AboutLondon Laura – February 2026
Happy ‘it’s my birthday month’! I’ll be celebrating with fancy tea and cakes as I’m a judge for the Afternoon Tea Awards again. I can’t tell you where I’ve been so far, but I will share when the winners are announced.
Did you try any of my London recommendations last month? I shared lots of interesting galleries and ideas for 2026.
Cashless
After my trip to Paris in September, when I didn’t need any cash at all, I tried to remember when I last used cash in London. We definitely live in a contactless society these days.
My daughter uses Apple Pay to pay for everything, so she only takes her mobile and no purse when she goes out. I haven’t quite reached that level, but I don’t carry cash anymore. The only place I use it is my local charity shop and the car wash in Wales.
Even buskers on the London Underground accept contactless payments. Although I do wonder if this works out better for them than the ability to throw your loose change in a hat for them. It loses the visual cue for passersby when they see a pot of coins to add to it.
There used to be a minimum spend limit at some shops to pay by cash (usually £5), but nowadays we can ‘tap’ for a small chocolate bar without a second thought. Spending on a card does have that ‘not quite real money’ feeling, though, so it can be easier to spend more than planned, as you don’t see an empty wallet, especially as many places don’t give paper receipts any longer.
Anyway, apart from the barbers, occasional extra tipping or a trip to Wong Kei in Chinatown, when did you last use cash in London?
What’s Happening This Month?
As I mentioned in my last newsletter, there are lots of new openings in London for February.
Samurai opens at the British Museum on 3rd February. This major exhibition is a candid look at the real men and women whom we know as samurai, from the battlefields of medieval Japan to the global pop culture of today.
Shadowlands opens at the Aldwych Theatre on 5th February, starring Hugh Bonneville as Narnia author C. S. Lewis. It’s the true story of how his life was transformed by spirited American poet Joy Davidman (played by Maggie Siff).
Water Pantanal Fire opens at the Science Museum on 6th February. It’s a free photography exhibition allowing us to discover the unparalleled biodiversity of the Pantanal, a South American wetland which faces an unprecedented threat from fire.
UCL’s bicentenary launches on 11th February with UCL Illuminated – an immersive sound and light show. Across three days, see lights and animations projected onto UCL’s Wilkins Building, accompanied by music in a 12-minute show.
Extra/Ordinary Women opens at the Charles Dickens Museum on 11th February. It brings together the remarkable women in his life and some of the literary characters they inspired.
Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends opens at the Young V&A on 12th February. Celebrating the animation studio’s 50th anniversary, this family-focused exhibition has over 150 objects, including models, sets, and storyboards from Aardman’s archives featuring Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep, and Morph.
Lucian Freud: Drawing into Painting is at the National Portrait Gallery from 12th February. It explores the artist’s lifelong preoccupation with the human face and figure from the 1930s to the early twenty-first century. There’s a focus on Freud’s mastery of drawing in all its forms – from pencil, pen, and ink to charcoal and etching.
Seurat and the Sea opens on 13th February at The Courtauld. Impressively, The Courtauld holds the largest collection of works by Seurat in the UK. The exhibition brings together 27 seascape paintings, oil sketches and drawings from major private and public collections, made by Seurat during the five summers he spent on the northern coast of France, between 1885 and 1890. Georges Seurat (1859–1891) died aged just 31, so there is only a small body of work and exhibitions devoted to him are rare.
From 14th February, you can walk over the roof of Ally Pally. Summit at Alexandra Palace has daytime, sunset and nighttime walks available.
Beatriz González opens at the Barbican Art Gallery on 25th February. This retrospective of the Colombian artist, curator, art historian and educator is her first solo show in the UK and her largest-ever exhibition in Europe. Bringing together six decades of González’s work, this exhibition celebrates the artist through paintings, sculptural assemblages and monumental public installations.
Tracey Emin at Tate Modern, from 27th February, is a landmark exhibition tracing 40 years of the artist’s groundbreaking practice, showcasing career-defining works alongside material never exhibited before. And, yes, the 1998 messy and unmade ‘My Bed’ will be on display.
Rose Wylie is at the Royal Academy from 28th February, showing her vibrant, large-format figurative paintings and striking drawings. This is Wylie’s largest survey exhibition ever to take place in the UK, featuring a cast of characters that include Nicole Kidman, Elizabeth I and Snow White.