Things To Do In London Today: Friday 6 September 2013

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Hand to Earth exhibition is at Scream from today. Artwork by Shane McAdams

Listings

BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at Doubletree By Hilton hotel and outside County Hall, Waterloo. Free, see site for terms and conditions

ART: A fantastic selection of new art exhibitions open today. We recommend: miniature sculptures with Dream No Small Dreams at Ronchini Gallery, intricate work with Hand to Earth at Scream, great portraits with Hannah Adamaszek @ Curious Duke, paper bag sculptures by Yuken Teruya at Pippy Houldsworth, and The World of Street Art at Hoxton Arches. Phew.

THAMES: Hoorah, The Mayor’s Thames Festival starts today with plenty of river-focused events taking place, so take a look and see what floats your boat. You can even download an alternative Thames map day-by-day throughout the festival. Until 15 Sept

HOME: 2012 marked the 40th anniversary of the expulsion of the Asian community from Uganda. Making Home at the Royal Geographic Society explores Ugandan Asian heritage and celebrates the cultural contribution of the community today. Free, just turn up, until 15 September

HOT WHEELS: Today is the last day you can have a whirl at Skate King's Cross roller rink, so if you haven't broken an ankle, there's still time yet. £13-£18, prebook, noon-late

ICA: A big day of stuff at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. Watch Venice Film Festival winner Pieta, a film portrait of cultural theorist Stuart Hall, discuss feminism and war, or join a conversation with artist Amy Sillman and Tate Modern curator Mark Godfrey. See site for listings.

LANDSCAPE: Join University College London (UCL) for an afternoon dedicated to exploring the theme of LandSCAPE, curated by UCL’s Researchers in Museums. Free, prebook, 2-5pm

MUSEUM LATES: Unwind after work with a spot of culture at the British Museum, National Gallery, or National Portrait Gallery. Free, check websites for closing times and events

FILM: Head to The National Gallery for a screening of Museum Hours, the new film by New York filmmaker Jem Cohen. £6/£4, prebook, 6.30pm

ROLLER SKATE: The Friday Night skate starts at Wellington Arch. Anyone who feels competent on skates is welcome to join. Free, just turn up, 8pm

Good Cause of the Day

To celebrate YHA Day (YHA being Youth Hostels Association) 2013 this weekend, YHA St Paul's hosts a charity pop-up shop and auction at its rather striking buildin on Carter Lane. What will be sold at this boutique pop-up shop? A selection of lost property left at London Youth Hostels including shoes, bags, jewellery, clothes and other miscellaneous items, with prices starting from 'pay what you can'.

In addition to YHA St Paul's, four London Youth Hostels — Holland Park, Oxford Street, Thameside and St Pancras — are also hosting events. These include refreshments and activities for the kids at YHA St Pancras, Oxford Street and Thameside, to entertainment from singers and belly dancers at YHA Holland Park. All money raised will go to YHA’s Breaks for Kids bursary fund. Free, just turn up, Sunday 8 September from 11am

London Connection Puzzle

So, the complete set of clue-words for the week reads like this: PARAGON, CREST, LONDRES and SLIPSTREAMERS. Got the London connection yet? Two people got it just from Paragon, so no need to email in as we have a winner.

From Londonist’s Archive

It's Friday, and to celebrate this glorious day, here are some photographs we collected in 2011 of London's Best Rainbows.

London Weather by Inclement Attlee

It's going to rain today. And to such an egregious degree that I advise you take three umbrellas and two raincoats. As well as the leaky clouds, pedestrians should also watch out for drivers ploughing through puddles and spraying the pavement. My barometer forecasts a particularly notable incident at 1.53pm on Kingsland Road (junction with Whiston Street), when a kerb-hugging Ford Focus is likely to ruin the days of three passing office workers caught in the filthy spray. You don't get that kind of predictive accuracy on the BBC Weather.