Things To Do In London Today: Wednesday 8 January 2014

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The BFI film quiz — see below.

Listings

BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at Brewers Hall in the City, Paddington Central Building 3 and the Emirates Stadium. Free, see site for terms and conditions

MIME: For alternative theatre, you won't find much better than The 2014 London International Mime Festival, which starts today with 25 days of unusual performances to choose from. Today, you can see paper bag dancing and a performance from the eye of a hurricane. See website for full details, until 1 February

HORSES IN BATTLE: A special lecture at The Wallace Collection looks at the role of horses in battle and the armour specially designed to protect them. Free, just turn up, 1-2pm

DINOSAURS: A talk at City Lit looks at our understanding of the behaviour on dinosaurs, especially their social behaviour. How did they communicate? Did they live in groups? Dr Dave Hone elucidates. £13.37, prebook, 6-7.30pm

INDUSTRIAL SHEFFIELD: Jarvis Cocker is at Curzon Chelsea cinema to present The Big Melt — a documentary about Sheffield's industrial roots, compiling over 100 years of British Film Institute archive footage and set to a live score. Followed by a Q&A session. £25-£35, prebook, 6.30pm

CAMP: A panel discussion at Institute of Contemporary Arts looks at the term 'camp' and its relevance to contemporary art. £5-£10, prebook, 6.45pm

CINEMA SPOTLIGHTS: Whirlygig Cinema’s Spotlights is back at Hackney Attic for a new year of monthly short film showcases. This time, the focus is on animation. £5/£4, prebook, 7.30pm

COMEDY: Tonight is the last time you can catch Josie Long as part of her informal work-in-progress series at Invisible Dot. £8, prebook, 7.30pm

FILM QUIZ: Know your Dr Caligaris from your Carry On Doctors? The BFI Film Quiz puts your knowledge to the test at BFI Imax, with music, video, trivia and picture rounds, plus free popcorn for all. £2, just turn up (early arrival recommended), 7.30pm

QUEER POETRY: Poet and zine publisher Sophie Mayer chairs a discussion on the queer poetry do-it-yourself zine scene at Royal Festival Hall, with readings by queer-zine poets and a forum to exchange ideas and methods. Free, just turn up, 8pm


Good Cause of the Day

A special animation edition of the music vs film night Screen Social at The Book Club in Shoredtich takes place this evening, with award-winning films, music videos and explorations of sound in motion. All proceeds go towards the housing and homelessness charity Shelter. £4/£3, prebook, 7pm-midnight

London Connection Puzzle

Yesterday's clue was ESTHER. Today's is MARTIN. Think you've got the London connection? Email matt@londonist.com with your guess. (Note: if you're reading this in the email version, check the live website to make sure no one's beaten you to it.)

From the Archive

Did you visit Winter Wonderland this Christmas? Love it or hate it, it still looks pretty good in a time-lapse video.

Londoddities

Yesterday, we showed you a letter from a child to Sherlock Holmes. Let's stick with the theme, given the detective's prominence on the telebox at the moment. As many readers will know, Holmes has his own pub in the Charing Cross area. It's on the site of the Northumberland Hotel from The Hound of the Baskervilles (see our map). There are many wonderful things about this pub, more of which tomorrow, but today's Londoddity is its curious hanging sign. Using your powers of observation, can you spot the elementary inaccuracy?

sherlock