Join our wonderful walk to see some of the lovely gardens along the Outer Circle of Regent’s Park this weekend. We meet at Great Portland Street station at 11:00 am on Saturday 17 June and at 2:00 pm on Sunday 18 June. We finish near Camden Town after a walk that takes about 75 minutes. Our walk takes in the lovely gardens of the Royal College of Physicians which contain world class collections of medicinal plants, the open spaces of Regent’s Park and the extraordinary garden of St Katharine’s Danish Church which traces its origins back to the Middle Ages.
For further details about the many walks available in this wonderful programme visit:
http://www.opensquares.org/activities/guidedwalks.html

Glad to be Gay: Camden’s LGBT Heritage
A walk marking 50 years since homosexual law reform 1967 – 2017
Saturday 10 June 11:00 am
Thursday 22 June 6:00 pm
Saturday 24 June 11:00 am
Saturday 1 July 11:00 am
Starting at Goodge Street Station this walk led by Camden Tour Guides takes in places in Fitzrovia, Bloomsbury and King’s Cross which are part of Camden’s rich heritage of sexual diversity. We will visit pubs which were notorious watering holes for the Bohemian demimonde of the 1920s and 1930s.
We will pass a theatre which was in the vanguard of lesbian and gay theatre and a bookshop which has been at the heart of the LGBT community now since 1979. We will visit the homes of the writers and artists of the Bloomsbury Set who challenged Victorian codes of behaviour and see the house where the great genius of polari Kenneth Williams was brought up. We will hear about how the LGBT community rallied together to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and end our walk at Camden Town Hall where some of the first Same Sex weddings were joyously celebrated.
The walks are free but you must book online on Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/glad-to-be-gay-camdens-lgbt-heritage-tickets-33955440637

Themed Tours around the University of London Campus

This is a fantastic series of tours organised by Camden Tour Guides Association. You can learn about the beautiful squares of Bloomsbury or get an update on the fantastic buildings of London’s Knowledge Quarter or its Medical Powerhouse in Fitzrovia. You can learn about the street art and sculpture of the area or be informed about some of the wonderful clocks that grace this part of London.

These tours are offered by qualified Camden Guides and should be really interesting and informative.

To book visit www.camdenguides.com

This offers a fantastic range of events to celebrate over-65’s all over Central London and further afield.
I am running my “Explore the Secret Gardens of Regent’s Park Walk” at 2:00 pm starting at Great Portland Street tube station and finishing at Baker Street tube by 4:00 pm.
To check the events have a look at this site:-
https://issuu.com/westminstercitycouncil/docs/westminster_plus_magazine_sept_16_w

There are lots of great things to do. Have a go!

Saturday 8 October:
Explore some of London’s most interesting , provocative and dramatic works of public art in the company of local guides. Walks last up to 60 minutes and start on the hour every hour from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Just turn up!
Camden
City of London
Clerkenwell and Islington
Greenwich
Westminster
www.locallondonguidingday.com
@FreeWalksLLGD

This is to recommend the fantastic exhibition currently on at the Building Centre on Store Street (London WC1E 7BT). Catch it soon as it closes on February 24. It is a comprehensive show documenting with great lucidity the story of how London’s road system grew through history from Roman times until the Twentieth century. It also deals with the challenges London faces in the future with growing numbers, new modes of travel. Well worth catching!
Here is the website for more information:-
http://www.buildingcentre.co.uk/exhibitions/streets-ahead-the-future-of-london-s-roads

Following David Cameron’s recent visit to Jamaica where he offered them the dubious asset of a new prison and pointedly refused to make an apology for British slavery saying “Let’s Move On” the subject of the impact of slavery on the development of the British economy and society is highly relevant. This series of lectures addresses many of these issues. It is run by the Conway Hall Ethical Society http://conwayhall.org.uk/ and supported by the Socialist History Society http://www.socialisthistorysociety.co.uk/
The lectures are on Tuesday evenings and run from 6 October until 8 December.
Here is the link for the next lecture on William Beckford: –
http://conwayhall.org.uk/event/first-prime-minister-of-the-london-empire/

Silver Sunday offers a wonderful programme of activities for people over 65. Events occur at other times but Sunday October 4 is the main day and you will find a wonderfully diverse range of activities all over London taking place on that day. Most of them are free of charge and range from
exciting walking tours, gym and dance activities, language taster classes, computer skills classes and many, many more activities. For more information and to book go to this website:-
http://silversunday.org.uk/calendar/
I am offering a guided walk in Covent Garden. For details check this site:-
http://silversunday.org.uk/event/covent-garden-tour/

Women through Time

Join with London’s specialist Local Guides for tours into the past to find the famous and infamous women who have helped to shape the history of London.
The great thing is that the tours are absolutely free. The tours last up to 60 minutes and depart on the hour every hour from 10 am. For detailed information go to www.locallondonguidingday.com
There are tours in:-
the City of London www.cityoflondonguides.com
Greenwich www.greeenwichtours.co.uk
City of Westminster www.westminsterguides.org.uk
Clerkenwell and Islington www.ciga.org.uk
Camden www.camdenguides.com
The challenge is to do them all in one day!

This is an extensive programme of events organised by Parliament about democracy and the freedoms we enjoy. Some of the events should be really fascinating. To view the full programme look at this site:-
Festival of Freedom