Last Saturday, we planned the quintessential London day. We took a stroll down Oxford Street, had lunch in Soho and spent an afternoon watching Just for One Day: The Live Aid Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre.
The Tusk Turtle Trail
It was a lovely day, the perfect day for wandering about, and it was thankfully cooler than it had been earlier in the summer.
We met Myrtle the Hawksbill Turtle outside Tottenham Court Road Station. Designed by Sadie Williams, realised by Toby Williams and hand finished by Ralph Steadman, Myrtle is part of the Tusk Turtle Trail which runs until September. I will definitely need to plan a day out on this trail!
Lunch at Inamo Soho
Our next stop was lunch at Inamo Soho. There are so many good restaurants in London that I don’t often go to the same place twice but Inamo was worth a second visit to sample their vegan ‘salmon’ sushi. It’s been 20 years since I developed an allergy to salmon and I’m delighted to say that this vegan ‘salmon’ tastes just like the real thing. It’s honestly too good to share.
We had a great meal at Inamo and received 50% off our bill thanks to the First Table app which my friend Stacey introduced me to. See the comments below to see how it works.
Walking from Soho to the Shaftesbury Theatre
After lunch, we took a leisurely walk from Soho to Shaftesbury Avenue. We passed the former Henry Heath hat factory with its preserved Victorian frontage. The factory closed in 1930 and was redeveloped into eight swanky loft-style apartments in 2012.
We walked through Soho Square Gardens with its faux-half-timbered hut. The hut was built in 1925 and houses the electricity substation. It was also used as a bomb shelter during the Blitz.
No visit to Tottenham Court Road is complete these days without stopping in to see Outernet, a free and eye opening visual display of constantly revolving art, live performances and interactive experiences. We saw the Mirrored Cube by Hannah Nijsten which was an incredible piece of optical illusion.
We also stopped to catch Enchanted Forest: The Melody of Spirits by borabora studios.
Moving on, we walked through St Giles Square and spotted this mural. I believe the artist is David Speed.
Just for One Day: The Live Aid Musical
The afternoon was all about seeing Just for One Day: The Live Aid Musical. I’d been wary of seeing the musical – we were taught all about Live Aid and Band Aid as cautionary tales in university, with warnings about how not to do international aid and how funds and resources did not reach their intended targets.
The performance itself was fun and energetic, with a lot of great performances of 80s tracks. There was a story to it too, with a young Gen Z school leaver raising exactly the same concerns that I did.
It was good to see how the concert came about and how they raised record amounts of money but it definitely gave us a lot to think about, especially in light of the challenges we are facing today.
With daylight to spare on a glorious summer day, we emerged from the theatre and pottered about some more.
How the First Table app works
ReplyDeleteThere is a £3 per person booking fee but the app allows you to book hundreds of restaurants across UK, Australia and New Zealand for 50% off. The catch is that its reserved for the first tables of the evening. If you click on my referral link and book within 30 days, we will each receive a £3 credit (sadly I waited too long to use poor Stacey’s code!)