My 20-things monthly roundups celebrate their ninth birthday this month! In fact, here is the photo of my then-one-year-old (now 10-year-old) that I used for my inaugural roundup to prove it…

Actually, I’m not sure if this proves anything, but she is definitely 10.

Said roundup – which I published in June 2017 – included events at the equally excellent and both sadly since-departed Telling Tales children’s bookshop (which later moved onto a canal boat!) and Brook Green play cafe The Corner House, back when play cafes were depressingly rare. It also included Project Light with Natalie Zervou-Kerruish, which remains the best thing I have ever done with either of my children, hands down.

A lot has changed since that post. I gave birth to another child! She’s seven now! Covid happened (no exclamation point for that because it was absolutely horrific). Loads of stuff closed down and honestly I still don’t think London’s cultural landscape has fully recovered. On the plus side, are now play cafes everywhere (although my kids are too old for those now 🥹).

My work situation has also changed, and I’ve concluded that the only way to continue something as labour-intensive as the roundups is either to monetise them by moving them to Substack, or by securing some kind of big sponsorship deal. The latter didn’t seem massively likely, and also there’s nothing I hate more than pop-up ads (except targeted ads), so I’ve gone with Substack.

Here is what must be at least my 100th monthly roundup, in her new home. But I won’t just be posting the roundup here. Oh no, no, no. There’ll be reviews. There’ll be essays. There’ll be some other stuff I haven’t quite figured out yet. Most of it will be parenting-adjacent, because I am mostly adjacent to my children.

If you’re wondering where I get off charging £3.50 when you could just look at Time Out or the Londonist, or one of the bazillion other creators putting out lists for free, know that: 1. I always research mine completely from scratch; 2. I genuinely agonise over what to put in it. I keep a file of events I’ve seen on Instagram or in press releases I’ve been sent and spend the whole month adding to it; 3. I have 10 years’ experience doing kids’ activities in London and know what will be good and what will be complete shite; 4. was actually going to charge £1.99 but the minimum monthly Substack charge is £3.50.

That said, if paying a monthly subscription is an absolute dealbreaker for you, I completely understand. You can’t subscribe to everything. That would be mental. Thanks so much for reading up until now. You can still find me on Instagram, where I will still be posting, albeit with waning enthusiam, and on here, where I will be posting any kids’-London-related blog content that isn’t the roundup. You can also still subscribe to my Substack and receive the occasional free post. Or not. You do you.

Big love, Emmy x