Let’s take a little look at wasp culture.

Not the quaint, all-caps acronym for upper class Americans (who are most likely buzzing off by private jet to the distasteful Bezos nuptials in Venice about now), but to the very much maligned and misunderstood actual insects, themselves.

As the climate crisis rachets up from scientific theory to a daily, smoludering reality before our very eyes, society’s relationship with wasps is undergoing a rapid transformation all of its own.

We’ve started to appreciate their role in the health of our ecosystems (particularly as their shockingly dwindling numbers mean they’re also far less of a menace at picnics), so that these erratically swooping critters now find themselves celebrated, as opposed to lured to a sticky end inside a hot jam jar of doom.

UCL’s Grant Museum of Zoology in Euston has gone as far as dedicating an entire exhibition to them - a world first, no less - which is free to visit and opened this week.

World of Wasps uses the latest tech to reveal the emotional depths of these unseen and complex insecty lives, including ‘their homes, their lifestyles and their relationships’, while revealing curious ‘relatable’ wasp facts, including that they are prone to purr, and wag their tails.

The era of our sole inclination being to squash them with a rolled-up newspaper is expiring faster than the printed news medium itself - a strategic coffee table copy of The Times or Daily Mail so long the mass market murder weapon of choice for vespid-haters everywhere.

At the exhibition, you can even take a wasp’s-eye VR journey through the museum, and certainly like that such a trip might give us more empathy for the creatures’ own experience of London, (albeit via a rather fantastical, lush interpretation).

Despite our obscene environmental dominance, humans obviously must do a lot more to actively share today’s cities with our waspy brethren, or else the grim consequences will make themselves apparent soon enough.

If you happen to spot a proliferation of wasps in the hood, do please consider swerving the knee-jerk ‘call pest-control’ reactions, and instead get in contact with Kentish Town local, Caroline Chandler.

She’s working on a PhD at UCL, in a group that specialises in…you guessed it: wasps. They’re particularly interested in how the yellowjacket variety, (the ones so cursed of picnic-lovers), may offer a decent alternative to farm pesticides, due to their unashamedly predatorial penchant for gobbling up other insects.

If you spot an annoying wasps nest near you, Caroline would actually love to take it off your hands and rehome it out East for her research. Find out more about the whole project at The Sumner Lab website.

Meanwhile, if you end up spotting any of the invasive, much more scary and large Asian Hornets, (the ones withy a mostly black body, except the forth ring segment of their abdomen), you should report them here, as keeping these guys in check is vital to sustaining the balance of our fragile home-grown food/fauna pyramid, as the honey-heavy campaigners I was speaking with at North London Beekeepers this week know only too well.

Some other, decidedly non-native creatures can also be spotted thundering through Camden this weekend, as the latest global public art project from the people behind the phenomenal walking Syrian refugee puppet, Little Amal, bring their new climate awareness artwork, The Herds, to the capital.

Expect to encounter many beautiful creatures (main picture) as they tear through Coram’s Fields and the recently pedestrianised Camden High Street this Sat 28th Jun, as the latest destinations on their 20,000km journey from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle this summer.

If you experienced Little Amal progressing through Somers Town into King’s Cross surrounded by thousands of locals a couple of years ago as anything to go by, this will be a truly moving and immensely powerful piece of living-in-the-moment art; something that has the power to really motivate us to see science and culture as genuine allies in the global struggles that lie ahead.

We know now that if we lose our insect populations, everything else is in real danger of breaking down, so swatting them is not exactly a wise option.

Instead, let’s celebrate the intense micro-level role our stripy, stingy predator friends play in London’s rich culture - and also keep a look out for the odd rampaging wildebeest highlighting the big picture issues this weekend while you're at it.

FOOD & DRINK

South End Green Social: the latest local pub rejig

🍺 The next chapter in the turbulent history of South End Green’s attractive Victorian corner boozer, The White Horse, is about to unfold. Having reopened earlier this year under its original name, following a Covid era stretch as boarded-up wine bar Cork & Bottle, The South End Green Social launches tonight with deals on their NYC pizzas and other incentives to give the pub’s latest rejigged concept a tryout. Let’s see if this one can capture the imagination of cash strapped locals and stick around.

🍻 Meanwhile, North London CAMRA have been meeting at The Lord Southampton in the last week to see if they can get the recently shuttered Gipsy Queen nearby listed as an Asset of Community Value. Despite all the online campaign protestations, our spies tell us that the licence has already been snapped up and changed hands, but if you’d like to ensure the return of the building to 100% pub use, then do reach out to them and put your name behind the well-meaning campaign. We’ll report when we know who/what’s opening there next…

🍲 Deptford and South Kensington’s fave Vietnamese soup noodle joint, Mama Pho, is due to arrive on Marchmont St (opposite the Brunswick) in the coming weeks. Expect their killer hot pho alongside banh mi, spring rolls and more. Plus they'll also be serving up the same fish sauce chicken wings that are a particularly popular mainstay at the existing outlets.

FESTIVALS

🎾 The ever-impressive annual Everyman on the Canal is back at King’s Cross from next week with the obligatory Wimbledon screenings, plus classic movies at 5pm and 7.30pm every day. Be quick though, as things can get mighty busy on those lovely canalside steps.

🎶 I have to say that Camden Market looks to have a great line-up of free events on this summer, with some tasty free music events coming up alongside the usual big screen Wimbledon screenings, with the likes of David Rodigan, Jazzie B, Jerry Dammers and Shy One all scheduled in the coming weeks on the ‘lawn’ at Hawley Wharf.

🎭 Camden People’s Theatre is running the disabled-led Every Body Festival over the first fortnight in July, where you can expect everything from panel discussions and digital shows, to workshops and works-in-progress alongside the big shows, all on the topics that matter most to disabled theatres lovers, writers, producers and audiences.

Popular links you might have missed

🦹🏼 This is our secret superpower - why going to Camden’s schools is a lifetime asset

🎞️ Offer: remember cinema history buff, Nigel Smith, is offering 20% off all cinema tours to Camdenist readers at his Memory Palaces website. Just use the promo code CAMDENIST at the checkout before 30th June.

📚 We all need a good story to believe, but let’s try not to get Nazis marching on Camden High St

We’re still experimenting with expanding the regular Music and Stage listings, which will return bigger and better, soon…

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