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Hey Neighbour,
The neighbourhood is growing. There are now over 5,000 of us. Can you believe it? It still feels a bit unreal sometimes. I want you to know that having you as a neighbour is a privilege.
What started as a small North London newsletter has grown into this little community of people who read every week, send MNL to their friends and quietly help the neighbourhood grow. So thank you. Truly. And if you’re new around here, welcome. I’m very glad you found us. Now, over to your weekend plans.
—Maryam
PS - if you attend any events listed, feel free to tag on Instagram stories and share how it's all going.
Plan Your Weekend:
📋 Round Up
Bits and bobs worth knowing.
🏘️ Newington Green just named the coolest neighbourhood in London: Time Out put it 33rd on their list of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world - the highest-ranking London spot. Seems like the North London area between Islington and Hackney is having a moment. New openings like Bar Etna and The Golden Tooth alongside old institutions like the Mildmay Club probably help.
🏠 Jeremy Corbyn's Finsbury Park house is under offer for nearly double what he paid: Corbyn bought his Islington home in 2007 for £363,000. It's now listed at £700,000 and under offer. He's lived in Islington since 1970.
Getting to know Tom Dixon
Tom Dixon needs little introduction as a designer. I was more interested in getting to know Tom Dixon the person.
So when I sat down with him at Coal Drops Yard last week, we talked disco, welding, home, neighbourhoods and North London.
🎶 A gig inside a private room at Lord’s
There’s a private coffeehouse on the first floor of Lord’s Cricket Ground that’s normally used by elite athletes. It overlooks the pitch, and on Saturday 26 September, Sofar Sounds is taking it over for a live music night.
You’ll know where you’re going, but not who you’re seeing. The lineup stays secret until the show.
Source: Sofar Sounds
📍 Saturday 26 September | Lord’s Cricket Ground, NW8 | Doors 7pm
MNL readers get 25% off tickets with MYNORTHLONDON25.
Full transparency: Sofar Sounds paid for this feature. I said yes because I thought MNL readers should get the chance to step inside a private room at Lord’s that isn’t normally open to the public.
⭐️Top Events
Folk Fest at Clitterhouse Farm | 📍Clitterhouse Farm, Cricklewood, NW2 | 19 September | Free
Clitterhouse Farm is bringing back Folk Fest for its second year, turning the old farm into a full day of live music, DJs, food, craft stalls, workshops, storytelling and family activities. There are two stages running through the day, local makers and food traders dotted around the site, and plenty of space to stay for a while rather than just pop in and out. It is still a young festival, and part of the point is bringing people together around the farm and helping it grow into a local tradition. 12pm to 8pm. All ages welcome.
Drumsheds Summer Flea Market | 📍Drumsheds, Tottenham, N18 | 20 September | £2
The old IKEA car park at Drumsheds turns into a giant Sunday rummage, with more than 200 traders setting up across the space. You’ll find vintage furniture, jewellery, homeware, bric-a-brac and all sorts of second-hand bits from sellers coming in from around the UK and Europe. Food and drink are on site, dogs are welcome, and larger pieces can usually be delivered. 10am to 5pm.
Cumberland Road Open Studios | 📍Wood Green, N22 | 19-20 September | Free
For one weekend, the doors open on a whole building of artists and makers tucked inside a former Haringey Council office block. Wander from studio to studio, meet the people working there and see everything from paintings, photography and sculpture to chairs, hats, saddles, logos and musical instruments being made. There’ll also be demonstrations, workshops and talks across the weekend, so you can spend a good few hours exploring what is usually hidden behind closed doors. 12pm to 6pm both days, two minutes from Wood Green station.
HowTheLightGetsIn London | 📍Kenwood House, NW3 | 19- 20 September | (£)
Kenwood House becomes one big ideas festival for the weekend, with 300 events spread across 12 stages. You can spend the day moving between debates on AI, politics, science, culture and the mind, then switch to live music, comedy, cinema or a late-night party once your brain has had enough.
The Vintage Home Show | 📍St Mary’s Church, Primrose Hill, NW3 | 19 September | (£)
St Mary’s Church is filling up with vintage furniture, ceramics, art, lighting and homeware from 25 specialist traders coming in from around the UK. Expect mid-century pieces alongside smaller finds you can actually carry home, and if you fall for a chair or cabinet, larger purchases can be delivered afterwards. 10am to 3.30pm. Dogs on leads are welcome, and under 16s go free with an adult.
🎁 MNL Giveaway: I’ve got two Vintage Home Show tickets to give to one reader ( yes, you!). To enter, reply to this email and tell me a North London place you think more people should know about, and why you love it. Send your answer by 10pm Friday 18th. I’ll email the winner after the deadline.
Bartholomew Fayre | 📍Charterhouse Square, EC1M | 18-19 September | Free
This fair takes its name from Bartholomew Fair, which ran from 1133 to 1855. For two days, Charterhouse Square brings some of that old fairground spirit back with live music, roaming performers, crafts, food, local talks and guided history walks, with the Medieval Baebes among the performers. Friday 4pm to 8pm, Saturday 1pm to 7pm..
Walking Stories: Haringey | 📍Blue House Yard, N22 | 19-20 September | Free
Eight local people have each created a walking tour about a different part of Haringey, and this exhibition brings all of those stories together in one place. You can look through photographs, maps, archive material and artwork exploring everything from migration on Green Lanes and forgotten stories at Alexandra Palace to local legends in Tottenham, food, pubs and Wolves Lane. It is inside Birch Arts Gallery at Blue House Yard, one of the colourful little huts in Wood Green. 12pm to 6pm both days.
Hampstead Garden Suburb 298th Flower Show | 📍Free Church Hall, NW11 | 19 September | (£)
This is the Hampstead Garden Suburb Horticultural Society’s 298th flower show, so it comes with a lot of local tradition behind it. After the judging, the hall opens to the public to see flowers, vegetables, jams, cakes, photography and children’s entries, with homemade tea and cake, a spring bulb sale and live music from Grimsdyke Brass Band. 3pm to 5pm, with the raffle drawn at 4.45pm.
Clissold Car Boot | 📍Stoke Newington School, N16 | 19 September | (£)
Peckham Carboot is heading north east for the first time, with a new Saturday car boot launching in Stokey. Expect the same mix of second hand clothes, home bits, vintage finds and random treasures, just in a brand new patch. This one is also a bit of a test run, so if people turn up and it works, Clissold could become a regular fixture. Sellers can book a pitch, everyone else can come for a rummage.
Edible Landscapes Community Harvest Day & Cake Sale | 📍Finsbury Park, N4 | 19 September | Free
Start the morning with homemade cake by Finsbury Park’s duck pond, then wander over to Edible Landscapes, the community food garden tucked inside the park, for one last big outdoor day before summer slips away. You can help harvest what’s growing, learn how to make new plants from cuttings, try indigo dyeing, join a garden tour and take home plants, while little ones have their own Forest Explorers session. Money from the cake sale helps fund the garden’s community workshops and education work. Cake from 9am, Harvest Day from 10am to 6pm.
Twelve People Telling True Stories | 📍King’s Cross, N1 | 19 September | (£)
Twelve strangers sit in a circle, put their phones away and answer one simple question with a true story from their own life. You can speak for four or five minutes, or just listen if you would rather. There is tea, coffee and snacks in the middle, and no networking or pressure to explain what you do for work. 1.15pm to 3pm.
Click below to see full weekend list.👇
🔑 Open House Final Weekend
It’s the final weekend of Open House Festival, when buildings, homes and studios usually closed to the public open for free. Here are some North London picks:
🏛️ Wrotham Park, EN5 | Saturday 19 September
Go inside a privately owned Palladian mansion set in 300 acres of parkland. Booking required.
🎨 Cumberland Road Open Studios, N22 | 18–20 September
Wander through a former council building now filled with artists, photographers, furniture makers and other creatives.
🚒 The Old Fire Station, N16 | Saturday 19 September
Explore an 1886 fire station, including areas usually closed to the public, plus workshops, food and music.
🏛️ Royal College of Physicians, NW1 | Saturday 19 September
Step inside Denys Lasdun’s Grade I listed building for tours, archives, museum displays and family activities.
🚒 The Old Fire Station Holloway, N7 | 19–20 September
Explore this 1908 fire station turned community centre and hear the story of how local residents saved it.
This cycling festival pedals into London with more than 30 family-friendly, traffic-free rides across 19 boroughs this Sunday. There’ll also be bike markets, free bike servicing, BMX, obstacle courses, live music and food stalls.
There are rides happening across North London too, so check the full programme to see what’s starting near you.
🛍️ Where to have a rummage this weekend
London Ceramics Market | 📍Hornsey Parish Church Hall, N10 | 20 September | Free
Twenty five local potters are setting up inside Hornsey Parish Church Hall with tables full of handmade ceramics. Go pick up a present, find a little treat for your home, or just see what people around North London have been making. There’ll be cups, bowls, plates, vases and one off pieces, with tea, coffee and food available too. 12pm to 5pm.
The Little Children’s Market | 📍Enfield Grammar Upper School, EN2 | 19 September | £2.50
This is one of those useful mornings where local parents clear out the clothes, toys, books and baby bits their children have outgrown, and other families get to give them a second home. You can rummage through everything from tiny baby clothes to things for older kids up to 11, pick up a few bargains and bring the children with you too. Kids go free, parking is free and the venue is pram friendly. 10.30am to 12pm. Cash only.
Channing Marketplace | 📍Channing School Sports Hall, N6 | 20 September | Free
Channing is turning its sports hall into a little Sunday marketplace, with more than 25 stalls from local makers, small businesses and parents, alongside food, live music and activities for children. It’s the kind of event where you can come for a browse, stop for something to eat, bump into people from the area and stay longer than you planned. 11am to 2pm.
Second-Hand Sunday | 📍K.C. Continental Stores, N1 | 20 September | Free
Friday Knights and Pop Up 38 are hosting an afternoon of second-hand shopping, with pre-loved clothes and other bits to browse. Coffee will be available too, and money raised from the sale will go towards supporting schoolchildren in Afghanistan.
👀 Spotted
Caught our eye, might catch yours
🎪 Vision Festival lands in King's Cross from 25th to 27th September, mixing talks, exhibitions and live performance across the area. The British Library and Francis Crick Institute are among the partners, so expect it to lean into ideas and culture as much as straight entertainment. Free to explore.
🐑 It's the final week to see the sheep on Hampstead Heath, they head off on Sunday 20th September. Five of them are grazing on the Heath Extension as part of an ecological trial, so catch them while they're still around.
🧶 Fancy learning crochet before Halloween? There’s a new beginner series at The Toll Gate in Turnpike Lane where you’ll learn the basics while making a mini pumpkin. Already crochet? They’re opening it up as a crafty social too, so you can bring whatever you’re working on and join in. Starts 5th October, with materials provided. (Thanks for sharing Katie)
🏗️ Brent Council is consulting on its new Local Plan, the blueprint that decides where homes, jobs, green spaces and community facilities go across the borough up to 2040. If you live, work or run a business in Brent, they want your views. Consultation closes Wednesday 30th September.
🛍️ The Tufnell Park Yard Sale is back for its 15th year on Sunday 27th September, 2pm to 5pm. Up to 100 houses across the streets between Holloway Road and Tufnell Park Road throw open their stoops and sell off toys, books, clothes, bric-a-brac and cakes. Free to wander. If you live in that zone, you can still sign up to host your own stall, see the map below. (Thanks Tessa for sharing)
Tufnell Park The Yard Sale Zone
✍️ Got a crime novel in you? The Joffe Books Prize is open for unpublished writers of colour, with a two book publishing deal, £1,000 cash and a £25,000 Audible contract up for grabs. You need the first 10,000 words of your novel, and entries close 30th September.
🎷 Tapas and live jazz in Palmers Green this Saturday. The Rocca Brothers and students from the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy are playing while Holtwhites serves a Spanish tapas menu and dessert. Places are limited and need to be booked in advance.
Got something your neighbours should know about?
Opening or launching something? Noticed a change in your neighbourhood? Got a local story, observation or point of view worth sharing? Reply to this email. A photo, link or a few lines is plenty.
🎟️ Heads up
Upcoming events you should consider booking in advance or planning ahead for. In and out of North London. Events marked with (£) require a ticket in advance.
London Restaurant Festival | 📍Across London | October | Various prices
This is less one big festival and more a month of reasons to eat somewhere new. Restaurants across London put on special dinners, brunches, masterclasses and guided restaurant-hopping events, with more than 40 things happening this year. You could join a Brunch Club at Market Halls, spend a weekend eating around Shoreditch, or book one of the Discovery Tours that takes you through several restaurants in one go. It has been running for 18 years and returns throughout October.
Fitzrovia Food Festival | 📍Across Fitzrovia | 21 to 27 September | Free to join
For one week, more than 30 restaurants, cafés, bars and pubs across Fitzrovia are joining together with special menus, discounts and complimentary drinks. It is less about one big festival site and more about wandering the neighbourhood, trying a couple of places you have never been to, or finally booking somewhere that has been on your list. ROVI, ROKA, Norma, Caravan, Gallio and The Mandrake are among the names taking part. Just quote “Fitzrovia Food Festival” when booking or arriving to get the offer.
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