Ukelele Goodlife Centre


butcher is another ball game, but local butchers across London are ready to coach you to success. Hampstead Butcher (hamp- steadbutcher.com), Ginger Pig (theginger- pig.co.uk) in Borough Market, and Meat School (www.cannonandcannon.com/meat- school) can help you to identify your haunch from your ribs, how to wield a knife properly, and storage for your strategically carved meats.


Trapeze


Te Gorilla Circus (www.gorillacircus.com) is your one-stop shop for flying trapeze classes all year long. In warmer months, they set up camp in Regent’s Park and Kensington Gardens, and in winter they have an indoor facility in Greenwich. You can buy classes in batches and, while it doesn’t allow you to gain a qualification, you will have all the skills required to im- press your friends. However, Aircraft (www.aircraftcircus.com) offers a Foundations Course in Circus Acts, which covers the professional side of the industry plus all of the skills to help you with a career.


Every June, England launches the Festival of Learning (www.festivaloflearning.org.uk), is an initiative to get people to take classes and learn new skills. Troughout the month, there is a variety of ‘taster classes’ where anyone can turn up and take an ab- breviated lesson to see if they might be in- terested in the subject. It is the perfect way to try something new without any com- mitment or investment. One class that was on offer was a ukulele taster. Held in the Carnaby Street location of Pizza Pilgrims at 8am, the one-hour taster gave you a chance to actually learn to play a song on the ukulele. Tis was the perfect chance for Learn to Uke (www.learntouke.co.uk) to encourage people to give the ukulele a go. I personally loved this taster class that I ended up taking a four-week beginner and four-week intermediate course with Learn to Uke. Still not sure, then grab a uke and head to Ukulele Wednesdays, a free weekly jam held at Tamesis Dock pub in Vauxhall or Te Royal George on Charing Cross Road.


Vegan Cheese and Food


Fancy some skills on how to go vegan? Tere are tons of classes popping up all over London. Try My Kitchen (www.trymykitchen.com) is an online web- site where you can sort and find small in- dependent classes, including vegan options. However, some are wanting to take these skills to the next level and enter- tain the idea of a career as a professional plant-based chef. Te training for this can be obtained from Wild Food Cafe (www.wildfoodcafe.com),the intense level courses help you with both vegan and raw food.


WMC Camden


Working Men’s College (WMC) (www.wmcollege.ac.uk) is the oldest surviv- ing adult education institute in Europe, founded in 1854, was associated with the Cooperative Movement and the Christian Socialists. WMC has rebranded to match their diverse and modern curriculum, cov- ering crafts, fashion, languages, visual arts and more. You can earn a Level 2 Accreditation in Arts.


Amber Raney-Kincade is the American Tour Guide in London, offering walking tours and private hire to those looking to explore on foot. Find out more at www.AmericanTourGuideInLondon.com or follow her on Twitter @AmericanLDN


www.focus-info.org FOCUS The Magazine 7


eXtreme Sports


Have you seen those kids jumping around from pavement to railing? Remember the scene in Skyfall where they are running across the rooftops? If you are looking to pick up these skills, check out London School of Parkour (www.londonschoolof- parkour.com) where you can learn to jump, dive, skip and land safely. If skateboarding is more your dream, School of Skate (www.schoolofskate.co.uk), Skates and Ladders (www.skatesandladders.com) or Learn to Skateboard (www.learntoskate- board.co.uk) should help you to keep your balance and avoid breaking a few bones on your first time out on the board.


Yiddish


Yiddish classes offer a rich look into lan- guage, culture, events and more. Classes and courses can be taken at Spiro Ark (www.spiroark.org), the Jewish Museum (www.jewishmuseum), and through JW3 (www.jw3.com)


Zoo


Hop over to Zoological Society London (www.zsl.org) if you or someone you know is interested in a career with animals. Te zoo offers career exploration days that are perfect for young people who express an interest in working with animals. Tey also offer courses on conservation. So there you have it – the A to Z on courses in London, which still doesn’t even scratch the surface on all of the incredible learning there is to be done here. Be it your desire to try something new, to test the waters on a skill, to develop an old tal- ent or to gain a qualification into a new ca- reer, London is most definitely the place to learn.


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