After the (non-)scandal of (un-)banned Tube posters, the works of Lucas Cranach the Elder are now well and truly on show at the Royal Academy. Painter, print-maker, illustrator, businessman, propagandist, and huge fan of the female nude, this is Cranach's first major exhibition in Britain. And while you're gazing at all the nakedness, remember; this was a mate of Martin Luther, and those erotic female nudes are all about Protestant devotion. Honest. Openings Ahoy!......

Last night London's Luvvieland came together for their annual award ceremony, the Oliviers. Having received 11 nominations across 10 categories, it looked like being Hairspray's night. And Londonist is happy to confirm what we already knew: the show is a deserved winner of the Best New Musical accolade. In addition, Leanne Jones (Best Actress in a Musical) rocks as the optimistic teen, Tracy Turnblad; Tracie Bennett (Best Supporting Role in a Musical) is similarly......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 10th March 1906: The Baker Street & Waterloo Railway opens, running between Baker Street and Elephant & Castle stations. It would soon become known as the Bakerloo Line. Tuesday – 11th March 1692: The Royal Chelsea Hospital is founded by Charles II. Designed by Christopher Wren, the hospital would also become the model for Greenwich’s Royal Navel Hospital. Wednesday – 12th March 1988: The Bank of England......

The Royal British Society of Sculptors? No, we hadn't heard of its existence either. Well, if there exists a Royal Society of Holographers, there must be a Royal Society for this slightly more ancient artistic medium. With its headquarters tucked away in on Old Brompton Road in West London, it has existed for just over 100 years and currently has over 500 members. They are working sculptors, from all over the world (they removed......

For good or ill, a man can be prickly when pressed on the subject of his, ahem, endowment. Spare a thought, then, for Juan Pablo Di Pace, who has seen his manhood manhandled by the marketing department of the Royal Opera House. Cast in the crowd scenes for a 2001 production of Verdi's Rigoletto, Di Pace was surprised to discover some years later that his naked torso was used on posters advertising shows he......

Forget the Fourth Plinth, there’s a new art space in town that needs filling. And you don’t have to be an artistic luminary to enter. The Royal Institution has two niches it wants to beautify. The Grade I listed building on Albemarle Street, Mayfair will reopen this summer after a £20 million refurbishment. The lecture hall is already up and running again, but soon we’ll see a bar, restaurant and other features to lure......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 21st January 1976: Concorde’s first commercial service, from London to Bahrain (and Paris to Rio de Janeiro) commences. Tuesday – 22nd January 1876: The Royal Aquarium opens in Westminster. It would be demolished just 26 years later and replaced by the Methodist Central Hall. Wednesday – 23rd January 1571: The Royal Exchange in the City of London is officially opened by Elizabeth I. Over the next few hundred......

Be there first Circus-style theatre comes to London in Afrika! Afrika! opening this week after heavy advertising which has been around for months. Performers from 17 different African nations make up the show; contortionists, acrobatics, jugglers, high-wire acts, musicians, singers, the list goes on. If you're thinking of joining the reported 1.5 million who've seen the show since it launched in Germany in 2005, bear in mind: ticket prices are up with the high......

35. London UFOs Part One When the new millennium dawned, many UFO buffs, researchers and spotters packed up their binoculars and disposed of their files because UFOs weren’t ‘in’ anymore. Sightings had allegedly dissipated and the sceptics were rubbing their hands. However, whilst no strange craft appeared to be crashing in the deserts of the U.S. or buzzing witnesses in Mexico with any frequency, the millennium still offered much in the way of alleged......

Erm, police agents lose the security codes for 73 of their stations. Dolts. The Royal Marsden re-opens for business. Troopers. Paddick is Elton’s candidate of choice. Sweeties. The East London Line is on schedule to be on schedule. Can’t call them liars, so let’s settle for optimists. Beckham honoured for being Beckham. Top man. It’s-that-time-of-year piccie courtesy of shadow of my future self’s flickr photo stream.......

The Royal Marsden Hospital on Fulham Road, Chelsea is on fire. A full evacuation is in progress. There are no reports yet of casualties or injuries; however, the blaze looks very serious. According to the BBC, 'much of the roof has been destroyed'. The hospital is a major treatment and research centre for cancer. Ironically, a neighbouring headline on the BBC site asks 'Is the NHS working where you live?'. We'll update the story......

Well, it’s over for another year. Time to settle down, relax, and get ready for another batch of shopping in the January sales. On TV, Londonist likes: Carmen (BBC2, 13:45-16:25) This just might be the world’s most famous opera, and even if you’re not an opera fan, you’ll definitely recognise some of the songs. From the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, this production features an international cast, impressive sets and live animals. My......

It’s Christmas Eve already? How did that happen? Surely you’re all done your shopping now, so time to reward yourself with a few nice things to watch on TV. On TV, Londonist likes: Jamie at Home Christmas Special (Channel 4, 17:10-18:15) Say what you will about Jamie Oliver, he puts on an entertaining cooking show. And we’re guessing this Christmas episode will be chock full of amazing dishes that will look incredibly simple and......

Of course, the best way to do London on the Cheap this week is to visit friends and rellies and plough through their festive supplies of food and drink, play silly games, watch a bit of frothy telly (see Londonist Stays In for top tips) and fall asleep mildly pissed. When you get cabin fever however, here's a few ideas for low level expenditure entertainment that doesn't involve church or carol singing. Christmas Eve:......

Fed up of the froth, mirth and sentimentality of the Yuletide muzak yet? To bring you an antidote and alternative soundtrack for your Christmas holidays we caught up with the utterly charming Roi Robertson of Mechanical Cabaret over a sorbet and peppermint tea and ruminated on the band's latest single, pastoral London views and the fact that we've never seen him and Noel Fielding in the same room together... Who's in the band? I......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 3rd December ????: Nothing of any interest has ever happened in London on this date. Sorry. Tuesday – 4th December 1882: The Royal Courts of Justice on The Strand are opened by Queen Victoria. Wednesday – 5th December 1905: Part of the roof of Charing Cross station collapses, killing six people. Thursday – 6th December 1983: Britian’s first heart and lung transplant operation takes place at Harefield......

First it was skulls, now it's nude paintings. A painting that Francis Bacon gave to The Royal College of Art in return for rent, is soon to be auctioned at Christie's. It's expected to fetch more than £9 million. Wowser. Study from the Human Body Turning on the Light will go under the hammer in October. The renowned art college is selling the painting in the hope of raising cash for its new campus.......

We're skint again! We've spent all of our money on festivals only to find that we've spent hours standing in the rain listening to the bands we didn't really want to see but our best mate wanted to because they fancy the singer. This means that yet again, we can't go and do any of the things we want (and yes we're sulking). We can't go to any of the gigs we'd planned to,......

The past few years haven't been kind to Brighton's finest Goth punk psychobilly exports, Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster. In the years since 2004's phenomenal "The Royal Society" album, they were scandalously dropped by their record label, parted with guitarist and founding member Andy Huxley and witnessed The Horrors steal the hearts of the nations Goth youth. They have a lot to prove tonight. Within 30 seconds of taking to the stage lead singer Guy......

Remember when we told you how funky the Central Band of the Royal Legion is? Well, just in case you didn't believe us, Helen, the marching lady has sent us a little treat, just for you. It's good, it's really good, and it's perfect to chase away those Monday afternoon work blues. Put it on loudly in the office. And all together now... "come with me, come with me!" Central Band of The Royal......

Maybe because we're getting on a bit, but we still prefer the "good old days" of Britpop to today's Nu-Rave lifestyle. So when we heard about a night that was all about celebrating Justine, Lauren, Jarvis and crew, we were quite chuffed. We spoke to Allie and Peter, the brains behind central London club Burn Soo Bright. If it sounds good, their next night is Friday 1 June. When and why did you set......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 30th April 1999: “London nailbomber” David Copeland plants his last bomb, in the Admiral Duncan pub in Soho. Three people are killed and dozens are injured. Tuesday – 1st May 2000: The May Day anti-capitalism protests bring mass violence and vandalism to central London. On the same day one year later, police detain thousands of protesters and unwitting bystanders in Oxford Circus for about 6 hours. Wednesday......

Every so often we meet up with people who are doing things a little bit out of the ordinary for a little chinwag. This time round meet Helen who's rapidly gaining status somewhere you'd probably not expect to find anyone born after the '50s anywhere near - she's a sexy, sassy 23 year old and a member of the Royal Legion band. Hello Miss marching lady, introduce yourself. My name is Helen, I'm in......

Underneath all those ceremonial trappings, they're only human. The video is linked to The Royal Guard Cheeese Game. Though having not payed attention in French class, we're not quite sure how it works.......

This Day In London’s History 1882: The Royal Courts of Justice on The Strand are opened by Queen Victoria. The impressive gothic spectacle that is the building for the Royal Courts of Justice was designed by George Edmund Street (who was, appropriately enough, a solicitor before he became an architect) and built in the 1870s. Also known as the Law Courts, the building is home to England’s primary civil court, dealing with some of......

Event of the Week Battle of Ideas at the Royal College of Art, all weekend The Battle of Ideas is, according to their website, 'an annual festival of social, political, scientific, academic and cultural discussion'. In other, more juvenile words, it's a mass debate. And it's probably going to get quite messy. The panel-led discussions, organised by the Institute of Ideas, are designed to cut through the crap and get down to some genuine......

The Royal Thai restaurant on Caledonian Road. Decent, unassuming Asian cuisine at a reasonable price. Our one quibble...not the most veggie-friendly of places, judging from item 54. It might also explain how Tom Yum soup gets its name. *With apologies to the three-quarters of our readership, who are either too young or too American to remember the redoubtable Ms Rantzen, champion of consumer affairs and mildly amusing typos.......

Bridget Jones' giant pants are being put on eBay this Sunday to raise money for The Royal Parks Foundation, a charity who manage all eight Royal Parks. "The pants, which have been signed by actor Hugh Grant with the message "Hello Mummy! Lots of love and kisses", were first auctioned on 14 September" but the winning bidder, a trustee of the charity, wants to auction them internationally in the hope of raising even more......

Event of the Week: London Design Festival highlights Eh? London Design Festival? In a science column? Well, good design is important in everything, including labs and medical wards. The Royal Institution, in association with the Design Festival, bring the point home at 'Imagine: Healthier by Design' at the RCA tomorrow. A panel of designers and medical practitioners will assemble to debate, for example, how the patient's life can be made less stressful through good......

These listings appear every Wednesday. If you want to let us know about any upcoming science or technology events, you can contact us on LondonistSciTech@Gmail.com Event of the Week Wired Waste: Designing away gadget guilt at the Dana Centre, tonight Pretty much everyone reading these words will own a mobile phone, a digital camera and at least one computer. DVD players, televisions, iPODs - all are now ‘essential luxuries’ of modern life. And for......