What To Book, Watch & Listen To This Month
THE CHARITY EVENT:
The Great Street Feast
UK-based refugee charity Freedom From Torture is hosting a dinner to mark Refugee Week and raise money to help survivors of torture who seek protection in the UK. Guests can enjoy a dinner at the prestigious BAFTA 195 Piccadilly on Thursday 22nd June, cooked by top chefs including Paul Merrett, Chaya Maya, Cesar Garcia and Cynthia Shanmugalingam. There will also be in-conversation talks with actor and charity patron Dame Joanna Lumley, journalist John McCarthy and comedian and author Alexei Sayle. Guests can take part in a silent auction to bid on gifts like a private zoom call with actor Michael Palin, exclusive tickets to the recording of QI including a drink with Sandi Toksvig, and private dinner parties catered by top chefs. Tickets cost £70pp.
195 Piccadilly, St. James's, W1J 9LN
THE HORTICULTURAL WEEKEND:
London Open Gardens
If the Chelsea Flower Show has inspired you to visit beautiful gardens across the capital, London Open Gardens festival takes place on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th June, when visitors will have access to over 100 private gardens. You can book historic-themed guided tours, cycling tours or wander solo around some of the most beautiful outdoor spaces which are usually closed to the public. Highlights include Belgrave Square Garden, Chiswick House Kitchen Garden, Eaton Square Garden on the Grosvenor Estate, Inner Temple Garden, the Royal Crescent Gardens, St Mary's Secret Garden in Hoxton and William Morris Society gardens. Tickets cost £20.
Various sites.
Visit LondonGardensTrust.org
@LONDONGARDENSTRUST
THE FILM:
Asteroid City
Three years after his last film The French Dispatch, Wes Anderson returns to the big screen with his signature cinematic styling and deliberate colour palettes in this new film, Asteroid City. The action takes place in a fictional American desert town in 1955. The itinerary of a junior space cadet convention (organised to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events. The all-star cast includes Tom Hanks, Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Margot Robbie, Scarlett Johansson, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton and Jeff Goldblum.
In cinemas from 23rd June.
Visit Picturehouses.com
THE DAY OUT:
Daylesford Organic Summer Festival
Daylesford is hosting a family-friendly summer festival with food trucks, cooking demos, live music, creative workshops and special guests. On Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th June, guests can drop into yoga, Pilates and breathwork lessons, and book floristry and craft workshops. There will also be a tent for expert talks, local artist installations, comedy and entertainment at the Orchard Sounds area, and plenty of activities for little ones like animal petting stations, fairground rides, storytelling and entertainment from Sharky & George. You can even book hot air balloon rides and look out for special guests Ruth Rogers and Richard E Grant. Plus, on Saturday night, chef Clodagh McKenna will host a summer solstice banquet. Tickets cost £25, children go free.
Daylesford, Moreton-in-Marsh, GL56 0YG
Visit Daylesford.com
THE INTERVIEWS
Behind The Face of Success Podcast
In this new podcast series Visha Kudhail interviews famous faces and industry experts on their careers. From widely celebrated performers to fashion masterminds, tech leaders and entrepreneurs, each interviewee shares the decisions they've made, the wins celebrated, and the fails embraced to get to where they are now. Our favourite episode was with ballet dancer Ed Watson in which he talks about his dedication to his craft and his focus on setting a new standard for himself in dancing. He also shares personal experiences dealing and coping with rejection, the low points in a high-pressure environment and how he kept the focus on his first love – ballet.
Listen here
THE PERFORMANCE:
Carlos at 50 at the Royal Opera House
Carlos Acosta, one of the most celebrated male ballet dancers of all time and now director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, will celebrate his 50th birthday with a series of performances at the Royal Opera House. For the special series, the Cuban dancer will perform some of his favourite solos and pas de deux from his impressive dance career, including George Balanchine's Apollo and the celebrated bedroom scene pas de deux from Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon. Acosta will also be joined by friends and guest artists including Royal Ballet Principal Marianela Nuñez as well as dancers from Birmingham Royal Ballet and his own company Acosta Danza. Tickets start from £8.
Bow Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 9DD
Visit ROH.org.uk
THE PRE-BOOK:
Letters Live at the Royal Albert Hall
Tickets have just gone on sale for Letters Live which will return to the Royal Albert Hall in November – tickets always sell out in days so don’t delay getting yours. Now in its fourth year, each show celebrates letters written over the centuries from around the world, from 18th-century love letters to modern-day poems. The best part? You don’t know who will read – or perform – the letters, but previous stars have included Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman, Jude Law, Stephen Fry, Brian Cox, Gillian Anderson and Thom Yorke. Tickets start from £20.
Kensington Gore, South Kensington, SW7 2AP; Thursday 27th & Friday 28th October
Visit RoyalAlbertHall.com
THE CHEF SERIES:
In Good Company by Company of Cooks
Catering brand Company of Cooks has launched an event series that sees guest chefs, restaurateurs and producers preparing and cooking one-off menus in incredible venues around the UK. With events happening now until late September, the supper clubs will take place at venues in and near London, including Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, RHS Garden Wisley, Kensington Palace and Chiswick House and Gardens. Confirmed chefs include José Pizarro, Hoppers’ Karan Gokani and Douglas McMaster of Silo fame. On Saturday 17th June, Chelsea Physic Garden will celebrate 350 years with a botanical-inspired champagne afternoon tea in the garden. Guests will be served sandwiches, pastries and tea and fizz alongside music from a harpist. Tickets start from £60.
Various locations.
THE PODCAST:
I Can’t Just Be Me
Broadcaster and sex-positive enthusiast Anna Richardson bares all in this new podcast on love, sex and life advice. In each episode she shares a dilemma sent in by listeners and asks her celebrity pals and experts to share their words of wisdom. From coming out later in life to tackling the menopause, expect to hear honest conversations on relationships, family, friendship, fertility, mental health, ageing and everything in between. Don’t miss the first episode on being friends with an ex-partner with relationship expert Mel Schilling.
Listen here.
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