Well, I am writing after a long silence on the blog, but I got pretty excited about my latest frugal adventure and feel like it really deserves a post. So here we go.
Summer is a happy season, with all the festivals and outdoor events, and even though this month hasn’t been particularly…summery for us in London, there has been no lack of entertainment. This past weekend, I found two coinciding events and decided to go to both on Saturday since they were not far from each other.
My first stop was Spotlight, Seven Dials’ free music and entertainment festival / street summer party, with live music, hula hoop performances, complimentary drinks, snacks and samples in the stores, and 20% off discounts from retailers and restaurants.
One of my highlights was the beautiful and refreshing Monmouth Fizz from Monmouth Kitchen:
When showing your event ticket at their pop-up bar by the square you would get a free cocktail (one per person, they stamp your ticket!) and a voucher for a free drink when dining there.
Then, a visit to Hotel Chocolat for some chocolate sampling (yum!) and £1 off their new cocoa nib infused ice cream, called Ice Cream of the Gods.
And finally, the Magnum Pleasure Store: a pop up where you can customize your Magnum ice cream with chocolate, toppings and chocolate sauce. There was a really long line for the ice cream (which I didn’t get – it looks great but quite pricy at £5.50), but they also had a bar for the day, giving out complimentary Magnum ice cream inspired cocktails. The most popular one was Death by Chocolate; the nice bartender showed us step by step how it’s made – from slicing a Magnum ice cream into a blender, to the sprinkle of edible glitter as a final touch.
That was a lot of fun! I was on a budget so I really limit my spending on the day, but if you can, with 20% off discounts and other offers this is a good chance to bargain shop or to try one of the restaurants and cafes. Seven Dials has similar events a few times a year; sign up to their newsletter to hear about the next ones.
Next, I headed to the Southbank for the National Theatre’s River Stage Festival, a series of weekend takeovers from theatre and dance companies, with free workshops, live music and shows on a stage by the river. This weekend was Rambert takeover. I attended a wonderful dance workshop where we learned choreography from Ghost Dances, guided by one of the dancers in the show. The workshop programme for the afternoon was varied, from contemporary dance to and kid-friendly workshops, with participants of all ages and fitness abilities. Later in the evening, the River Stage hosted live music, and solo and group performances by the Rambert dancers. In between shows you can get drinks and food from the cocktail bar and the food vans popping up for the summer – I particularly recommend the fries from the burger van *yum*. The next and last River Stage event is a National Theatre takeover this weekend: go check it out!
So that was a great day out – a whole day of discovering new things, sampling, and watching wonderful performances. Ghost Dances – which I would really love to see – is currently touring the UK; visit Rambert‘s website for info about all their shows and dance classes.
Until the next adventure… 🙂
One Free Thing a Day 