Skyline Shift - New Angles

Quote of the Week - “Everywhere is walking distance.” - Steven Wright

Good afternoon, London. This week in The London Palette, every glance upward feels like a constellation of change. Fleet Street’s reinvention ripples outward, garden revolutions sprout behind our libraries, and the evening sky itself becomes alive with the sweep of choreographed drones. Whether you’re drifting along a sunlit canal in East London. Or, you’re caught up in the heartbeat of the Trafalgar Square parade. Or, you find yourself stumbling upon a hidden oasis where art and reflection intertwine, this edition brings you right to the frontlines of the city’s freshest perspectives and boldest shifts.

Snatched highlights from this edition:

1. Listening Garden Blooms in East London

2. Summer Finds a New Rhythm on the Canal

3. Green Spaces Take Centre Stage at The British Library

4. Live Music - Incl., Jazz Jam, Sambroso All Stars & lots more!

Let’s dive in.

—Bybreen Samuels

COUNCIL CANVAS

Barking and Dagenham’s Listening Garden Blooms

When you enter Eastbury Manor House this summer, you’ll find more than manicured lawns and historic walls. You’ll discover The Listening Garden, an immersive exhibition by Barking’s own Sarina Mantle that’s turning the borough’s approach to community and culture on its head. Her work is an example of art being used as the basis for public dialogue.

As Barking and Dagenham prioritise inclusive growth in their ambitious Inclusive Growth Plan 2023 – 2026, The Listening Garden arrives as a living, breathing symbol of what One Borough, One Community, can mean in practice. Sarina’s project invites residents to pause, reflect, and share their stories within an interactive setting. The theme of listening isn’t an abstract concept because it’s co-created with local residents. In particular, it responds directly to the needs, hopes, and lived experiences of the people in the borough.

This exhibition stands out in a council climate where partnership and grassroots creative action are core to every policy pillar. This ranges from anti-poverty to green regeneration. Sarina is a designer and multidisciplinary artist based in Barking and has long worked continuously at the intersection of art and social cohesion. This project follows her collaborative community art for the Becontree Estate centenary, and its setting at Eastbury, is intentional. It brings listening back to the very heart of Barking and Dagenham’s identity as a borough that values participation over passive consumption.

If you ask council leaders they’ll point to big investments like in housing, transport, green spaces, and employment. They underpin Barking and Dagenham’s transformation. Yet initiatives like The Listening Garden reveal how softer, people-powered changes are vital to realising the borough’s wider ambitions for social wellbeing, inclusion, and creative potential. With events like these, and ongoing funding streams for equality, diversity, and arts, Barking and Dagenham are cultivating a civic landscape where everyone has a voice, and community flourishes alongside concrete and commerce.

As The Listening Garden grows through August, its lesson is simple but powerful. Lasting change in Barking and Dagenham is not just built with cranes and council budgets, it’s sparked in shared moments of listening, creativity, and connection. Expect its influence to ripple well beyond the walls of Eastbury Manor House. The initiative will shape future collaborations, public realm projects, and the borough’s evolving sense of self. The ethos is about being more open, attentive, and ready to adapt, together.

Find out more here - https://www.eastburymanorhouse.org.uk

CITY PALETTE

Summer by the Canal at Here East Inspires Creativity

Sunshine finds a new rhythm on the water’s edge as Here East’s Summer by the Canal returns to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. You’ll be tantalised by this season-long celebration where innovation meets relaxation. This year, the Canalside buzzes each Thursday evening with live music spilling across the water, special performances lighting up the scene, and the unmistakable energy of East London at play. It’s the place where the city unwinds after work. And where digital creatives and locals mingle, drinks in hand, soundtracked by everything from jazz to funk, indie to DJ sets.

What’s remarkable is the event’s sense of openness. You don’t need a reservation or a golden ticket, just bring your willingness to join the flow. Canalside’s eclectic eateries spill out onto the water, and as the sun sets, the air fills with the aromas of street food, laughter, and the infectious beat of live acts. Families gather for laid-back afternoons, while friends debate which band impressed them most, surrounded by the unmistakable post-Olympic Park vibe. It’s contemporary, playful, and positively welcoming.

Here East itself has become a symbol of East London’s transformation. Originally the Olympic Media Centre, it’s now a creative and digital campus home to makers, students, and tech visionaries. So it’s fitting that Summer by the Canal feels less like a distant festival and more like an insider’s block party. The event’s ongoing evolution continues from innovative shuttle connections to Canalside traders offering locally crafted bites. Collectively, they show how an industrial patch has become a magnet for sharing ideas, collaboration, and spontaneous cultural encounters.

Running until September 25, this is your pass to a modern summer tradition. One where East London’s industrial legacy and the city’s creative future meet over spritzes, sunsets, and riotous Thursday gigs. You’re invited to soak up mellow acoustic sessions or search out the next viral act at Summer by the Canal. The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is not a monument to the past, but as one of the capital’s most lively and inventive neighbourhoods in the here and now.

Find out more here - https://www.queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk

DroneArt Show Lights Up the Night with Creative Magic

An ordinary August evening on the outskirts of London becomes something spellbinding when the sky itself is transformed into a living canvas. Technology draws you into the world of the DroneArt Show at Sandown Park Racecourse. Your senses will be teased when classical music and cutting-edge drone choreography intertwine. And dusk blossoms into a sensory extravaganza that breaks every expectation of a summer concert.

Forget about passive participation. Instead, it’s impossible not to feel part of the spectacle. As a live string quartet performs masterpieces by Debussy, Vivaldi, and Tchaikovsky, hundreds of synchronised drones paint glowing flowers, birds, and even pirouetting ballerinas above your head. All this unfolds within a sea of candlelight, with the night air humming in time to both orchestral crescendos and luminous swirls of colour.

This sensory experience borrows snippets from the grandeur of open-air festivals and the intimacy of a candlelit recital. But technology takes the artistry to new heights. The meticulous tension of drone choreography finds its match in the fluidity of live music. Each visual burst is perfectly mapped to a theme, turning works like The Four Seasons into multi-sensory journeys, where seeing and hearing are inseparable.

DroneArt is truly a signature event because it combines novelty, shared wonder that springs up from the crowd, mingling families, couples and curious seekers of culture. Under the stars, amid food stalls and flickering candles, you’re reminded why art matters. It creates amazement, unites the public and lets a suburban night feel limitless. This is definitely one for your diary. Between August 22 - 24, bring a blanket, and prepare to be swept up in a show where London’s brilliant future quite literally lights up the sky.

Book tickets here - https://thedroneartshow.com/london

UNDISCOVERED GEMS

Unearthed Shows Gardening Has a Radical History

Behind the British Library’s grand façade of documented knowledge, gardens take centre stage. They transform into radical testaments to creativity, resilience, and collective power. Unearthed: The Power of Gardening is a summer exhibition with a difference. By peeling back centuries of British history, it reveals how tending to green spaces has shaped who we are and the world we live in. Unearthed charts tales from ancient herbalists to guerrilla gardeners. By doing so it dispels the myth that gardening is simply a gentle hobby.

Wandering through the show, you encounter treasures ranging from the first English gardening manual of 1558 to Charles Darwin’s own plant collecting vasculum. As well as Gertrude Jekyll’s gardening boots and a portrait of John Ystumllyn, who is Britain’s earliest known Black gardener. The exhibition stitches together rare manuscripts, botanical art from across continents, and contemporary films featuring London’s Afro-diasporic Coco Collective. Their community gardens exemplify how planting can heal and empower amongst the pressures of living an urban lifestyle.

Unearthed also digs into gardening’s role as activism by challenging land ownership, fighting for common spaces, and highlighting the colonial legacies of plant trade. At its heart is a commission from artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg. Her installation asks us to see gardens through the eyes of pollinators. This point of view expands the measure of a garden’s worth beyond human delight.

Alongside the displays, there’s a programme of talks, performances, and community events. They set the mood for a living exhibition, one that inspires you to get your hands dirty in both activism and actual soil. If you’re keen to understand how green fingers can spark social change, this is your invitation to see gardening and the Library as sites for transformation, connection and possibility.

Find out more here - https://events.bl.uk/exhibitions

LONDON BUZZ

Trafalgar Square Turns Festival for Bicentenary Bash

Imagine Trafalgar Square pulsing not with protest or pigeons, but with a roving procession of banners, live bands, and giant puppets. This is how the National Gallery buries the quiet museum cliché with The Triumph of Art, the centrepiece bash closing its bicentenary year. For one spectacular summer day on July 26, artist Jeremy Deller transforms London’s most iconic plaza into a festival ground. See this as a mash up of British folklore, carnival flair, and the collective, joyful chaos that only public art can summon.

The party kicks off with a colourful parade winding up Whitehall, led by a towering puppet, Quingo Starlequinn. This gigantic creation was built by the learning disability arts collective, Do Your Own Thing. With DJs spinning from inside the giant, the scene quickly expands with more variety. You’ll find dance troupes, brass bands, art-making workshops, and street performers throughout the Square. Each act is a living tribute to the way art weaves through the fabric of British society. By doing so, it makes everyone, regardless of background, a player in the cultural conversation.

What sets this celebration apart is its genuine embrace of community. Jeremy’s vision braids together artistic traditions from all four UK nations, inviting collaborators from Plymouth, Dundee, Llandudno, and Londonderry to contribute. Everyone can share in the creativity including face painting, spontaneous performances, and a grand birthday tea party that would make even the Mad Hatter jealous. The whole event runs 11am to 4pm, and it’s free.

As the National Gallery closes its 200th year, it doesn’t look back with nostalgia, but outward with a dazzling, noisy assertion that art is lived and created in public. Trafalgar Square becomes London’s beating heart, reminding all of us that culture is not simply observed, it’s shared, sung out loud, and passed from hand to hand in the open air. If you’ve ever doubted the city’s creative spirit, this is the weekend to see how art and London triumphs together.

Find out more here - https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk

LONDON SOUNDSCAPE

Dalston Eastern Curve Garden - August 1

Warm breezes and the buzz of Dalston set the perfect backdrop as the Sambroso All Stars transform Eastern Curve Garden into a slice of Havana under the stars. With every riff and groove, the band dives deep into the Buena Vista Social Club’s iconic legacy, delivering irresistible Cuban sounds, rumba, and jazz with contagious joy. Led by percussion dynamo Sambroso Noda, this jam isn’t nostalgia, it’s a living, breathing celebration that invites you to sway and lose yourself in the kind of night that feels vibrant and alive.

Book tickets here - https://dalstongarden.org

Fox and Firkin - August 2

Brixton’s summer pulse hits a new high as Somewhere Soul transforms Fox and Firkin into a twelve hour oasis of global grooves and sparkling improvisation. Throughout the day, you’ll be swept through a kaleidoscope of live acts including Matters Unknown and Mono. Plus, DJs threading jazz, neo-soul, broken beat, and house into one seamless ritual. Every beat invites you deeper into a world where soulful energy flows and true community is found on the dancefloor.

Book tickets here - https://foxfirkin.com

Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho and Holborn - August 2

A rush of anticipation dances through Soho as Shakatak gears up to transform PizzaExpress Jazz Club into a vibrant oasis of jazz-funk finesse. Get ready for a masterclass from musicians who define what it means to be tight, timeless, and totally in sync. From the gold-dusted groove of Night Birds to the silky swirl of Down on the Street, each note is delivered with the effortless chemistry of a group still firing on all cylinders after four decades. This show is pure, infectious soul and it will be impossible for you to sit still.

When you arrive at Holborn’s jazz den you’ll be taken into the heart of Havana as the Buena Vista Social Club Live Revue sends iconic Cuban melodies spinning through the air. You’ll love the timeless classics like Chan Chan and Dos Gardenias that are reawakened by an all-star ensemble deeply rooted in Afro-Cuban rhythms. The energy is warm and communal, every clave and brass flourish invites you to sway, clap, and relive the spirit of legendary musicians. By the final piano run, you’ll be basking in nostalgia.

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

Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club - July 28 and August 2

On July 28, downstairs at Ronnie Scott’s, the Jazz Jam is electric with possibility. You step into a space where boundaries dissolve. House bands of British jazz heavyweights set a raucous tempo. And, the setlist is a living playlist of bebop legends, from Miles Davis to Charlie Parker. Welsh trumpeter Andy Davies leads the charge, while established stars and fresh talent trade choruses, surprises, and showstopping solos. Join them to hear where London’s jazz stories are written in real time. They’re spontaneous, daring, and unforgettable.

On August 2, Frith Street pulses with possibility when Ronnie Scott’s throws its legendary jazz street party, so Soho becomes an open-air celebration. The energy kicks off with DJ AG laying down contagious grooves, drawing music fans, families, and passersby alike into a daylong groove. Live sets from titans like Jazz Jamaica, Theon Cross, and the irrepressible Tomorrow’s Warriors Youth Ensemble roll out, each act carrying its own flavour of UK jazz. Between dazzling solos, carnival energy from Kinetika Bloco, and mouthwatering street food, you’re part of a tradition that feels effortlessly cool and giddy with community spirit

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

Royal Albert Hall - August 3

History radiates from every corner of the Royal Albert Hall. But on August 3, it’s the future of soul you encounter as Trevor Nelson guides you through a night where every harmony feels like a rallying cry. The Soul Revolution Prom draws its power from gospel roots, civil rights anthems, and the electric promise of a choir in full flight. With the BBC Concert Orchestra under Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, you’ll be swept into passionate tributes including Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone. Every note revives a legacy of resilience and unity, so let the groove move you. This celebration is a call to connect.

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

Soul Mama - July 26

Soul Mama offers more than a mere tribute to George Benson. Sink into the groove drenched homage where the legend of George Benson flickers to life in real time. Absolute Benson channels the effortless sophistication and compelling rhythm of classics like Breezin’ and Give Me The Night, fusing silky jazz guitar with infectious funk and soul. Fronted by musicians stacked with live credentials, every solo pulses with energy, inviting you to lose yourself in smooth improvisation and irresistible melodies. For a few hours, allow groove to transform your mind.

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

Southwark Cathedral - July 26

Draped in flickering candlelight beneath centuries of old arches, you surrender to a night where Bollywood and Tollywood’s most unforgettable melodies find a new voice on strings. The grandeur of Southwark Cathedral cradles each soaring violin and mellow cello line, reimagining hits from Tum Hi Ho to Jai Ho with breathtaking intimacy. You’ll discover cinematic romance and euphoric rhythms, as familiar songs like Zara Zara to Why This Kolaveri Di?, are elegantly transformed. Revel in this spellbinding journey across genres and generations, where nostalgia meets a symphonic glow.

Book tickets here - https://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org

The Jazz Cafe - July 28

If you’ve ever wondered how the sultry groove of 90s R&B would sound with a full string section behind it, The RnB Orchestra invites you to find out. Surrounded by soulful harmonies and lush brass, you’ll hear chart-topping tracks from the genre’s golden age, all reimagined with an orchestral flourish. The 16-piece ensemble breathes new life into familiar hooks, blending emotive vocals and expressive strings for a sound that’s both nostalgic and strikingly fresh. Now is your time to surrender to the rhythm because this is R&B reborn for the concert hall.

Book tickets here - https://thejazzcafe.com

The Piano Bar - July 30

Pablo Barrios is excited to turn your evening at The Piano Bar, in a journey through Havanna’s vibrant soul. In his hands, every staccato and swell becomes more than jazz or Latin flair. It’s a sunlit street corner, a late-night jam, a memory in motion. You can expect fiery improvisation and delicately spun melodies that make classic Cuban tunes and fresh originals sound both timeless and very much of the moment. Book your seat so you’re close to the music’s heartbeat.

Book tickets here - https://info.soho.live/pianobarsoho

BUSINESS SCENE

Green Upgrades and Bold Ideas Drive City’s Revival

Fleet Street Quarter is undergoing a summer transformation that’s anything but subtle. The Business Improvement District’s (BID), Era of Change, has unleashed a packed agenda. Think about it in terms of radical public area upgrades, a net zero business blueprint, and a parade of community led events. The goal is to make this historic slice of our city not just a conduit for commuters, but as a magnetic destination. The idea is to attract new businesses. creative energy, and everyday Londoners looking for something fresh.

On the ground, change is visible in the millions being poured into reimagining public space. The City of London Corporation and the BID are backing £9 million in street improvements, from wider pavements and increased greenery to safer crossings and pop-up gathering spots. By reshaping the area’s physical landscape by adding seating, planting greenery, and improving the walking experience, the Fleet Street Quarter is creating more than curb appeal. They’re aiming for a resilient climate district that can absorb and welcome a forecasted 25,000 new office workers over the next few years.

But the real engine of this transformation is sustainability. The Quarter’s annual Climate Festival in June had local business leaders debating how to go net zero. And, how going green can be good for business, not just the financial bottom line. Beyond the headline panels, there’s practical action. Businesses are being nudged and supported to swap out vans for cargo bikes. They reduce local pollution and congestion while supporting the Mayor of London’s net zero targets. A new directory now lists cargo bike courier companies that meet strict sustainability and wage criteria. In addition to micro-distribution hubs are who are taking care of efficiencies in last-mile delivery.

Summer 2025 isn’t just about headline infrastructure or green tech. The Quarter’s Community Fund, opened for applications from local organisations to support its mission. Also, there’s a range of hyperlocal events from free cycle repair days and anti-theft bike marking to public ping-pong tables and the gardening club. Together, they’re drawing people into the district. Most notably, the area’s cultural calendar is very appealing. Examples include, the London Festival of Architecture’s Voices Installation has seen Londoners gathering in public spaces to challenge boundaries and connect in meaningful ways. While drumming workshops and open-air screenings keep the area buzzing through September.

While Fleet Street is steeped in history, the BID’s approach is a powerful lesson in how urban reinvention should look in 2025. The key ingredients are bold investment, creative partnerships, a green ethos, and genuine community connections. Within this corner of London’s transformation, you’ll encounter the capital at its most innovative, inclusive, and alive.

Find out more here - https://www.fleetstreetquarter.co.uk

LINGUISTIC TAPESTRY - WORDS OF THE WEEK 

English Word:
Boric
Pronunciation: /ˈbɔːrɪk/
Definition:  Containing or relating to boron, especially as a chemical compound. Also known as Boric Acid. A weak acid widely used as an antiseptic, insecticide, and in various industrial processes.
Cultural Note: You might find Boric on labels for eye washes, laundry products, or pest control powders. This reflects the compound’s unique blend of safety, versatility, and effectiveness discovered over more than a century of use.

Punjabi Word:
Mehfil (ਮਹਫ਼ਿਲ)
Pronunciation: /MEH-fil/
Definition:  A gathering or assembly, often for the purpose of sharing poetry, music, or storytelling. This is where artistic expression and collective appreciation come alive in an intimate setting.
Cultural Note: Mehfil is a space where emotions, music, and verse intermingle, blurring the lines between artist and listener. The phrase literally means “the pathos of things” and expresses the deep sensitivity to the transience of life and beauty.

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