Laura's London Travel Blog

Nelson Mandela will be celebrating his 90th birthday with a huge party in London's Hyde Park on 27 June 2008. There will be an audience of 46,664 exactly as this was Mandela's prison number. Acts performing include: Queen + Paul Rodgers, Annie Lennox, Simple Minds, Leona Lewis, the Sugababes, Dame Shirley Bassey, Razorlight, Andrea and Sharon Corr, Eddy Grant, and Jamelia. The concert will feature numerous unexpected appearances, with several major artists keeping silent about their involvement in order to take both Mr Mandela and the audience by surprise.

Tickets cost £65 and are on sale today from: www.livenation.co.uk.

• _{Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images}

The Household Cavalry Museum opened in 2007 at the headquarters of the Queen's Life Guard. The Household Cavalry Museum offers you a unique "behind-the-scenes" look at the work that goes into the ceremonial duties and operational role of the Household Cavalry Regiments.

Horse Guards is one of London's most historic buildings so it's a real treat to go inside. It was designed to house soldiers and horses and is still used for these purposes. The arch formed by the building is the official entrance to the royal residences and is still guarded by two sentries on horses and two sentries on foot. It's a classic London photo opportunity to have your photo taken with one of them. (Always say thank you, as these gentlemen are working.)

• Household Cavalry Museum - Visitor Information and Review
• Guards Museum - Visitor Information and Review
• Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms - Visitor Information and Review
• Inn the Park (Cafe in St. James's Park)
• _{Image: © Laura Porter (2008) licensed to About.com, Inc.}

2008 is the 8th annual Free Range at The Old Truman Brewery, London. This is Europe's largest graduate art and design show and can be a fun event to include in your culture calendar. For eight weeks there are literally thousands of students from the UK's top art and design colleges exhibiting their work. And to make it a really good day out, it has free admission. It's a fantastic way to discover new talent. Over 100,000 people visited last year, which is the kind of visitor numbers major galleries attract. In addition to the events, the work of thousands of exhibitors is showcased in the official Free Range catalogue and website.

• Dates: 29 May - 21 July 2008
• Official Website: www.free-range.org.uk

I told you back in February about Ripley's Believe It or Not!® coming to the Trocadero in London and now I've got more news about what to expect. This quirky museum of the weird, strange and bizarre will open this August. Bringing a host of peculiar and wonderful exhibits never before seen in the UK, the museum of oddities will occupy 24,000 square feet and is set to become one of London's major tourist destinations and a top family attraction.

Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum will offer a unique mixture of entertainment, education and fun for the entire family - appealing to anyone with a basic sense of curiosity. Guests of all ages will appreciate the 500-plus authentic, original and unbelievable exhibits. From a two-headed calf to a 3,000 pound piece of the Berlin Wall, a Swarovski-Covered Crystal Mini Cooper worth £500,000 (see pic) and three human shrunken heads from Ecuador, the new attraction will feature exhibits so bizarre it will leave visitors wondering if something so outlandish could really be true.

Additional strange items on display include a portrait of Lady Diana made of laundry lint from a clothes dryer, a copy of The Last Supper painted on a grain of rice, the famous sweater worn by Marilyn Monroe during her last photo shoot on the beaches of Malibu, a mummified man, and a genuine moon rock. Robert Ripley, the globetrotting creator of the Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoon in 1918, displayed his first collection of oddities at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933, filling the exhibition hall with hundreds of genuine artefacts he had gathered from his travels to more than 200 countries. Today, his exotic treasures can be seen in 30 Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museums worldwide.

• For more information visit: www.ripleyslondon.com or call 020 3238 0022.
• Tracadero info
• _{Image: © Ripley's Believe It or Not!}

One of London's most popular outdoor music series returns for 10 nights. The open-air concerts series at Somerset House is a unique event in the summer’s live music calendar. This year the programme runs from 10 to 19 July 2008 and tickets are now on sale.

• Thursday 10 July - The Fratellis
• Friday 11 July - Justice
• Saturday 12 July - UNKLE
• Sunday 13 July - The Blue Nile
• Monday 14 July - Lupe Fiasco
• Tuesday 15 July - We Are Scientists
• Wednesday 16 July - The Zutons
• Thursday 17 July - The Feeling
• Friday 18 July - Duffy
• Saturday 19 July – Adele

All tickets are £25. Book online or phone: 0844 847 2461 (Ticketmaster).

• Courtauld Gallery (at Somerset House)
• Courtauld Gallery is Free On Mondays

V&A Victoria and Albert Museum is a great museum of art and design, and holds over 3000 years worth of artifacts from many of the world's richest cultures, including the most comprehensive collection of British design and art from 1500 to 1900. There's furniture, ceramics, photography, sculpture, and much more.

The South Kensington Big Three

• V & A (Victoria and Albert Museum)
• Science Museum
• Natural History Museum

• Family Events At The V & A
• London Museums
• _{Image: © visitlondonimages/ britainonview
  Romanesque columns outside the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the main facade of the building was designed by Aston Webb.}

The Science Museum was founded in 1857 with objects shown at the Great Exhibition held in the Crystal Palace. The permanent displays are free and they have exceptional temporary exhibitions for all the family.

The South Kensington Big Three

• Science Museum
• Natural History Museum
• V & A (Victoria and Albert Museum)

• London Museums
• _{Image: © visitlondonimages/ britainonview
  Interior view of the Science Museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London, the museum houses various exciting and inspiring galleries exploring scientific themes including power, flight and space.}

Many of you know already what a huge fan I am of The Wizard of Oz. My daughter's middle name is Dorothy and she watches the film every day - really! So imagine my delight to discover a fully-staged production of The Wizard of Oz is coming to the Royal Festival Hall this summer from 23 July to 31 August 2008. This is the first time in more than 20 years that a major production of The Wizard of Oz has been staged in London and there will be a host of activities to accompany the production.

London schoolchildren get a weeks' holiday from 26 to 30 May 2008 so here's what's coming up:

• Fun for the Munchkins
  Tuesday 27 May - Friday 30 May
  Come and learn classic songs from the show that include Somewhere Over The Rainbow, We’re Off To See The Wizard and Follow The Yellow Brick Road. Discover how to move like a tin man, cowardly lion or scarecrow and help build your very own Yellow Brick Road.
  The Clore Ballroom, 11am onwards
  Free admission


• Somewhere Over the Rainbow
  Every Friday and Saturday from Friday 25 July – 30 August
  An array of some of the finest and best known singers working today, ranging from musical theatre to jazz, and pop to cabaret, perform specially created sets making reference to the music of Harold Arlen, and in particular The Wizard of Oz.
  The Clore Ballroom, 6-7pm
  Free admission


• Dorothy Nights
  Friday 25 July, 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 August
  Step off the yellow brick road into the wilder side of cabaret, celebrating the kitsch, iconic brilliance of The Wizard of Oz. With different hosts every week, Friday night becomes Dorothy Night on the South Bank.
  The Clore Ballroom, 10pm
  Admission free


• For more information: www.followtheyellowbrickroad.co.uk
• Wicked The Musical Review
• Wicked Photo Gallery
• _{Image: © Southbank Centre}

Natural History Museum is one of the big three museums in South Kensington. It is a wonderful Victorian building housing the weird and wonderful of the natural world. It is world famous for its dinosaur skeletons.

The South Kensington Big Three

• Natural History Museum
• Science Museum
• V & A (Victoria and Albert Museum)

• London Museums
• _{Image: © visitlondonimages/ britainonview
  The imposing, Romanesque interior of The Central Hall at London's Natural History Museum, the glass and iron ceiling structure was purposely left exposed by architect Alfred Waterhouse to display the beauty of the building materials.}

You can see inside Westminster Abbey for free. The Abbey never charges people who want to worship but they rely on admission fees from visitors to cover running costs. Evensong is the most beautiful of services where the Abbey choir sings. The Choristers of the Choir are educated at Westminster Abbey Choir School and are all extremely talented. Evensong is at 5pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, plus at 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays. You can see inside Westminster Abbey for free. The Abbey never charges people who want to worship but they rely on admission fees from visitors to cover running costs. Evensong is the most beautiful of services where the Abbey choir sings. The Choristers of the Choir are educated at Westminster Abbey Choir School and are all extremely talented. Evensong is at 5pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, plus at 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

• Westminster Abbey Visitor Information
• Top Ten Free Things to Do in London
• _{Image: © Laura Porter (2006) licensed to About.com, Inc.}