What we're reading
- The Mayday distress call originates in Croydon.
- Take a look inside the City's hot new Ned hotel.
- How will the Evening Standard cover London, when so many of the issues it faces were created by its new editor?
- When skateboard tricks go wrong.
Things to do today
MAYDAY TALK: Find out about the history of the Mayday holiday in this country — why it started, and how its meaning changed through the years. Guildhall Library, free, book ahead, 2pm-3pm
DARK TOURISM: Dark Tourism is the act of visiting places associated with death and suffering. Come to a seminar on the subject followed by a tour of the Old Royal Naval College's dark past. The University of Greenwich, free, book ahead, 5pm-7pm
SWINGING LONDON: Keep your hair on, we're talking about the 60s. Take this walking tour around the Oxford Circus area to find out how swinging the 60s really were, with particular focus on 1966. While England's football team was victorious, homelessness and poverty were raging. Oxford Circus station, £10/£7, book ahead, 6pm
UFO TALK: Reports of UFOs and flying saucers have been a part of popular culture for decades. What's often forgotten is the way these stories change over time along with the discussions that surround them. The Horse Hospital, free, book ahead, 6pm-8.30pm
HOLOCAUST TALK: Discover the important role that music played for Jewish communities in the concentration camps and ghettoes during the second world war, with Dr Nick Strimple. China Exchange, £12, book ahead, 6.30pm-7.45pm
EROICA: Listen to Beethoven's 3rd Symphony, Eroica, in a comfortable setting. Eroica tells the story of a hero on a journey towards fulfilment and can now be enjoyed drink in hand. Oval Space, £20-£25, book ahead, 7pm-midnight
STAR WARS: Mark Star Wars Day (May the fourth...) with a Star Wars themed quiz. Do you know your Jedi from your Sith? Prove it with questions, craft challenges and more. Drink Shop Do (King's Cross), £5, book ahead, 7.30pm
GREASE: Do you attempt to croon along to Grease every time you catch it late at night on TV, but your voice crumbles over the high notes. Well here's a chance to be taught how to sing along by Hackney Voices' Cleo Lane. Wac Arts, £10/£5, book ahead, 7.30pm-9pm
FOLK & CLOGS: Jigdoll combines folk music and clog dancing, and tonight the project performs at Oxford House, a magical setting in Bethnal Green. Oxford House, £12, book ahead, 7.30pm-10pm
ROOFTOP FILMS: Rooftop Film Club return to Peckham's Bussey Building and for the first film it demonstrates a dark sense of humour by screening Alfred Hitchcock's seminal Vertigo. Have a good time but don't get too close to the edge. Bussey Building, £15/£25, book ahead, 8.30pm
Art review: conflict in Syria
It's hard to capture the Syrian conflict as it's still evolving, but this small exhibition provides a revealing window into the complex politics of the country through a short video. Alongside, there are human stories of people's experiences of the conflict and commemorative plates and mugs with dual portraits of Putin and Assad. Plus a powerful photographic series by Sergey Ponomarev looking at Syrian residents and refugees. Syria: A conflict explored at Imperial War Museum, until 3 September, free ★★★★☆ Tabish Khan
Theatre review: Canada dry
Jordan Tannahill's taut, 70 minute darkly comic real-life social drama Late Company draws two Toronto couples into 'God of Carnage' country as they attempt closure over the suicide of Joel, bullied at high school for homosexuality, and confront the teenager who may have been his antagonist. It's not nearly so simple as that, and you may switch sides many times during the night, but in real time on an authentic set. The cast is superb, with special mention going to Lucy Robinson's glaciated middle class sculptress turning feral in defence of her lost son, and David Leopold's brooding, near-mute Curtis intimating all his thoughts with body language. Read more here. Late Company, Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, Earl's Court, SW10 9ED, £14-18, until 20 May ★★★★☆ [Tuesday-Saturday] Johnny Fox
Good cause for the day
HOSPITAL ABSEILING: Abseil 150 feet down the the face of St Thomas' Hospital for an enormous thrill and a brilliant cause. All money goes towards Guy's and St Thomas' charity raising money for the hospitals. St Thomas', £25/£30, book ahead, 12 May, noon-6pm
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