You Sound So Smart: Classes in London
You get an A for effort. Photo courtesy of The Indytute.
LONDON – The fastest way to sound smarter is to speak English with a crisp English accent. (Take it from a girl who is married to a Brit.) You may not be able to take a posh voice home as a souvenir, you can pack in some very British knowledge instead. The next time you're in London, tear yourself away from the Tate Modern and lunch at Palomar and go learn a little something.
Art
Totttenham Art Classes
You're not an artist; you just play one on vacation. Be spontaneous (so artistic!) and drop in on a life drawing or watercolor class held weekly in the evening at the local pub for a mere £5. Longer, pre-booked sessions cover printmaking, still life painting, and more.
Get Your David Hockney On: Schedule and information.
Butchering
The Ginger Pig
Somehow butchering feels extra butch when it's a Brit wielding the knife. The Ginger Pig, one of the city's best meat purveyors, has seven locations around town and holds small classes daily at their Marylebone and Shepherds Bush outposts. Classes are topic-specific: pork, beef, poultry, lamb, seasonal game, and sausage making.
Get Your Fergus Henderson On: Schedule and information.
Cookery
Leith's School of Food and Wine
First things first: They call it "cookery" over here. And Leith's has trained an impressive roster of professional and amateur cooks. (And not that we'd ever name drop, but Kate Middleton polished her knife and spice skills here.) Enthusiasts Courses is their short-term program in food, drinks, chef skills, and food photography and business. Classes for kids and teens are also available.
Get Your Nigella Lawson: Schedule and information.
Embroidery
The Royal School of Needlework
You've admired the pillowcases Henry VIII rested his big head on, now learn to make them for your own bed. The school within Hampton Court Palace (an educational visit unto itself) offers more than 160 classes at all levels of skill and time commitments, from one day to full diplomas. The course catalog is a primer in what you didn't know can be done with a needle: whitework, beading, crewelwork, Tudor goldwork, and something marvelous called Alice in Wonderland miniature stumpwork and applique. No need to be in London, either. Other locations include Bristol; Glasgow; Exeter; Williamsburg, Virginia; Tokyo; and San Francisco.
Get Your Jane Austen On: Schedule and information.
Ping-Pong and Hula-Hoop
The Indytute
Oh, those wacky Brits. So eccentric. Like Darling Collective, Indytute offers an assortment of random learnings. Chop, Smash, Destroy table tennis workshops (£24) and Hula Schoola (£12) with Marawa the Amazing sound particularly charming.
Get Your Oopsy-La On: Schedule and information.