Things To Do In London Today: 6 December 2012


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LIT: Kate Mosse is signing copies of Citadel at Waterstones London Wall. Free, just turn up, 1pm

DOOM: UCL’s lunchtime lecture looks at different ways the world might end, in advance of the silly Mayan apocalypse nonsense some people are peddling. Free, just turn up, 1.15pm

CHRISTMAS TREE: It truly is Christmas from today, as the Trafalgar Square tree is officially installed. Free, just turn up, 6pm

CHARITY CAROLS: Several concerts are taking place tonight, though most are now booked out. An exception seems to be the concert for The Sick Children's Trust, which takes place in the exceptional surroundings of All Hallows by the Tower, with celebrity readings by Diana Rigg, Chris Tarrant and others. £12.50, prebook, 6pm

SHOPPING: Get 20% off selected brands at Boxpark's late opening, plus live music and street food. Free, just turn up, 6-9pm

LIT: Hear short stories about the Overground at Brick Lane Bookshop. Free, just turn up, 7pm

LISTS: A night devoted to lists, list-making, and making lists...possibly soundtracked by Liszt. Find out more at Foyles, Charing Cross Road. £7 on the door, 7pm

WALK: Discover the inventors, campaigners, engineers and philanthropists who made London a modern city in the first half of the 19th Century on this guided walk by Rob Smith. Meet at Farringdon station. £10, just turn up or prebook, 7pm

ART IN A LAUNDRETTE: A new permanent installation opens in Smarty Pants Launderette, Bethnal Green Road today, as Pamphlet curates an exhibition of over 40 artists responding to the theme of 'a broken heart'. Free, just turn up, 7-10pm

GIG: Pretty damn fine singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards is on at Bush Hall tonight and tomorrow. Prebooked tickets for tonight are all gone, but there should be some on the door. Or else, try tomorrow. £20, prebook or turn up, 7.30pm

COMEDY: Nick Mohammed brings his memory/lifestyle guru Mr Swallow to London for a show about maths. (It won’t be about maths.) If you want excellent manic character comedy, allow us to steer you towards the Invisible Dot tonight. £10, prebook, 7.45pm

MORE LIT: Philip Pullman launches his Grimm Tales at the Southbank Centre (7.30pm, prebook, £15 /£12), followed by Francesca Beard and Ayanna Witter-Johnson giving a contemporary spin on fairytales (free, prebook, 9pm)

Random London Fact of the Day

Another one of those 'London facts that aren't actually true'. It's often said that, as a former post office, the Mayflower pub in Rotherhithe is the only pub in the UK to sell US stamps. We contacted the pub to verify, and it turns out that the practice stopped 'several landlords ago'. It is a smashing little boozer, however, and oozes history like George Osborne...well, oozes.

London Weather

Christ, it's cold. Shit, shit, shit.
And that's the forecast.

Secret Hidden False Rumour Of the Day
Although they have that flashy-looking HQ on Tottenham Court Road, Time Out London is really put together in Droitwich. Michael Hodges is a fictional character, ghost written by a team of bored subeditors who've never left the West Midlands. #secrethiddenfalserumourclub