October Listings for Gunnersbury Park & Museum
Above and Beyond exhibition features England football heroes
Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling by Mat Small
There’s plenty to enjoy in and around Gunnersbury Park as we head towards autumn.
Free Special Exhibitions from October to December
Friday 1 October – Sunday 31 October, 12 - 4.30pm with late opening until 8pm on Fridays
Free entry
See faces from England's football team by artist Matt Small.
Above and Beyond features Matt Small’s painted portraits of footballers Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Ealing’s own Bukayo Saka alongside their England manager Gareth Southgate.
These four altruistic individuals have inspired many with their kindness, bravery, and generosity. This is an exhibit that seeks to show how we can all be mindful and considerate, to go above and beyond the call of duty to make our society a more beautiful place to be.
Thursday 7 October – Sunday 12 December , 12-4.30pm with late opening until 8pm on Fridays
Free entry
This autumn at Gunnersbury experience Britain’s wildlife as never before in a family-friendly exhibition Wild.
Get up close to a gannet in full dive as it plummets towards the sea to catch fish, catch a glimpse of the elusive red squirrel and discover more about the lives of the animals on our doorstep and beyond.
Monday 25 October – Sunday 28 November, 7am - dusk
Free entry
Public parks were created to offer healthy recreation for all, and Gunnersbury is no different. When the then-Minister for Health, Neville Chamberlain opened the park in 1926 it was as a place of wellbeing, a green lung for west London's communities.
Gunnersbury has been a lifeline for many during the Coronavirus pandemic, and in this photography exhibition local people share what this park has meant to them during these unprecedented times.
Monday 29 November – Thursday 31 March 2022, 7am - dusk
Free entry
Hear the stories of those who stood up and resisted racism
Citizen UK: Ealing Rises Up is an exhibition by The National Portrait Gallery in partnership with Ealing Local History Centre Archives, artists Asia Ahmed and Narvir Singh, and local volunteer Citizen Researchers.
This exhibition investigates stories of people who stood up and resisted racism and recognises some of the lesser-known figures involved. Using archive material, spoken word and film, we'll tell the stories of Ealing activists and the movements they were part of.
Visit the outdoor exhibition to see portraits, photographs and research, access interviews from Gunnersbury Park Museum’s Archive and watch the newly commissioned films.
Talks and Tours in October
Museum on the streets - The story of Ealing Common
Sunday, 10 October, 11am – 12:30pm
£12
Join a walking tour delivered by Ealing and West London Tour Guides.
From common grazing land with the consent of the Lord of the Manor, to centre of modern-day recreation and leisure, our story of Ealing Common touches upon many aspects of the lives of our local ancestors. Learn about some of the famous people who lived in the area, the great houses and estates around the Common, the role of the Common in the lives of ordinary people, in good times and bad, and some intriguing links with Colonial India.
A community of gardeners - Georgian nursery gardening families in West London
Tuesday, 12 October, 6.30 – 7.30pm
£7
Join an online talk exploring the distinct history of west London’s horticulture
Join Val Bott, owner of nurserygardeners.com as she explores the distinct history of west London’s horticulture, including the gardening families who made their mark and the changing fashion in gardening from 1650 – 1800.
Museum on the streets - Brunel, Bunnies, Locks, and Lunatics
Saturday, 23 October, 11am – 12.30pm
£12
Join a walk delivered by Ealing and West London Tour Guides. This walk will be looking at the first major engineering feat of the great Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, walk through a delightful park with a zoo and a maze, and learn about a major figure in rock and roll history.
It will also follow the Grand Union Canal and pass the Hanwell Flight of locks and a large, pioneering mental hospital.
Diwali Food and Spice Tour of Southall with Monisha Bharadwaj
Friday 29 October, 6:30pm- 8:00pm
£15
Join Monisha on this food, spice and culture journey through Southall.
Explore Southall in west London as it gets ready to celebrate the Hindu festival of light, Diwali.
Browse through specialty supermarkets and discover unusual ingredients that you can buy.
Walk through the main street, enjoy the colours, sounds and smells that mark this celebration and discover the history behind the food and the festival.
Workshops for Adults
Movement and Still Meditations – Introduction to Tai Chi (and Qigong)
Every Tuesday in October, 11am – 12pm
£10 or £70 for the full course.
Join Faeeza Keshavjee from Chimoves to learn the healing energy arts of Tai Chi and Qigong through some simple practices which will include movement, breathwork, mindfulness and energy awareness.
These gentle holistic exercises are often referred to as moving meditations. You will also practice still forms of Qigong, to cultivate standing meditation as a route to inner calm, health and wellbeing.
Diwali Masterclass Demonstration and Food Tasting
Monday 1 November, 6:30-8pm
£15
Join Manju Malhi (TV Chef and cookbook author) for some traditional festive delights.
Manju will show you how to prepare easy snacks, answer culinary queries and solve your curry conundrums while sipping chai.
You’ll be able to sample the vegetarian dishes and have a fun 90 minutes in the Historic Kitchens steeped in Victorian history.
Every Saturday in November, 11am – 12pm
£10
Relax with Patricia Ehtemam every Saturday morning in November for a gong bath session.
Looking to destress and inject more calm and peace into your life? Then join us for our gong bath sessions.
Gong baths are an immersive sound healing experience. It is known as a ‘bath’ as the sounds ‘wash’ over you to help you feel calm, relaxed, and happy.
Patricia will guide you into a deep relaxation, followed by playing the gong, crystal bowl, chimes and drums creating a soundscape. All you need to do is to make sure that you are comfortable and allow the sound of the instruments to wash over you.
Whether you are new or experienced to gong baths, these sessions are open to everyone.
Wednesday 10 November, 6:30pm – 8pm
£15
Join artisan perfumer Sarah McCartney as she explores the roots of a perfume inspired by the Fred Goodwin Rose.
The Fred Goodwin Rose is a rare blue-pink variety bred by a skilled gardener who worked at Gunnersbury during the 1930s.
Participants will smell traditional and modern materials to construct the aroma of a blue-pink rose and will take a 15ml bottle away with them.
Tuesdays 7, 14, 21, 28 September and 5, 12, 19, 26 October, 11am – 12pm
£10 per session or £70 for the full course
Every Tuesday in September and October to learn Tai Chi and Qigong.
Join Faeeza Keshavjee from Chimoves to learn the healing energy arts of Tai Chi and Qigong through some simple practices which will include movement, breathwork, mindfulness and energy awareness.
They will also practice still forms of Qigong, to cultivate standing meditation as a route to inner calm, health and wellbeing.
£10 per session or £70 for the full course
All the exercises will be gentle and soft and suitable for all ages and levels of fitness. However, if you have any medical conditions please do seek your doctors approval before undertaking any form of physical exercise.
Please note that this is an 8 week course so be mindful when booking as a drop in, you will have missed previous sessions. Limited numbers available.
For Children & Families
1 October, 5 November, 3 December 2021, 6pm – 8pm
£5
Bring your instruments, singing voices, or poetry and take centre stage!
Gunnersbury Park & Museum is organising monthly open mic sessions for children and families from October 2021.
Sessions are led by Edwin Addis, an experienced open mic host with a flair for making everyone feel welcome and supported.
Email learning@visitgunnersbury.org if you would like to perform. Book early to avoid disappointment because slots will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
Tickets £5 (free for children aged 5-11)
These open mic sessions are suitable for anyone with a disability.
Free Family Trail: Bedtime for Lionel
Thursday 7 October to Sunday 12 December, 12 – 4.30pm, and until 8pm on Fridays
Free
Join Lionel the baby hedgehog on a mission around the museum to find his brothers and sisters and help them prepare for their winter hibernation!
Pick up our trail from the front desk!
Make & Take: Autumn Leaf Decorations
Thursday 28 October, 12 – 4pm
Free
Create a beautiful stained glass effect Autumn leaf decoration to take home.
Suggested donation £2 per child, no booking required – just turn up
Friday 29 October, 10:30am – 12pm
£12
Become a pumpkin carving maestro in this spook-tacular workshop! Work with our experts to create a pumpkin with personality for Halloween.
Pumpkin included!
Suitable for children aged 4+. £12 per child, adults free
Autumn is coming to Gunnersbury Park
Saturday 30 October, 12 – 4pm
Free
Creep it real this Halloween and create a fang-tastic monster crown to top off your costume.
Suggested donation £2 per child, no booking required – just turn up
Sunday, 21 November, 11am - 12pm, 12.45 – 1.45pm, 2.30 – 3.30pm
£5
Help Victorian servants prepare for the Christmas festivities.
Traditionally, Christmas preparations would begin on the last Sunday before Advent, known as Stir-Up Sunday. Help the servants pound the sugar and spices, stir the plum pudding and make a Christmas wish.
An interactive, promenade performance for all the family.
Father Christmas at Gunnersbury
Saturdays 4, 11, 18 December and Sundays 5, 12, 19 December, 10.30am – 4.30pm
£12.50
Pay a very special visit to our Victorian Father Christmas, dressed in his traditional green robes, in Gunnersbury’s Historic Kitchens.
Help the kitchen maid make decorations to take home with you and then visit Father Christmas in his festive Study. Children will receive a traditional wooden toy as a gift.
The initial ticket price secures your timeslot but is for one child only. Any additional children must be paid for on the day at a price of £10 per child. All adults are free.
23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30 December, 12.30 – 3.30pm
Free
Get crafty over the Christmas holidays. Come to Gunnersbury Park Museum for our free family drop-in activities and take something festive home.
Drop in between 12:30 – 15:30. No booking required but space will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Suggested donation £2 per child, adults free. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
A Magic Lantern Christmas Show
Tuesday 28 December, 11.30am – 12pm
£7
A seasonal Magic Lantern entertainment for families in the magnificent drawing room of Gunnersbury Park House.
Burning ships, exploding volcanoes, spectacular fireworks and the Man who eats Rats! Presented by internationally renowned magic lantern performers Jeremy and Carolyn Brooker.
A Grand Gothic Magic Lantern Show
Tuesday 28 December, 2 – 2:45pm
£8.50
Book your ticket for a Grand Gothic Magic Lantern Show.
Christmas has always been a time for ghost stories and the supernatural. Enter the bizarre and fantastical worlds of the magic lantern with internationally renowned magic lantern performers Jeremy and Carolyn Brooker. A seasonal celebration of goblins, ghosts and the downright weird. Accompanied by the acclaimed silent film pianist Costas Fotopoulos.
The shows will feature an authentic triunial (or Triple) magic lantern combining three projectors in a single device, creating the most spectacular effects the lantern can produce.
Talks & Tours in November and December
Discover a Muslim History of Acton
Saturday, 6 November, 11am – 1pm
£12
Join a circular tour exploring 300 years of Muslim connections to Acton. From early Muslim prayer places to such famous individuals as the traveller Lady Montagu, the boxer Muhammad Ali, and the Quran translator Abdullah Yusuf Ali, a convert to the Islamic faith who challenged Ealing council for recognition and won. The tour includes an optional visit to a Mosque.
St Lawrence’s Church, New Brentford, and its burial grounds
Wednesday, 10 November, 6 – 7pm
£7
Join an online talk exploring St Lawrence’s Church in New Brentford.
Records show that a religious building has stood on the site since the 12th century Local Brentford historians Jim Storrar and David Shailes will explore the history of this 15th-century church and the communities it has served.
West London Rocks! A Musical Tour of Chiswick
Sunday, 21 November, 11am – 12.30pm
£12
Join a circular tour exploring Chiswick's musical connections. On this musical history tour you ’ll pass the studios where the Rolling Stones and The Who recorded their last albums, visit the place where many a pop artist has their tracks mastered, find the headquarters of Island Records and see the home of the writer of A Hard Days Night. Not forgetting Liberace!
Museum on the streets - Discover Brentford, Old and New
Sunday, 12 December, 11am – 12.30pm
Join a walking tour delivered by Ealing and West London Tour Guides.
Explore Brentford from its medieval beginnings to the 21st century Brentford Project, one of the largest new developments in London.
Along the way, hear about Nell Gwyn’s pet Griffin, the historic Butts Estate with its 18th century houses, Brentford’s connection with the artist Turner, and see where osiers worked and ferrymen quarrelled.
The walk begins at Kew Bridge Station. Tickets cost £12.
Young People
Wednesday, 27 October 2021, 2 – 4pm
Free, booking essential
The Youth Forum at Gunnersbury Park Museum are hosting a music night for young people aged 14-19.
Come and sing, play an instrument or do a reading. Free to come and watch, open to anyone aged 14-19. Refreshments available.
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