Greenwich and Docklands International Festival (GDIF)

I had a great time at GDIF on Sunday afternoon. The grounds of the Old Naval College in Greenwich were packed with people enjoying the sunshine (or seeking out a spot to rest in the shade) and making the most of all the fabulous free entertainment. There were also performances in St Alfege Park - a great new find for me. I hadn't realised there was such a peaceful spot so close to Greenwich town centre. Some of the activities spilt out on to the streets of Greenwich too like these glamorous stilt walking Princesses with outsize feet.

The Princesses in Greenwich High Street

The 'not so dainty' feet of one of the Princesses

With so many different things going on it was hard to know what to pick from the programme but as is often the best way with these types of event, we decided to just wander around and stop for a while when something took our fancy. We saw a performance called Heartland which was apparently inspired by the Minotaur and Icarus legends. To be honest, I didn't pay too much attention to the plot but I was impressed by the aerial acrobatics.

Aerial acrobatics in Heartland

The Iron Man in St Alfege Park proved a more absorbing plot and was clearly captivating the dozens of children sitting in the blazing sun to watch as the eponymous hero saved the planet from a murderous dragon.

A captivated audience watches The Iron Man

St Alfege Park

An interactive sculpture park  provided entertainment for those looking for something other than theatre. Various artists had re-imagined famous sculptures as machines or games that could be moved or played with, providing an opportunity for visitors to engage with these works of art in a new way.

A sculpture park with a difference

The Bollywood dancing I'd had hoped to watch was cancelled for some reason but there were lots of other weird and wonderful things to see from 6ft tall meerkats to a phoenix rolling by dispensing gifts as she went.

6ft tall Meerkats introduce themselves

The Phoenix

 The festival continues next week-end with dancing at Canary Wharf and a finale at Woolwich Town Centre on Saturday night and there's further entertainment in St Alfege Park the following Saturday (9 July) when the friends of the park are organising what sounds like a great festival.

Open Garden Squares Week-end

Water lily at Devonshire Road Nature Reserve

This week-end there's a great opportunity to visit many of the garden squares around London which are normally closed to the public. Open Garden Squares Week-end is the one time each year when many of these private gardens can be seen and it allows access to some fascinating places. It's not free but for £10 (or £7.50 if you booked in advance) you can spend the whole of Saturday and Sunday visiting dozens of squares and gardens, many of which are also laying on special activities such as live music and wine tasting. The gardens involved come in all shapes and sizes ranging from large Georgian Squares to small community and roof gardens and also include a few wildlife gardens and nature reserves (including the one at Devonshire Road where I took this photo). There are even opportunities to visit the gardens tended by inmates at Holloway and Wormwood Scrubs prisons although you need to book guided tours in advance for those.

There are 213 gardens participating this year and you couldn't possibly visit them all. Here's my suggestions for getting the most out of Open Gardens Squares Week-end, based on my experience in previous years:

• Focus on one or two areas where there are lots of gardens - Bloomsbury is a good bet as there are 19 gardens within close proximity. The website lists all the gardens participating and you can sort them by sector, borough, postcode etc.
• About half the gardens (e.g. Gordon Square) are open to the public at other times anyway so to get the best value from your ticket it is best to concentrate on those which are not normally open. There are large numbers of these in Marylebone, South Kensington and Notting Hill.
• The best way to get around quickly between the squares is by bike. The London Cycling Campaign is organising two rides visiting gardens in Westminster and Camden on Saturday and gardens in South London on Sunday. The Open Gardens Squares Week-end website also has details of two self-guided cycle routes taking in some of the open squares in East London.
• Take advantage of some of the special activities on offer such as exhibitions, guided tours, activities for children and live music. Full details of what's on where are on the website which also provides details of free guided walks around some of the squares (you have to book for some of these).
• Not all gardens are open at all times over both days so it's worth spending a little time in advance planning what to visit when. There is a host of information on the website including details of public transport and how close other nearby gardens are.
• Finally, have fun and enjoy the experience! If you don't get to see everything you want to this year, there will almost certainly be another opportunity this time next year.

Festival time

Just as the April showers finally seem to have arrived, the summer festival season is upon us and there are some great free festivals happening in London this summer.

In my local area, the annual Brockley Max festival kicked off last Friday with a lively afternoon and evening of music outside the Brockley Barge. I was there for a couple of hours in the evening and there was a fantastic atmosphere and a great mix of different types of music, ranging from a community choir to a ska band. The festival runs all this week and includes theatre, comedy, dance, workshops and children's events as well as lots of music.

Another of my favourite free festivals begins in a few week's time. The Greenwich and Docklands International Festival runs from 24 June to 2 July and if past events are anything to go by is likely to include some amazing spectacles. A year or two ago we watched a fire lit dance performance after dark in Greenwich Park. There doesn't seem to be anything quite the same this year but there are lots of other interesting free events on offer, including:

• A 21st century version of the Greenwich Fair which was the 'largest and most uproarious gathering of outdoor entertainment in Britain' until it started getting abit out of hand 150 years ago and was shut down.
• As the World Tipped , an aerial theatre performance about climate change in Mile End Park.
• An opportunity to view dance from an unusual angle at Canary Wharf with La Mirada Transparente's transparent stage. The audience sit on reclining seats underneath the stage.
• Les Girafes, the festival's finale in Woolwich town centre which includes life-sized giraffes, confetti explosions and evocative music.

Also, just about to start is the More London Free Festival at The Scoop. It starts with theatre performances from tomorrow but over the coming months there will also be music and film at this outdoor venue next to City Hall.

These are only a few of the many free festivals in London this summer ranging from one day local events to summer long celebrations at central locations. Let me know if you have any particular favourites.

Summer on the South Bank

Both the National Theatre and the Royal Festival Hall (RFH) host regular free events (mainly live music) throughout the year but over the next few months there'll be lots more happening. The National Theatre's Watch this Space free festival has been running for a few years now and offers music, dance, circus and more in the square outside the theatre. There's not much detail available yet about this year's festival which starts on 1 July but I'm sure there'll be some interesting events on offer.

This year there is even more reason than usual to spend time around here as the South Bank Centre celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain with a 'festival of British culture and creativity' which includes a number of free performances and activities. I've already been along to a couple of events and hope to get along to several more.

 On Saturday 30th April, we took part in Billy's Big Busk with hundreds of us singing along to a range of songs led by Billy Bragg and many people also joining in on musical instruments. There were lots of guitars and a whole range of other instruments including saxophone, didgeridoo and percussion and it was great fun.

As usual Billy was good at engaging with the audience and he had a number of assistants who held up boards with the chords on to help those playing along. The songs included Billy's own (A13, A New England), old favourites (Daydream Believer) and recent hits (Adele's Rolling in the Deep). A couple getting married at the RFH that day were invited on stage to sing along to Shotgun Wedding! I only managed to take a couple of pictures as I was too busy enjoying myself but there are loads more in the link above.


We were back again last Saturday for some more music as the Magpie's Nest had organised various folk singing and dancing activities. We also spent some time exploring what else is on offer. This includes a food market behind the RFH, a beach and a series of beach huts next to the river and a garden on the roof of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. This last was my favourite. They have planted a wildflower meadow which should be wonderful when it is in bloom. There are also lots of raised beds with vegetables, soft fruit and herbs and even a cafe, so you can while a way an hour or so with a beer or coffee. When we visited it was relatively quiet up there compared to the hustle and bustle below but I guess that may change as people discover it.

There is also a Festival Museum which I plan to visit another time. The festival runs until 4 September and details of all the events are available here. This week-end the focus is on singing with a range of choral activities and the following week-end it's classical music.

It looks like it is going to be a great summer on the South Bank.