southbank Centre from Friday until November 19. Highlights include the legendary Abdullah Ibrahim, Marcus Miller with a new project, and the contagiously funky Average White Band. Have a good week!
About The Author
Jenny Booth
Jenny was a news journalist for The Times. An ex-teacher, mum, gardener and art lover, there’s nothing she doesn’t know about the local culture scene…