Things To Do In London: Thursday 23 October 2014

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War Story. Afghanistan Trip May-June 2013. Mortar Training provided by Brigade Advisory Group for the Afghan National Army soldiers
War Story: Afghanistan 2014 opens at Imperial War Museum today

Listings

BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at Emirates Stadium, Arsenal, outside No.73 Alleyn Park in Dulwich, and the usual donor centres. See site for terms and conditions.

WAR EXHIBITION: The recently refurbished Imperial War Museum in Lambeth opens a new exhibition, War Story: Afghanistan 2014, today. It uses the voices and experiences of British troops, members of the Afghan National Security Forces and UK government and NGO workers to tell the story of the situation in Afghanistan today. Free, just turn up, until September 2015

BORIS JOHNSON: The Mayor of London is at Hatchard’s on Piccadilly to sign copies of his new book, The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History. Arrive early to avoid disappointment as places are limited, 12.30pm

WOOLLY BUSINESS: Head to the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey for an evening about The Business of Knitting with Debbie Bliss. Britain's most published knitting pattern designer offers advice for anyone wanting to turn their love for all things woolly into a business. £15/£12, prebook, 6pm

SHAKESPEARE: Footprints of London leads a guided walk which covers Shakespeare's life in the City, the period when Shakespeare and his King's Men acting company transferred across the river to the West End (of the City of London). Find the old Blackfriars theatre site and the priory gatehouse bought by the then-rich playwright. £10/£7.50, prebook, 6pm

PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERCLASS: In anticipation of the opening of this year's Wildlife Photography exhibition at the Natural History Museum, British landscape photographer Joe Cornish runs a photography masterclass. Hear stories behind this year's six winning photos, get tips from Joe, plus a preview of the exhibition and a chance to meet the winners. £65, prebook, 6.15pm

LIBRARY LATE: Greenwich’s National Maritime Museum hosts an evening talk about the quadrant, a wooden device used by astronomers, surveyors, navigators and timekeepers in the centuries before the quest for longitude. The talk is held by Royal Observatory Curator Louise Devoy. £5/£4, prebook, 6.15pm

VIRTUE OF COFFEE: To tie in with the current Ships, Clocks and Stars exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, there's an evening focused on the 18th century coffee house, with input from London historian Dr Matthew Green, a chance to make a molly spoon and live music. Entrance to the exhibition is included in the ticket price. £12/£10, prebook, 6.30pm

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN: The Royal Geographical Society in Kensington hosts an evening of screenings of rare pieces of footage of climbers reaching the summits of great peaks, which have been preserved for the Society by the BFI National Archive. £26/£28, prebook, 7pm

GERMAN TOWN: There's a free documentary screening at the German YMCA near Lancaster Gate. German Town: The Lost Story Of Seaford Town Jamaica explores the history of German heritage within Westmoreland, Jamaica. There will be an opening presentation and Q&A with the director of the documentary. Free, just turn up, 7.30pm

HIDDEN GEMS: It's the last day of Hidden Gems Festival, which sees some of the best acts from Edinburgh Fringe performing in Brixton. Tonight is the turn of political comedian and activist Chris Coltrane - who we're a particular fan of - and Richard Tyrone Jones, who, due to a bet, will be performing his entire show using just five words: "What the f*ck is this?" £8/£5. prebook, 8pm

COMEDY: Sardonic Yorkshireman Tom Wrigglesworth explores his relationship with his grandfather in his show Utterly At Odds With The Universe at Leicester Square Theatre. £12/£10, prebook, 8.45pm

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.


Have You Tried …

Wingit? Now available on Android as well as iPhone, Wingit is a smart little app that solves the problem of “I want to do something now, but what is going on nearby?” Using your location, Wingit scans social media to find cool stuff near where you are and brings it straight to your phone. From performances to pop-ups, screenings to street art, download the free app today on the App Store or Google Play to see what’s going on just round the corner.

Londonist September

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


Good Cause of the Day

Throughout July, various animal sculptures formed an art trail in the area around Greenwich and Blackheath. The sculptures were designed in a collaborative project between Corelli College in Blackheath and Wild in Art. Tonight, at the College, the sculptures are being auctioned off. Doors open at 5.30pm and the auction will begin at 6.30pm. Money raised will go towards future creative projects for Corelli College and 25% of all proceeds will go to Compassion in World Farming

From the Archive

Two years ago, we shared this Twitter map, which using data collected during the summer of 2012 (we vaguely remember something big happening that year...) to colour code the languages used in tweets in different parts of London.