London Design Festival 2026 runs 12 to 20 September. Twelve picks, what is free, what is ticketed, and the day that gets you nine.
Four A2 prints by Chantal Joffe, Celia Paul, Grayson Perry and Jules de Balincourt, £100 each, closing noon on Sunday. The money puts artwork on NHS mental health wards. #HospitalRooms #ArtPrints #GraysonPerry #LondonArt #SupportTheArts
A sealed Victorian strongroom under Chancery Lane, forty minutes of voices in the dark, and the moment they all start shouting at once. Free until 18 October.
Last updated: 9 September 2026. I checked every date, price and rule in this Bayeux Tapestry British Museum ticket guide against the museum's own pages on 6 September 2026.
By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture
The two dates that matter
Members can book 1 January to 31 March 2027 from 6 October 2026. Everyone else gets the same three months on 21 October 2026.
Check availability at the British Museum
Exhibitions2026 edit
Sold out until January, and the queue was 80,000 people long
The Bayeux Tapestry British Museum display opens on 10 September 2026 and runs to 11 July 2027, and every slot up to 31 December has already gone. So the useful question is no longer where to buy a ticket. It is how to get one at all. The next public release lands on 21 October 2026, membership no longer buys a new joiner what it buys an existing member, and the National Art Pass does something different again.
Read more
Sting narrates a fake wellness clinic, two Argentinians play rap, reggae, rock and then a full rave, and nobody at Brixton sits down for ninety minutes. Our first live music review, and it is a five. #ca7riel #pacoamoroso #brixtonacademy #gigreview #freespirits
Last updated: 4 September 2026
By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture
AudiobooksSeptember 2026 Edit
Ten listens, and one of them is forty hours
Here is my pick of the best audiobooks September 2026 is putting in front of UK ears, and the range is wider than usual. Marlon James arrives with a Booker longlisting and a cast of six. Richard Osman brings Nicola Walker back. China Miéville turns up at the end with forty hours and forty-three minutes.
So the order counts down from ten to one, and I ranked on two things. First, what the recording adds that the page cannot, which is why the author-read memoirs and the full-cast productions sit high. Second, whether the runtime earns the credit rather than merely spending it. Three of the ten are already out, so I have said plainly which ones those are and which I am still waiting on.
Heads up: this post contains affiliate links. If you buy or sign up through one, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes what I tell you.
New to audiobooks? Start with Audible
Every title below is free with an Audible credit, so the trial is the cheapest way in. Moreover, I keep the current Audible UK offer and the steps to claim it up to date on my referral page.
Read more
Free, monthly, unbooked and almost unknown. A queer walk through the V&A with a volunteer guide, and the case for going in person.
August 25, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Nineteen Eighty-Four Review: Our Book of the Month
Last updated: 25 August 2026
By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture
This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.
This article contains affiliate links. If you click through and buy, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.
This month I went back to a book I was made to read at sixteen and had been quietly avoiding ever since. My Nineteen Eighty-Four review, then, is really a re-reading. Orwell's last novel turns out to be a stranger, funnier and more irritating thing than the version I remembered, and the parts that have dated are not the parts everyone assumes.
It also happens to be having a moment. A new stage adaptation opens in Glasgow next week, there is a full-cast Audible production with a genuinely starry list of names, and the paperback now costs less than a pint. Here is what I made of it, and which edition I would actually put your money on.
Read more
August 16, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Pride National Theatre Review: A Five Star Musical
Miners and lesbians and gays, 1984, one scaffold set and a room full of people openly weeping. Pride at the National Theatre is the best night we have had in a theatre this year. Lewis Cornay's Bromley alone is worth the ticket. Cool Factor 5/5. #PrideMusical #NationalTheatre #LondonTheatre #LGSM #CoolFactor
August 9, 2026Comments are off for this post.
The Odyssey IMAX 70mm Review: Worth It at BFI Waterloo?
Nolan's Odyssey on a 15-perf celluloid print at BFI Waterloo. Overwhelming craft, a career-best Matt Damon, one unforgettable Circe scene, two castings that do not work and a sound mix that buries the dialogue. Cool Factor: 4/5. #TheOdyssey #IMAX70mm #ChristopherNolan #FilmReview #BFIIMAX
Follow us: Instagram
Copyright 2026 CoolCuration | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Affiliate Disclosure | Cool Factor
-----------
We are proud supporters of a safer more private internet via encouraging people to use Brave browser and are actively taking on Spammers as part of ProjectHoneypot. This site is hosted on servers that run on 100% renewable energy in the UK thanks to GreenWebHosting.
This site contains affiliate links, including to Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase or sign up for a service via these links, at no extra cost to you. All offers and promotions are accurate at the time of publication but are subject to change or withdrawal by the businesses featured. We cannot guarantee their continued availability. Read our full affiliate disclosure.
Reviews and opinions on CoolCuration reflect the personal experience of our writers at the time of publication. They are not professional endorsements and your experience may differ. Scores use our Cool Factor rating system and are given independently of any commercial relationship.
All content on CoolCuration is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice, investment recommendations or an endorsement of any product or service. We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and do not offer personalised financial guidance. You should always do your own research or consult a qualified financial advisor before making any financial decisions.