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Listings
BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at Barbican's YMCA Hall, The Hop Exchange on Southwark Street, and Perseverance Works in Hackney. Free, see site for terms and conditions
SNOWSHOW: Family favourite Slava's Snowshow is back at Royal Festival Hall for its third season of cobwebs and snowflakes. £20-£65+bf, prebook, until 6 January
FOLDS: A musical acrobatic show arrives at Southbank Centre's Purcell Room for the festive season, because no Christmas is complete without high-wire banjo playing, right? £18+bf, prebook, until 31 December
CHRISTMAS CAROL: Join a candlelit reading of A Christmas Carol at the Charles Dickens Museum. Explore the Victorian writer's home after dark and relive a classic. £16, prebook, until 21 December
YOUNG THEATRE: Got a small baby? Fed up with not being exactly welcome at comedy clubs with a nappy bag? Then pay a visit to Soho Theatre today for their Soho Screamers idea, where little ones are welcome. £12.50, prebook, 11am (there are still grown up performances in the evening for £15)
POETRY: Alison Backenbury, Alfred Corn and John Greening are the guests at the Lumen Poetry Series in Tavistock Place. £5/£4, prebook, 6.30pm
FILM QUIZ: If you love film, then don’t miss out on the final You’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat film quiz of the year upstairs at the Ritzy in Brixton. £4, just turn up, 7.30pm (early arrival recommended to bag a good table)
GIG: Today’s music tip (we have a selection of them this week), as recommended by our friends at LondonGigGuide, is Passport to Stockholm at Troubadour in Earl's Court. Free, just turn up, 8pm
LOVE: Christmas film favourite Love Actually screens at Oval Space in support of Trekstock, the youth cancer charity. There's also the offer of popcorn and a dose of that warm fuzzy feeling inside, aah. £10, prebook, 8pm (doors at 7pm)
Good Causes of the Day
If you'd like to invest in a good cause this Christmas, then we recommend Arts Emergency. Rising tuition fees and withdrawal of public funding for the teaching of Arts and Humanities at university hold back many potential students from choosing a degree they feel passionate about. Arts Emergency works to ensure that those most able to benefit, but least able to access university, find their voice and build a future on their own terms.
The Arts Emergency Service is a national network of volunteers coming together to share their expertise and counter the myth that university, and in particular arts degrees, are the domain of the privileged. Their 2013 Christmas Appeal is encouraging people to make monthly donations to help keep the service moving and young people the support they need. For more details, please visit the Christmas Appeal page or Arts Emergency website.
London Connection Puzzle
A new puzzle starts today. Your first clue-word is SAMUEL JOHNSON. Don't email in yet (as, frankly, from that clue alone, it could be anything), but wait for the second clue tomorrow.
From the Archive
You can't say Londonist doesn't know how to do Christmas. On this day last year we got into the festive spirit big time by treating you to a beginner's guide to the bond market, a sequel to our much cherished guides to derivatives, commodities and equities. Ho ho ho (sob).
London Weather by Inclement Attlee
London's sky remains a miserable old grumpster, but one who's started to swig the Christmas booze, judging by the brief flashes of sunshine today. No rain, but watch out for reindeer turds as Santa flight-tests his latest sleigh ahead of the big event next week.
