Things To Do In London Today: Friday 16 May 2014

If you’ve not already done so, you can subscribe to these daily listings and have them delivered to your inbox at 7am every morning. Alternatively, subscribe to Londonist Daily to hear about events further in the future. And help spread the word to your friends who haven’t discovered us yet!

The Museum of Brands hosts an event about the history of cigarette packaging.

Londonist Goodies

Londonist-branded goodies are on sale now! Head to our shop to browse our range of Oyster card holders, tote bags, maps and clothing. Find out more about our shop here.

Listings

BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at The Hop Exchange in Southwark Street, Kilburn Community Centre and  St Olave Parish Hall in Fenchurch Street. See site for terms and conditions

COMICS UNMASKED: A Curators Talk at the British Library focuses on the current exhibition Comics Unmasked. With BL curator Adrian Edwards and guest curators John Harris Dunning and Paul Gravett. Free, just turn up, 1pm

EDITOR TALK: John Izbicki talks at Wiener Library about his life, going from a war refugee at the age of eight to holding an editor position at The Telegraph. Free, prebook, 1pm

CIGARETTE HISTORY: The Museum of Brands hosts a talk by consumer historian Robert Opie about the history of the promotion and packaging of cigarettes in art and culture. £10, prebook, 6pm

WAR POETRY: Lyttelton Theatre at the National Theatre hosts a First World War Poetry platform, with selections read by Kenneth Cranham, Lisa Dwan and Deborah Findlay. £4/£3, prebook, 6pm

MURDER MYSTERY: UCL Museums hold a murder mystery night, with guests solving a whodunnit, followed by a drinks reception at the Grant Museum of Zoology. Free, just turn up, 6.30pm

MUSEUMS AT NIGHT: The three-day festival of after-hours cultural events continues tonight, with events taking place at various museums. Find out more about London venues taking part. London Transport Museum launches its new exhibition Goodbye Piccadilly — from home front to Western front at a special Friday late. £10/£8, prebook, 6.45pm

WILLIAM BLAKE: Waterstones Piccadilly hosts a discussion with The Blake Society about the impression poet William Blake made on Australia. Free, prebook, 7pm

BALLROOM DANCING: Head to Bishopsgate Institute for an evening of ballroom dancing, open to everyone with a brief taster lesson early in the evening and ballroom and latin tunes. £10/£8, prebook, 7pm

MUSIC: 93 Feet East in Brick Lane hosts an evening of indie, acoustic and alternative live music. Line-up includes The Planes, Kassassin Street, Jessie’s Ghost and Emily Litta. Free, just turn up, 7.30pm

POLICE CHOIR: The Metropolitan Police Male Voice Choir performs its summer concert at Regent Hall on Oxford Street, in aid of the Evelina Children's Hospital. £16, prebook, 7.30pm

MORE MUSIC: Dirty blues band Johnny Cage & the Voodoogroove play at Magic Garden in Battersea, with free entry before 8pm. Meanwhile, The Hooks celebrate their first single launch with a free gig at Paper Dress Vintage in Shoreditch. Free, just turn up, 7.30pm

Find more London events in our Free & Cheap events listings.


Good Cause of the Day

Christian Aid's Circle The City sponsored walk takes place this Sunday, 18 May. Choose between a 5km or 10km route past some of London’s most famous sites including the Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral, and register here. The event will raise money for communities living in war ravaged countries to re-build their lives and live a life free from fear.

London Connection Puzzle

The complete set of clues this week is as follows: PUTNEY HEATH, BATTERSEA PARK, TOTHILL FIELDS and PICKERING PLACE. What's the London connection? No need to email in, as we already have a winner.

From the Archive

Been to the Barbican Estate recently? See any shops there? Our feature from a year ago looks at the ghost shops of the Barbican Estate, and how the retail offering never quite lived up to the architect's vision. We also did a pub crawl of Barbican's ghost pubs, two of which were recently demolished.

Have You Clocked This Clock?

This week's picture puzzles all feature London timepieces. Today, we're on the Underground. Which station is this?

12413125094_985f879efa_b