Sure, the forecast is rather foreboding this week, but frolicking in hot summer showers worked for that splendidly dashing Gene Kelly, so you can make it work for you, too. Finish off July on a rain-soaked, culturally satisfying note with this week's round-up of all sorts of trouble to get into. Oh yeah, and leave the pocketbook at home.
Monday: Not exactly known for its diverse and sandy beaches (or, er, any), today's Festival Beach aims to show off the underbelly of London as conservationists casts their nets into the Thames to demonstrate the diverse wildlife teeming within. If the rain holds off long enough, bring a picnic (and a brolly) and partake in arts workshops making use of found materials. Beneath the Royal Festival Hall, 3-6pm, free.Tuesday: Modernism, Post-Modernism, Post-Post-Modernism...what does it all mean? From our experience, even the most accomplished, well-read professors have a difficult time pinning down the evasive nuances separating the movements. Join the debate tonight, where the best ideas come to light: in a pub. Part of the Big Ideas events series: What Does It Mean To Be Modern? at The Wheatsheaf, 25 Rathbone Place, 19.30, free. Wednesday: Oh, fine, for those of you that missed the massive Sex and the City parade down the red carpet last month, then this might be more your style: Mulder and Scully will be cutting the red rug over at Leicester Square tonight for the X-Files film premiere. No judgment. (Har har.) Hardcore fans will be lining up 'round noon.Thursday: Just ten thousand reflections of my own sweet self, self, self... Mirror-images: immortalised by Snow White, the lyrics of Michael Jackson and English Beat, and a thousand poems. Now, fashion turns on itself in the current exhibit Fashion in the Mirror: Self-Reflection in Fashion Photography, a behind-the-scenes round-up of fashion photography from the 1950s to present day. Shows always free at London's photo treasure house: The Photography Gallery. Friday: You've known about Banksy for years, and you count Fafi, Ha-Ha, and SIGNTOLOGIST among your favourite graffiti artists colouring the walls of our world today. Or, perhaps you're green to the Banksy craze, but you're itching to know more about this bourgeoning culture of street art. Either way, today's lecture at the Tate Modern on the History of Street Art should prove enlightening. Led by Blek Le Rat, pioneer of the stencil style made (in)famous by Banksy. 18.30-19.30, Free. Saturday: Somerset House Film4Summer Screen season is in full swing, with half the shows already sold out. (Quick, get tickets for the not-yet sold out Sunday screening of the joyful Odyssean romp through the American South in O Brother, Where Art Thou?) Tonight is a special Behind the Screens talk featuring the superb Mike Figgis, director of such outstanding films as Leaving Las Vegas, Miss Julie, and One Night Stand. The talk is regarding his latest cinematic venture, Piazza di Spagna, a collaboration with photographer Massimo Vitalli which explores the relationship between digital cinema and the static image. 4pm, £5 for talk and screening of the film. Sunday: If you haven't seen the Regent's Park magnificent roses in bloom yet, today's Innocent Village Fete is the perfect excuse. Within the expansive green (and red, and purple, and yellow...) of one of London's most beautiful parks, today's agenda includes an afternoon of old tymey fare, including ferret racing, duck-herding, dog agility, cake-eating, a live band stand, and Morris dancing. Sounds like it's completely worth the comparatively meagre £7.50 entry fee for adults (£3.50 for kids) for all the old-fashioned fun on offer. Saturday and Sunday, 11-7.Or, you could stay in this week, if constant summer rainshowers just ain't your thang.Image courtesy of Herschell Hershey's flickrstream.
