Summer is here, the couple of weeks in the year when Londoners unveil their hairy toes, drink canned cocktails and convince each other that it’s like living in Lisbon while sucking in fumes on a café “terrace” beside the Old Kent Road. But what we do have going for us is a city filled with events and culture and opportunities to gather and do what Londoners do best: sweat, clumsily flirt and complain.
The big society spectacles such as the Serpentine Summer Party, Wimbledon and the Henley Royal Regatta are all coming around again to allow trust fund leeches and minor celebrities to stress their way through etiquette rules (see right), while for those who haven’t slept with a member of the Guinness family, there’s a packed schedule of festivals, art shows and open-air entertainment to act as background for your drinking.
