London

More than an hour…
Explore the city
Go for a scenic, historic and touristy walk through the streets of London with a downloaded podcast commentary on your MP3 player. The London Walks for Your MP3 Player website offers a range of walks and talks, from a stroll around seedy Soho to an amiable amble from St Paul’s to Monument, that you can download on to your gadget and listen to while taking the suggested route. Another great website (but minus the commentary) is Transport for London’s Walkfinder, which generates walk ideas when you click on a borough, giving you the exact distance, terrain information, signposts, points of interest and toilet stops.
londonwalks.libsyn.com
www.tfl.gov.uk/streets/walking/walkfinder.asp

Furniture auction at Christies

Bid for glory
At Christie’s in South Kensington you can bid for furniture and decorative objects on September 5 at 2pm or Asian art the following day at 2pm. Bring your sarnies along and see if you can bag a bargain.
Christie’s, 85 Old Brompton Rd, SW7 (020 7930 6074/www.christies.com) South Kensington tube.

London Zoo

Animal magic
An annual pass for London Zoo is a snip at only £45 (a single adult admission is £13), and it’s far less busy on a weekday than atweekends. Penguin feeding time is 2.30-3pm every day or learn more about the animals during the half-hour Animal in Action talk at the amphitheatre at 2pm daily. Who said it was just for kids?
London Zoo, Regent’s Park, NW1 (020 7722 3333/www.zsl.org/london-zoo) Regent’s Park tube. Feature continues

Courtroom dramas at The Old Bailey

Go to jail
Watching a court case provides real drama for absolutely no dollar whatsoever – and it’s certainly more entertaining than any TV soap. The Old Bailey is where all the big stories happen and most of the 18 courtrooms have public viewing galleries. The viewing times for cases are 10.30am-1pm or 2-4.30 pm, which you can see on the noticeboard near the entrance. Do not take a large bag or a dictaphone however, as these will be confiscated – and never, despite what you may have seen on telly, heckle.
Old Bailey (Central Criminal Court), City of London, EC4 (020 7248 3277) St Paul’s tube.

Do some good
Helping the homeless can mean more than buying The Big Issue. Connection, a homelessness charity based at St Martin-in-the-Fields, is always in need of volunteers to help run its Day Care Centre, especially at lunchtimes when food needs to be served and tables cleared for hundreds of London’s homeless. Connection is keen to take on volunteers for a minimum six months, but you can pop in for the lunchtime shift from 11am-1pm.
Connection at St Martins , 12 Adelaide St, WC (020 7925 7893/Lance.Kuhn@cstm.org.uk for an application form/www.connection-at-stmartins.org.uk) Charing Cross tube/rail.

Be amazed
For something truly mystifying visit the Barons Court Theatre (beneath The Curtains Up pub) for The Magic Cavern Friday matinée at 2pm this week. The magic and illusion show promises to be an atmospheric and intimate experience. Tickets are £10 for adults and £8.50 for concessions.
Barons Court Theatre, 28a Comeragh Rd, W14 (08700 600 100/020 8932 4747/www.falseimpressions.com).

Get a Brazilian
If the usual midday crush at the gym doesn’t appeal, don your Rio neon tracksuit and get down to a Capoeira class. A highly acrobatic form performed with music, it’s the perfect way to energise yourself for the hard weekend ahead.
Stockwell YMCA runs a group from 12-2pm on Mondays for £7. Stockwell YMCA, 40 Stockwell Rd, SW9 (07747 095 741) Stockwell tube.