The Essential Guide to Events & Festivals this month

Month of November
November gets its name from the Latin word novem, which means "nine". It was the ninth month of the year before January and February were added to the Roman Calendar
Flower of the month: Chrysanthemum. chrysos (gold) and anthemon (flower)from the Ancient Greek . Most species originate from East Asia and the centreof diversity is in China

5th Bonfire Night
Originally known as Guy Fawkes Night. It commemorated the capture of Guido Fawkes (1570-1606) who attempted to blow up Parliament on the 5th November 1605 but was caught and executed. In the editors day it was common to see children begging for a “Penny for the Guy” with a replica of Fawkes in a pram. The failure go the Gunpowder Plot is celebrated with fireworks on and around the 5th.

9th Lord Mayor’s Show 
The office of Lord Mayor dates from 1189 and it was a requirement of the charter establishing it that the mayor travelled to the royal enclave at Westminster to present himself to the monarch's representatives, Originally this journey was mostly made by barge on the RiverThames, the usual method of transport for this route in those days. Pageantry and display gradually grew around the trip and by the 16th century the "show" was firmly established as a major entertainment for Londoners

10th Remembrance Sunday
Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth as a day "to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts’  The significance of poppies to Remembrance Sunday is largely the result of Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae’s poem ‘In Flanders Fields’, (1915): ‘In Flanders fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row’. Moina Michael started selling silk poppies to raise funds for disabled veterans in the US, this spread to Europe. The original Poppy Factory was off the Old Kent Road and is now in Richmond.

14-17: Wimbledon Art Fair         
An opportunity to interact with over 150 artists in their own individual creative spaces and buy art directly from them. Includes painting, ceramics, printmaking, photography and more.

30th St Andrews Day          
St Andrew's Day, 30 November, is one of Scotland's national days. Christ's first disciple, St Andrew spent his life spreading the word of Jesus and died as a martyr on a diagonal cross (Scotland’s flag shows a white diagonal cross on a blue background). St Andrew's Day is marked with a celebration of Scottish culture with traditional Scottish food, music and dance