The capital’s best free events from March 30th-April 2nd

Hi there {{ first name | Cheapskater }},

We’re bringing you a slightly shorter (but still bumper-packed) edition this week as we’ll be back in your inbox again on Thursday with our bank holiday special edition 👀.

In other news, congrats to reader Aila O, who won a plant-based cleaning bundle from Kit & Kin in last week’s newsletter. We have not one, not two but THREE fab prizes up for grabs today: spots at an adults-only chocolate egg painting workshop, tickets to tonight’s Observer Book Club, & 3x £50 EatClub credit!

Just a reminder that our amazing Cheapskate Club supporters get automatic entry into all our weekly competitions (plus they have the satisfaction of knowing they’re helping everyone access free culture in London). We’re currently running a sale – join today and help keep us going!

Have a great few days,
Kate x

PS: Want to support Cheapskate without spending any money at all? Please click the ad below 🧡

The best HR advice comes from those in the trenches. That’s what this is: real-world HR insights delivered in a newsletter from Hebba Youssef, a Chief People Officer who’s been there. Practical, real strategies with a dash of humor. Because HR shouldn’t be thankless—and you shouldn’t be alone in it.

MONDAY

📚 Book club giveaway

We’re giving away five pairs of tickets to The Observer’s book club tonight, featuring the trailblazing publisher, editor & author Margaret Busby. Email us ASAP if you’d like to go!

🗓️ Mon 30th Mar, 6.30-7.30pm
📍 Oxford Circus

🖼️ ‘West End Gallery’

In case you missed the news, Lily Allen’s West End Girl portrait has gone on display at the National Portrait Gallery - you can check it out alongside portraits of Amy Winehouse & other icons.

🗓️ Until the end of the year
📍 Charing Cross

TUESDAY

🦪 Guinness & oysters

Not free but a fab deal: The Parakeet (one of London’s most popular gastropubs) is celebrating its third birthday this Tues with £3 Guinness & £3 oysters.

🗓️ Tues 31st Mar, 6-9pm
📍 Kentish Town

🎶 Celebrate women in music

Amplify Her is hosting a live music & networking event (featuring an all-female, non-binary lineup) at the historic The Lower Third bar. Men, women, non-binary folks all welcome.

🗓️ Tues 31st Mar, 7-10pm
📍 Tottenham Court Road

WEDNESDAY

🧡 Wellbeing Wednesday

Dragon Cafe is back for another series of free wellbeing activities at Shoe Lane Library. Highlights this week include laughter therapy, a walking tour, meditation & ’printing spring’.

🗓️ Weds 1st Apr, various times
📍 City Thameslink

🤣 Laughter’s free

There are a couple of free comedy nights this Weds: Cloud 8 Comedy (a new show at Nambucca), Angel Comedy at the Camden Head & this stand-up show at Spit And Sawdust.

🗓️ Weds 1st Apr, from 7.30/7/7.45pm
📍 Holloway Road/Angel/Ele & Castle

🥚 Competition time!

We’ve teamed up with Sir Devonshire Square Hotel, a fancy new boutique hotel in Shoreditch, to give away a pair of tickets (worth £55) to a relaxing, adults-only chocolate egg painting workshop this Sat afternoon (2-4pm).

To enter the draw, get someone you know to subscribe to Cheapskate by sending them this link (it contains your personalised referral code): {{rp_refer_url}}. Once they’ve signed up, you’ll be entered, & we’ll pick a winner at random by EOP Tues.

If you don’t win, don’t worry! Readers can get their hands on £15 tickets using the code CHEAPSKATE (while sales last) 😉

THURSDAY

🏴‍☠️ Walk the plank

The Golden Hinde, a full-size reconstruction of Francis Drake’s Elizabethan galleon (moored in Southwark), is throwing an after-hours pirate takeover. No need to book.

🗓️ Thurs 2nd Apr, from 6pm
📍 London Bridge

💊 Marvellous medicine

There’s also a late at the Royal College of Physicians this Thurs, this time themed around medical books (you’ll get to peek inside the pages of an anatomical atlas from 1749).

🗓️ Thurs 2nd Apr, 5.30-8pm
📍 Great Portland Street

🍱 London dining for less

We’re giving three readers £50 credit each to spend on EatClub – the amazing app which gives you up to 50% off food & drink at some genuinely amazing places.

Download the app, then fill out this 20-second form before the end of March (aka Tues 31st!) for your chance to win.

All readers can take £20 off their first redemption using the code CHEAPSKATE20! That’s a basically free meal…

LOOKING AHEAD

🎉 Free tickets are currently available for Playing Outside Festival (Canada Water, 11-12th Apr). Expect 70+ independent makers, delicious food & live performances.
👟 The Museum of Youth Culture (apparently the world’s first museum dedicated to teenage life!) is opening in Camden this May. Book free entry tickets here.
💸 The Bank of England has announced its May late: ‘At the Tea Table’ will explore how tea became woven into the fabric of British life. Get your free ticket ASAP!

Bank holiday edition coming on Thursday!

And for dessert...

🤗 There are just 125 people in the Cheapskate Club – our incredible community of supporters who literally keep this newsletter going, for less than the price of one coffee out per month. We’d love to add some new members, so we’re running a sale all this week – sign up here 🧡

🎨 There are just a few weeks left to explore The Weight of Being, Two Temple Place’s brilliant (free) exhibit which explores vulnerability, resilience & mental health through the work of 20th-century & contemporary artists. This powerful show brings together deeply personal & collective reflections on identity, societal pressures & the search for solace. No booking required.

👟 I've been wearing my Kléman PADROR derbies on repeat this spring – & I have my eye on the new leopard print pair (even though my partner is not convinced!). - Kate

🐣 Treat yourself this Easter with this flower bouquet LEGO set! A great long-lasting addition to your windowsill.

📚 Comixit! is a new app packed with comics from Beano, Disney, Pixar & more, designed to get kids hooked on reading. Use the code EASTER26 to get a 14-day free trial & enjoy ad-free comics over the Easter holidays & beyond.

🏛️ I really like art critic Tabish Khan’s Urban Palette newsletter & thought this piece on whether we should start charging entry fees for museums was an interesting read. - Georgia

💌 On the subject of newsletters, we also wanted to recommend My North London, a free email which lands in inboxes every Thurs with great local events, neighbourhood gems & stories from north of the river. Sign up here!

📚 Kensington Central Library is hosting its first book swap for teens & young adults later today (3.30-6.30pm). Bring your “gently used” books & swap them for something new, plus there will be giveaways & a raffle.

What did you think of this edition?

Click to share your feedback

We try to only include accurate information, but sometimes things can change. Everything included in the newsletter is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time the newsletter is sent out. Sometimes we make money from ads and the links we include (like this one!) but we only recommend things we genuinely like. You can also support us by joining the Cheapskate Club as a monthly or annual member.