Things To Do In London: Wednesday 9 July 2014

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Take a tour of Mayfair.

Listings

BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at The Hop Exchange in Southwark Street, East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf, St Pauls Centre in Enfield and Church Of Lady Of The Annuciation in Addiscombe. See site for terms and conditions

ART: Oxo Tower Gallery presents the social-focused exhibition Reclaiming Childhood, which is about the child labour situation in India. The exhibition aims to ecourage debate on the ongoing exploitation of children in third world countries. Free, until 20 July

LUNCHTIME LECTURE: Join the free historical-themed lecture about The Faith of the Huguenots, taking place at Christ Church Spitalfields in Commercial Street. This event is part of the Huguenot Threads 2014 festival. Free, prebook, 1.05pm

MAYFAIR'S HISTORY: From corporate Berkeley Square to calming Mount Street Gardens, Mayfair is a secretive town within a town. While walking this exclusive enclave you'll hear tales of faded glory and urban regeneration, aristocratic landlords, fearless flappers and a host of eccentric and charismatic characters from the past. £8, prebook, 2pm

GIN O'CLOCK: As part of the City of London Festival, jazz band Tomorrow's Warriors perform a Gin O'Clock Jazz set at Eastway Restaurant, at Liverpool Street’s Andaz Hotel. 6pm. If you want to have a go yourself, there's a Choral Jazz Workshop just down the road at the Gresham Centre. £12, prebook, 7pm

FOREIGN LANGUAGES: Feeling World Cup fever? Lingua Diversa Group offers an introductory lesson to Brazilian Portuguese at its office in Holborn. £5, prebook by email, 6.30pm-7.30pm

UNDERGROUND POETRY: Hampstead-based Keats House hosts Poems on the Underground, a celebration of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas with readings and music. £5, prebook, 7pm

COMEDY PREVIEW: The new Museum of Comedy in Bloomsbury hosts an Edinburgh preview double bill with Brett Goldstein and Rachel Stubbings. Ticket includes entry to Museum of Comedy from 5.30pm. £10, prebook, 7pm

LEGO ROBOTS: Spend your Wednesday evening building robots from the famous plastic bricks, ready for judging at the end of the night (it's a serious business). All robots must have two limbs, a name and a special power. At Drink Shop Do in King's Cross. Free, just turn up, 7pm

ASTRONAUT TALK: Our inner 10 year old is quite excited about this one. King's College hosts a screening of recent film Gravity, followed by a Q&A session with actual, real-life (former) NASA astronaut Dr Michael Foale, astronaut trainer Michelle Ham and King's College experts. The screening is only open to King's College staff and students, but the following discussion is open to everyone. Free, prebook, 7.30pm

RICHARD HERRING: Cult comedian and podcaster Richard Herring previews his much-anticipated Edinburgh show as part of Udderbelly Festival at Southbank Centre. £14-£20.50, prebook, 9pm

Find more London events in our Free & Cheap events listings. Want to see your event in these last-minute listings? Email us at hello@londonist.com at least 48 hours before the event, and we will consider it for inclusion. Note, due to high volumes of email, we can’t always reply.


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This week’s Things To Do In London is sponsored by Wingit.


Good Cause of the Day

Footprints of London has another guided walk in aid of Amnesty International. Religion, Reformation and Refugees begins at Bank station, talking about how each of these things shaped the City into what it is today, via medieval churches, the oldest synagogue in London and modern architecture. Tickets are £10, which goes to Amnesty International, and can be bought here.

From the Archive

Bastille Day is coming (14 July), so why not take a tour of French London?  From cinemas to The Savoy, multicultural modern-day London has been as much shaped by migration from France as from anywhere else.