Dear Londoners — We hope you have your feet in a paddling pool right now, or that you're in front of a fan on full-blast. Last July, we looked into exactly why London feels so much hotter than everywhere else in the country — and, more precisely, why it's unable to cool down. We even made a beautiful graphic so that you can check how hot your borough is:
This year, the heatwave has come even earlier, and — joy of joys — looks to be even hotter and more sustained. Let us know what measures you've taken to cool down, and in particular whether you're considering buying (or renting) an air con unit — or whether your flat already has such a system.
Regardless of how you're planning to beat the heat (thankfully, the Londoner's attic garret has a small air-con unit that we'll be clinging to for dear life), we've put together another juicy Monday briefing of the capital's need-to-know stories, including the community battle to save Brixton Market from private equity firms, the new era of tiny pod hotels and the best boozer to watch the England game in tomorrow. Stay cool out there!
Welcome to The Londoner, a brand-new magazine all about the capital. Sign up to our mailing list to get two completely free editions of The Londoner every week: a Monday briefing like this one, full of everything you need to know about that’s going on in the city; and a high-quality, in-depth weekend long-read.
No ads, no gimmicks: just click the button below and get our unique brand of local journalism straight to your inbox.
London Museum shares opening timetable and exhibits
Early last year, we donned a hi-vis and hard hat to walk around the site of the future Museum of London. Deep in the guts of the old Smithfield Market, we heard tales of hidden secret compartments full of massive rats and open glass walls that let you see into an operating tube tunnel. And despite big promises of imminent openings, even a cursory look at the state of the place made it clear nothing would be happening anytime soon.
Now that’s all set to change. Last week, the City of London — which owns and runs the museum — finally gave a firm opening date: 28 November 2026. It’s a major relief for the institution, which has faced non-stop delays and a large budget overspend since departing from their original Barbican-adjacent site in 2022 (for what was supposed to be a short-term closure).
So what should punters expect at London’s newest museum? Well, we know it’ll be split into three sections based on time: there’s “Real Time”, a covered former street that will serve as an entrance hall; “Our Time”, a cavernous exhibition and events space, with shops, restaurants and weekly late night DJ sets; and “Past Time”, a collection of permanent displays of the capital’s history. By 2028, the site will expand to the adjacent Poultry Market, adding more exhibition spaces and a collections store.
What’s going on at Brixton Market?
At The Londoner, we’ve written before about how the rise of private equity is responsible for the homogenisation of your local high street. Now it’s set to claim another victim: Brixton Market. Last week, news broke that traders needed to urgently raise £15m to buy the iconic site to stop it being bought by a private-equity. firm But what happened? And why was it all so sudden?
This story is free to read. You just need to sign up to join The Londoner's mailling list. And why wouldn't you? You'll get our journalism in your inbox the second we publish, keeping up to date on this and all our stories. No card details required.
Already have an account? Sign In
