FESTIVAL: Bestival
And so, as quickly as it arrived, festival season is coming to an end. But despair not! Because, like a Vanessa Williams song, we've gone and saved the best till last. Enter the wildest, most whimsical and hands-down best dressed of them all: Bestival. The fancy dress theme - Summer of Love - takes us back to the 60s,and the 90s live again thanks to sets from The Chemical Brothers, Underworld, Snap(!) and Craig David(!!). Meanwhile Little Dragon, Flight Capacity and Jamie XX bring us bang up to date. Oh, and there's the world's biggest glitter ball – just because. We. Can’t Wait.
10-13 Sept; £205 Robin Hill, Isle of Wight
POP-UP: Chambord Chapter Eight Games
We know this isn't what we were supposed to take from Alice in Wonderland, but we've always thought the Queen of Hearts got a bad rap. OK, there was the whole 'off with their heads' thing, but natty red outfits, jam tarts, flamingo croquet? This woman knew how to live. And happily it seems the folks at Chambord agree with us, as they're taking over the rooftop at London Fields' Playground and Proof for a pop-up HM of Hearts would heartily have approved of. Behind the 'special door' you'll find a Wonderland-themed bar, decked out with curious delights and serving up tasty pink Chambord cocktails. Plus, there's French burgers from Le Bun and - best of all - a full croquet lawn to wallop your way around with a flamingo mallet. Channelling Her Maj with every whack, obviously.
10-13 Sept; £5 Proof, Field Works, Martello Street E8 3QW Tickets here
FOOD: Little Bao
Ever since Bao opened in March, the chicest eats have come in buns – light, pillowy Chinese buns filled with braised pork, to be precise. Such is the foodie hankering for them, a table at the Soho-based restaurant is rarer than a bao stuffed with dodo steak. Good news then, that Bao owner and chef May Chow is decamping to Soho Kitchen & Bar for a week-long pop-up, giving us all another chance to try her signature pork belly, Szechuan fried chicken and tempura fish creations. Nom.
Until 13 Sept . Little Bao, 19-21 Old Compton Street, Soho, London W1D 5JJ
DRINK: Hammerschlagen
At this new German-themed pop up bar, it's not unusual – nay, it's actively encouraged – to get nailed. No, not like that (please drink responsibly), but because this bar is all about playing the traditional German drinking game Hammerschlagen. A subtle, nuanced and highly cerebral game, you basically have to smash a nail into a tree with a blacksmith’s hammer, using the fewest amounts of blows you can. If you beat the barman, you get a reduced bar tab, hooray! As well as the chance to attack a tree with brute force, you'll find frankfurters and steins of Deutsch beer, plus up-and-coming DJs on the decks. And, let’s face it, this is one of the few times in life you'll have valid cause to say, 'stop: hammer time'. Open ‘as long as we are popular’
The DOT Café & Bar, 79 Stoke Newington Road N16 8AD
FOOD: Conflict Cafe
Things that are good: 1. Good causes. 2. Good food. And if you put them together? Well, you get the downright excellent idea that is Conflict Café. A month-long pop-up at House of Vans in Waterloo, each week this supperclub will dish up delicious food from a different war-torn area, including Syria, the Middle East, Nepal and Colombia. It’s all part of the Talking Peace Festival, which is raising awareness and getting us to engage with the issues surrounding global conflicts, as well as raising money for charity. There’s no tastier way to give peace (and peas?) a chance.
Until 3 October; £35 Arches 228 - 232 Station Approach Road, London SE1 8SW
MUSIC: Ceremony
We're in denial that summer is over. And so – for once – is the weather. So what better way to spend the day than dancing in a field in the sun? Especially when said field is Finsbury Park, and said dancing is being done to The Martinez Brothers, Lee Foss, DJ Sneak, Todd Edwards and Armand Van Helden (who's promising a 'classic '90s set')? You'll find all this, plus all manner of electronic goodness, at the eight-stage, day-long celebration of club culture that is Ceremony. In your face, autumn.
12 Sept 11am-10pm; £40 Finsbury Park, Endymion Road, N4 1EE
FILM: Legend
How do you solve the problem of casting a pair of gangster twins infamously so identical, they were almost impossible to tell apart ? You cast the same actor twice, obvs. And when the actor in question is Tom Hardy, we're heartily in favour of this solution. His dual performance as Ronnie and Reggie Kray is winning rave reviews in this stylish new biopic, charting the rise and fall of the legendary criminals. Just don't try to work out how on earth it was done.
Out 11 Sept in cinemas nationwide
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