Things To Do In London Today: Friday 23 August 2013

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Warm up for Notting Hill Carnival with Itchy Feet, details below.

Listings

BLOOD: Today’s opportunity to donate blood is at City Temple, Holborn Viaduct. Free, see site for terms and conditions.

FILM: A trio of films start a week-long run at the ICA. Winter of Discontent: an Egyptian film set against the backdrop of the protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square; On Landguard Point, an exploration of how we construct ideas of home; and Only God Forgives, a recent Hollywood revenge thriller starring Ryan Gosling (and his biceps). See website for full details, until 29 August

DARKROOM: The Truman Brewery transforms into a pop-up darkroom today where attendees can learn about darkroom processing, take part in an interactive workshop, and process their own photos. Free (if you bring your own camera, or you’ll have to pay a deposit to rent one), just turn up, until 26 August

RUGBY: The Rugby League World Cup 2013 Roadshow pitches up in Trafalgar Square today. Whet your appetite before the competition starts with a Q&A session with England captain Kevin Sinfield, plus competitions and trophy photo opportunities. Free, just turn up, 10.30am-3.30pm

CRASH!: Super-loud, super-energetic, recycled junk percussion takes place with Bang On! just outside the National Theatre, as part of their August Outdoors season. Free, just turn up, 1.10pm and 6.30pm

ROMANS: Another chance to visit the remains of the Roman fort, in a car park beneath Museum of London. Free, just turn up, 2-3.30pm

NEW VIEWS: Bellingham Play Park is the setting for some mini camera events. Today you can fit a camera to your dog and tomorrow your vessel is a remote control helicopter. Free, prebook, 2-4pm daily

HUB CRAWL: That's not a typo...it's a crawl of the three London's three co-working Hubs (Islington, King's Cross, Westminster). Meet others interested in social media business over some beers, and see what the three sites have to offer. £10, prebook, 5-9pm

TASTY JERK: Grub Club brings you White Men Can't Jerk: a pop-up, Caribbean food-loving trio who will serve up bold flavours at the Skyroom in Magdalen House. £14.30, prebook, 6-10pm

STORY SKILLS: Learn how narrative devices can be used to make your story sing, with Bobette Buster (real name), a Hollywood-based story consultant working with Disney, Pixar and Twentieth Century Fox. £3, prebook, 6.30pm

WORDS AND JAZZ: deep:black and Grand Union Youth Orchestra present a night of spoken word and world jazz at Rich Mix. Free, just turn up, 6.30pm

VIGIL: Time once again for the monthly vigil, for all faiths and none, outside Crossbones graveyard in Southwark, in remembrance of the hundreds of unknown outcasts buried therein. Free, just turn up, 7pm

OUTDOOR CONCERT: Suede and British Sea Power perform at Live by the Lake, the first in a series of live concerts in the grounds of Kenwood House. £35.75, prebook, 7.30pm

PEDAL POWERED CINEMA: Head to Windrush Square, Brixton to enjoy free community film screenings...or to help power them. Ritzy Cinema hosts Pedal Powered Cinema, where film-loving cyclists are invited to help provide pedal power for the programme. Free, just turn up, 8-11pm

CARNIVAL WARM-UP: Limber up those dance moves in anticipation of Notting Hill Carnival this weekend with Itchy Feet Carnival Party at Westbourne Studios. £8.30, prebook, 10.30pm


Good Cause of the Day

A four-day, bank holiday event starts tonight on Islington Green, courtesy of Oxjam Islington. There will be live music across the weekend, but Saturday/Sunday/Monday focus on family friendly events such as creative workshops (face painting, puppet making, canvas decorating), storytelling sessions, and a screening of Madagascar 3. This is a mini-fundraiser in advance of the big Oxjam Music Festival month in October, and all proceeds raised go towards Oxfam. Free (although you can purchase guaranteed entry tickets for each night for £3.30), until 26 August.

London Connection Puzzle

So, your complete set of cluewords this week are: LEONARD, DUNSTAN, SEPULCHRE and MARY. What's the connection? (No need to email in; we have a winner.)

From Londonist’s Archive

Happy Friday! To set you up for your London weekend, here is a cool little tilt-shift video of London On High we found in 2010, showing off the capital from various vantage points.

London Weather by Inclement Attlee

Rain? Who the deuce ordered that? It was supposed to be sunny. Ah, the capricious ways of the Weather Gods. Today, we're supposed to be in for a pleasant sunny morning and a cloudy afternoon. But don't be surprised if the elemental deities change their fickle minds and instead unleash a heavy shower of elastic bands, or a gale of helium. It's a little known fact, but the 1980's proto-alcopop 'Top Deck' went out of business following a massive downpour of shandy in 1991. The boozy inundation literally flooded the market, forcing the drinks firm to drop its prices and eventually file for bankruptcy. Fact.