Are your kids massive Doctor Who fans? Are they begging to go to Doctor Who Experience but the ticket price is making you think twice? Well great news – Doctor Who Experience is having a fun Halloween promotion. On Friday 28th October children dressed as Doctor Who characters go free!

We took DSD on Saturday so I could honestly recommend the show to you – and I think it’s pretty cool. But I think the most important opinion is DSD’s. I asked her to type up a few sentences about her favourite parts so here you go:

I liked the bit when the wall opened and it was 3D. I liked the bit when the floor moved. I liked the bit when Doctor said to hold your adult’s hand because he said that they might be scared. I liked the exhibition bit and I liked being a Dalek.

She was pretty excited to go and even more excited to recount the experience – she’s a huge Doctor Who fan so this was a VERY BIG DEAL! I’m glad she’ll remember it so fondly. The Experience includes a fantastic exhibition with costumes, props and characters throughout the show’s history and an interactive journey that makes you feel like you’re part of the show!

The floor moves in this room!

So anyway, back to the promotion! Doctor Who Experience has a whole host of Monster-themed activities planned for October half term.  On Friday 28^th October children aged 5 – 16 dressed head-to-toe as Doctor Who characters and monsters will be given free entry to the Experience when accompanied by a full-paying adult. To get ready for Halloween, Doctor Who choreographer Ailsa Berk will be at the Doctor Who Experience in person on Friday 28^th October giving visitors a chance to perfect their monster impersonation skills with special lessons on how to walk like real Doctor Who monsters.

If you can’t go Friday 28th, you won’t be able to take advantage of the kids-go-free promotion, but there are still loads of extra-special activities. On Saturday 29^th face painters will be onsite to give visitors Doctor Who makeovers so kids can be turned into their favourite scary monster! On Sunday 30^th October live monsters will enter the Doctor Who Experience for the first time. Visitors will have a rare opportunity to come face- to -face with the Doctor’s terrifying adversaries the Cybermen and the Scarecrows.

To buy tickets (you need to get them in advance) or for more information, go to www.doctorwhoexperience.com.

This amazing news just in! Trafalgar Square will be painted red tomorrow (not literally) and renamed Tomato Square as 100,000 free tomato plants are given away to the public. The Tomato Flash Grow is part of the Capital Growth project which supports community food growing projects in London. Plus one lucky plant will be hiding a ticket to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The giveaway starts at 6.30am so swing by on your way to work to bag yourself a very special green shoot to start your veg patch.

Massive thanks to Time Out for the scoop and @tbex for bringing it to my attention. For more info, see capitalgrowth.org.

Getting married…? Hehe! Daily Candy has wedding sample sales this week. Here they are. For more, go to the source!

What: Ana Cristache
Why: Wedding dresses from £500.
When: Today-14 Jan. Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Where: 48 Beauchamp Pl., 2nd flr., SW3 1NX (020 7584 8322).

What: Phillipa Lepley
Why: Evening wear, bridal gowns, veils and accessories from £250.
When: 8-22 Jan. Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Where: 48 Fulham Rd., SW3 6HH (020 7590 9771).

What: Sassi Holford
Why: Up to 75 per cent off bridal gowns and veils.
When: 8-22 Jan. Mon. & Thurs.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tues. & Wed., noon-8 p.m.
Where: 74 Fulham Rd., SW3 6HH (020 7584 1532).

What: Browns Bride
Why: Up to 70 per cent off designer wedding dresses from Oscar de la Renta, Angel Sanchez, Carolina Herrera and more.
When: 23 Jan. Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where: 12 Hinde St., W1U 3BE (020 7514 0056).

Loads of sample sales on in London this month!

Reiss are having a sale until 6 November (started Weds) with clothing and accessories for men and women from £10. The sale is held at The Music Room, 26 S. Molton Ln., W1K 5AB.

Ted Baker are having a sample sale this week in London with clothes and accessories from £10!

The sale is at Camden Centre, Bidborough St., WC1H 9JE. Hours are Wednesday 6 October from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursday 7 October from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Sample Sales London advises you can sign up for fast track entry here. All major credit cards accepted.

Come back and tell me what you get!

Groupon’s cinema deals remain one of the site’s most popular offers. As of this moment there are more than 1100 of today’s discount sold!

The offer is £10 (instead of £30) for a cinema trip for two including tickets, popcorn and drinks, and a choice of current flicks at London’s The Phoenix theatre. That is a 67% savings (and a great cheap mummy daddy date night!)

Via today’s Daily Candy I was alerted to an Orla Kiely sample sale happening RIGHT NOW. Bargains range from a large cube-print holdall, £80 (reg. £314), or spotted tie-neck silk dress, £50 (reg. £270).

Read on for more details!

September 2010
Thursday 9th -11am – 8pm
Friday 10th -11am – 8pm
Saturday 11th -11am – 7pm
Sunday 12th -11am – 6pm

Chelsea Old Town Hall
King’s Road
Kensington and Chelsea
London
SW3 5EE

London Underground
Circle or District Line to Sloane Square. Walk across Sloane Square and straight down the King’s Road. Chelsea Old Town Hall is approximately ten minutes walk down the King’s Road, on the left hand side immediately opposite the lower end of Sydney Street.

Local Bus Routes
Alight in the King’s Road at Chelsea Old Town Hall and the lower end of Sydney Street) numbers 49 or 211.
Alternatively catch bus numbers 11, 19, 22, 211 or 319 from Sloane Square/King’s Road.

Car Parking
There is a small public car park (50 spaces) at the lower end of Sydney Street. On street parking is allowed in metered bays in nearby side streets.

All enquiries: 020 7819 0110

Cash and cards only
No refunds/return
All items sold as seen

**There will be a £1 charge on the door, and all proceeds will go to Maggies Cancer Caring Centres.

I’m in  New York for BlogHer this week (yay!) but if I weren’t, I know exactly what we’d be doing today: the pop-up maze in Trafalgar Square!

How cool is this? A giant pop-up maze has appeared in Trafalgar Square as part of a campaign by the West End Partnership to encourage visitors to enjoy getting a little lost whilst exploring the area. I don’t see anything on the site or in the press release about it being free, BUT the PR who sent the tip to me said it is free so hopefully he will not disappoint us!

For five days beginning 2 August, visitors can enjoy exploring the maze and wondering through many of the West Ends most famous streets, lanes and squares. Each ‘Street’ within the maze will highlight some fascinating facts about the cultural history of the West End, such as Carnaby Street, which apparently inspired Ray Davies to write The Kinks hit ‘Dedicated Follower of Fashion’, or Trafalgar Square, which is said to be home to the world’s smallest police station. The maze is open from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. each day.

Upon reaching the heart of the maze, visitors will be rewarded with an exclusive taste of the amazing entertainment, culture, dining and shopping on offer throughout The West End. The rolling programme of activity highlighting the best that the West End has to offer, includes:

• Monday – A vibrant showcase from some West End’s top shows – including Priscilla Queen of the Desert drag queens, some Avenue Q puppets and couple of Sherlock Holmes!
• Tuesday – China town arrives with a bang as giant paper dragon and lion puppets weave their way through the maze and live dragon candy making sessions take place at the centre of the maze
• Wednesday – London’s finest Saville Row tailors will be trimming the hedge first thing
• Thursday – One of the UK’s leading young orchestra groups, The Platti String Quartet, will perform a variety of stunning pieces, filling the maze with beautiful music.
• Friday – On the last day it’s time to party as we celebrate the iconic Carnaby Street with a swinging 60’s vibe, including live music from 60’s tribute bands and lots of vespas – groovy! There will also be a small exhibition of photographs from iconic 60’s photographer Phillip Townsend, picture include Twiggy, the Rolling Stones and many more. (Phillip will be available for interview if requested)

The maze itself measures approximately 30m x 20m and each hedge is 2.4m high. The maze has been constructed using 118 individual 2m sections, with a mixture of laurel and thuja hedging. Six articulated lorries delivered the hedging to Trafalgar Square on Sunday evening and a dedicated team worked through the night, taking approximately six hours, to build the maze structure.

I love, love, love to barbecue in summer. Last summer we did it loads but now in the new place we don’t have any outdoor space. And as of yet, we haven’t become besties with the new downstairs neighbors who have access to the back garden.

I’ve been trying to research whether or not we are allowed to grill in the parks, Fortune Green in particular. I called Camden and after talking with three people one finally told me we are not allowed, based on the document A guide to Camden’s parks and open spaces. However a quick search of the document found no mention of bbq-ing in the parks.

Now, I’m not talking about hauling a massive grill into a public space. I’ve got my eye on this beauty:

Bodum’s new FYRKAT picnic charcoal grill is on sale for £30 (reg. £70). I am a wee bit obsessed with it to be honest! It’s just 39 cm x 39 cm x 36 cm  and comes in black, white, orange, yellow, green and blue. At the moment I’m leaning toward yellow…

If you know of the restrictions in Camden, please speak up! If not we may just go for it. Can’t harm, right?!

Cheyenne Spur Steak and Grill in the O2 in Greenwich have built a beach outside the restaurant for school summer holidays! “Spur on the Beach”  is complete with a beach-load of sand, palm trees and hula girls. There are deckchairs to lounge in and beachballs, buckets and spades to keep the kids happy.

And best for your budget, kids eat free from lunchtime to five p.m. on weekdays until “Spur on the Beach” season ends at the end of August.

For more details and T&Cs visit www.ukspur.co.uk.