It's one of those weeks where you feel London's arts scene could end up totally overwhelming you if you're not careful. Strap yourselves in, there's masses going on... We'll start with outdoor opera. When was the last time we told you about watching world-class opera for free? We can't remember either. So, head to Trafalgar Square or Canary Wharf on Thursday and enjoy Verdi's Don Carlo free from 6pm on the big screens. There's... [continue]

After the fun of last year's Chap Olympiad, there was no way Londonist was going to miss this year's event, scheduled for Saturday July 12. Having watched the Chap's website with an eagle eye, awaiting announcements as to arrangements for the 2008 event, we were eventually rewarded with an official statement giving details of how to guarantee entry this year. The Olympiad's organisers have taken the unusual step of requiring aspiring participants and on-lookers to complete a kind of pre-event treasure hunt in order to gain entry, with visits to seven shops (well, six shops and one theatre - see map), code phrases to deploy in each location (sample: "I'm looking for a raincoat that will withstand several hundred spilt martinis"), and a certain amount of detective work needed to work out the event's location. As in previous years, entrance to the Olympiad is gratis, although the idea of collecting all seven directional clues - a kind of pre-Games game - is novel. See after the jump for how Londonist got on with the arduous task, involving as it did trips to some fascinating and venerable emporia in the posher bits of the city...... [continue]

Image courtesy of randydandy via the Londonist Flickr pool Right, so Gothamist isn’t returning our phone calls, and we can only assume that they’re not going to take us up on our Telectroscope dance challenge. Chickens. Dance-off or not, we wanted to check out the Telectroscope for ourselves. Would it be awkward to stand there gaping at people on the other end? Is it worth leaving behind the webcam and the comfort of our... [continue]

If a few months from now you’re sipping a cocktail at one of London’s trendier cocktail bars and you notice a few squishy gold flecked bubbly pearls floating around in your glass, don’t be alarmed; that’s just Cointreau Caviar. Yes, Londonist has seen (and sipped) the future of booze, and it’s ridiculously over the top, rather tasty and derived from a scientific molecular mixology process. Last night saw Cointreau’s London launch of what it... [continue]

The Porchester Spa Queensway, London, W2 5HS Nearest tube/overground: Bayswater, Queensway or Royal Oak Tel: 020 7792 3980 Hours: 10am–10pm, 7 days a week. Men only: Mon, Wed, Sat. Ladies only: Tues, Thurs, Fri. Expect to pay: £20.35 for admission (£11.55 for Westminster residents); any treatments are extra Rating: 8 out of 10 Behind an unassuming set of West London doors boils the Porchester Spa, an Art Deco palace of heat, steam and sweat.... [continue]

"Oh, the flesh-eating beetles are in there," shrugs our guide, pointing to a locked door. This is the Darwin Centre, where a gruesome surprise lurks around every corner. The annexe to the Natural History Museum holds some 22 million biological specimens bottled up in jars - it's like walking into David Attenborough's Facebook account. Much of the collection is freely available to anyone who wants to see it, and is stored over eight floors,... [continue]

Coconut, black pepper and rum frappé? Why not. Chive and pineapple with vodka? Sure. Maker’s Mark, Angostura Bitters and fig syrup? Hey, we’re so buzzed from the first two cocktails, at this point we’ll try anything. And at around six or seven quid per drink, we can (on rare occasion) actually afford a little frilly drink exploration. The Shish Bar and Cocktail Lounge in exotic Willesden Green (yes, the same Shish with that corner... [continue]

What happens in a Tube station when all the passengers have gone home? Why do Tube workers carry cards about rat piss? And why isn't standing on the right of an escalator necessarily a good thing? Londonist finds answers on our latest nocturnal investigation. Some of London's busiest Tube stations are in a mess. Missing tiles and chicken-wire cornices are a familiar site, especially at King's Cross and Leicester Square. It's a case of... [continue]

As you all know, Londonist doesn’t just enjoy sarcastically mocking aspects of our fair city. No, far from it – we also like to help people out from time to time. So, we were only too pleased to offer our help when San Francisco-based artist and comedian Marc Horowitz contacted us to assist him in setting up his forthcoming show at the Hayward Gallery. Not one to run from a challenge, Horowitz has agreed... [continue]

From the files at mustardweb.org... [continue]

Our weekly roundup of film reviews returns, courtesy of James Bryan… No box-office devouring monsters this week but some quality produce that’s worth seeking out – mainly Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead and the Romanian film, 4 months, 3 weeks & 2 days. We’ve also got Hanks and Roberts in Charlie Wilson’s War and Steve Carell in Dan in Real Life. Let’s start with Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, a small-scale movie... [continue]

Hello Jeff! Ho ho ho and a bottle of rum - it's Christmas time! Happy Saint Jesus Day, to almost all of you! And what an event it is - a time for giving, sharing, and taking; a time for thinking about the past, as well as looking forward to the future, all the while contemplating the here and now; a time of remembrance and joy, coupled with inebriation, rage, and light misogyny. And... [continue]

In which we spend a night with some decayed, 17th century dudes, in the catacombs beneath London Bridge. Beneath the Surrey side of London Bridge, behind doors that once led to the robot-kitsch Cynthia's Bar, a new attraction is taking shape. The London Bridge Experience will open in February. Part museum, part CGI scare-fest, the LBE will take visitors on a historical tour of the 2000 year-old crossing, and down into previously disused catacombs... [continue]

Pete Doherty wants to run the London marathon. We're sure many people will sneer at this idea, what with Pete's history of performance restricting drugs, his post-rehab bloatedness, and his jaunty hat, which will have to be held on with an elastic strap if he is to continue to look like a handsome East end libertine/bohemian counter cultural icon/twat* (*delete as appropriate). However, we welcome his decision to take up exercise. We're sure that he's... [continue]

From the files at mustardweb.org... [continue]

Our weekly roundup of film reviews continues, courtesy of James Bryan… This week, Bee Movie, Enchanted, We Own The Night, Youth Without Youth, Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium and It’s A Wonderful Life. And if you’re too busy to even read a review of reviews then just go and see the masterpiece that is It’s A Wonderful Life. Simple as that. Since the last episode of the Greatest Sitcom Ever™ nine years ago, Jerry Seinfeld... [continue]

Every day this month the Londonist team will be pointing you in the direction of a Christmas present that (with a bit of luck) you won't already have on your list. Climb up onto our collective lap and we'll see what we can move from our sack to your stockings... We recommended memberships to various arty places as Christmas presents earlier this week, but in terms of things you can wrap and place under... [continue]

Dusting off the snow from last year, every day this month the Londonist team will be pointing you in the direction of a Christmas present that (with a bit of luck) you won't already have on your list. Climb up onto our collective lap and we'll see what we can move from our sack to your stockings.. While Battersea Power Station might well be a hulk of concrete doing no one any good at... [continue]

Advent is upon us. Hanukkah starts on Wednesday. Office parties are already everywhere. Tis the season to be jolly, jolly, jolly but we know this can be draining, emotionally and financially. Don't let the state of your wallet throw you over the edge. We can't afford to buy tickets to the BFI IMAX all-nighter next weekend and we're not allowed to enter our own competition. But we can do the following splendid things for...... [continue]

Our weekly roundup of film reviews continues, courtesy of James Bryan… This week Brad Pitt’s latest (with a title so long it shouldn’t be allowed) The Assassination of Jesse James etc, the alternate realities of The Nines, Vince Vaughn slumming it in Fred Claus, the video game adaptation Hitman, Kenneth Branagh directs The Magic Flute and a re-release for the classic All About Eve. If you get annoyed with trailers that give the plot...... [continue]