User-friendly, multipurpose, zeitgeisty and slightly shiny.

April 2, 2019 6:06 AM

By which I mean Bronze! I need ideas for (vaguely) bronzed themed things to do in and about London in late June. Because it's my bronze wedding anniversary.

So what activities can we do that are vaguely associated with Bronze!
I mean... really vague. I am totally on board for a dumb pun.
Ideally, this activity would be near London, and still towards the not very extravagant end of the spectrum. But go nuts, you never know what might inspire us.

Every year so far I've asked this question, here are links:
(1) Paper (Gave a paper together at a conference)
(2) Cotton (Bought Cotton hammocks and slung them in our new boat to sleep in on the trip home)
(3) Leather (Ate mind bogglingly pricy steaks {leather being the package that steaks come in})
(4)Linen And Silk. (Had a picnic in the park on a Linen blanket, and bought a nice silk pillowcase)
(5) Wood. (Tried to go to the Black Forest for a walk in the woods, but ended up doing some renovating woodwork)
(6) Iron. (Bought a Waffle Iron, Went on an old Iron Railway then came home and watched Iron Man whilst eating Flat Iron Steaks)
(7) Wool/Copper. (Sponsored and met some famous alpacas, then visited a sculpture made of coppers and glue then went to a pub on copper street.)

posted by Just this guy, y'know to Human Relations (20 answers total)

Have a picnic by a statue.
posted by zamboni at 6:10 AM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]

London Stadium (Olympics). Bronze Age London (Museum or Site). Bronze Age Foundry (Tour).

(Huh. You can 3d print in bronze. Interesting).
posted by Leon at 6:12 AM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]

Go get "bronzed", or just buy a good bronzer and pick up a bronze bath bomb while you are there.

spray tan (lol) - https://thetanningshop.co.uk/london-bridge-borough-high-st/
bronzer - https://www.lushusa.com/makeup/skin/charisma/06357.html
bronze bath bomb - https://www.lushusa.com/new-bath-bombs/peng/09137.html.
posted by RoadScholar at 6:22 AM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]

Bronze / brass rubbings! You can do it at St Martin's in the Fields.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 6:54 AM on April 2, 2019 [7 favorites]

Plenty of bronze sculpture and other things at the British Museum and the V&A.
posted by Middlemarch at 7:05 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Go to Edgware Road to find a shisha cafe and smoke together out of a bronze hookah! (Possibly brass, but I'd think today they'd more likely to be made of aluminium bronze which also doesn't tarnish but is lighter.)
posted by XMLicious at 7:36 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Take a tour of the foundry at the Bronze Age Sculpture Casting Foundry in Limehouse.
posted by mdonley at 7:38 AM on April 2, 2019 [3 favorites]

Yeah I was also going to say that stipulating I mean... really vague in its connection to bronze means you could go to just about any Bronze Age historical site and do something. Just don't go too far back in time... Stonehenge would be Stone age, of course.
posted by XMLicious at 7:42 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

I was going to suggest the many excellent Bronze Age artifacts at the free-to-get-into British Museum.

(Japanese food at Abeno or cake at the London Review of Books café are both good options for afterwards)
posted by Pallas Athena at 7:48 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

A weekend in Paris would let you visit the Univers du Bronze gallery, the exhibits of coins (many of which are bronze!) at Monnaie de Paris's 11 Conti Museum, and the great bronzes at the Musée Rodin, especially those in the garden. In French the verb se bronzer, literally to 'bronze' yourself, is to get a tan, so perhaps include some sort of UV-filled rooftop cocktail/lunch experience at midday. Stop off on the way home to see The Burghers of Calais.
posted by mdonley at 7:52 AM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]

Ideally, this activity would be near London, and still towards the not very extravagant end of the spectrum. But go nuts, you never know what might inspire us.

OK, because you gave this caveat...Chicago has a Bronzeville neighborhood that is historically important to the city's black community. I found this really great-looking guide to ways to see Bronzeville and things to do there.
posted by capricorn at 8:55 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Hire a handbell choir! Or use bells, which are made of bronze, in some other way.

(Some of our handbell events are split into groups called the Tins and Coppers, because combining those two metals make bronze. You could use that for some punnery too.)
posted by Melismata at 9:25 AM on April 2, 2019 [2 favorites]

Not sure if you and husband are Buffy fans, but the nightclub in their universe is called The Bronze
posted by FirstMateKate at 11:31 AM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

London Zoo has a corydoras aeneus - bronze catfish (or it did, last January).
posted by Socksmith at 12:43 PM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Make a bronze chainmail shirt (or necklace, belt, etc.)
posted by carrioncomfort at 1:24 PM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

For food, have a look at bronze cut pasta!
posted by eierschnee at 2:30 PM on April 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Go see a Javanese and Balinese Gamelan performance. Most of the instruments are bronze.
posted by carrioncomfort at 6:15 AM on April 3, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: To build on carrioncomfort's suggestion, the South Bank Centre gamelan has a taster workshop on 29th June.
posted by Socksmith at 7:59 AM on April 3, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I have booked the Gamelan workshop!

The foundry tour is still a possibility, because I think it sounds cool (teaspoon is less enthused) but we might do it earlier in the day. Or eat some bronze cut pasta?
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:15 AM on April 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: We have now played the Gamelan as foretold in the prophesies.

Very well done carrioncomfort and Socksmith.
Now everyone meet back here in just under a year's time to think of ideas for Pottery.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 3:41 PM on June 29, 2019 [1 favorite]