Your weekend in Watford: ska Friday, Hornets Saturday, car meet Sunday

Hi. Welcome back to The Watford Brew. Issue 4.

Happy Thursday. If you want a head start, Fastlove is at the Palace tonight (Thu 8 Oct, 7.30pm). After that the weekend has a clear shape: three very different Friday nights in town, Burnley at the Vic on Saturday afternoon, and coffee and cars on Tolpits Lane on Sunday morning. Black History Month carries on at the Pump House too.

Scroll on and pick your plans. The Brew

FRIDAY

Too Much Too Young, Watford Palace Theatre
Fri 9 Oct · 7.30pm · about 2 hours · tickets from £30.50 · box office 01923 225 671

Back for a second year after a smash-hit debut. A live band takes you from ska's start in Jamaica to the 2 Tone revival, with Madness, The Specials, The Beat, Bad Manners and The Selecter in the mix. Not a sit-quietly kind of night.

Also Friday:
Queen of the Night, Watford Colosseum · Whitney Houston tribute with a full live band · doors 6.30pm · under 14s with an adult.

Also Friday:
Black History Month Dial Up, Pump House · 7-9pm · Colne River Room · free, suggested £5 donation · open mic for music, poetry and stories, everyone welcome.

SATURDAY

Watford vs Burnley, Vicarage Road
Sat 10 Oct · 3pm kick-off · Championship · tickets via the club

Burnley come to the Vic for a Saturday 3pm, the proper way to do football. Check the club site for tickets before you set off, and get to Vicarage Road early if you want food first.

Also Saturday:
Cassiobury parkrun · 9am · free, timed 5k · meet near the bandstand · register once online before your first run.

Also Saturday:
Gary Delaney, Watford Palace Theatre · 7.30pm · sold out · waiting list via sales@watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk.

SUNDAY

Unit Vii car meet, Tolpits Lane
Sun 11 Oct · 9am-3pm · no booking needed

Every second Sunday of the month. Open to all rides and all crews, with the coffee dialled in and SMASHRAPS from the kitchen. Unit 7, Moor Park Industrial Centre, WD18 9SP. Come for the cars, stay for a second flat white.

Also Sunday:
Bogdan Simion, Watford Colosseum · Romanian concert with Lăutarii de Mătase · doors 6pm.

WHAT'S NEW

Rak-Su are coming home. Watford's own X Factor winners play a home town show at the Palace on Sun 18 Oct, billed as One For The Road. Doors 3.15pm, Rak-Su on at 5pm, done by 6.15pm, tickets from £28. Could be a goodbye, could be a restart. Either way, it's a Watford night.

Quiet week for brand-new shop openings. If you hear of one, reply and tell us.

EAT & DRINK

Unit Vii, Tolpits Lane
Sat and Sun: coffee from 8am, kitchen from 9am, until 3pm. Wed to Fri from 7am. Closed Mon and Tue. Worth the trip even if cars are not your thing.

Tina Lake's Coffee and Cakes, Pump House
Sat 2-6pm (closed Sundays). Volunteer-run café in the Charles Room, Local Board Road, named after Tina Lake, the drag persona of 92-year-old Bryan Timberlake, the UK's longest serving drag performer. Mon / Wed / Thu / Fri 1-5pm · Tue 2-9pm.

COMING UP

• Tue 13 Oct: An Evening with Art Garfunkel · Colosseum · doors 7pm

• Tue 13 Oct to Tue 10 Nov: Paintings and Prints by Sophie Cordery · Pump

• House Charles Room · free · open when Tina Lake's café is open

• Thu 15 Oct: Barry From Watford · Palace · 7.30pm · from £27

• Thu 15 Oct: Leo Sayer · Colosseum · doors 6pm

• Sun 18 Oct: Rak-Su: One For The Road · Palace · doors 3.15pm · from £28

• Mon 26 to Fri 30 Oct: Trick or Treat Trail · High Street and The Parade · 10am-4pm · free · half term

• Tue 27 Oct: Dinosaur Adventure Live · Palace · 2pm · from £21

• Fri 30 Oct: Halloween Market Lates · Watford Market · 6-10pm · free entry

• Sun 1 Nov: Diwali Celebrations · town centre · 11am-7.30pm · free

DID YOU KNOW?

Watford and Mainz became twin towns in 1956, which makes 2026 the 70th anniversary. It was the first official international twinning for both places, and the link was partly about printing: Gutenberg in Mainz, Caxton in England.

Know something brewing? Reply and tell us. If this helped you plan even one evening, forward it to a Watford mate. That’s how the Brew grows.

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Thanks for reading. See you next Thursday.
The Watford Brew