Tue 30 July, 2013 The Culturist London’s cultural highlights this August Oh August, how did we get here? From China to Japan (learning and eating anyway), Berlin to France (sort of), surfing in Cornwall to swimming in Brockwell, we're cramming it in this month before summer is officially O-V-E-R. And to eat and drink? Smoked goods and quirky wines all the way. SWIM: THE LIDO CAFÉ Swimming in the city – it must be done at the Art Deco-meets-urban Brockwell Lido. Get there early for a dip (and we mean early) before a Mediterranean lunch in The Lido Café of gazpacho, antipasti, mackerel baps and burgers with buttermilk coleslaw. And, until September, the Lido is hosting a pop up cinema in conjunction with The Luna Cinema. Watch Napoleon Dynamite poolside (or, if you book VIP tickets, in a dinghy in the pool) while enjoying hot dogs from the BBQ. Cinema until September 18, tickets £12.50 Brockwell Lido, Brockwell Park, Dulwich Road, SE24 0PA LEARN: CHINEASY Forget night school and Rosetta Stone – if you want to learn Chinese it's all about Chineasy. Design-led, intelligent and charming, it's a visual system that helps you recognise Chinese characters. The brand's creator, ShaoLan Hsueh, has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for a book and other educational material. They need to raise £75,000 in less than a month. Watch the videos and get donating! Kickstarter campaign ends August 22 EAT: KOYA-KO Koya has been doing some interesting things of late, namely a chef swap with neighbour Barrafina. Now, word on the Soho streets is that Koya is knocking through to next door (where Mooli's was), and it's supposedly happening this month. We have little information other than that it's going to be an udon noodle bar, featuring some of the original recipes, and it will seat 25 people, meaning more queues like the original. More details to come soon. Koya-Ko, opens August 50 Frith Street, W1D 4SQ INTERNATIONAL: THE TRUTH HURTS [BUT THEN IT WILL SET YOU FREE] Those of you heading to Berlin this summer, make note of new exhibition The Truth Hurts. One half of the inimitable Pret A Diner, Olivia Steele is also a neon artist by day, now showcasing her latest work in the Circle Culture Gallery. She aims to challenge modern culture with her fluorescent, sentimental and philosophical statements, which often border the sarcastic and are placed in unlikely settings. Until September 1, free Gipsstraße 11, 10119 Berlin EAT: SMOKEHOUSE Islington's getting some more love from Neil Rankin. After a residency at John Salt, the smokemaster will take the reins at new restaurant Smokehouse. If you hadn't already guessed, it's all about le smoking here – there'll be a wood and charcoal grill, a robata grill and a Big Green Egg ceramic BBQ. Menu-wise, it's going to be changing daily with "big, gutsy flavours"; think lobster and spring onion frittata, short rib Bourguignon and a pork mixed grill with peppered ox cheek. There'll also be a nightly special of rib racks and brisket and a bar menu which features a foie gras club sandwich and crab on toast. Twenty beers on tap round things off. Opens August 19 63-69 Canonbury Road, N1 2DG READ: LOVE 10 THE SWEETIE ISSUE Minnie Mouse... she's getting around a bit. Now, she's made her cover debut for LOVE magazine's 5th anniversary. Designers are getting in on it, too, à la last year's AW13: Miu Miu, Gucci and Jake and Dinos Chapman for Louis Vuitton have designed their own take on the iconic ears, modelled by Cara D, Georgia May Jagger, Rosie H-W and more. Out now FESTIVAL: SUD DE FRANCE JOIE DE VIVRE FESTIVAL Sud de France is hosting its very first South of France festival... on the South Bank. Celebrating the Languedoc-Roussillon region, expect a fresh market (eyes on the rosé), and even a makeshift beach and a pétanque pitch. Our pick, however, has to be la musique, provided by Sète's Worldwide Festival, curated by Mr Gilles Peterson. If you missed the festival this month (or you want another dose of that closing beach set by Gilles) then make sure you're there. August 31, free entry South Bank, Riverside Walkway & Bernie Spain Gardens, Upper Ground, SE1 9PH SURF COMPETITION: WIN A SURFING TRIP WITH VITA COCo Summer means three things – sunshine , water, and coconuts, so good news – we're giving away all three, courtesy of Vita Coco. So pack your bags it's time to head seaside as we are giving away a surf weekend in Cornwall. Learn to ride the waves with two three-hour sessions with George's Surf School, rest your head at the St Enodoc Hotel and refuel with a month's supply of Vita Coco Coconut Water. The weekend also includes breakfast, dinner at Outlaw's and all your transport sorted. So if you wanna hang 10, simply email competition@urbanjunkies.com with your name and phone number. We will get back to you by the end of the week. The weekend is redeemable between July and end of November 2013 for one reader and a +1. WINE: FLIGHT CLUB Every Thursday until the end of August, "Flight Club", a series of one-hour tasting sessions, is hosted in London Fields' Climpson's Arch. Each week has a different theme, with popular Victoria Park spot Bottle Apostle providing the wine (think six different bottles each week), and you can even stay on for a Licky BBQ, the current foodie residents of the arch. Up this week is "Not Rioja"; next week sees "Ros´, Yes Really", followed by "Weird Grapes and Crazy Labels", "You Don't Like Chardonnay?" and lastly – and perhaps most useful – "Speed Dial Wines". August 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29, from £20 Climpson's Arch, Arch 374, Helmsley Place, E8 3SB SHOP: RAY-BAN REMIX Finally, you can customise Ray-Bans! The new online service, Ray-Ban Remix, lets you customise each and every part of your glasses (including the lens and engraving), and is available for the Original Wayfarers, New Wayfarers, Aviators and the Justins. It's all to go with our Nike iDs and monogrammed LV wares... Available now, from £103 SPOTLIGHT THEATRE Home at The Shed Sponsored listing In 2013, homelessness amongst young people in the UK is at a record high, so when the big society doesn't work ― where do you go? An inner-city, high-rise hostel, Target East, offers a roof. Home brings to life the unheard voices of the young residents and staff who live and work behind the anonymous concrete walls. Using real testimonials alongside existing and original music, Nadia Fall's new play asks what it really means to call somewhere home. Home, August 7 – September 7, The Shed, National Theatre, South Bank, SE1 9PX, £12 and £20 by JC & CS LIKE SHARE FORWARD PREVIOUS EDITION (c) 2013 Urban Junkies. All rights reserved. Reproductions of any portion of this website only with our express permission. Urban Junkies is a free daily mailer. All listings and features are editorial: We do not receive any payment from venues, artists or promoters. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of information listed but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.