Blossom in Herne Hill, South London

The late Victorian red brick architecture of Winterbrook Road forms a vibrant backdrop to the annual blossoming of an avenue of Yoshino cherry trees.

Church Town, Godstone, Surrey

Built in 1872, the timber-framed almshouses of Church Town look a lot older. They were designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, a prolific Victorian architect who also worked on the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras Station, the Albert Memorial, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

View from Brenchley Gardens, South East London

From the footpath running through Brenchley Gardens, there are wide views over the Aquarius Golf Club, which was laid out in 1909 around and on the roof of the Beechcroft Reservoir, which was once Europe's largest underground reservoir.  The reservoir is still operational today and holds 55 million gallons of water.   Originally opened in 1928, Brenchley Gardens now incorporate the old track bed of the Crystal Palace High Level Railway, which was closed in 1954.

View from the General James Wolfe Statue, Greenwich Park, South East London

The view down the Thames towards the City of London competes with the vista of the classical symmetry of the Old Royal Naval College overlooked by the futuristic towers of Canary Wharf.

Blythe Hill Fields, South East London

A charismatic park in Lewisham, Blythe Hill Fields is high enough to provide 360 degree views of London, Surrey and Kent. Although the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf are the most visible, you can also survey the gleaming glass of the Shard and the distinctive profile of the Walkie Talkie.

The Welkin, The National Theatre, The South Bank

Images from the National Theatre web site

With a dozen women on the stage for most of the play, The Welkin is an in-depth exploration of what it means to be a mother in a paternalistic, sexist and very unequal society. Set in rural Suffolk in 1759, the plot revolves around whether a young woman convicted of murdering a child is pregnant. If she is with child, she will be spared the gallows. Twelve matrons from across the social strata are drafted in by the courthouse to decide whether Sally Poppy should live or die. Prominent among them is a strident midwife who does all she can to save the downtrodden, yet defiant, Sally. Their deliberations proceed to highlight the wanton abuse of servants, their fragile status in society, and how the odds are stacked against children growing up in the wrong social class.