Listings
BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at St Paul's Centre in Enfield and Sainsbury’s in Sydenham. Free, see site for terms and conditions
ART: Today is the first day of Martin Creed's exhibition What’s the point of it? at the Hayward Gallery, part of the Southbank Centre. Includes live art performances. £11+bf, prebook, until 27 April
MORE ART: Beijing-based artist Liu Wei presents his new exhibition Density in the aseptic space of the White Cube, reflecting China’s rapidly transforming socio-political and urban landscape. Free, until 15 March
EVEN MORE ART: Into the Frame — A Synesthetic Interaction is a new installation at Red Gallery in Shoreditch. Combining art with technology, it allows visitors to immerse themselves within a painting. Free, until 5 February
LJCC: London Jewish Cultural Centre hosts Lunch-Time Film Club including a post-film discussion (£5, just turn up, 12.45pm) and a musical evening dedicated to Frank Sinatra’s life and career (£20/£15, prebook, 7.30pm)
NEW TRAIN: A chance to see into the future as a life-size model of a new Thameslink train goes on display at ExCel Centre. Free, just turn up, 2pm
LOO-BAR CRAWL: Join this unusual pub crawl organised by Loo Tours. Expect a selection of specific venues, chosen for their lavatorial features, and a few historic points of interest inbetween: meeting point is Victoria Embankment. £15/£12, prebook, 5.45pm
MEDIA DEBATE: The Wiener Library hosts a debate for 16-25 year olds on how social media content relating to the Holocaust should be regulated. Heavy, but interesting. Free, prebook, 6pm
GEORGIAN CONSERVATION: As part of the Morley Gallery‘s Waterloo Sights & Sounds exhibition, this talk by conservationist Stephen Bull discusses the conservation of Georgian buildings on Roupell Street. Free, prebook, 6pm
ADULTS ONLY: Science Museum Lates, an adults-only event encompassing bars, a silent disco and a pub quiz, takes place on the last Wednesday of each month. This month it focuses on the Large Hadron Collider. Entry to the Lates is free, just turn up, but there is a charge for the Collider Exhibition, 6.45pm
BOOK TALKS: Jonathan Lethem talks to Benjamin Markovits about his new book Dissident Gardens at the London Review Bookshop (£10, just turn up, 7pm); Iain McKay analyses Kropotkin’s classic text Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution at Housmans (£3, just turn up, 7pm); Melissa Harrison and Stuart Evers are the guests at the Big Green Bookshop's Big Green Bookswap (£5, prebook, 7.30pm)
TIME: Broadcaster and writer Claudia Hammond leads this self-development workshop at Conway Hall. A useful guide to help you manage your time in a better way. £15, prebook, 7pm
WE DON’T SPIT: That’s the name of this pop-up wine club, which encourages you to drink the wine instead of just spitting it out. The session this time takes place in Shoreditch. £40, prebook, 7.30pm
MUSIC IN A MUSEUM: Yin Yang Collective celebrates the upcoming Chinese New Year with a gig in the historical Brunel Museum. £10/£8 + bf, prebook, 7.30pm
MORE MUSIC: BBC Symphony Orchestra will be playing traditional pieces of classical music, conducted by French Lionel Bringuier. The concert will take place at the Barbican’s Hall. £10-32, prebook, 7.30pm
COMEDY: Brixton multifunctional venue The Effra Social is hosting Over It - Death, Anorexia and Other Funny Things, a stand-up comedy night. Pay what you want, 8pm
MORE COMEDY: Tonight you can see Sara Pascoe doing her show Sara Pascoe Vs The Truth: she performs at the Invisible Dot. £10, prebook, 9.30pm
Good Cause of the Day
'Nobody puts Brazil in the Corner’ is a Charity Danceathon organised by ABC Trust, taking place 7 February at The Hammersmith Club. Five hours of dancing, featuring six Brazilian dance lessons, to help Brazil's children. There are two ways to get involved: register for free and pledge to fundraise £100 or pay £35 and dance any or all of the classes. Prebook, 7 February from 6pm
London Connection Puzzle
Yesterday's clue was Johnson. Today's is Digby. If you think you've spotted the London connection email [email protected]. EDIT: we have a winner, so no need to email in.
From the Archive
On this day one year ago, we shared a colourful alternative Tube map, representing the network as a series of concentric circles. It was designed by Max Roberts, inspired by an earlier map sent in by Jonathan Fisher,
Londoddities
This week's theme is 'street oddities'. Today's entry can be found in Clayton Street next to Oval cricket ground. This row of fencing is reputedly made from old stretchers from the Second World War — a nugget of information we've often heard repeated, but never seen definitively confirmed. Still, they look the part. Other examples can be found elsewhere in London. Let us know in the comments if there's a stretcher fence near you.
Previously: London's narrowest street, The emotive bollards of Southwark.
