“What’s On: London Baby, Toddler, Family May Half-Term Events and London Fire Station Closings

May 22, 2013 by admin

There is a great list of Half-term workshops and events in Central London in this post, I promise.

But first I need to make you aware of the very serious consultation undergone to evaluate the need for fire stations in London. Read it. The fourth sentence in the consultation states the cost savings. I have little financial acumen, but if The City of London is unable to cover fire stations with their tax base, someone is missing a huge revenue opportunity.

As I have mentioned before, my friend and London-baby reader has lost not just her home, she lost everything, her children’s’ photographs, her account information, her financial security to a house fire in Lambeth on a Friday afternoon in November. The fire engines could not get to her home quickly enough to put out what started from a malfunctioning kitchen appliance.

Our fire fighters do more than put out house fires: they know our communities, our buildings, our schools, our hospitals, our museums, our treasures, our elderly, our weak. The first responders are the ones who will come running when a helicopter crashes, a train station catches on fire or any number of tragedies that have or might occur where the public is in danger and needs help. They come out when people are stuck in malfunctioning lifts, which the consultation states they would like to rid the fire department of responsibility - rest assured when you are stuck in one that a trusty lift service company will be out as soon as they can to rescue you!! We need these professionals to remain in our neighbourhoods and keep the vulnerable safe.

Please look at the list below of all the neighbourhoods facing closure and the public meetings to discuss this:

More details of all the meetings are available here: http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/LSP5-public-meetings.asp here is a petition to sign if you cannot make your local meeting.

Barking and Dagenham, Monday, 25 March, 7pm-9pm at Boothroyd Hall, Castle Green, Gale Street, RM9 4UN
Barnet, Enfield and Haringey, Thursday, 18 April 7-9pm
CHANGE OF VENUE - (updated: 12 April 2012) - the new venue is the Grand Palace Banqueting Suite, 242 High Road, Wood Green, N22 8JX (across the road from the original venue, Haringey Civic Centre)
Bexley, Bromley and Croydon, Thursday, 23 May 7-9pm at Bromley Central Library, High Street, Bromley BR1 1EX
Brent and Harrow, Tuesday, 16 April 7-9pm at Harrow Civic Centre, Station Road, Harrow HA1 2XY
Camden, Thursday, 30 May 7-9pm at McNamara Suite, London Irish Centre, 50-52 Camden Square, London NW1 9XB
City of London, Thursday, 9 May 7-9pm, The Main Hall at St Albans Centre, Leigh Place, Baldwins Gardens, Holborn, London EC1N 7AB
Ealing and Hounslow, Monday, 13 May 7-9pm at The Victoria Hall, Ealing Town Hall, New Broadway, Ealing W5 2BY
Greenwich, Wednesday 29 May 7-9pm at Lecture Theatre 315, King William Building, University of Greenwich, 30 Park Row, Greenwich, London SE10 9LS
Hackney, Monday, 20 May 7-9pm at Hackney Assembly Hall, Stoke Newington Town Hall, Stoke Newington Church Street N16 0JR
Hammersmith and Fulham, Thursday, 28 March, 7-9pm at Hammersmith Assembly Hall, King Street, Hammersmith, W6 9JU
Havering and Redbridge, Monday, 3 June, 7-9pm at Lambourne Room, Redbridge Town Hall, 128-142 High Road, Ilford, Essex IG1 1DD
Hillingdon, Tuesday, 2 April, 7-9pm at Hillingdon Town Hall, Middlesex Suite, Hillingdon Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 1UW
Islington, Tuesday, 28 May, 7-9pm at Islington Assembly Hall, Upper Street, Islington N1 2UD
Kensington and Chelsea, Monday, 10 June, 7-9pm in the Kensington Small Hall, Hornton Street, W8 7NX
Kingston-upon-Thames and Richmond-upon-Thames, Tuesday 4 June, 7-9pm at Clarendon Hall, York House, Richmond Road, Twickenham TW1 3AA
Lambeth, Thursday, 16 May 7-9pm at Lambeth Assembly Hall, Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton Hill, London SW2 1RW
Lewisham, Wednesday, 22 May 7-9pm at Sydenham School, Dartmouth Road, London SE26 4RD
Merton and Sutton, Tuesday 21 May 7-9pm at the Council Chamber, Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden SM4 5DX
Newham, Wednesday, 8 May, 7-9pm at Newham Town Hall, East Ham, Barking Road, E6 2RP
Southwark, Tuesday, 14 May 7-9pm at Committee Room 4 and 5, Greater London Authority, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA
Tower Hamlets, Tuesday, 7 May 7-9pm at Skeel Lecture Theatre, People’s Palace Building, Queen Mary University, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
Waltham Forest, Monday,15 April 7-9pm at Walthamstow Assembly Hall, Forest Road, Walthamstow E17 4JD
Wandsworth, Thursday, 4 April 7-9pm at The Open Door Community Centre, Keevil Drive, Beaumont Road, London, SW19 6TF
Westminster, Tuesday, 11 June 7-9pm at the Parker Morris Hall, The Abbey Centre, 34 Great Smith St, London SW1P 3BU

Please email the link to this page to anyone you know in these neighbourhoods as they might be interested in learning that they are losing a fire station.

On a much lighter note, here are some great events to keep you busy during the holidays

Half-term Holiday Workshops, Performances, Events:

London Literature Festival, Southbank: Loads of family events for big and small alike. Dogs Don’t Do Ballet: Little Angel Theatre production, ages 2-6, £4 children/£8 adult Mon 27^th and Thu 30^th. Contemplating the Honey Bee, come and learn all about bees, honey, flowers, and make a beeswax craft to take home. Mon 27^th, 11am, £5. Translation for Beginners, no knowledge of French required, all ages, free but booking required. Mon 27^th, 3pm.

Little Angel Theatre: Check out my review of Going on a Bear Hunt, Wed 29^th 11am & 2pm (with Fun Day); Thur 29^th, 11am & 2pm (with Museum Fun Day) and Fri 30^th, 11am & 2pm

Holland Park Ecology Centre: Half term activities and workshops. Bring your kids ages 5+ for a morning or afternoon session of learning, exploring and making. Each workshop has a different theme (orienteering, owl pellets, bird identification, hibernation) and you do some learning, and generally followed by some interesting, well-resourced making. Cost is £4.10 for RBKC residents, £5.20 per child for non-residents. Tuesday 28^th – Friday 31^st, 10am-noon and 2-4pm. Booking essential, but you can sign up for more than one session. 0207 938 8186

Isis Education Centre, Hyde Park. This hidden gem is a lovely little garden and study centre located just north of the Serpentine in Hyde Park. During the half-term the Isis Education Centre is offering a series of workshops and events; from free to somewhat pricey. Bug Explorer Day, £30, Tuesday 28^th. Day long workshop exploring the meadow and collecting bugs and other life to investigate under the microscopes. Discovery Day Wed 29^th, 11am-3pm, free. Make butterfly feeders and learn bees. Discover Butterflies and Bees, Thursday 30^th, 10am-noon. Go on a bug safari and make butterfly feeders.

Half Term Events and Activities at V and A: Make-it Music Icons, ages 5-12, Monday – Friday, booking essential tickets £7.50 per child. Get the pop star look with costume, make-up and photography with photographer DJ Edward Otchere. Imagination Station, make your own album cover. Pick up the materials and make your design. Free, all ages.

Wallace Collection Family Art Workshop: Good Gods: Wednesday 29^th May, 10:30-12:15 and 2:00-3:45, ages 6+, free. Take a good look around the museum for gods, heroes, and monsters from Greek mythology and create your own puppet. Pop-Up Fancy Furniture, Friday 31^st May, 10:30-12:30 or 2-4pm. Design a room full of pop-up furniture with the help of artist Agnieszka Arabska, ages 7+, £7 booking essential.

Royal Albert Hall Half-term Events: Family Ignite Concert. £3.50 kids, £5.00 adults. Discover Victoria and Albert: Learn about the world’s most famous romance and how it lead to the creation of the Royal Albert Hall. Storytelling and craft activities. £3.50, recommended ages 5-11. Tuesday 28^th, 10am & 1pm; Thursday 30^th 10am & 1pm. Family Victorian Experience Tours: come and tour the theatre with two Victorian guides who will explain the history of the hall and what it was like to have worked there 140 years ago when it first opened; children will get to go in the box offices and try on Victorian costumes. £25 family tickets (two adults, two children) or £11 per adult, £5 per child. Monday 27^th – Friday 31^st; 11am, 12:30pm & 2:30pm. Ages 5+.

Chelsea Physic Gardens Half term Holiday Workshops: A Passion for Plants, Gardening for Beginners. Ages 5+, Wednesday 29^th 10:30-noon and 1-2:30 (£6 children, £9 adults). Lost Art of Printing, learn about the lost art of nature printing and make your own prints to take home, age 10+, Thursday 30^th May 10:30-2:30 (£8 children, £11 adults).

British Museum: The British Museum is holding their usual round of drop-in activities in the Great Court Mon 27^th – Fri 31^st, 11am – 4pm: Villas, Vine and Volcanoes centred around the Pompeii exhibit. In addition to this, there will be two different talk hosted by Caroline Lawrence, talking about Animals in Pompeii on Monday 27^th, 1-2pm; another on Children in Pompeii and Herculaneum, Friday 31^st 1-2pm Both talks are for older kids (7+), free, but booking is essential.

Geffrye Museum: From Tuesday 28^th – Friday 30^th May Geffrye Museum will be hosting a series of workshops for children 5+, and another series of workshops for the under 5’s. Events generally start at 10am and 2pm, check the website for the long and varied list of interesting, hands-on, creative projects on offer. These workshops have limited places which are allocated on arrival, so leave in plenty of time to get there. The workshops are fantastic, well-staffed, well-resourced and good fun.

National Portrait Gallery: Monday 27^th – Friday 30^th the Portrait Gallery will be hosting a series of drop-in workshops for ages 5+ and storytelling and craft sessions for ages 3+. Some of the sessions for older kids are particularly interesting as there is a “sculpt your own bust” out of clay and a “relief portraiture” workshops where kids will paint, cut and stick their own relief self portrait together. Sessions are free, drop-in with tickets allocated on arrival up to one hour prior to the start.