Things To Do In London Today: Tuesday 20 August 2013

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Victor Fleming, The Wizard of Oz, 1939. Screening at the ICA, details below.

Listings

BLOOD: Today’s opportunity to donate blood is at the YMCA Hall in Barbican. Free, see site for terms and conditions.

WALKS: This month and the next, the Clerkenwell and Islington Guides Association offer free walks during weekdays. Pop along to St John's Gate today and get some culture in your lunchtime. Free, prebook, until end of September.

BRIAN HAW: Riverside Studios in Hammersmith is the setting for the new musical, According to Brian Haw. Haw was an extraordinary anti-war campaigner who camped outside the Houses of Parliament for 11 years in protest against the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. £15/£9, prebook, until 22 August

COMEDY: If you want surreal comedy, check out Australian Sam Simmons at the Soho Theatre until 24 August. You’ll be perplexed as much as entertained, but it’s worth it. £12.50-£20, prebook, until 24 August

DISCOVER THE ORCHESTRA: Children aged 5-11 can learn about the world of classical music and orchestral instruments at this Discover Workshop at the Royal Albert Hall. £3.50, prebook, 10am and 1pm (takes place again on Thursday)

ASHES: If you’ve been all about The Ashes recently, head to Waterstones Leadenhall Market where David Lloyd is signing copies of The Ashes According to Bumble. Free, just turn up (early arrival suggested), 12.30pm

TRAINS: Hear all about the early development of Waterloo Station at an afternoon talk at Guildhall Library. Free, just turn up, 2pm

MEMOIR: David Harris-Gershon discusses his memoir What Do You Buy the Children of the Terrorist Who Tried to Kill Your Wife? at Waterstones Hampstead. £6/£4, just turn up, 7pm

OZ: Follow the yellow brick road (or The Mall) to the Institute of Contemporary Arts for a screening of the 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz. £6, prebook, 7.30pm

POETRY: Chris McCabe, Andrew Taylor and David Miller perform poetry at The Blue Bus at The Lamb on Lamb’s Conduit Street. £5/£3, just turn up, 7.30pm


Good Cause of the Day

This Friday, head to Jamboree in Limehouse for a musical fundraiser in aid of Cardboard Citizens, a London-based homeless charity. Three bands will be performing, covering folk and blues, bluegrass and rock. Cardboard Citizens works to change the life of homeless and displaced people through performing arts. £5.50, prebook, 8pm

London Connection Puzzle

This week's puzzle, as ever, is set by last week's winner, in this case Fiona Coles. Her first clue-word, to get you thinking, is LEONARD. The second clue, which might be enough for some clever soles to spot the connection, will appear here tomorrow.

From Londonist’s Archive

In 2011 we documented the capital's plastic population, with London's Weirdest Dummies and Mannequins. What a bunch of fakers.

London Weather by Inclement Attlee

My powers of meteorological foresight are extraordinarily far-reaching, and it's no coincidence that Inclement Attlee is an anagram of 'Ten Mile Tentacle'. Looking far ahead, then, I'm happy to exclusively report that we're in for three whole weeks of late summer sunshine, culminating in a clattenburg of thunderstorms come mid-September. Unfortunately, it's also no coincidence that my name is an anagram of 'eat cement lentil'. I'm off for a very unsatisfactory brunch.