WHAT’S ON IN APRIL AND MAY

What to do with five bank holidays

We have five bank holidays in April and May – two for Easter, one for the coronation of King Charles III and the early May and late May Spring bank holidays. What to do with all this time off?

Easter: Friday 7th – Monday 10th April

School holidays in LB Hounslow are Monday 3rd – Friday 14th April.

The London Museum of Water & Steam in Brentford will be celebrating Easter with bubbles. From Saturday 1st – Sunday 16th April from 10am – 4pm you can find out what happens when you mix water with soap. There will be crafts, handson activities and best of all, the Wet and Bubbly Science Show! All in the name of science. Sounds fun. Normal admission fees apply but the school holiday activities themselves are then free and do not need to be booked in advance.

Syon Park is hosting an Easter trail through the house and gardens. Enjoy storytelling and find out about Easter traditions in the house. Friday

7th – Monday 10th April, 10.30am – 4.30pm, last entrance 3.30pm.

Osterley Park has an Easter egg hunt every day from 1st – 16th April from 10am to 5pm. Make your way along the trail and find poetry-themed, nature-inspired activities for the whole family. The price of the trail is £3 per child and includes a trail map, pencil and a chocolate egg at the end.

Gunnersbury Park has a range of children’s activities throughout the Easter holidays: there’s a free family Easter Bunny trail on 1st April, and the Great Gunnersbury Easter Celebration on 4th & 5th April, when Lizzie the kitchen maid will guide you through how the Victorians enjoyed their chocolate. Indulge in a nice hot chocolate drink, make some flower decorations and play some outside games. And, of course, it would not be

Easter without a choctastic egg hunt in the grounds of Gunnersbury’s beautiful park.

On 12th April they are hosting a Make & Take session for children to make paper flowers to take home. Later in the month there are more creative sessions, a board gaming meet up and nature explorers sessions.

Chiswick House has the Bizzy Buddies Easter Camp from Monday 3rd – Friday 21st April for children aged 3 – 14 years, involving football, tennis, dodgeball, archery and rugby. Basically lots of throwing, running, catching and jumping. Bizzy Buddies also offers an Arts and Crafts Camp in the cricket pavilion, with painting, drawing, clay modelling, arts and crafts projects.

Chiswick House also has an Easter Quest on Saturday 8 April. Explore Chiswick House Gardens to hunt for clues and discover traditional games. Find all of your Easter eggs and receive a tasty chocolate treat. 11aam – 4pm. Tickets £2 per person. For all the family (recommended kids 5+) Starts at Conservatory and finishes at the Marquee. Hogarth’s House is organising an Easter Bonnet workshop and Easter egg hunt in the gardens on 6th April from 1 – 4pm. Tickets are £6 for one child, and, if you bring a friend or sibling, there will be a combined price of £10 for both (excluding Eventbrite fees).

Hogarth’s House was the ‘country’ home of one of Britain’s best known painters, William Hogarth, and there is a permanent display of his work and about how he lived.

And now for something completely different … Chiswick Cinema will be showing Monty Python’s Life of Brian on Easter Sunday and the kitchen will have an Easter special menu on offer.

April and May see new family films such as Super Mario Bros, Air, Dungeons and Dragons as well as artistic programming like MET Opera Live and National Theatre Live: Good, starring David Tennant.

At the theatre, Theatre at the Tabard in Chiswick offers Just Like that – The Tommy Cooper Show on Sunday 2nd April at 3pm. Watermans in Brentford has the Punjabi Musical Mela on Sunday 9th April from 2 – 6pm, a folk journey through Sanjha Punjab, kicking off with a Bhangra performance by Hardeep Sahota.

Coronation of King Charles: Monday 8th May

Syon House, the London home of the Dukes of Northumberland, the Percy family, for over 400 years, is throwing open the gates for people to visit the gardens and Great Conservatory for free on Monday 8th May, to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla. No need to book they say, just bring a coronation picnic, dress up in your most royal costume and wear your tiara. There will be crafts, facepainting and storytelling for the children. For the coronation itself, Chiswick Cinema is planning to screen the event live on Saturday 6th May, with a lunchtime tea service to complete the community celebration.

Spring bank holidays: Monday 1st and Monday

29th May

Osterley Park is organising a Dawn Chorus walk at 5.30am on Monday 1st May:

‘Enjoy a walk around the estate, listening to nature’s greatest concert. Bring your binoculars, or simply soak up the atmosphere’. The walk will last around 1.5 hours, and tickets cost £5 per person.

Syon Park is hosting its annual Foodies Festival 27 – 29 May, involving top chefs, tasty food and drink and live music. MasterChef Champions, Michelinstarred and top local chefs will be cooking their signature summer recipes in The Chefs Theatre. Great British Bake Off stars including 2022 winner Syabira Yusoff will share their best baking hints in The Cake & Bake Theatre.

There will be cocktails and street food and stalls, with artisan producers selling their wares and a Kids Cookery Theatre. Meanwhile on the live music stage, musicians performing include Fleur East, Scouting for Girls, Callum Beattie and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.