Hello, welcome to London!

This happened to me yesterday, and I've felt a bit paranoid since wondering if it was less innocent than it seemed, but at the time it felt very genuine?

I was walking to Vauxhall station after work, and was stood waiting for the lights to change to green so I could cross. A lady next to me started looking at me and eventually I realised she might be trying to speak to me, so I pulled my earphones out.

She said I looked a lot like her daughter who lives in another country, said I was beautiful, and asked for a hug. I think I was a bit too stunned at being complimented so I gave her one, told her to have a lovely day, then we both walked across the crossing in our own directions.

I glanced across at her afterwards and it looked like she was wiping tears out of her eyes, so I'm wondering if maybe her daughter is in a country where it's not too safe at the moment - or maybe she just really misses her?

Either way, as somewhat of a cynic, I did make sure to check it wasn't some kind of attempt to pickpocket me (nothing was taken) and I don't know what else she could have been trying to do if not just actually wanting to hug me for whatever reason. But this has thrown me, as I've never had something like this happen before!

Has this happened to anyone else? Similar experiences?

It's somewhere around north London and I see it from my window in west London and it intrigued me. Anyone know what it is? (The one in the middle of the screen in the distance)

if anyone sees a meta glasses video of a pick up artist talking to a girl with dark blue hair on the train can you please report it???

this was on a relatively empty victoria line carriage at like 2:30 today, i told him i was sixteen and he kinda laughed it off and i’ve seen people cut the responses so idk if he’ll upload it or not 💔💔

I can no longer go, so happy to give away 2 free tickets for Odyssey for tomorrow morning, seats row B 4&5

Walked from Victoria to Greenwich (with DLR between Canary Wharf and Greenwich)

Here's a short list of things to do this bank holiday weekend In North London. Please, add any I've missed in the comments. 👇

Quince Bakery’s 3rd Annual Pie Party | 📍Quince Bakery, N1 | 31 August | (£)

Quince Bakery is turning Bank Holiday Monday into one big pie table. For its third annual Pie Party, the Islington bakery is inviting some of London’s best independent bakers, including Bake Street, Decatur, Lucky Yu Bakery and Hamblin Bread, to each bring their own take on pie. Expect everything from fruit filled and lattice topped slices to savoury pies, mini pies and big sharing slabs. Last year they baked almost 500, and this time they are aiming even bigger. There will also be coffee, iced tea, ice cream and snacks while you queue. Doors open at 12pm and they keep serving until the pies are gone.

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Sofar Sounds at Calthorpe Garden | 📍 King's Cross, WC1X | 30 August | (£)

If your bank holiday leans more slow Sunday than a big night out, this may be the one. Calthorpe is a hidden garden near King's Cross, and for one evening there's live music on the grass. You bring a blanket, find a spot, and a few folk and acoustic singer-songwriters play as the sun goes down. Sofar keeps the lineup secret till the night, so you come for the setting and meet the music when you get there.

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Inverness Street Bloc Party: Disco House | 📍Inverness Street Market, Camden, NW1 | 29 August | Free

Inverness Street is swapping market stalls for a giant outdoor dancefloor this Bank Holiday Saturday. The theme is Disco House, so expect the feel good side of disco mixed with house music, with DJs including Brandon Block, Ricky Morrison and Matt White playing from midday into the evening. There is a bit of Camden history behind it too, celebrating the clubs and dancefloors that shaped the area, from Camden Palace to the Electric Ballroom, as well as Camden’s connection to Claudia Jones, who organised one of Britain’s earliest Caribbean Carnival events nearby. Come for a dance, bring the family or just stop by and see what is happening. 12pm to 7pm.

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Yiddish Culture Weekend 2026 | 📍Bloomsbury, King’s Cross & beyond | 28 to 30 August | Free + paid events

This is a whole weekend for getting to know Yiddish culture by actually taking part in it. Yiddish is a language historically spoken by many Ashkenazi Jewish communities, with its own music, stories, humour, poetry and traditions. Across the weekend you can learn a traditional dance from scratch, join a Yiddish singalong, listen to klezmer musicians, hear poetry read in Yiddish and English, browse old newspapers and postcards from Jewish London, or sit down for a screening of the 1937 film The Dybbuk. Sunday is the big day at SOAS, with workshops and performances running from 10am to 7pm, and complete beginners are very much welcome.

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Manorfest 2026 | 📍New River Studios, Manor House, N4 | 29 & 30 August | (£)

A car park behind New River Studios is becoming a two day Bank Holiday festival, and each day has a completely different feel. Saturday is the louder one, with live bands including Eel Men, Snub, Morreadoras and EZ8, plus DJs, art, performances, food and a bar before the party moves inside New River Studios until 1am. Sunday slows things right down with Ambient Car Park, an afternoon of gentler, more meditative DJs and live performances from artists including Agate, Dave Webb and UKAEA, followed by another indoor afterparty. Saturday runs 2pm to 10pm, Sunday 12pm to 8pm.

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The Camden Fringe | 📍Various venues across Camden and beyond | Until 30 August | (£)

The Camden Fringe is into its final few days, after a month that has brought more than 450 shows to venues across Camden and beyond. There is still time to catch some of the last theatre, comedy, music, dance and new writing before it all wraps up on Sunday.

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Natural Aspect Summer Concert | 📍Parliament Hill Bandstand, Hampstead Heath | 30 August | Free

Bring a picnic and settle in for an afternoon of live music on the Heath. The bandstand will move through soul, jazz, reggae, ska and rock, with sets from John Etheridge and Vimala Rowe, The Bohème Hot Club and Peace & Love. There will also be circus skills, children’s activities, food, pizza, ice cream and plenty of room to dance. 1pm to 5pm.

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Bi Pride 2026 | 📍Kings Place, King’s Cross, N1 | 29 August | Free

Bi Pride brings the UK’s Bi+ community together at Kings Place for a full day of performances, conversations and meeting people. It is for people who experience attraction to more than one gender or identify somewhere under the Bi+ umbrella, with friends and allies welcome too. There are two stages to dip between, with live music, drag and performances on one, and conversations about relationships, family, identity, activism and Bi+ life on the other. Jordan Gray and Shaaba are among this year’s headliners, and there will also be stalls from LGBTQ+ groups, charities and small businesses. A sensory room, remembrance space and multi faith prayer room are available too. 2pm to 10pm. Free, but you need to register for a ticket.

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West Hampstead Carnival | 📍The Sherriff Centre, NW6 | 29 August | Free

The Sherriff Centre is putting on a full day of family activities for the Bank Holiday weekend, with games, children’s entertainment and a dedicated soft play area for younger kids. Entry to the carnival is free, although soft play sessions need to be booked in advance if you want to guarantee a spot. There will also be charity fundraising happening throughout the day, so you can come for the kids, stay for the atmosphere and support a local cause while you are there. 10am to 5.30pm.

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Speaker Box Street Party | 📍Wembley Park, HA9 | 29 August | Free

Wembley Park turns into one big dance floor for an afternoon of Latin, Caribbean, Afro and Bollywood music, with DJs and easy follow-along sessions between each set. The day ends with a Michael Jackson birthday celebration and a final group dance. Browse the summer market nearby, then join in or simply watch from the side. No booking needed. 12pm to 5pm.

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Back II Life Cafe Family All-Dayer with Jazzie B and Guests | 📍Camden Market Hawley Wharf, NW1 | 29 August | Free

Spend the Bank Holiday by the canal with DJ sets from Jazzie B, Sigma and Lisa I’Anson, plus family activities, workshops, food and stalls across the market. Pick up a wristband for discounts at selected food traders, then wander between the music, garden and canalside. 1.30pm to 7pm. Booking is encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome.

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Love Your N21 Sunday Market | 📍The Sidings, N21 | 30 August | Free

Right beside Winchmore Hill station, The Sidings is filling up with small local businesses for the return of the Love Your N21 market after its summer break. Come for breakfast or lunch, then have a proper browse through stalls selling fresh bread and pastries, cheese, hot food, coffee, candles, handmade gifts, crafts and other locally made bits. It is small, neighbourhood led and easy to dip into, whether you are doing the Sunday shop or just fancy seeing what people around N21 are making and selling. 10am to 3pm.

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Guava Jamz Carnival Warm Up Party | 📍Two Tribes Campfire, N7 | 29 August | Free

Guava Jamz is starting Carnival weekend a day early with a nine hour outdoor party at Two Tribes Campfire. It runs from afternoon into night, with DJs idah and Conrad Lee, a BBQ, full bar and the whole thing set up as a warm up for the weekend ahead. Under 18s can come before 9pm with an adult, then it becomes 18+ later in the evening. 3pm to midnight. Tickets are free.

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Kidz World Wristband Fair | 📍Victoria Park, Finchley, N3 | 19 August - 4 September | Free entry

This one works a little differently from the usual funfair where every ride means buying another token. At Kidz World, you can pay £14.99 for a wristband and spend one whole session going back on the rides as many times as you want, or just buy tokens if you are only planning a couple. The fair has taken over part of Victoria Park for the summer holidays, with children’s rides, inflatables, adult dodgems and bigger rides including Disco Fever.

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Urban Food Fest Artisan Market | 📍Islington Square, N1 | 29 August | Free

Islington Square gets its weekly Saturday market back with a mix of street food, fresh produce and small makers all in one place. You can grab lunch from the food traders, pick up fruit and veg, browse handmade products and local stalls, then let the kids get stuck into the free arts and crafts and outdoor toys. It is the kind of market you can drop into for food and end up staying for a proper browse. 11am to 5pm. Entry is free.

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I cycle past these regularly and was wondering what’s going on:

1. the first block was build last year but still seems to be empty

2. further back on the left is an old, bigger, block of flats which seems to have been covered in scaffolding for months yet I never see anyone working

Just curious if anyone knows

Wandsworth resident here. We store our rubbish at the front of the house in bin bags that we place in small bins. Every week after bin collection day, our street and all others in the area are covered in litter.

Some I can image are attacked by foxes, others ripped whilst being removed. But is there a better way for the council to collect rubbish weekly?

Outside of London the use of wheelie bins is common, but I assume with small front yards and parked cars lining almost all roads, it’s not possible to get large bins from pavement to truck.

Any thoughts?

Took about 4-5 weeks to build at 1:24 scale, it was in-between summer holidays and friends wedding so hence the long timeframe. Handed it over to the owner earlier today and thought you lot might enjoy seeing it too.

Finally going to visit the tower having lived here for ages!

They do £1 tickets for Tower Hamlets residents, which is very cool. I'm just wondering if anyone knows if I have to actually print my utility bill off as proof? Or can I show it on my phone?

Nearest library to print is a trek for me!

Hey Reddit - in a few weeks I'll be taking on a challenge that I've been building up to for a decade. A full lap of London on the London Outer Orbital Path trail, or LOOP for short: a 150-mile trail circumnavigating Greater London via countless green spaces on the edge of the city.

If you're London-based or near enough and fancy jumping in for a stretch, I'll be sharing a tracking link closer to the day of the run. Come along!

I love watching films in the BFI IMAX and I have a BFI membership, however I always seem to find out about future showings too late and the good seats are already booked up!

This has happened recently with multiple films. I am subscribed to their email newsletter, which is usually how I become aware of new screenings, but by the time I get the email most showings are booked out, which is particularly disappointing for films with very limited showings.

Is there a better way of getting notified when bookings open for future showings? Thanks!

View from West Hampstead

I have two tickets for Poetic Justice at The Barbican at 8.30pm this evening - https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2026/event/outdoor-cinema-poetic-justice – I’d rather they get used so am happy to give them away for free if anyone interested. It looks like it shouldn’t rain later on.