Hi DILFs!

If you want to guarantee I’ll open your email, put “K-Pop Dance Party” in the subject line. If you actually have a K-Pop dance party to tell me about, even better.

A nice man called Sam did just that. He and his fellow founders run a publishing business called Do Re Mi Books (gorgeous website, btw), and he wanted to tell me about an event they’re hosting this Saturday to promote one of their new titles.

The book is called K-Pop Witch Academy: A Trainee's Dream (sounds amazing already), and the event is a children’s K-Pop Party at Foyles. It will feature an author reading and book-signing, an introduction to elements of Korean culture, a 30-minute dance class with two K-Pop choreographers, and activities where kids get to pretend they’re K-Pop trainees. It’s just £3 for a child-parent duo to attend, and you can book here.

Enjoy! And also take a look at all the other things you can get up to this weekend…

Jeff xx

PS Golden Ticket alert! I’ve just finished putting together my complete guide to October half term in London, available exclusively to Golden Ticket subscribers.

It contains theatre, circus, museum events, creative workshops, Halloween trails, animal encounters and big days out, all organised by category and venue. Dates, times, prices and age guidance are clearly shown too. I’ve done the opening-47-tabs bit so you don’t have to.

As well as the guide, Golden Ticket subscribers receive an extra weekly email featuring events that need booking well ahead, plus access to my searchable database of future events, which you can filter by date, age, price and area.

Join for the price of a packet of crisps (from Pret) a month, and I’ll send you the half-term guide too.

Apple Day
Sunday 4 October, 11:00–16:00
Fulham Palace, Bishop’s Avenue, SW6 6EA
Adults £3, adult + child £4, family (2 adults + 2 children) £8
Age guidance: suitable for all

I don't know who had the job of sourcing the main image for the Apple Day listing, but I admire their commitment to taking the brief extremely literally. The image is a cross-section of an apple.

Considerably more effort appears to have gone into the actual event which, if you had to choose, is the way you'd want it.

Let's start with the price. IT'S CHEAP, YOU GUYS! The same price, in fact, as a bag of six Pink Ladies in Waitrose.

Next up: the activities on offer. There are orchard tours and chickens to meet, which feels about right for this sort of event. But there's also zorbing. It's never explained why there's zorbing, but then nobody ever asks what coconuts are doing at a village fete. And who cares anyway: zorbing is FUN.

Elsewhere, children can have a go at archery tag and giant garden games; do experiments with wonky apples; get their faces painted; and dress up as Palace gardeners while attempting to balance baskets of apples. There's an apple-pressing demonstration, a display of pumpkins and gourds, live music and an apple-themed baking competition, with separate categories for children and adults.

If you want to go on an apple trail or try badge making, they cost an extra £2 each. There'll also be food stalls and the Palace cafe, so you can get something to eat and picnic on the lawn.

There's pretty much nothing to complain about. Apart from the cross-section-of-an-apple image.

Find out more: https://www.fulhampalace.org/whats-on/events/apple-day/

AnimeCon London
Saturday 10:00–18:00, Sunday 10:00–17:00
Olympia, Hammersmith Road, W14 8UX
Adults £30 Saturday/£25 Sunday, 5–12s £7 Saturday/£5 Sunday, under-5s free
Age guidance: suitable for all

People: I did it. I actually did it. I researched the difference between anime, manga, comics, animation and cartoons. I've spent most of my adult years bluffing my way through conversations about these things with people much cooler than me, and it was time I stopped embarrassing myself.

Also, my family adores Studio Ghibli films – so it was starting to feel slightly disrespectful (in a "congratulating Japanese people on Parasite" kind of way) that I was essentially picking a word at random every time I referred to them.

The basic gist is as follows. Animation is the general term for putting lots of still images together so they appear to move; anime is animation made in Japan. Comics tell stories through a sequence of still pictures, usually with words; manga is the Japanese version. Anime and manga have styles we strongly associate with them, but the Japanese origin is the important bit: something can look exactly like manga without actually being manga if it’s not from Japan.

So My Neighbour Totoro is anime (and one of the best films full stop); Demon Slayer started life as manga and was later made into anime; and The Simpsons is animation, but not anime.

But what about cartoons? You don't need to know this for AnimeCon, but I'm going to share what I've learnt anyway because I lost a perfectly good Tuesday morning to this and I'm taking you down with me. A cartoon can be either a humorous/satirical drawing or, when we're talking about animation, something that looks drawn – even if it was actually made on a computer. Wallace & Gromit is animation but wouldn't normally be called a cartoon because it's made with stop-motion models. The Simpsons is both. But what about Toy Story? Definitely animation. Could reasonably be called a cartoon. Does anyone actually call it a cartoon? Not really. Why? I'm not sure. I was tired by that point.

Most of this is, I semi-promise, useful groundwork if you want to walk into AnimeCon and look like you have any idea what's going on.

We'll get to the shopping soon enough, but first: what can you actually do there? Children can try drawing and cosplay-prop workshops; play retro games, VR and D&D; learn KPop Demon Hunters choreography; have a go at lightsabre training; watch live art battles; sing karaoke; build with Lego and Minecraft; or disappear into a giant inflatable play park. There are cosplay catwalks and competitions too, and dressing up is encouraged. Voice actors, artists and other guests will be appearing for talks and panels.

And yes: there are many opportunities to sigh and tap your phone against a card reader while your offspring brandishes yet another plushie with delight. I scanned its dos and don'ts page, and – alongside the "if it looks like a real gun, it cannot come into the event" – one of its official dos is to bring an extra bag inside your bag because you're likely to leave with more stuff than you arrived with.

It's not all mass-produced merch, though. Shopping Alley has anime merchandise, collectibles and plushies, while Artist Alley has independent illustrators, designers and craftspeople selling their own work. You don't have to buy anything at all, obviously. (Although good luck telling that to your kids.)

Find out more: https://animeconlondon.com

👍️ You’ll be down the road from the Design Museum – where you could check out Es Devlin (see below) or any of their permanent free exhibitions.

Acrobalance with Mimbre AND Ballroom Boogie
Acrobalance at 13:15 and Ballroom Boogie at 14:30 (acrobalance relaxed session at 11:00)
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX
FREE – no booking required
Age guidance: acrobalance suitable for 5–11s, Ballroom Boogie suitable for all

The most depressing but consistent realisation I've made in life is that, if you think something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

It's why I don't really mind paying £7 for a child's hot dog at a bowling alley or changing Tube lines three times to get somewhere. I know what the catch is, so I can relax.

… And what’s why these two events at the Southbank Centre make me deeply suspicious.

They're both for children aged 5–11. They're both completely free. You don't need to book either of them. And they're taking place one after the other, in the same room. And I'd happily pay for either of them.

Here's the itinerary:

13:15: learn acrobalance.

Acrobalance is what they'd have us do in teambuilding exercises if we weren't all so sluggish, creaky and out of shape. It's essentially acrobatics involving two or more people balancing together, using each other's weight to stop themselves falling over. Basically... well, this kind of thing:

At this event, the professionals will go first. An all-female acrobatic theatre company called Mimbre will perform part of their show, Weight(less), wowing you with their moves and making you feel even less elegant than any time you've tried to get out of a deckchair.

After that, it's the kids' turn. They'll practise balancing and counterbalancing, build human pyramids and work out how to use their bodies to tell stories. They can do all this with the friends or siblings they came with, or the new friends they just met while upside-down and holding onto an ankle.

14:30: go clubbing.

Once everyone's finished standing on each other, the same room becomes a dance floor.

The music comes courtesy of DJ collective BORN N BREAD, who'll be turning the Clore Ballroom into a family club for an hour. It's called Toasty Tots XL, which is the original Toasty Tots, but for children who've outgrown the “tots” bit (rather than an unusually long rave).

And you don't have to do both. You can come for the acrobalance and leave before the dancing, or skip the human pyramids and arrive at 14:30 ready to throw some shapes.

Find out more:

Es Devlin: Other Worlds
Until 4 April, 10:00–18:00 (until 17:00 Monday–Thursday)
Design Museum, 224–238 Kensington High Street, W8 6AG
Adults £21, 6–15s £11, under-6s free

If you don’t know Devlin’s name, you've almost certainly seen something she’s designed – which has included the 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony and Beyoncé’s concert sets. So when someone decided to stage an exhibition spanning 30 years of Es Devlin's work, you have to imagine a hand eventually going up in the room: “But... how?”

It would be a fair question, as she’s best known for creating things on an enormous scale. She started out designing sets for small theatres, moved on to the National Theatre and Royal Opera House, and from there into enormous stage sculptures for the likes of Beyoncé, Bad Bunny, Adele and The Weeknd. She's designed Olympic ceremonies and Super Bowl halftime shows, but also makes public artworks and installations for places like the V\&A and Trafalgar Square. (All these pages I’ve painstakingly linked to? Please click on a few of them: they’re incredible.)

So how do you squeeze all that into the Design Museum? Unfortunately you don't, because unfortunately you can't: it would be like trying to get a bouncy castle into a phone box. Instead, Other Worlds shows how those gigantic projects begin, with a replica of Devlin's studio and 30 years' worth of drawings, notebooks and models – including work from when she was still at school.

But there's plenty of big stuff too. Devlin has created new large-scale moving sculptures and installations for the exhibition, alongside a new version of Come Home Again, her illuminated shrine to endangered wildlife.

There's also Infinite Library. The version currently in Seoul is a room lined with bookshelves – except all the books have been turned around so you're looking at thousands of white page edges. Drawings and films are projected across them, and then the whole wall of books opens up and you walk through it. We don't yet know if the London version will work in exactly the same way, but we do know that all the books will be given to local schools afterwards.

So it turns out you can fit 30 years of Es Devlin into the Design Museum. Ish. With caveats. More or less.

Find out more: https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/es-devlin-other-worlds

👍️ Holland Park Adventure Playground enrages me because it’s not for adults. If someone could create an identical version where it’s socially acceptable to play there as a grown-up, I’d be very grateful.

👍️ The Kyoto Garden in the same park is stunning. Fun fact: it was a gift from the city of Kyoto (in 1991\) to commemorate the long friendship between Japan and Great Britain.

👍️ … And see above for information about AnimeCon, which is only about 0.5 miles away.

Prism Break
Saturday 3 October, 15:00
The Royal Institution of Great Britain, 21 Albemarle Street, W1S 4BS
Adults £17.06, under-17s £10.85
Age guidance: 7–13

Of the 10,000-odd questions my children ask each day, I can provide a satisfactory answer to precisely three of them:

What's for dinner?
Do I really have to brush my teeth?
Why can't I tell the teacher I have a cold so I don't have to go swimming today?

Everything else gets the boilerplate response of: "Hmmm, good question. Let's look it up when we get home." And then we ask ChatGPT to explain why we get pins and needles or why pigeons bob their heads when they walk.

It's a pretty good system – but occasionally, even I don't understand the explanation. And even if I did, I'm just not sure it's beneficial if the majority of their non-school learning comes from a chatbot made by people who seem unconvinced that this whole AI thing will end well.

Sometimes, I think what they really need is a human being who knows the answer, is excited to tell them about it and has brought bubbles, flames and chocolate to help with the explanation. Which, conveniently, is pretty much what the Royal Institution is offering here.

This show is all about the science of light, with the Ri's demonstration team answering questions like why the sky is blue, how rainbows form and what happens when light bends, reflects and scatters.

And rather than simply explaining all this, they'll use the aforementioned props, combined with a whole heap of enthusiasm, to get children as excited about the answers as they were about asking the questions in the first place.

Oh, and it's called Prism Break. There's NO WAY Claude could have come up with a pun that good.

Find out more: https://www.rigb.org/whats-on/prism-break-family

👍️ On my “Paperclip to Porsche” scale of how much things cost, a sundae from The Parlour at Fortnum & Mason sits somewhere in the middle. So if you think your kids deserve a better treat than the squashed cheese string in your back pocket, go there. The ice creams are insane, the environment is fabulous, and everyone will be in heaven. Until the bill arrives.

👍️ Want somewhere a bit cheaper but just as gustatorally (not necessarily a real word) satisfying? Try Kahve Dunyasi. It’s a Turkish cafe on Piccadilly with some of the best ice creams and cakes my family has ever tasted. As a bonus, the owners there will think your children are delightful – even if they’re objectively horrendous.

This section brings together both new events I don’t have room to expand on and selected older ones from past newsletters that are still running. If you see a “(see my write-up here)”, that’s your cue to click through and rediscover whatever Past Me felt strongly enough to write about.

Stories on Stage: The Magic Story Trunk Halloween Special
Saturday 3 October, 11:30 and 16:00
The Well Walk Theatre, 49 Willow Road, NW3 1TS
£3.18 per person
Age guidance: suitable for all

Jenkin van Zyl: Enclosure
Tuesday–Sunday until 29 November, various timeslots each day
Somerset House, Strand, WC2R 1LA
FREE – booking required
Age guidance: 13+

Everest: The First Ascent – An immersive experience in London
Wednesday–Sunday (and daily during half term) until 31 December, 10:00 or 11:00–19:00
Eclipso Immersive Entertainment, 213–219 Camden High Street, NW1 7BT
Adults £27.50, 8–17s £21.50 (family bundles and London resident pricing also available)
Age guidance: children must be 8+

Ghosts & Ghouls Family Tour
Various dates until 30 January, various times (see website)
Shakespeare’s Globe, 21 New Globe Walk, SE1 9DT
Adults £23, under-16s £18

Winnie-the-Pooh at London Zoo
Until 1 November, 10:00–17:00 (until 16:00 from 24 October)
London Zoo, Outer Circle, Regent's Park, NW1 4RY
Free with admission (adults £31.80, 3–15s £22.20, under-3s free)
Age guidance: suitable for all

Ossie Clark \+ Celia Birtwell
Tuesdays–Saturdays until 11 April, 11:00–18:00
Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, SE1 3XF
Adults £12, 12–17s £10, under-12s free

Painting the French Riviera
Tuesday–Sunday until 31 January, 10:00–18:00 (Friday and Saturday until 21:00)
Royal Academy, Burlington House, Piccadilly, W1J 0BD
Adults £26, under-16s free

Beethoven's Pastoral: Pam Tanowitz Dance
1–3 October, 19:45 (and also at 14:30 on Saturday 3 October)
Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS
£18–£45 per person
Age guidance: 10+

The Three Little Pigs
1–4 October, various start times (see website)
Polka Theatre, 240 The Broadway, SW19 1SB
£10 per person
Age guidance: 3–7

A Class of Your Own
Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 and 15:00
Polka Theatre, 240 The Broadway, SW19 1SB
£14 per person
Age guidance: 8–12

Korea
Daily until 31 January, 10:00–17:00 (Fridays until 20:30)
British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG
Adults £20, under-16s free

Family Film Club: The Songbird’s Secret
Saturday 3 October, 11:00
Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS
Adults £5, under-18s £2.50
Age guidance: 6+

That’s How the World Was Made\!
Saturday 3 October, 14:00
Jacksons Lane Arts Centre, 269a Archway Road, N6 5AA
£10–£20 per person
Age guidance: 8+

On Your Bike Baffo
Sunday 4 October, 11:00 and 14:00
Jacksons Lane Arts Centre, 269a Archway Road, N6 5AA
£10–£20 per person
Age guidance: 3–9

Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape
Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 and 13:30
artsdepot, 5 Nether Street, Tally Ho Corner, N12 0GA
£15 per person
Age guidance: 5+

Pocket Money (see my write-up here)
Until 1 November, various start times (see website)
Unicorn Theatre, 147 Tooley Street, SE1 2HZ
£3 per person for first 40% of performances, then £15 per person
Age guidance: 7–12

Body Worlds: The Anatomy of Happiness
Until 21 March, various timeslots each day
Sussex Mansions, 79–85 Old Brompton Road, SW7 3LD
Adults £24.61, 6–17s £16.05 (family bundles also available)
Age guidance: suitable for all (“Note that some exhibits and installations contain mature content, so parental discretion is advised.)

Amar Kanwar Exhibition
Until 31 January, Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–17:00
Serpentine North, West Carriage Drive, W2 2AR
FREE, but booking required

Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards (see my write-up here)
Until January 2027, Monday–Thursday 11:00–18:00, Friday 10:30–22:00, Saturday 10:00–22:00, Sunday 10:00–18:00
Frameless, 6 Marble Arch, W1H 7AP
Free with admission (adults £31.50, 3–15s £22, under-3s free during peak times)
Age guidance: suitable for all

Pip and Posy Live on Stage
Until 22 November, various start times (see website)
Little Angel Theatre, 14 Dagmar Passage, N1 2DN
Adults £16, 1–17s £14
Age guidance: 2–5

The Pied Piper: A Rat's Tale
Until 7 November, various start times – see website
Little Angel Studios, Sebbon Street, N1 2EH
Adults £16, 1–17s £14 (all tickets are £8 this Saturday 12/Sunday 13 September)
Age guidance: 5+

As You Like It (see my write-up here)
Until 25 October, various start times – see website
Shakespeare’s Globe, 21 New Globe Walk, SE1 9DT
Standing tickets £10, seated £28–£88
Age guidance: suitable for all

The Three Little Wolves
Various days until 4 October, various start times (see website)
Puppet Theatre Barge, Richmond, TW10 6UT
Adults £15, under-17s £12
Age guidance: 4–10