Things To Do In London Today: Tuesday 18 February 2014

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You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat is the cinema-themed pub quiz. See details below

Listings

BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at Brewers Hall in Moorgate, The Hop Exchange is Southwark Street and Islington Town Hall. Free, see site for terms and conditions

HALF-TERM: This week, London's children are home from school...better to keep them busy. There are plenty of children's activities around town. Within the mix, the Isis Education Centre in Hyde Park offers a full day of guided outdoor games and activities focused on winter art for children aged 8-12. £30, prebook, 10am

COMICS: The Phoenix Comic Day takes place at the Clore Ballroom inside the Royal Festival Hall, featuring an entire day of comic-creation workshops. Suitable for all ages. Free, just turn up, 11.30am

GUIDED TOUR: Discover Fulham Palace and its gardens during this historical guided walk around the ancient residence of the Bishop of London. £5, just turn up, 2pm

INVESTIGATE: City University London hosts the lecture Imagined Boundaries: the Troubled Relationship Between Crime, Law and Spectatorship. With a focus on street art, 'sexting' and forensic images of crime. Free, prebook, 6.30pm

LISTEN TO IT: Ambit New Voices is an evening of spoken word at The Sun and 13 Cantons pub in Soho. Readers: Eli Goldstone, Dan Duggan, Lisa Kelly, Martin Monahan and Huw Laurence. £5, just turn up, 7pm

CINEMA: The Book Club in Leonard Street presents Crap Film Club. Miami Connection will be on screen, straight from the 80s, accompanied by comedic commentary. £3.50, prebook, 7pm

GIG: Mod/indie London-based band The Turning performs at the Borderline in Soho. £5, prebook, 7pm

MORE CINEMA: London Life is the theme of Short Sighted Cinema's evening at the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton. There will be screenings from emerging filmmakers, with Q&A, booze and banter. Free, just turn up, 7.30pm

PUB QUIZ: You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat is the itinerant pub quiz about films and cinema, settling down for a one-evening event at the Hackney Attic. Free, just turn up, from 7.30pm


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Good Cause of the Day

If getting fitter was one of your new year's resolutions, then do something even better: take part in the 24 hours Spinning Marathon by Starfish, which runs from 6pm on Friday 21 February until 6pm on Saturday 22 February in Putney. Money raised will help children who have been orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV. £50, prebook by email, starts Friday 21 February at 6pm

London Connection Puzzle

A new puzzle begins today, set by last week's winner Paul Carpenter. His first clue for you is LADBROKE GROVE. Don't contact us just yet, but have a think about possible themes, then be ready to email when the second clue is revealed tomorrow.

From the Archive

How did people from the early 20th century imagine London in the future? On this day last year we shared The Fugitive Futurist: a short, silent film made by Gaston Quiribet in 1924. The film predicts trains flying over Tower Bridge and an airship launch from Westminster. It's part of the London Screen Archive maintained by the BFI.

Londoddities

It's 'Rude and Lewd' week on Londoddities. Today, we pay homage to the capital's most dubiously named pub, Dirty Dicks on Bishopsgate. The origins of its enigmatic name are uncertain. The oft-given legend tells of an 18th century merchant by the name of Dick who lost his fiancee. He never washed again, nor disposed of any waste. Eventually, he died, and his personal effects were taken on by the pub. Until relatively recent times, you could see ancient knickknacks and a hanging display of dead cats down in the basement. A few remnants of this morbid bric-a-brac remain in a glass cabinet in the lower levels.

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Previously in Rude and Lewd week: London's naughtiest windows.