Fancy watching a free Olympic Test Event this weekend?

The London 10km Marathon Swimming International takes place in the Serpentine in Hyde Park, and is free to watch. This swimming event is part of the London Prepares series, the official London 2012 sports testing programme.

You can watch the action from a number of spots around the Serpentine on Saturday.

The top 60 swimmers in the world have been invited. Up to 40 athletes will compete on the Serpentine, each swimming six laps of the 1.67km course.

Competitors to look out for include:

• Liverpool-born Spyridon Gianniotis, who’s competing for Greece (he’s the 10km gold medallist from the recent FINA World Championships in Shanghai)
• German Olympian Thomas Lurz (the silver medallist from Shanghai)
• Martina Grimaldi from Italy, who took silver in Shanghai
• Marianna Lymperta from Greece, who took bronze in Shanghai

David Luckes, Head of Sport Competition at the London 2012 Organising Committee says, “The London 10km Marathon Swimming International will be used to test the Marathon Swimming course in Hyde Park as well as many of LOCOG’s operations.

“We are delighted to be able to run such an event with a high level of international athletes and look forward to giving the public an opportunity to witness world class sport for free this weekend.”

The women’s race starts at 10am and the men’s race starts at 2pm.

For more information about the free event, including entry lists, visit the London Prepare series website.

There are 29 designs, each featuring a different Olympic or Paralympic sport.

Nearly 30,000 members of the public from England and Wales entered a competition to have their picture featured on the coins. The winners include a policeman from Manchester and a schoolgirl from Bristol.

Some of the sports depicted are:

• Swimming
• Basketball
• Boccia
• Cycling
• High Jump

See all 29 winning designs and meet the designers on the Royal Mint website.

Have you had one of the new 50p coins in your change yet?

Here are just a few ideas for half-term activities with kids:

• Bake cakes together
• Go swimming or hire a boat in one of London’s lovely parks
• Help your kids plan and cook a meal, and let them invite a few friends over for dinner
• Look at local sports centres they often have half-term events you can get involved with
• Arm the kids with digital camera and go for the Elephant Hunt around London! It’s especially cost-effective if you bring a packed lunch
• The National Theatre is running backstage workshops for families all week

I’m pretty sure my girls will want to do a bit of 10-pin bowling followed by the cinema. Whip It, Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut (as opposed to what I thought was Whippet – about a dog), is on their list.

Half-term in London is as adventurous as you can make it, and by the look of all the suggestions above that came in from Magic listeners, I think I’m going to have a busy one!!

Hands up who watched yesterday’s Virgin London Marathon with a mixture of guilt and wonder at whether you could ever manage 26 miles?

Did the marathon inspire you to put on your running shoes and head out in the sun, or to dig out your dusty gym card?

Well, you don’t have to wait until next year’s marathon to tackle a sporting challenge. London’s got plenty of sporty events going on in the next few months, and now’s the perfect time to start your training.

Ladies can have fun and raise money for a good cause with Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life events, taking place all over London. Walk, run or jog your way round a 5k or 10k course and enjoy the fun atmosphere and support along the way.

The BUPA London 10,000 will give you the chance to run past some of London’s finest landmarks (just like the marathon.) Entry to 2010 is now closed but there are still some charity places available.

And if running’s not your thing, how about swimming a mile near to Canary Wharf and Docklands for the British Gas Great London Swim in July?

Or the most hardcore cyclists among you could try the Dunwich Dynamo – a 200k overnight ride from London to the Suffolk Coast – phew!

Let us know where you’ll be running, swimming, cycling, skating or generally sweating your way to sporting success in London. We might even be there to cheer you on!

1.  Ice, Ice, Baby at the Absolut IceBar
Nothing cools you down on a hot day like a chilled drink. And venues don’t come much more chilled than the Absolut IceBar! Everything in the bar – the walls, tables, chairs and even the cocktail glasses ­- is made of ice. (Don’t worry – you get given a thermal cape thingy so you don’t get hypothermia!) And to keep things fresh, the bar is redesigned with a completely new theme every six months. Cool!

2.  Stroke of Genius at The Berkeley
Acrophobic (scared of heights)? Aquaphobic (afraid of water)? It’s probably best you don’t read on: the two are combined to spectacular effect at the rooftop pool at The Berkeley. Between doggy-paddles, you can take in gob-smacking views over Knightsbridge and Hyde Park as part of a half-day or full-day package at the hotel’s Health Club & Spa. And when the sun’s out, they even retract the roof so you can top up your tan.

3.  Speed Boat on the Thames: Sorted for Breeze and Whizz
LondonEyeStPaul’sCathedralTateModernTowerBridge…! Yes, a voyage on a high-speed RIB (rigid inflatable boat) is without a doubt the fastest, most exhilarating tour of London’s sights! If you have false teeth, make sure they’re securely fastened as you whizz up the Thames, James Bond-style, with the cool breeze whistling through your hair. The fully guided tours – you can choose between the Canary Wharf Experience and the Thames Barrier Experience – last around 50 minutes. That’s your lunch hour sorted, then!

4.  Fortnum & Mason: Sundae Service
Back in the day, summer just wasn’t summer without a Screwball from the ice-cream van! But things have moved on since then, and now London’s eateries are serving up all manner of weird and wonderful ice creams and sorbets. Take the Parlour Restaurant at Fortnum & Mason, where you can cool down with treats such as the Lazy Sundae Afternoon (see what they did there?). It’s basically fresh strawberries with vanilla bean, crushed meringue, frosted strawberry and shortbread ice creams, strawberry coulis and – wait for it – 12-year-old balsamic vinegar. It shouldn’t work but it definitely does!

5.  It’s Great to Skate at Queens in Bayswater
It baffles me why ice-skating is a winter sport. The last thing you want on a freezing cold day is to end up pirouetting on your rear. In the summer, however, nothing could be more welcome! So head down to Queens London Ice Skating and Bowling in Bayswater, where you can attempt Torvill & Dean’s Bolero to the accompaniment of a state-of-the-art sound and light system. If you don’t quite pull it off, the venue offers classes to turn you into a pro!

Let us know if you have any other inventive ways to keep cool in London…

There’s a secret world of fitness happening in London each morning. While the rest of us are creaking awake with coffee and trying to convince ourselves to have muesli and yoghurt instead of toast with honey (or even the full English), plenty of people are out peddling, paddling, pumping iron or pounding the pavement.

This morning I joined them.

Impressing even myself by rolling out of bed at 6.30am, I fronted up to the Parliament Hill lido (or Hampstead Heath lido, as it’s also known) just as it was opening at 7am. It’s an outdoor pool but fear of the cold did not deter me, and nor should it have, with water a balmy 22 degrees – exactly the same temperature as the morning air.

Between 7 and 7.30 you swim widths (27m) across the pool, which seemed odd at first but was actually quite pleasant, especially in my “flabulous” state of body. Swimmers switch to lengths (60m) from 7.30-9am, when the morning session ends.

The pool was full but not crowded with the usual assortment of young and old, fit and not-so – all sharing the joy of warm weather and wonderful water. They rely on a system of politeness rather than using lane markers and it all went swimmingly, if you’ll excuse the pun.

On my way out, I heard two regulars grumbling good-naturedly about how the recent heatwave meant the pool was far busier than usual and that they hoped a thunderstorm might drive some of us Jane-come-latelys away. I can see how they’d want to keep something so good all to themselves. But I’ll be back.

Check out Visit London’s list of places to swim outdoors in London. What’s your favourite pool?