Who isn’t tired of the unwritten rules that say expensive dinners, douchey cocktail bars and romantic strolling are the key to making that date last all night long? Avoid awkward silences and show off that crrrazy streak at the same time with some alternative action for you and your beau. Time to take a stand…
Prince Charles Cinema Sing-a-Long-a-Movie
Showcase your vocal talents in an environment considerably less lame than your local Happy Voice at the Prince Charles Cinema’s regular sing-a-long screenings of cult classics that offer fancy dress prizes and pre-film parties. Cancel that August bank holiday break because there’s only one place for couples to be on the weekend of the 27th if they really love each other. Yep, that’s right- the Prince Charles for Wayne’s World Schwing-a-Long! Dress up is a must. Zang!
The Hunterian Museum
This one really is perfect first date fodder- if you’re ready for sights that will blow your mind, that is! Don’t waste money on admission to a scary movie for an excuse to cuddle up, take in the macabre of this museum and its freaky fancies that will have you clinging together in shock and awe at the array of pickled brains, hands and faces plus an introduction to early plastic surgery for the victims of gruesome First World War battle wounds. The horror.
East London Stoop Tour
Lightening it up a bit now for those that say anatomy and surgery is a tad too far for a date, how about that romantic walk and a three-stop tour of East London’s idyllic stoops? First, take a wander to Curtain Road where you’ll find a set of steps opposite Rivington Street- sit back, relax and indulge in hand-holding and a Blue WKD before strolling up and along the canal to the Broadway Lock. Here, you’ll be serenaded by the sound of cyclists’ bells on your private island whilst the water soothes and it might just be time to wrap your coat around your partner as the air begins to chill. The final leg takes you outside the Cat and Mutton where the newsagents do fabulous deals on £1 beers and you can enjoy all the hustle and bustle of the bar without the price tag. Now that’s a cheap date.
Print Shop London
Print Shop London is the perfect place to bring out the twee in you and your date and without a cupcake in sight. Beginners’ workshops don’t come cheap in the Dalston studio but you’ll be taught all the basics of the process and get to take home your own screen-printed t-shirts complete with your design on the front- images of each others face perhaps?
Ceilidh Club at Cecil Sharp House
Finally, if you’re looking for something that allows a little more physical contact in a date then it’s time to take out your fanciest tartan and throw down at the Ceilidh Club at Cecil Sharp House, London’s hottest Highland dance. Unlike similar jigs this is no picnic, there’s frenzied attitude in the choreographed dances, temperatures soar and as partners alternate to the live music if you’re not careful you might just lose your date to somebody else’s Ceilidh trance. Enjoy and stay folk.
