Things To Do In London Today: Thursday 5 December 2013

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Kay Redfield Jamison speaks about bipolar illness at Wellcome Collection, details below.

Listings

BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at Brewers Hall in the City of London, The Hop Exchange on Southwark Street and Chingford Sainsburys. Free, see site for terms and conditions

BERMONDSEY: View images of the Bermondsey area in different mediums as three artists with connections to the area display their work at 1 Tanner House. Free, just turn up, until 18 December

SCIENCE POEMS: Children's poet Michael Rosen has written a collection of poems about the weird and wonderful world of science, and performs them at the Science Museum. £12/£9.50, prebook, until 7 December

WREATH: Make your own Christmas wreath with ingredients that can be foraged, with florist Willy Vincent at Habitat on King's Road. £27.15, prebook, midday-2pm

MUSEUM CHRISTMAS: Step back in time with Geffrye Museum‘s Christmas Past exhibition, showing how Christmas has been celebrated in English middle-class homes over the past 400 years. Tonight’s special open evening features carols, decoration making and greenery demonstrations. Free, just turn up, 5-8pm

SHOPPING: If you like your Christmas shopping with a discount then try the Seven Dials & St Martin’s Courtyard Christmas Shopping Night tonight where over 120 shops and restaurants in the area will offer a 20% discount. Free, prebook, 5-9pm

DEREK JACOBI: Actor Derek Jacobi reflects on his career in a National Theatre platform event. £4/£3, prebook, 6pm

SEW: The Good Wardrobe encourages people to share sewing, knitting and mending skills at their Sew It Forward event at The Railway in Streatham. Just bring a garment in need of some TLC. Free, prebook, 6-9pm

IDEAS FOR LONDON: The seventh Ideas for London salon features seven short presentations on ideas for solving London’s housing crisis, at St Clement's Hospital on Bow Road. Free (donations to Crisis encouraged), prebook, 6-8pm

MORE SHOPPING: Another Christmas shopping event, this time at Heal's Tottenham Court Road. There's live music, discounts and goody bags, plus ticket proceeds will go to the charity Nordoff Robbins. £10, prebook, 6-8pm

WALK: Join Trails of the City for a guided walk seeking out the secrets and scandals of London past in the streets around Oxford Circus. £8/£6, just turn up, 6.30pm

ILLUSION: Debate the question of illusion and reality at with artists, philosophers, scientists, psychologists, designers, and magicians at Pitzhanger Manor in Ealing. £3, reserve online, 6.30pm

CYCLE LONDON: Street Talks is at Look Mum No Hands in Hackney to discuss London’s cycling provision in light of a recent international study of cycle infrastructure, commissioned by Transport for London. Free, just turn up, 7pm

PSYCHIATRIC DISORDER: Clinical Psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison has suffered from bipolar illness most of her life. Tonight she speaks at Wellcome Collection about the psychiatric disorder that she both treats, and suffers from. Free, prebook, 7pm This event is now sold out

KARAUKE: Bad jumpers and ukuleles collide at KaraUke’s Bad Jumper Christmas Party so you can sing to the live backing of a ukulele band while wearing your dodgiest jumper. Free, just turn up, 7pm We've just been told this event is cancelled.

ICY GAYS: Icy Gays returns to the ICA for a seasonal edition of "queer Christmas delights". £11.25, prebook, 9-11.30pm


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Good Cause of the Day

Lots of good causes today:

Carol Concerts
Feeling festive? Head to the Wellington Barracks for classical renditions, readings and carols at the Guards Chapel Carol Concert in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. £40, prebook, 7pm

St Paul's Church in Knightsbridge is the setting for another carol concert, this time in aid of children's charity Rainbow Trust. £40, prebook, 6pm

Save the Children
You can fundraise for Save the Children two ways today: head to London's Union Chapel for some excellent live music (including Will Heard and Paul Weller), hosted by Lauren Laverne. £41.60, prebook, 6.30pm. Or pay a visit to the Save the Children’s Woolly Wonderland at Westfield Stratford to join customisation workshops and pimp your Christmas jumper, until 13 December.

Big Give
The Big Give is a matched funding event that takes place each December, where donations made to 387 different charities will be matched - doubling the fundraising for many excellent causes. See what charities are taking part via the website, until 7 December.

London Connection Puzzle

Your clues so far have been RICHARD HANNAY and BASIL. Today's addition is PETER PAN. Spotted the London connection yet? Nobody got it from two clues, so email matt@londonist.com if you think you've worked it out (but if you're reading this in the email version, check the live site first to see if someone beat you to it).

From the Archive

Varied stuff from 6 December across the years:

2012: Map Shows Every London Bomb of the Blitz

2011: Map of London's Road Deaths 1999-2010

2010: London Boroughs According to Google Image Search

London Weather by Inclement Attlee

To get you in the Christmas mood, The Editor has ordered Inclement Attlee to set all December forecasts to popular seasonal tunes. Here’s today’s:

Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear.
And he says it's going to pour.
After a sunny morning,
The rain will come at half past four.

All of the other forecasts,
Said we'd have some windy squall,
They wouldn't let poor Rudolph,
Fly around without a fall.

Then one foggy early morn,
Attlee came to say:
"Rudolph with your nose for mist,
Help this meteorologist."

Then how the public loved him,
And they shouted out with glee,
"Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear."
"Better than Inclement Attlee!"