Quiet Influence as the Year Turns

Quote of the Week - “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”- M. Gandhi

Good Afternoon, London and Happy Holidays. As the year tips from darkness back towards light, this final, 2025 edition of The London Palette lingers in the glow of quiet influence and small, significant shifts. From Ray Winstone swapping his hard man roles for soft power at Mansion House, to Battersea’s chimneys blooming with 24 handmade digital Christmas trees, our city keeps finding gentle ways to surprise. You can mark the winter solstice on Greenwich’s front row hill. Step inside Wayne McGregor’s parallel choreographic universe. Then, warm up in Leicester Square’s new five storey festive living room.

Think of this issue as a slow, candlelit toast to the places and people who keep showing up for you and our city. Celebrate by enjoying delicious nosh, good times, while you relax and recharge. Wishing you all a wonderful time and a great 2026. Plus, a huge thank you for supporting me and The London Palette throughout our first year. Sending you love and a huge festive hug.

I’ll be back in your inbox with the next edition on Thursday, January 8 2026!

Snatched highlights from this edition:

1. London’s Sky Grew 24 Christmas Trees

2. Fifty Minutes in a Parallel Choreographic Universe

3. Live Music - Omar, Imaani, Gospel Christmas & lots more!

Let’s dive in.

—Bybreen Samuels

COUNCIL CANVAS

Hard Man Ray’s Soft Power Play

Ray Winstone has spent a career playing men who knock on the door in a menacing way. But this month, the City of London gladly opened one for him. Earlier this month, the Hackney born actor received the Freedom of the City in recognition of years of fundraising and charitable work. See this as a civic thank you that sits between ancient tradition and a modern idea of showing up for your city. Ray calls himself “a very proud Londoner” and spoke movingly about what the honour would have meant to his late parents. Making the Mansion House ceremony feel less like a red carpet moment and more like a homecoming.

Behind the “hard man with a big heart” headlines is a pattern of sustained contribution. Ray has long backed the West Ham United Foundation, supporting programmes that use football to drive education, cohesion and opportunity in East End neighbourhoods. He’s a regular at ICAP’s annual Charity Day, where a day’s trading revenue goes to good causes via the Lord Mayor’s Appeal. Also, he has more recently lent his profile to veterans’ fundraising through live sculpting events.

From a civic perspective, granting the Freedom fits the City Corporation’s strategy of using one of its oldest honours to highlight contemporary public service. It was once a 13th century licence for tradespeople in the Square Mile. Now, it’s reserved for people who’ve made an outstanding contribution to London or public life. Ray joins names like Cate Blanchett, Sir Lenny Henry, Sir Matthew Bourne and Lady Mary Peters. By adding Ray to that roll call underlines a form of soft power that values culture, sport and celebrity when they’re tied to consistent charitable work, not one‑off gestures.

There is also a quiet calculation in who is cast as a role model. When Lady Mayor Dame Susan Langley who was born in West Ham, talks about sharing both a club and a patch of London with Ray, she signals that the City values a variety of stories. The type that begin in Hackney and East End terraces, not just in livery halls. In policy terms, this reflects social capital and civic identity. In everyday language, it is a familiar face using his platform to pull attention, money and legitimacy towards causes that matter on the ground. If the Freedom of the City is one of London’s oldest civic tools, this moment shows how, in 2025, it is being repurposed. The focus is to celebrate not only who entertains the city, but who keeps turning up for it.

CITY PALETTE

The Night London’s Skyline Grew 24 Christmas Trees

It’s rare to see Kylie Minogue and a nine year old share a stage. However, this Christmas they are on four towering chimneys over the Thames. Battersea Power Station becomes a living gallery of 24 iPad‑drawn Christmas trees from across the UK, London’s biggest festive canvas on your doorstep. It’s one part light show, and the other part is a love letter. You soon realise these aren’t slick campaign visuals but everyday imaginations blazing out in colour.

Look up and you’re not just seeing trees, you’re reading lives in light. There’s a vegetable prep tree honouring Christmas morning carrots. Then, a cosy Snuggle Tree of Santa’s tiny helpers. Plus, an Optimistic Blossoms tree turning diversity into a kaleidoscope of hope. You might grin at a climbing wall design or fall for a weird and wonderful blobby tree dreamed up by a nine year old. They’re all sharing chimney space with Sir Stephen Fry, Kylie Minogue, David Shrigley and Oliver Jeffers.

For you, it’s a low effort, high reward December ritual. Projections run nightly from 5pm to 10:30pm until December 24, lighting the chimneys facing the river and wash towers that now form a backdrop to Apple’s London HQ. Swing by after dinner in Nine Elms, fold it into a riverside wander, or make it the finale to a festive day in town. The loop means you can stay as long as your fingers and toes can bear the cold.

The deeper story behind the designs is how those towers quietly reshape who gets seen in the skyline. After years when the Battersea canvas belonged to David Hockney and then Aardman, Apple has thrown it open to the public, backed by sessions that help anyone turn a rough idea into a digital tree. Art school graduates, school kids, national treasures and total beginners now share the same four chimneys. The same ones transforming a corporate HQ into a temporary public square in the sky. Make sure to catch it before the lights blink off on Christmas Eve and the smokestacks go back to being just smokestacks.

Find out more here - https://batterseapowerstation.co.uk

Solstice on the City’s Front Row Hill

On the shortest day of the year, Greenwich Park becomes less Sunday stroll, and more open air observatory for the soul. As the winter solstice lands on December 21, the hill from the benches to the Royal Observatory turns into an informal gathering for anyone who likes their rituals with a side of skyline. You can join dog walkers, astronomy nerds, Instagram tripod crews and quietly reflective types to clock the same truth. This is the day the light tilts back in our favour.

Head towards the Observatory as the afternoon deepens and the atmosphere shifts. The view over the Thames, Canary Wharf and the City gives you a front row seat to early dusk. The sun drops behind glass and steel before the lights snap on across the skyline. It isn’t a ticketed event so much as a tradition in soft focus. Take this shared pause at the hinge between darkness and the slow return of longer days. It’s perfect if you like meaning woven into your walks.

Greenwich adds an extra layer. You’re in a park once used for royal hunts, timekeeping and navigation. Now everyday life admin is anchored to the Prime Meridian line just steps away. Marking the solstice here ties your end of year reflections to centuries of people looking up at the same winter sky, trying to work out how to orient themselves. You can tie in a visit to the Observatory or nearby museums if you want more structure, but the hill alone more than earns the trip.

The real pleasure is how low friction it is. There are no wristbands, or no barriers. Just an invitation to wrap up warm, bring a flask and give yourself half an hour to watch the light change over one of the best views in London. Walking back down through the trees, past the deer park and towards the market or river, you feel you’ve done something tiny but quietly significant. You’ve marked the turning of the year not in a shopping centre, but on a hill where the city, sky and inner calendar briefly line up.

Your 2026 Problem Isn’t Ambition | It’s Timing

You don’t lack ideas.
You don’t lack discipline.
You lack clarity on when to move.

Most people charge into January because “new year, new you” says it’s time. But if you’ve ever launched something that stalled, don’t take it personally. You were probably acting in a prep season, not a peak one.

Zodiacal Releasing is an ancient astrological timing technique that divides your year into prep, peak and completion phases based on your birth chart. Suddenly, past years make sense. The heavy ones were mistimed, and the effortless ones were true peak periods.

In the 2026 Astrology Peak Period Power Hour, we use your chart to map launches, career pivots or reinventions onto your personal timing windows. So you stop guessing and start moving with precision.

No more launching on vibes. Just intentional timing for your smartest year yet.

Book your 2026 Astrology Peak Period Power Hour here:
stan.store/BybreenSamuels

UNDISCOVERED GEMS

Fifty Minutes in a Parallel Choreographic Universe

On The Other Earth makes you feel like you’re standing inside the choreography rather than watching from Row G. Wayne McGregor’s new project quietly breaks the usual rules of dance, inviting you into a 360 degree world where you can sense the tension in a foot, the tilt of a ribcage, the shift of breath. Presented off‑site at Stone Nest on Shaftesbury Avenue as part of Somerset House’s Infinite Bodies season. It sits between performance, installation and sci‑fi dreamscape.

Small groups step into a cylindrical, wraparound screen where dancers from Company Wayne McGregor and Hong Kong Ballet move through otherworldly spaces that dissolve the stage divide. You don’t sit and peer at a rectangle. You’re surrounded by bodies, light and sound, with spatial audio pulling you deeper into the score as images shift in every direction. Billed as being post‑cinematic, it borrows the immersion of film, the liveness of dance and the edge of digital art. They’re blended into a 50 minute encounter that feels oddly physical, even though you barely move.

What keeps it from feeling like a tech demo is the emotional texture under the cleverness. Wayne’s long standing fascination with the body as a thinking machine, now meets AI, high resolution LED and sculpted sound in a way that heightens, rather than flattens, the dancers’ humanity. You catch a hand hesitating, a spine spiralling, a cluster breathing as one. All while shifting landscapes hint at parallel worlds and blurred lines between organic and digital life without spelling anything out.

The practical magic is that it lives in the West End pathway, yet still feels like a secret. You can step off noisy Shaftesbury Avenue, duck into Stone Nest’s former church and spend under an hour in a space that resets your senses before you re‑enter the traffic and theatre queues. Pair this with a wander through Infinite Bodies back at Somerset House. Here, three decades of Wayne’s movement and tech experiments are unpacked. On The Other Earth becomes a sharp reminder of what our city does best. Tucking world class, genre bending work into corners you might otherwise hurry past.

Book tickets here - https://www.somersethouse.org.uk

LONDON BUZZ

Playground Today | Cultural Powerhouse Tomorrow

London’s most playful museum just quietly scooped one of Europe’s most serious awards. And this mix says everything about where culture is heading. Young V&A in Bethnal Green has been named the 2026 winner of the Council of Europe Museum Prize. This is a big deal in the museum world that recognises places using culture to strengthen democracy, human rights and social connection. In other words, this isn’t just a cute kids’ refit. It’s being hailed as a model for how you design a museum with children, not simply for them.

Step inside and you feel that shift immediately. Young V&A was rebuilt around the idea that play, design and making are core to how children understand the world. There are spaces that invite them to crawl, build, draw, argue, test and create rather than just stare at glass cases. The Council of Europe singled out how the museum puts young people at the centre. Including everything from co-designing parts of the galleries with local children and teens, to programming that explores identity, belonging and the right to be heard. That focus turns a day out into something deeper. Namely, a gentle masterclass in confidence, curiosity and civic imagination.

For London, the win lands at an interesting moment. East London’s families have been watching schools, youth clubs and arts spaces weather budget cuts. While at the same time, well known cultural institutions pour millions into blockbuster shows in Zone 1. Young V&A’s prize is a reminder that world leading innovation is happening in a former Victorian museum building in Bethnal Green, rooted in a genuine local audience. It validates the idea that you don’t have to choose between serious design heritage and messy, joyous play. You can let kids rampage through the very collections that once felt off-limits.

If you care about what the city will feel like in 10 or 20 years, this is more than a gold star on the wall. A European prize for a children’s museum in E2 signals that the next wave of cultural leadership is being shaped on beanbags and in maker spaces, not just in lecture theatres and members’ rooms. It’s a nudge to the rest of the city’s institutions to treat children as collaborators and citizens in the making, rather than passive visitors. And for you, it’s a good excuse to head east with kids, grandkids, or just your own inner 10 year old. Once there, you’ll see what Europe’s most talked about grown up kids’ museum actually feels like on a Saturday afternoon.

Find out more here -  https://www.vam.ac.uk

LONDON SOUNDSCAPE

Grow Hackney - December 31

As the canal glows and Hackney Wick fills with an end of year buzz, Grow turns New Year’s Eve into an Afro‑Latin jazz house party you actually want to be at. You’ll catch Williams Cumberbache’s 7 piece band Tumbaito blending sizzling Afro‑Latin rhythms with modern urban jazz grooves that practically drag you onto the dancefloor. Later, DJs take you through to 3am with soul, reggae, hip‑hop and global club sounds, so you never hit that after midnight slump. If you want warm, creative and pulsating NYE joy, this is it.

Book tickets here - https://www.growhackney.co.uk

Hootananny Brixton - December 31

Picture glitter on the ceiling, bass in your chest and a room full of Soul Sisters and Brothers counting down to midnight together. New Year’s Eve: A Disco Odyssey promises a high octane night of live bands and DJs spinning disco, house, nu‑disco, funk and soul from 8pm until 4am. You’ll love the sweaty, joyful, unpretentious party energy in a legendary Brixton venue. This is the place to be if you want to dance your way into 2026, rather than just toasting it.

Book tickets here - https://hootanannybrixton.co.uk

Pizza Express Live Holborn - December 27 and 28

The first chord drops and you’re instantly back on a dancefloor where Nile Rodgers ruled the night. Le Freak brings his world to life with CHIC anthems like Le Freak, Good Times and Everybody Dance. Plus, hits he crafted for Diana Ross, David Bowie, Madonna and beyond. All of this is delivered by an all‑star band with Jamiroquai vocalists Hazel Fernandes and Valerie Etienne out front. Get ready for a tight, funky and feel good night out, on December 27.

The clue is in the name. City Funk Orchestra are here to make Holborn move, not merely nod along, on December 28. This big, polished band dig deep into 1970s and 1980s dance floor soul, powered by two heavyweight British voices, Imaani and Mary Pearce. Their natural chemistry and vocal arrangements are built for your dance all night energy. If you love proper live funk with power vocals and a grown up crowd, this is the night to end your year.

Book tickets here - https://www.pizzaexpresslive.com

Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club - December 27

The moment Omar hits the stage, you’re not just at a gig, you’re sitting inside UK soul history. He’s bringing four decades of jazz soaked, nu‑classic soul to Soho in an intimate early evening show. You’ll hear that unmistakable warm, elastic vocal, songs shaped by collaborations with legends like Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu and Leon Ware. Plus, he’ll share new material from his forthcoming album Brighter the Days. If you love sophisticated, grown up soul with stories behind every note, this is a night to book, not bookmark.

Book tickets here - https://www.ronniescotts.co.uk

Soul Mama - December 21

The first trumpet line hits and suddenly Stratford feels a lot closer to Havana than Zone 2. At Soul Mama, Sambroso All Stars take you deep into Cuba’s golden generation with a 7 piece band channelling Cuban Son, Latin jazz and rumba, drawing heavily from the Grammy‑winning Buena Vista Social Club songbook. With bandleader Sambroso Noda, a heartbeat of London’s Cuban community at the helm, this isn’t tribute by numbers, but a loving, dance floor ready celebration. If you crave warmth, romance and rhythm on a dark December night, this is your ticket to a temporary tropical escape.

Book tickets here - https://www.soulmama.co.uk

The Jazz Cafe - December 21 and 29

When the carols start to sound the same and you’re craving something soulful, this is your Christmas reset button. At A Gospel Christmas, you’ll be wrapped in spine tingling harmonies from London’s leading gospel voices. You get all the festive favourites like Stevie, Mariah, Harry and more, all reimagined with groove, swing and full body joy for one last seasonal dance before the big day. You won’t leave Camden without your spirits lifted and your heart properly set in Christmas mode.

Imagine The Jazz Cafe pulsing like a Lagos rooftop party in the middle of Camden. This final show of the year from The Love & Afrobeats Band brings a full 12 piece Afrobeats Orchestra to wrap you in amapiano grooves, horn stabs and deep, dance floor basslines. With musicians who’ve backed Wizkid, Burna Boy, Tems, Gregory Porter, Justin Timberlake and P!nk, you’re getting serious pedigree as they tear through the biggest Afrobeats and amapiano hits. This is just the type of grown up, feel good, and tailor made way to end 2025.

Book tickets here - https://thejazzcafelondon.com

BUSINESS SCENE

Leicester Square’s New Festive Living Room

Leicester Square has quietly swapped limp hotdogs for something far more exciting. A five storey festive feast where your Christmas market cravings get a roof and central heating. Market Place Leicester Square, now the biggest food hall in the West End, sits beside the Odeon and turns “grab popcorn and go” territory into somewhere you actually linger with friends, colleagues or family between carols, films and shows. It’s as if someone finally asked, “What if the Christmas lights also came with really good food?”

Inside, it moves beyond the idea of a food court, more towards an indoor street food festival with tinsel. There are sixteen kitchens and three bars serving you exactly what you want when it’s cold and dark. There’s Bread Ahead’s doughnuts, Butchies’ fried chicken, Club Mexicana’s vegan tacos and Yorkshire Burritos’ roast dinner wraps. They let you build a Christmas grazing menu without queuing in the rain.

Commercially, it’s a bold West End statement. But as a guest you mostly feel the perks. Treat it like an all day, weatherproof hub that works for a pre‑matinee bite or post‑office party debrief. Grown from its original Peckham site, this flagship is built for peak festive footfall. It’s a place where tourists, theatre goers, workers and locals can all duck in from the cold. The venue also acts as an easy default when you’re juggling meet ups, shopping and “shall we just get a drink somewhere?”

The real magic is what happens beyond the plates. Comedy, live music, DJs, big screen sport and hireable spaces mean your Christmas get together can stretch from a quick bite to a whole night out without changing postcodes. It gently nudges Leicester Square away from generic chains towards somewhere you might actually choose as a festive base. A place to wrap your hands around something warm, share dishes, laugh loudly, then step straight back out into the glow of the West End lights.

Find out more here - https://www.marketplacefoodhall.com

LINGUISTIC TAPESTRY - WORDS OF THE WEEK 

English Word:
Chasuble
Pronunciation: /ˈchæz.ə.bəl/
Definition:  A sleeveless outer vestment worn by a priest or minister when celebrating the Eucharist, typically the most visible and decorative layer of liturgical dress.
Cultural Note: Its colours change with the liturgical calendar, for example, purple for Lent, and white for major feasts. It visually signals the theological mood of the season and helping congregations “read” the church year at a glance.

Cantonese Word:
Yum chàh (飲茶)
Pronunciation: /YUM chaah/
Definition:  Literally “drink tea”, but in Cantonese it refers to the social ritual of going out for dim sum and tea, often as a leisurely, chatty meal with family or friends.
Cultural Note: Yum chàh signals more than eating. It’s about checking in on each other, passing stories across generations and turning a simple meal into a weekly anchor of belonging.

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