Bandstands, Bara Brith, and ...a gig in an Abbey: Your guide to the week ahead.

It's now 155 years since rainfall records began at Kew Gardens. With almost no rain forecast for next week, July 2026 is set to be the first month without a single drop of rain - ever - recorded, since 1871. This is, of course, probably terrible news. Not just for the planet and our climate, but for farmers, and anyone who has the misfortune to live in England - where water companies failed to capitalise on the wettest winter on record, earlier this year. Legislators are now off for the summer recess, so there's little else to do other than to take your mind off it all by enjoying what the last few days of the month bring. With absolutely nothing rained off so far, the UK's cities are basking in the sunshine and teeming with people enjoying themselves. Here are a few ideas for how to join in:

Darkroom: Pride as a protest in London
On the Town: Exhibitions opening this week, summer festivals, and a last chance to see some of this year's theatre productions
UK Affairs: Victor Chamberlain re-examines Manchesterism, and asks if it's what we should want for Britain
En Route: A last chance to cycle on Sundays for free, and earn 10,000 avios

Political campaigner and podcaster, Naomi Smith, offers up her take on why so many vegan restaurants are closing across the capital:

Where have all the London vegan restaurants gone?

London has lost Manna, Wulf & Lamb and Farmacy in quick succession. Naomi Smith asks whether we mourned the right ones, and where the plant-based diner should be eating now.

PaperweightNaomi Smith

Bara The Peckham cafe-bakery that champions Welsh ingredients (Caerphilly cheesesteaks, bara brith), launches a monthly evening service of à la carte sharing plates: Welsh cockles, Welsh lamb, chippy-style rissoles and a Welsh-spirits Bara Martini. Reservations and walk-ins accepted. Bara, 44–46 Choumert Rd, London SE15 4SE. Dinners from 31st July 2026, on the last Friday of each month.

Stubby's Childhood friends, Oli Man and Greg Weaver (who opened Bermondsey's These Days in 2024) bring Aussie café culture to Parsons Green with an all-day deli and wine bar built around inventive sandwiches like koji chicken with chilli crisp. Walk-ins accepted. Stubby's, 28 Parsons Green Lane, London SW6 4HS. Opened 17th July 2026.

Childhood in War The first UK exhibition on how conflict reshapes young lives, from a WWII evacuee train carriage to testimony from present-day Ukraine, Afghanistan and Sudan. Free admission. IWM London, Lambeth Rd, London SE1 6HZ. Opens Friday 31st July 2026, until 28th February 2027.

Freud Museum at 40 The Hampstead house where Sigmund and Anna Freud saw out their exile, marks four decades as a museum, with a behind-the-scenes tour of its 2,000 antiquities, a conversation with Lord David Freud and a drinks reception in the garden. Booking recommended. Freud Museum, 20 Maresfield Gardens, London NW3 5SX. Tuesday 28th July 2026, 1pm until 3pm.

Richard Dadd: Beyond Bedlam The first major Dadd retrospective in over 50 years features over a hundred fairy scenes in fine oils and watercolours by the Victorian painter who, after experiencing delusions resulting in him killing his own father, worked from Bethlem and Broadmoor. Intricate, luminous and deeply unsettling. Tickets from £15, under-16s free. Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD. Opened Saturday 25th July 2026, until 25th October 2026.

Portrait of a City: A Century of American Photography. Dulwich's summer show gathers thirty-four photographers documenting New York, LA, Chicago and San Francisco from 1907 to 2012 Tickets from £16. Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gallery Rd, London SE21 7AD. Opens Tuesday 28th July 2026, until 4th October 2026.

The Authoritarian Playbook: The Quiet Riot podcast, Byline Times, and The Lincoln Project host a live recording asking "What Britain Can Learn From America" in order to deal with the growing threat of the radical right. Hardeep Matharu and Peter Jukes from Byline, Naomi Smith and Alex Andreou from Quiet Riot, are joined by Americans Rick Wilson and Maya May from The Lincoln Project. Tickets from £20. Leicester Square Theatre, 6 Leicester Place, London, WC2H 7BX. Thursday 30th July 2026.

Foster The People presents 'FTP' Relive the 2010s as the 'Pumped Up Kicks' duo swap the sound stage for the decks, taking over Village Underground's railway arch for a one-off DJ set. Tickets from £30.65. Village Underground, 54 Holywell Lane, London EC2A 3PQ. Friday 31st July 2026, 10pm.

Café Mambo Ibiza London Rooftop Party The Ibiza sunset-bar institution decamps to The Broadcaster's White City rooftop for a daytime session of Balearic house. Tickets from £15. The Broadcaster, 89 Wood Lane, White City, London W12 7FX. Saturday 1st August 2026, from 1pm.

80s Open Air Day Party Freight Island's courtyard and marquee go full throwback with a daytime run of synth-pop and singalong anthems under the Mayfield arches, promising a celebration of Madonna, Wham!, Prince, Kylie, and Rick Astley. Tickets £7. Escape to Freight Island, Baring St, Manchester M1 2PZ. Saturday 1st August 2026, from 3pm.

Summer Nights at the Bandstand: The Flaming Lips The eleventh edition of the Kelvingrove series opens with Wayne Coyne and co making their bandstand debut, with confetti cannons and giant balloons under the West End trees. Suzanne Vega, Mika, and OMD fill out the rest of the week. Tickets from £63. Kelvingrove Bandstand and Amphitheatre, Kelvin Way, Glasgow G3 7TA. Monday 27th July 2026 (with the series continuing until 15th August 2026).

Merchant City Festival Glasgow's flagship free street festival returns as a Commonwealth Games centrepiece, filling the Merchant City with circus, dance, pavement performance and a family programme. Mostly free admission. Merchant City, around Candleriggs and Albion St, Glasgow G1 1NQ. Friday 31st July to Sunday 2nd August 2026.

Sub Club Southside Weekender The infamous Sub Club institution decamps to the Queen's Park Arena bandstand for a two-dayer: Saturday brings Chaos In The CBD, Bradley Zero, Eclair Fifi and Domenic Cappello; Sunday hands over to Kerri Chandler, Floorplan, Cinthie and DJ Harri. Tickets from £45. Queen's Park Arena, Queen's Park, Glasgow G42 8QR. Saturday 1st to Sunday 2nd August 2026, 3pm–10.30pm.

The Songs of Joni Mitchell Jesca Hoop and Lail Arad lead intimate reworkings of Joni's catalogue, joined by Jackie Kay and Naima Bock, following two sold-out tours. Tickets from £32. The Queen's Hall, 85–89 Clerk St, Edinburgh EH8 9JG. Thursday 30th July 2026, doors at 7pm.

Sofar Sounds Stage Takeover The organisers who popularised the secret-gig format in the 00s commandeer Bristol Old Vic's historic stage for three nights of live music; the line-up is kept under wraps until you are in your seat. Tickets from £12. Bristol Old Vic, King St, Bristol BS1 4ED. Thursday 30th July to Saturday 1st August 2026.

Don Quixote (is a very big book) A one-man puppetry epic from Opposable Thumb Theatre and Norway's Nordland Visual Theatre, where Dik Downey's midlife crisis collides with Cervantes' deluded knight and a decrepit horse called Rocinante. Tickets from £18. Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA. Friday 31st July to Saturday 1st August 2026.

'Everything Must Go' by Joe Lycett The comedian's first major solo show, a tongue-in-cheek mixed-media wake for things no longer with us (dead celebrities, discontinued chocolate bars, demolished buildings) drawn from the city's own collection, opens this week. Free admission. Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3DH. Opens Wednesday 29th July 2026.

Live at Kirkstall Abbey: The Maccabees The reunited indie favourites play their only Northern show of the year in the grounds of a 12th-century Cistercian ruin, with Maxïmo Park, Everything Everything, Mystery Jets and Fiona-Lee in support. Tickets from £64. Kirkstall Abbey, Abbey Rd, Leeds LS5 3EH. Friday 31st July 2026, from 4pm.

Last chance to see:
War Horse Tickets from £92. Olivier Theatre, National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 9PX. Until Thursday 30th July 2026.
The Misanthrope Tickets from £72. Lyttelton Theatre, National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 9PX. Until Saturday 1st August 2026.
1536 On-the-day returns only. Ambassadors Theatre, West St, London WC2H 9ND. Until Saturday 1st August 2026.
Tender Tickets from £15. Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Rd, Shepherd's Bush, London W12 8LJ. Until Saturday 1st August 2026.
Alice in Wonderland Tickets from £20. Riverside Studios, 101 Queen Caroline St, London W6 9BN. Until Sunday 2nd August 2026.

After a pretty successful first week for Andy Burnham, Paperweight's correspondent for the built environment, Victor Chamberlain, poses an important question over what 'Manchesterism' really means:

Manchesterism is the model that Andy Burnham wants Britain to copy, but should we?

Victor Chamberlain poses the questions that must be asked of the incoming Prime Minister’s new model for Britain.

PaperweightVictor Chamberlain

№ 5 | Skip the airport pyjamas, leave the tracksuit at home: always dress well for travel

As a magazine dedicated to the pursuit of living your life exactly as you want it, we must stress that this isn’t about being uncomfortable. After all, a two-piece suit isn’t going to work for a long-haul flight. But there’s a reason that some airlines

PaperweightSunday Paperweight

For those impromptu summer moments: A recipe for a prosciutto & orange ceviche-style salad

Keir James-Tough conjures up a summer party salad in minutes, for when there are unanticipated dinner guests

PaperweightKeir James-Tough

Access to The Other House members' club in South Kensington has been swiftly, but temporarily, suspended following an acquisition by Aendre, a European hospitality brand founded by Eric Jafari and Chris Strong. Those who have been watching the construction work at the second site in Covent Garden may be wondering what's going to happen now. We can reveal that both venues are set to (re)open, but under a new brand. However, none of the interiors are to be kept, which means you can get your hands on a variety of furnishings via a live auction taking place from 28th to 30th July. And if you fancy taking a look at what's on offer beforehand, South Kensington will be open for public viewing today, tomorrow, and Tuesday. Although not to everyone's taste, the opening prices are considerably lower than The Other House will have paid. As Dolly Parton famously said, "it costs a lot of money to look this cheap".

Last Chance to Earn 10,000 Avios J.P. Morgan is offering new customers a bonus offer of 10,000 Avios when investing £500. You'll need to use this promotional page, invest £500 in a single transaction by 31st July 2026 and keep it invested until 1st February 2027. Some readers have noted that if you have previously opened a Nutmeg account you won't be eligible. This does not constitute financial advice. You should check all terms and conditions on the provider's website before making a decision. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest. You should always seek independent financial advice.

**STILL ON** Free Sunday Santander Cycles Transport for London is offering the chance to use the cycle hire scheme for free every Sunday in July. It's a little bit complicated to redeem; you'll need a promo code specific to each Sunday, and you can only book it on the day. But it's still worth it for unlimited 60-minute rides if you're planning a day of cycling. These are the codes you'll need:

• 26 July - CYCLEJULY26

Check the full details on the Transport for London website.

London

Manchester

Glasgow

Cardiff

Brighton

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