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Listings
BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at Old Town Hall in Chelsea, Large Assembly Hall in Chingford and St James Church Hall in New Malden. Free, see site for terms and conditions
WOMEN: Southbank Centre's Women Of The World Festival kicks off today, with a series of talks, arts and events celebrating women around the world. See website for individual event times and prices, until 9 March
ITALIAN FILM: The Cinema Made In Italy Festival 2014 begins at Ciné Lumière today, showing 10 Italian films and one documentary, all chosen by influential figures in the Italian film industry. See website for times and prices, until 9 March
MUSIC PREVIEW: Head to your local Nicholson's pub today and tomorrow to listen to British band Elbow's new album in full, days before it's released. You can also try a pint of the band's own ale, Marston's Charge. Free, just turn up, 12pm/4pm/9pm
JEWISH FILM: London Jewish Cultural Centre's Lunch-Time Film Club today looks at four different versions of The Merchant of Venice, stimulating discussion as to whether they feature anti-Semitic portrayals. £5, prebook, 12.45pm
GUIDED WALK: Horrible Holborn is a themed walk around Holborn, uncovering the dark and bloody history of the area. Meeting point outside Holborn Station, the walk is repeated on Friday. Free, just turn up, 1pm
LOVE GUIDE: The Emma Press Guide To Love And Seduction offers advice on all manner of matters of the heart through the medium of poetry, including readings by Jacqueline Saphra and Anat Shecharya. At The Gallery Cafe in Bethnal Green. £5, just turn up, 7pm
GENEALOGY: UCL hosts a free talk about tracing our roots, and how historical interest in tracing origins has developed. Speakers include BBC genealogist Nick Barratt. Free, prebook, 7pm
NEW FILMS: Whirlygig Cinema at Hackney Picturehouse gives three up-and-coming filmmakers 30 minutes each to present their latest work and answer questions from the audience. The theme this month is music videos. £4, prebook, 7pm
FOLK LIVE: Folk band Young'uns are performing one of their gigs — which they themselves describe as 'absolute chaos' — at Cecil Sharp House, in advance of their album release. £12+bf, prebook, 7pm
ART EVENING: Two new exhibitions open at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, and this evening there is a chance to listen to the artists Martino Gamper and Haim Steinbach in conversation with design critic Alice Rawsthorn £5.85/£4.85+bf, prebook, 8pm
COMEDY: Another day full of comedy. Comedy Knights' Big Wednesday Comedy Club takes place at Charterhouse Bar. This week performers are Joel Dommett, Luke Graves and Joey Page. £7, prebook, 8pm. Arts Depot in North Finchley also hosts a new comedy drama, Egusi Soup, about family life in a multicultural society. £16/£14, prebook, 8pm. Next Big Thing's Comedy Bar Skit takes place at The Slaughtered Lamb in Clerkenwell, featuring Katie O'Brien and and Chazz Redhead. £6/£5, just turn up, 8pm
Good Cause of the Day
Fairtrade fortnight is well underway and the Divine Chocolate pop-up store in Covent Garden has a series of fair-trade events. Today there are two free talks about the fairtrade industry, including a Q&A session with two women from the Kuapa Kokoo cocoa cooperative. Prebook your ticket for the 1.30pm or 6pm slot.
London Connection Puzzle
Yesterday's clue was FOLEY. Today's is BELL. What's the London connection? If you think you have it, email [email protected].
From the Archive
Did you know about Hollywood in Smithfield? The Farmiloe Building near Smithfield Market has seen location shoots from hundreds of films. The whole building is a film set, and has been used for Poirot, Marple and Sherlock, among others. It was even once used as Gotham City police headquarters in Batman. We went for a nosey around the place a few years back — have a look at our pictures.
Londoddities
It's Bench Week on Londoddities. At first glance, today's entry looks like a scene from a dystopian future in which members of the tabloid press have fixed places on a trial jury. In fact, these seats can be found in St Bride's Church on Fleet Street. The church has long associations with the newspaper industry, and still retains seating for any journos who want a press conference with the ultimate source. Have I got pews for you?
Previously in Bench Week: The Unknown Husband, Ian Dury's musical bench.
