49 cheap and cheerful things happening in London this weekend

[Happiness is... not worrying that you missed the train. Pic: Mark Etienne]

It may be the end of the month but we’ve got plenty of charming, cheap and cheerful ways to spend the weekend – not forgetting some Mother’s Day treats too…

All weekend

Get sporting tips from Olympic legends Denise Lewis and Victoria Pendleton at Be:Fit London, Old Billingsgate Market.

Sketch-show silliness with Pappy’s, Adam Riches, and filthy Vikki Stone: The Soho Sketch Festival, Sanctum, Soho.

Delve through the Designer Jumble Pop-up Shop, Westfield Stratford City.

Head to Asia House Fair, Marylebone: Shopping. Art. Design. Crafts. Excellent!

Catch the last of the comedy: Impro Fest 2014, Tristan Bates Theatre, Covent Garden.

Cycling fanatic? Surrender to SPIN London, and brush up on all that is bike, The Old Truman Brewery.

Also opening this weekend: The Sixties photography exhibition takes over Tower Bridge’s West Walkway.

Feeling broke? Head to something that’s cheap/free:

Take to the Thames at Hermitage Moorings Open Day on Hermitage Wharf.

Celebrate the season with a Spring Fair at the Finnish Church, Rotherhithe.

Stalls, music, glitter tattoos and a raffle: All you could want at Evelina Children’s Hospital Easter Egg Hunt, East Dulwich Community Centre.

Reign in the first legal LGBT betrothals with Sandi and Debbie Toksvig at I Do To Equal Marriage, the Royal Festival Hall.

Floral fancies: Learn how to make ma happy at a Mother’s Day Bouquet Workshop, the Hoxton Hotel.

Friday

Yet more brilliant blossoms: Flower displays and arranging at Florimania: The Age of Elegance, Hampton Court Palace.

The Human Rights Watch Film Festival closes with a final screening of Return to Homs at the Ritzy Cinema, Brixton.

Cheap/free:

Ever the narcissist? Head to Late Shift Extra: Snap Shot to talks selfies with the National Portrait Gallery.

Enter the Black Lodge for doughnuts, cocktails and David Lynch delights: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me at Block 336, Brixton.

Gigs: The Cure at Royal Albert Hall; Metronomy at Brixton Academy; Willie Garnett Big Band at Jazz Café POSK, Ravenscourt Park; and 46 more.

Clubs: The Dodo Club London, the Battersea Barge; Sho Nuff Boogie at the Bussey Building; We Are Lizards at Proud Camden; and 74 more.

Saturday

Go Dutch – architecture that is – as Kew Palace opens to the public.

Celebrate same sex marriage and watch Sandi and Debbie Toksvig renew their vows at the Southbank Centre or catch the bouquet and dance the night away at Say I Do at the South Place Hotel.

Stitch your own Victorian-style cameo at the Crafternoon Cabaret Club, The Hospital Club, Covent Garden.

Hi-ho tequila lovers! Grab your fat pants, it’s time for Taco Wars, chilli shots, and giant cocktails at Hawker House, Bethnal Green.

See ‘Plebs’ star Tom Rosenthal, hip hop impro duo Abandoman, Aisling Bea, Bridget Christie, and Cardinal Burns in the Knock2Bag comedy lineup, Rich Mix.

Enjoy Richard Strauss’s late opera Die Frau ohne Schatten, at the Royal Opera House.

Cheap/free:

Cut the lights for the WWF Earth Hour accompanied by audio from Sienna Miller, Cilla Black, Kirsty Gallacher and Daisy Lowe.

Take the family to throw some shapes: Creative: Space – Feel the Rhythm of Life, Henry Wood Hall, Charing Cross.

Gigs: Black Star at The Forum, Kentish Town; Jaguar Skills at Koko, Camden; Jeff Lorber Fusion at Ronnie Scott’s Chinatown; and 34 more.

Clubs: Darkside at the Coronet, Elephant & Castle; Audio Sushi at Dogstar, Brixton; Club du Fromage at the O2 Academy; and 83 more.

Mother’s Day specials:

Join the Georgian tea party at Mothering Sunday at Kensington Palace; Vintage-themed cruising on the Mother’s Day Lunch and Thames Cruise, Butler’s Wharf Pier; enjoy champagne and short stories at the Mills & Boon Mother’s Day Tea, the BB Bakery, Covent Garden; Mother’s Day in the Garden with ‘Question Time’ host Matthew Biggs at the Garden Museum, Lambeth Palace; and Mother’s Day: The Bridge Commission Serpentine Gallery.

Gigs: Suede at the Royal Albert Hall; Tinie Tempah at the O2 Arena, Greenwich; Kai’s Cats at The Hideaway, Streatham; and 30 more.

Other ideas

Catch some Time Out rated theatre: ’Grimm Tales‘ at Shoreditch Town Hall; ‘Other Desert Cities‘ at the Old Vic; ‘Blithe Spirit‘ at the Gielgud Theatre.

See top dance shows: ’The Prince of the Pagodas‘ at the London Coliseum; ‘Compagnie du Hanneton / James Thierree: Tabac Rouge‘ at Sadler’s Wells; ‘Pilobolus Dance Theater: Shadowland‘ at the Peacock Theatre.

Ponder over this week’s best new art: Phyllida Barlow: Tate Britain Commission 2014, Joyce Pensato: Joyceland, Andrea Zittel: Physical Matter Reality.

See the latest flicks at the cinema: ’Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘, ‘Muppets Most Wanted‘, and ‘Holiday‘.

Pop out to a pop-up: The Saucony pop-up for retro trainer lovers, Covent Garden, and The Box Boutique Pop-Up, South Ken, for more sophisticated shoes.

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