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BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at Battersea Arts Centre on Lavender Hill and City Temple by Holborn Viaduct. Free, see site for terms and conditions
WIMBLEDON: Strawberries, umbrellas and motion sickness at the ready, Wimbledon tennis tournament is back for 2013. Free outdoor Wimbledon screenings are taking place at New Street Square (weekdays only), Cardinal Place, and Bankside Mix. Free, just turn up, until 7 July
EAT A TRAIN: The edible Heathrow Express, made from cake, remains at Paddington station for the rest of today...unless it's entirely consumed in the meantime. Free, just turn up
POETRY: Poet and playwright Lemn Sissay runs a series of poetry workshops and public readings this week. Lemn was the first poet to be commissioned for the 2012 Olympic Games and in 2010 received an MBE from the Queen for Services to Literature, so you will be in good hands. See website for full listings, until 28 June
SEEK, FIND, LIVE: A week of events for anyone with an interest in social sciences starts today, courtesy of Birkbeck, University of London’s To Seek, To Find, To Live programme. All events are free, check website for listings, until 28 June
SADLER'S SAMPLED: The annual dance taster fest at Sadler’s Wells opened over the weekend, and from today Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker holds audiences captive with her minimalist composition Drumming. Ticket prices range £8-£27, prebook, until 25 June
PLAN FOYLES: Help Foyles plan its new Charing Cross Road store. Free, prebook, 6.30pm
PERSIAN POETS: Acclaimed Persian poets Azita Ghahreman (translated by Maura Dooley), Reza Mohammadi (translated by Nick Laird) and Shakila Azizzada (translated by Mimi Khalvati, who can’t be at the event but Sarah Maguire will ably take her place) read alongside their UK poet-translators at Foyles. Free, prebook, 7pm
MUSEUM VROLIK: Amsterdam's anatomical museum is under discussion today as the museum's curator Dr Laurens De Rooy gives a guided tour presentation of the animal anatomy, congenital malformations and pathologically deformed human skeletons that inhabit the museum space, at the Last Tuesday Society. £7, prebook, 7pm
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Good Cause of the Day
The UK's top female bartenders will go head to head in a series of timed cocktail challenges at Speed Rack to receive the accolade of Miss Speed Rack. In front of a panel of food and beverage luminaries, participating bartenders are required to make a round of cocktails selected at random from a list of 50 industry-standard recipes. The judges request and evaluate each drink based on accuracy, taste and presentation. The battle of the mixologists raises money for breast cancer charity The Haven, who offer free psychological support programmes and therapies to those suffering with breast cancer. £20/£15, prebook for cheaper tickets, 5-9pm
London Connection Puzzle: The Solution
Last week, we revealed a new clue-word each day, and asked you to spot the connection. The words were GOLDIE, GUY, WINNIE and JUMBO. Congratulations to Dave Brown who was first among several readers to spot the connection (after just two clues): they are all famous animals from the history of London Zoo. Goldie was a golden eagle, who caused a sensation when he twice escaped in 1965. Guy was a seriously famous gorilla, so beloved of visitors from the 1940s to the 1970s that he now has two statues in London (one in the zoo and one in Crystal Palace Park). Winnie was a bear, resident at the zoo in the first decades of the 20th century, and was the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh. And Jumbo, as you might have guessed, was an elephant, who lived at the zoo in mid-Victorian times. A new connection puzzle, concocted by winner Dave Brown, will start tomorrow.
London Weather, by Inclement Atlee
Fans of itchy streaming eyes, liquid snot droplets and sneezing in crowded tube carriages will be pleased to hear that a high pollen count is forecast today. Those who enjoy inhaling traffic fumes and other life-shortening particulates, however, will be disappointed: low pollution levels are expected. The sun will make several appearances, none of them convincing. Happy New Week.
