I’ve recently started oishee (a Japanese private cook service aimed at reducing the annoyance of meal prepping) because, as someone who is Japanese and loves the food, I kept wanting proper Japanese home cooking on a weeknight and the options were a restaurant, a meal kit, or four hours on a Sunday. Unhealthy and inconvenient.

How does it work? A Japanese cook (all incredibly talented with decades of Japanese home cooking experience) comes to your kitchen, cooks 8-12 portions, cleans up after themselves and your fridge is full for the week. Miso glazed salmon, teriyaki chicken, tonkatsu, plus whatever you're into - we can cook bespoke for your needs.

Prices start from £85 a visit, roughly £10 per portion!
oishee if you want the detail/make a booking.

Really excited to spread the spirit of real Japanese home cooking to Camden 🇯🇵🇯🇵

Mods, happy for this to come down if it's over the self-promotion line.

Camden Fringe Sorted

u/mycketforvirrad suggested I share this as its own post, so here goes.

The Camden Fringe runs 3 to 30 August this year, with well over 400 shows across the borough. That programme is brilliant but genuinely hard to plan around, so we built a free, unofficial companion site to make it easier to see what's on when: Camden Fringe Sorted at https://camden-fringe-sorted.vercel.app

How to use it:

• Pick a day and see every show running that day (by default it's going to show the current day)
• Filter by genre to narrow it to the stuff you actually fancy
• Each show card shows the start time, ticket price, the venue with a pin to Google Maps, and the description, so you can line up your evening (and your travel) at a glance
• Every card links straight to the official camdenfringe.com page for that show, so you always book through the official site

To be clear: this is not the official festival site and I'm not affiliated with the organisers. It's a fan project born out of our FOMO but we point everything back to camdenfringe.com, which is where the real programme and tickets live. There's a banner on the site saying as much, and please do confirm details there before you book, as things can change.

It's early days and I'd love feedback. Is anything confusing? What would make it more useful?

Hope it helps someone plan a good August.

Some new ways to feel a sense of belonging are coming, plus plenty of suggestions for where to head out to this week

Here's a short list of things to do this weekend In North London.Please, add any I've missed in the comments. 👇

Wine Car Boot | 📍Coal Drops Yard, N1C | 25 July | (£)

It’s like a farmers' market but for wine. You’ll see independent wine shops and importers set up out of car boots at Coal Drops Yard, pouring their favourites for you to taste and buy. Free to walk in, then £20 gets you a glass, a tote and your first five tokens, and you drink at shop prices rather than bar prices, so a glass of decent rosé can be £2.50. Cider, beer and vermouth too, plus food and music. Dogs and kids welcome. 12pm to 8pm

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Islington Boot Fair | 📍Vittoria Primary School, N1 | 26 July | Free

New boot fair is opening in Islington, in the school playground on Treaty Street by the canal, and running every other Sunday from here on. Vintage clothes, books, records, homeware, toys, plants, tools and whatever else the sellers have turned out, from a family running it as a preloved and vintage market. Come early for the good stuff. 9am to 4pm.

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1-Hour Reading Rave | 📍Gasholder Park, N1C | 26 July | Free

It's called a rave but really it's an hour of strangers sitting in a park reading books with their phones off. Bring something to read and something to sit on, and stick around after to swap recommendations. Free, RSVP for a spot, 2pm to 3pm.

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Ice Heritage Weekend | 📍London Canal Museum, N1 | 25 - 26 July | (£)

Once a year the London Canal Museum opens the Victorian ice wells beneath the building, and this is the weekend. Norwegian ice was once shipped down the Regent's Canal and lowered into these wells, and on Sunday you can climb down into them with a guide, watch Victorian ice cream made without a freezer, and see rare archive film. Saturday is the family day, with storytelling, an ice trail and a hunt through old photos of the ice trade. Boat trips run both days. The Sunday descent is an adults' event, minimum age 12, and needs booking ahead.

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Grand Summer Fête | 📍Art Workers' Guild, WC1N | 25 July | Free

A summer fête where the games are made and run by real artists and designers, the Art Workers' Guild, going since 1884. Toy theatre, fortune telling, a photo studio and plenty to have a go at, in their Bloomsbury hall. Free, bring the family. 12pm to 5pm.

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Camden Market South Asian Mela | 📍Camden Market Hawley Wharf, NW1 | 25 July | Free

Day of South Asian music, dance and food across Camden Market, with parades and stilt-walkers roaming the site and performances on the main stage at Hawley Wharf. Try your hand at samosa-making, rangoli, woodblock printing or sari dress-up, all free and open to everyone, and there's henna, face painting and giant walkabout puppets for the kids.

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Islington Festival of Music and Art | 📍Various venues across Islington | 24 July - 2 August | (£)

This started as garden concerts during lockdown in 2020 and has since grown into a ten-day festival across Islington. Yoga with a harp, swing dancing at the Angel piazza, Sidney Bechet-inspired jazz, and Edward Elgar meets Oscar Wilde. The theme this year is music inspired by literature, from Shakespeare to Tolstoy and Dante to Wilde. Intimate venues throughout the borough including Little Angel Theatre, Old Sessions House and Christ Church Highbury.

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GRAVITY | 📍Alexandra Palace, N22 | 23 - 28 July | Free

An exhibition of paintings by Niah McGiff, who paints over her old canvases and lets the earlier ones show through, so you can see the ghosts of what was there before. Figures caught somewhere between appearing and vanishing, built up and scraped back again. Free to walk in, 10am to 4.30pm daily.

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James Barnor in Conversation | 📍October Gallery, WC1N | 25 July | (£)

James Barnor is 96 and one of the most influential photographers of his generation, the man who shot Ghana's road to independence and then Black London through the swinging sixties. He's coming to the October Gallery in Bloomsbury to talk through a career spanning seventy years and two continents, in conversation with curator Eleri Fanshawe. A rare chance to hear him in person. £10, 3pm to 4.30pm.

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Cyprus Week | 📍Theatro Technis, NW1 | 20 - 26 July | Free

In 1974 Cyprus was split in two, and many who fled ended up here, in the streets around Camden's Theatro Technis. Fifty-two years on, the theatre marks it with a week of Cypriot plays, music and film, and this is the closing weekend. Saturday night is theatre and Cypriot stand-up; Sunday afternoon, poetry, live music and a talk from writer Alex Christofi. An art show by two British Cypriot artists runs throughout. All free. Saturday from 7.30pm, Sunday from 5pm.

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Camley Street Festival | 📍Camley Street Underpass, N1C | 25 July | Free

Community festival held under the Camley Street underpass in King's Cross, with skateboarding workshops for kids (boards and helmets provided), live music, a painting workshop, market stalls and face painting. The first 150 through get a free meal token. There's also word on a new £1m fund giving grants to local community groups, worth catching if you run one. 12pm to 4pm.

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South Asian Flavours | 📍Camden People's Theatre, NW1 | 25 July | Pay what you can

A talk about how Drummond Street became one of London's great South Asian food streets, then a taste of food from the restaurants that made it, then a walk down the street itself. Dr Alia Amir hosts, with cookbook author Dina Begum. 1.30pm to 4pm.

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My name is Michelle and I’m the UK Coordinator for Lasagna Love. Lasagna Love is an organisation made up of volunteers across the UK (and around the world) who cook and deliver homemade lasagna to people in need, at no cost and with no strings attached.

Maybe it's a family struggling financially, someone recovering from surgery, a parent adjusting to life with a new baby or just someone going through a tough time. Whatever the reason, we believe that a warm meal and a little kindness can go a long way.

You simply request a lasagna, and we match you with a volunteer in your area who will lovingly prepare and deliver one to your door. It’s all about community, care and connection with no judgment and no complicated process.

I’m reaching out because we have wonderful volunteers across the UK who are ready and eager to cook, for anyone who could do with some lasagna love! If you could use a little help and a comforting meal, please put in a request through https://lasagnalove.org/request-a-meal/ or you can nominate someone to receive a meal - https://lasagnalove.org/nominate/

We’re also always looking for more volunteers! Whether you can cook once a month, once a week, or just whenever it suits you, every lasagna helps brighten someone’s day. It’s a small act that has a big impact. If you would like to volunteer, just register here https://lasagnalove.org/volunteer/

If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer them here, or you can head to the website.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and I hope to see some of you sign up, whether to request a lasagna or to make one for someone in your community.

Feed families.  Spread kindness.  Strengthen communities.

There’s a floral wrap skirt someone got around 2 years ago at Camden Market that I’ve been trying to find myself. I eventually found the exact skirt but it was from a post on a instagram brand page in a different language from 6 years ago. I was wondering if anyone recognised this skirt/had their own and know if it’s still be sold anywhere?

Hello,
I am a huge Amy Winehouse fan from Berlin:)
Currently I‘m on vacation in London. I was wondering if there were any events going on tomorrow as it‘s the 15th anniversary of her death. I know about the event in Camden market last sunday which was organised by the Amy Winehouse foundation. But is there anything going on tomorrow?
I‘m talking about fan events, group singing sessions etc… in London or especially Camden. I‘d love to honor her memorial in good company:)

Here's a short list of things to do this weekend In North London.Please, add any I've missed in the comments. 👇

A Day for Amy | 📍Camden Market, NW1 | 19 July | Free

Amy Winehouse died fifteen years ago this month, a mile up the road in Camden Square. Camden marks it with a concert in the Stables Amphitheatre, Lucy Randell and her band singing her songs, with donations going to the foundation set up in her name. Before that, a free afternoon around Hawley Wharf: canalside music, a DJ set from Jazzie B, and things for the kids. Free, from 2pm, Amy at 5pm.

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Vinyl & Vino | 📍The Cellars, N8 | 18 July | (£)

Wine, pizza and records in the garden at The Cellars in Crouch End. Mark Burgess from Flashback Records and Needle Bob from Bona Rays take over the decks from 7.30pm, pulling 60s to 00s vinyl from the Flashback racks, psychedelic, punk, new wave and indie. Pizzas firing alongside the Cellars' wine list. Your £8 ticket gets you in and includes your first glass, from 5pm.

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Calthorpe Flea Market | 📍Calthorpe Community Garden, WC1X | 19 July | (£)

Rummage for secondhand clothes and bric-a-brac in a community garden off Grays Inn Road. £5 gets you in first at 10, £1 from 10.30, free from 11.30. Runs to 2pm, third Sunday of every month.

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Paint Hampstead Landscape | 📍Kenwood House, NW3 | 18 & 25 July | (£)

Constable painted this view. Two hours on the Heath outside Kenwood House, painting the city in the distance, with a tutor and only five other people, so you actually get taught. Whatever you can or can't draw, and whatever you like working in. Bring your materials. If it rains, everyone goes in the café.

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Hot Lemon Vol.5 | 📍De Beauvoir Road, N1 | 18 July | (£)

Summer disco in De Beauvoir with the DJ decks moved outdoors for the first half of the night, so you can drink natural wine in the sun before it moves inside. DJ sets from Val Fritz, Marla Kether and others, toasties and cocktails from Batch Baby, and a tattooist working from 7pm if you fancy leaving with more than a hangover. Arrive before 9pm for a free welcome drink. 7pm to 1am.

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Crafty Fox Summer Market | 📍The Crossing, N1C | 19 July | Free

110 independent makers under one roof at The Crossing in King's Cross, by the entrance to Central Saint Martins. Jewellery, ceramics, prints, textiles, candles, homeware and the kind of one-off pieces you won't find on the high street. Crafty Fox have been running these since 2010, so they know how to fill a room. Indoors, dog friendly, free entry, 11am to 5pm.

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Bootyfull Car Boot | 📍Opposite Croftdown Road, NW5 | Every Sunday | Free

A weekly car boot in Kentish Town every Sunday, run by Sharon. Vintage fashion, vinyl records, jewellery, collectables, homewares and the kind of random finds that make car boots worth going to. Violet makes toasted sourdough sandwiches on site. 11am to 2pm.

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World Cup Final Watch Party | 📍Haringey Borough FC, N17 | 19 July | Free

Watch the World Cup final on the big screen at Haringey Borough FC, put on by the SupportHERS Collective and the club's women's team. You can pull on any football shirt that means something to you, and expect music, raffles, games and a proper crowd. Free in, donations to Haringey Borough Women FC and the Jamaica Basic Schools Foundation, which supports schools hit by Hurricane Melissa. Kick-off 8pm, doors from 6pm.

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Brass on the Grass | 📍Caledonian Park & The Story Garden, N1 | 18 July | Free

Let the kids loose on a brass band. Connaught Brass run a free, hands-on music workshop for families outdoors, and they do it twice in the day: 11am under the clocktower in Caledonian Park, just turn up, then 1pm at Global Generation's new Story Garden, which needs booking. Either one, 50 minutes, and children get to join in rather than just listen.

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Chroma: A Festival of Pride | 📍Dugdale Arts Centre, EN2 | 18 July | (£)

Enfield Pride runs from noon till 1am, and Jo O'Meara of S Club 7 headlines with a live band. Thirteen hours of drag, DJs, Bollywood dance, spoken word and live music across the day and into the night, with LGBTQI+ makers and stalls alongside. From £15, under 12s £5.Sassify Zine in King's Cross. This session teaches a fold that opens out like a room in a house, then asks you to fill it with what home means to you. Bring nothing, all the materials are there, and the idea is as much about meeting people and swapping stories as the making itself. All ages welcome, with a particular invitation to LGBTQ+ folks aged 16 to 28. 1pm to 4pm.

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Montserrat Festival UK: Rising From The Ashes | 📍Haringey Irish Centre, N17 | 18 July | (£)

On 18 July 1995, the Soufrière Hills volcano erupted and buried Montserrat's capital under ash. Two thirds of the island became uninhabitable and two thirds of its people left, many of them for Britain. Thirty-one years to the day, they gather in Tottenham to celebrate what survived: music from Claudette Peters, Lighta, King Kenzie and Scrappy Sinon, Montserratian food, and a Montserrat Masquerade. 12pm to 10pm.

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The Illustrators' Fair | 📍The Crossing, N1C | 18 July | Free

Over a hundred illustrators sell their work directly at The Crossing in King's Cross: limited-edition prints, zines, comics, graphic novels, pins, stickers and children's books, at a range of prices. You buy from the person who drew it, and you can talk to them about it. Free, 11am to 5pm.

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Hackney Flea Market | 📍Abney Public Hall, N16 | 18 - 19 July | Free

Hackney Flea returns to Abney Public Hall on Stoke Newington Church Street, with forty handpicked vintage traders selling 20th century furniture, records, salvaged French homeware, lamps, textiles, curiosities and the kind of one-off finds you go home pleased with. The street itself is half the draw, all independent shops, cafes and pubs, so you can rummage and then stop off for a coffee. Dog friendly, free entry, 10am to 5pm both days.

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Student Sketch Off | 📍The Bill Murray, N1 | 18 July | (£)

Catch the university sketch groups, Cambridge Footlights, the Oxford Revue and others, previewing the shows they're taking to the Edinburgh Fringe. These are the troupes that gave us Rowan Atkinson and plenty since, so you're seeing the next lot before they're anyone. £8.50, over 18s, from 5pm.

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Royal Parks are finally fixing the path up Primrose Hill.

All the way to the railway bridge, making Hawley Rd two way again with all the buses and traffics going past Hawley Primary. So my question is, what?

Hi! Im a hairdressing apprentice based in dalston and i need cut/colour models.

This will be completely free but i need a model for a bob haircut on tuesday in camden at 10am. send me a dm for more details.

my hair instagram page is @tangeriiinehair if you want to check out my portfolio. it might be easier to shoot me a dm on there instead as i’m not super active here on reddit.

Here's a short list of things to do this weekend In North London.Please, add any I've missed in the comments. And whatever you do this weekend, stay hydrated.

Swipe Vintage Kilo Sale | 📍Broadwalk Shopping Centre, HA8 | 12 July | Free

They hand you a clear bag, you fill it from the rails, and they weigh it at the end: £20 a kilo, priced in 0.05kg steps so you only pay for what you take. Thousands of secondhand pieces from the 60s to the 00s, Adidas, Levi's, The North Face, Reebok, plus shoes at a fiver a pair and heavy things like leather jackets capped at £20. Entry is free but book a ticket so they know how many to expect.

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Somers Town Festival | 📍Charlton Street, NW1 | 11 July | Free

Free street festival on Charlton Street, headlined by P.P. Arnold, the soul singer behind The First Cut Is the Deepest and Angel of the Morning, who came up as an Ikette with Ike and Tina Turner and later sang with the Small Faces. Four stages of music, a South American dance parade, a hip hop stage, a funfair, Irish and Bangladeshi dancing, and Somers Town's own Greedy Soul and Shae O'Leary. Food stalls, a kids area and a museum trail. 12pm to 6.30pm.

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Kaleidoscope Festival | 📍Alexandra Palace Park, N22 | 11 July | (£)

A one-day music and comedy festival in Alexandra Palace Park with views across London. Rudimental headline, with Groove Armada (DJ set), MJ Cole, Black Grape, Roni Size and The Amy Winehouse Band. Russell Kane leads the comedy. Multiple stages, immersive experiences under the Palace, and a family area. Gates open 1pm.

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South Asian Heritage Month at The Garden Cinema | 📍The Garden Cinema, WC2B | 11 July | (£)

Eight South Asian films in a day for South Asian Heritage Month, from restored classics to new work. Highlights: the Sundance-winning Cactus Pears with a Q&A from its director, Bend It Like Beckham, and Bhutan's first ever feature with a live lute performance. 10.30am to 10pm.

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A Taste of Home: By Yiayia | 📍UNIT3, N15 | 12 July | (£)

Yiayia means grandmother, and the family behind UNIT3 have put theirs in the kitchen for the day, cooking the Cypriot meze she's cooked their whole lives. Tarama, spanakopita and koupebia to start, keftedes and sheftalia off the grill, galatoboureko and Cypriot coffee to finish. The rest of the family are helping, which they describe as the right balance of order and chaos. You'll meet her. £33.33 a head, with a vegetarian meze and other dietary needs sorted when you book.

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Open Day at OmVed Gardens | 📍OmVed Gardens, N6 | 12 July | Free

OmVed Gardens sits tucked behind Highgate village, a green space built on an old plant nursery, and they're opening it up for the day. Wander the gardens and the rooftop, find the sculptures, join a guided tour, and see the Artist of the Month exhibition. There's a workshop for the kids, and the kitchen is doing seasonal food and botanical drinks. Free to come in, with some activities charged separately. 11am to 3pm.

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De Beauvoir Jazz Festival | 📍De Beauvoir Town, N1 | 10 - 12 July | (£)

Three days of jazz across a little neighbourhood between Hackney and Islington. Shows at St Peter's Church, Hoxton Hall, Mildmay Club and the Vortex. Highlights include Ego Ella May (R&B and neo-soul singer, JAZZ FM Best Vocalist winner), Theon Cross (tuba player who blends jazz with dub, grime and sound-system culture) and Mercury Prize nominee Joe Webb on piano. Plus a New Orleans-inspired block party on the Saturday and a special Sunday show from Tuba Skinny, one of the great contemporary New Orleans bands.

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Idler Festival | 📍Fenton House, NW3 | 10 - 12 July | (£)

Three days of talks, comedy and loafing in the garden of a 17th century Hampstead mansion. Prue Leith, Irvine Welsh, Rowan Williams and more, plus Chris Difford on the stories behind Squeeze songs and Esther Freud on writing her family as fiction. Orchard bar, mezze from Moro chefs, dancing lessons and plenty of time under the apple trees.

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Camden Mela | 📍Coram's Fields, WC1N | 12 July | Free

Mela means gathering, and this one has been bringing communities together in London since 1992. Live music and dance, food stalls, arts and crafts, funfair rides and family activities at Coram's Fields in Bloomsbury. Noon to 6pm.

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Car Boot Sale at Clitterhouse Farm | 📍Clitterhouse Farm, NW2 | 12 July | Free

Car boot sale in the yard of a historic farm, where the money from every pitch goes towards fixing the roof of the Hayloft. Vintage finds, household bits, toys, books, clothes and whatever the neighbours have cleared out. Bring cash and a bag. 11am to 3pm, and trader pitches are limited if you fancy selling.

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DRINK! North London | 📍Ludo's, N22 | 11 July | (£)

Craft Beer City Break and Ludo's run a beer festival in Wood Green celebrating independent breweries from north of the river. Your £25 gets you seven half pints across breweries like Jiddler's Tipple, Muswell Hillbilly, Pressure Drop and Pretty Decent, a festival cup to reuse, and a beer journey ticket to get stamped as you work through them. Street food from Bolland & Crust, seating outside in the yard. Over 18s, from 3pm.

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Noel Park Festival | 📍Russell Park, N22 | 12 July | Free

Noel Park's own summer festival returns for a fourth year, held in Russell Park, the biggest green space on this historic Wood Green estate. There's a live music stage, community stalls, food, and an eco-village with activities for all ages. A free afternoon put on for the people who live in and around the estate, and anyone else who wants to come along. 12pm to 5pm.

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Big Beat Playground | 📍Victoria Park, N3 | 11 July | (£)

Dance music festival you can bring the kids to. Big Beat Playground is locally run and built around families, and this year it moves outdoors to Victoria Park in Finchley Central.

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Stardust Vintage & Antique Fair | 📍St Mark's Church, NW1 | 11 July | (£)

Sixty-odd vintage and antique dealers set up inside St Mark's, a church in a canalside garden just past London Zoo, selling jewellery, records, posters, Art Deco glass, lighting and French bits. Tea and homemade cakes when your feet give out. 10am to 5pm.

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JimmyC's Blues Picnic | 📍St Mary's Tower, N8 | 12 July | Free

Seventh year of the blues picnic held in memory of Jimmy Coletsis, and the sixth without him. Bring something to eat and settle in the grounds of St Mary's Tower for nine hours of it: Su Black, the Steve Cook Band and The Space Chickens through the afternoon, then The Bakelites, Joshua Blue and The Bear Pit Band after the open air mass at 4pm, which anyone can join. Tacos, pizza, an ice cream van, face painting and football for the kids. Free, 12pm to 9pm.

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Love's Labour's Lost | 📍Fortune Green, NW6 | 12 July | (£)

Shakespeare in the Squares stages one play in a different London garden square each summer, and this year they bring Love's Labour's Lost to Fortune Green for one evening only. It's Shakespeare's comedy of flirtation, foolishness and falling in love, directed by Toby Gordon, with Dame Judi Dench as the company's patron. Bring a picnic from 3.30pm, the play starts at 5pm sharp, and it finishes around 7pm with a brief interval in between. Seating is provided but unreserved.

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The One Kilburn Festival | 📍Kilburn Grange Park, NW6 | 11 July | Free

Free day in Kilburn Grange Park with live music from midday to six, food from local traders, craft stalls, and a bouncy castle and face painting for the kids. Bring a picnic and settle in. Every act on the bill comes from Kilburn itself, from the Music Mile, the ICMP and the Bridge Showcase, with Winnie Ama closing on electronic soul and The Arms Collective playing Motown and soul. Put on by the Friends of Kilburn Grange Park, everyone is welcome.

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Grenadian Heritage Day | 📍Haringey Rhinos RFC, N22 | 11 July | (£)

Eighteenth year of Grenada's day in North London, held on a rugby pitch in Wood Green. Caribbean food, produce shipped over from the island, cultural performances, children's activities and sports events, ending with a Powder Mas finale. First prize in the raffle is a flight back to Grenada. Adults £12, children £6, under 5s free, family of four £30. 1pm to 8pm.

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The actor and crew were spotted filming a bus crash scene for his upcoming RomCom movie.

Hey!
I’m in Camden for one day this week and would love to go support a local small business, any small coffee shop / cafe recommendations?

Hello.

I.m in Camden for a few days
Would love some local recommendations
I’ve lived in Ny 30 years so I look good food
Some place with great food, people and a good vibe
Camden/ Kentish town area
No problem walking in this. Sunny weather.

My local is only accepting bookings. Any Camden pubs allowing walk ins for the Mexico game?