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As the late summer sun fades gently away, and a glowing, russet harvest moon takes its place, a whole new range of thrilling activities and events emerge on the autumn horizon. Music, art, design, film, tradition and ceremony - the capital has it all this season.
 In this article, we've tried to offer you an example of the sheer variety of ways to pass the chilly days and long nights, but if you want a bit more detail, you should subscribe to LondonMonthly which lists the best hundred activites available in London every month. Anyway, here are ten of our very favourite London autumn events...  Autumn Ideal Home Show 7 – 16 October 2005 This massive event is absolutely jam-packed with ideas to make your house cosy and delicious through the winter. It's brimming with ways to maximise space and light, and tips on getting your hands on the beautiful and useful things that every home needs. Dominated by full-size show-houses, this is a truly spectacular exhibition. Seasonal attractions include Christmas room designs to suit all tastes and budgets and the Christmas Shopping Village. For those who want to learn new tricks, there's free advice from celebrities and experts as well as a drop-in Interior Design Clinic. Finally, if it all gets to be too much, the Indulgence Zone offers you the chance to put your feet up and spend a few minutes being thoroughly pampered. Venue: Earl's Court Exhibition Centre Address: Warwick Road, SW5 Phone: 0870 606 6080 Date: 7 - 16 October 2005 Price: Weekends £12 (Adults) £10 (Concs) £34 (Families)| Weekdays £10 (Adults) £8 (Concs) £30 (Families) Nearest Station: Earl's Court Tube Click here for Local Travel and Hotel Information   PS2 B-Boy Championships8 - 9 October 2005 The UK's biggest breakdancing event sees teams from all over the world heading down to Brixton for a punishing night of brutal beats, hefty headspins and incredible acrobatic feats. This year's host is Oscar-winning producer and father of Gangsta Rap, Afrika Izlam, alongside B-Boy pioneer, Crazy Legs. Shortee Blitz, and the Funkin' Pussy Crew will be providing the tunes. But it's the dancers who are the real stars. Each year the stunts get madder, the spins faster and the shapes more complicated. Check out the teams from Japan and Korea, who bring an incredible dedication and athleticism, or the slick American crews, with their instinctive sense of rhythm and individual flair. It can be a struggle getting close enough to really see what's going on, but it's well worth the effort, as the best dancers in the world prove why Brixton is still the UK's home of hip-hop. Venue: Brixton Academy Address: 211 Stockwell Road, SW9 Phone: 0870 771 2000 (Booking) Date: 8 - 9 October 2005 Time: 18:00 - 23:00 Price: £16 (Advance) per day | £27.50 for a weekend pass Nearest Station: Brixton Tube Click here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  The Times London Film Festival19 October - 3 November 2005 Banish any autumn blues with a trip to the cinema. This is Europe’s leading non-competitive film festival, now in its 49th year. A-list celebrities, award-winning directors, industry moguls and film fans will fill London’s top cinemas over 16 action-packed days. This is the largest event of its kind in Britain, with over 200 film premieres. There are avant-garde shorts, archive screenings, talks from film-makers, and, of course, the biggest new films. This year's highlights include films from directors Fernando Meirelles, George Clooney, Michael Winterbottom, Atom Egoyan, Steven Soderbergh and Takeshi Kitano and performances from actors such as Ralph Fiennes, Joaquin Phoenix, Juliet Binoche and Kirsten Dunst - as well as those beautiful Emperor Penguins. The event is a happy balance of artistic integrity and the glamour of the film business, with some star-studded occasions but also some challenging and rarely-seen material. Most events are also very reasonably priced, making this a real treat for film lovers of all kinds. Venues: National Film Theatre | Odeon West End | Other venues throughout London Phone: 020 7928 3535 Date: 19 October - 3 November 2005 Price: Varies Nearest Station: Waterloo Tube / Rail Click Here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  Frieze Art Fair21 – 24 October 2005 The third Frieze Art Fair will be the biggest event of its kind this country has ever seen. One hundred and fifty galleries from all over the world will be exhibiting work by around 2000 contemporary artists in a single temporary structure in Regent's Park. Wild stunts from performance artists adds to the chaotic atmosphere along with music from Franz Ferdinand, Soul Jazz soundsystem, Eat Your Own Ears, and a host of others, including a rare 'live' performance from Karlheinz Stockhausen. Around £25 million worth of work was sold last year, but it is those of us whose budgets don't stretch quite so far who should get the most pleasure out of this event. Without the mystique of a white-walled gallery, you can really feel the difference between the good stuff and the dross. There's always something incredible lurking round the next corner - I for one will never forget seeing an Austrian performance artist peeing into his own mouth at the 2003 fair - and there's an amazing jumble of the comical, the beautful, the shocking and the repulsive. The wealth of art on display, packed into this tiny space, is a unique and mind-blowing thing to experience. Final proof, if proof were needed, that London is now the centre of the international art world. Venue: Regent's Park Phone: 0870 890 0514 (Information) Date: 21 - 24 October 2005 Time: 11:00 - 19:00. (11:00 - 17:00 on Monday) Price: £10 (Advance) | £15 (On The Door) | £8 - £10 (Concs) Nearest Station: Regent's Park Tube Click Here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  October Plenty 23 October 2005 This is a glorious autumn harvest celebration, mixing ancient seasonal customs and theatre with contemporary festivity. Linking two of London's most olde worlde features, this event begins on Bankside, in the shadow of Shakespeare's Globe, and finishes among the stalls of Southwark's wonderful food market. Attractions include music and dancing, a Corn Queene effigy, performances of raucous 16th century plays, the Story Orchard - where children can listen to traditional British tales - conker fights, apple bobbing and much more. A wonderful revival of ancient customs and a great way for Londoners to remember the pleasures of this season. Venues: Shakespeare's Globe | Bankside | Borough Market Phone: 020 8452 3866 (Information) Date: 23 October 2005 Time: 12:00 onwards Price: FREE Nearest Station: Waterloo Tube / Rail Click Here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  Rubens: A Master in the Making26 October 2005 - 15 January 2006 The National Gallery's latest blockbuster exhibition tells the remarkable story of Peter Paul Rubens' ascent from the suburbs of Antwerp to becoming the best-known and most influential painter of his time. Curiously, we now remember Rubens best as a painter of attractive larger ladies in various states of undress. This exhibition should help to change that perception, bringing together much of Rubens' early work, with several of the masterpieces that he produced at the height of his powers, which have not been seen together since they were in his studio. From the brutal swirling energy of The Massacre of the Inocents, to the sensual extravagance of Samson and Delilah, this was an artist without peer in producing moving narrative works on a grand scale. This is going to be a massive show, and advance booking is highly recommended. Venue: National Gallery Address: Trafalgar Square, WC2N Phone: 020 7747 2423 (Information) Time: 10:00 - 18:00 Price: £5 - £10 Nearest Station: Charing Cross Tube / Rail Click Here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  London Jazz Festival 11 – 20 November 2005 If jazz is dead, someone forgot to tell the thousands of performers and fans who flock to London for our two annual festivals. The autumn event is the bigger of the two, and unlike 'Jazz on the Streets', it takes place at indoor venues. The many venues on the South Bank lead the way, but there will be shows in venues throughout London, from fashionable clubs like Rhythm Factory to jazz stalwarts like 606. The festival will feature top stars such as Jamie Cullum and Courtney Pine, and major jazz luminaries like Kurt Elling, McCoy Tyner, The World Saxophone Quartet and Gerald Wilson, who will conduct the BBC Big Band in a performance of new commissions. There's a world music feel this year, with Ustad Zakir Hussain, Salif Keita and Kinetika all featuring and Gilles Peterson leading a special live edition of his BBC Worldwide Show to close the festival. There are also loads of free events and the festival always spawns late night sessions in bars and other venues across the city. Venues: South Bank and other venues around London Phone: 020 7405 9900 Date: 11 - 20 November 2005 Time: Varies Price: Varies, many events FREE Nearest Station: Waterloo Tube / Rail Click Here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  Lord Mayor’s Show12 November 2005 This historic spectacle heralds the inauguration of the new Lord Mayor of London in a tradition dating back 700 years, which even continued through the horrors of the Black Death and the Blitz. The Lord Mayor is paraded in an exquisite gold carriage, amid much pomp and ceremony, from Mansion House through the City of London and back down the Victoria Embankment to the Guildhall. There's a parade involving over 6,000 people, bands, over 140 decorated floats, and costumed performers to go with the gilded State Coach. And in case you aren't heartily sick of fireworks by now, there's a massive display to round it off in seasonal style. Venue: Procession leaves Mansion House | Fireworks between Waterloo and Blackfriars bridges Phone: 020 7332 1456 (Information) Date: 12 November 2005 Time: Procession at 10:50 | Fireworks at 17:00 Price: FREE | £21.00 for a grandstand seat at St Paul's or Temple Gardens Nearest Station: Mansion House Tube Click Here for Local Travel and Hotel Information  Remembrance Day Service13 November 2005 The official Armistice Remembrance is at 11 o'clock on 11 November, when the country observes a minute's silence. The following Saturday afternoon, there are two spectacular concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. During the final moments of the event, a million red poppies are released into the audience in memory of those who fought and died in World War I, and in conflicts throughout the last hundred years. On Sunday 13 November, Her Majesty the Queen and members of the royal family join former and current members of the services to remember the dead of the UK and Commonwealth. Wreaths are laid at the Cenotaph at 11:00. After a short service, thousands who served in the two World Wars march poignantly past the memorial. A moving tribute. Venues: Various venues throughout London Date: 13 November 2005 Time: 11:00 onwards Price: Varies. Most events FREE Nearest Station: Varies Click Here for Local Travel and Hotel Information |
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