Things To Do In London Today: Thursday 23 May 2013

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LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 22:  Former UEFA Champions League winner Christian Karembeu and England and Chelsea Ladies star Eniola Aluko kick off Champions Week in London at Trafalgar Square this morning with 44 local school children.UEFA Champions Week in London kicked off with a bang as it takes over Trafalgar Square for three days. The UEFA Champions League and UEFA WomenÕs Champions League trophies payed a visit to the central London landmark ahead of this weekÕs European club finals and the set-up includes a football pitch and a unique 3D UEFA  (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images for UEFA)

GIVE BLOOD: Today’s opportunity to donate blood is at St Olave Parish Church on Fencurch Street. Free, just turn up, see site for times and conditions

UEFA: Today is the second day you can take a look at the UEFA Champions League and Women's Champions League trophies in Trafalgar Square. Footie fans can also have a go on the pop-up football field, buy merchandise, and watch a unique 3D UEFA Champions League show that is projected out three times a day (9.30pm, 10pm and 10.30pm). Free, just turn up, until 23 May

LIVE COOKING: To support the Love Your Local Market 2013 campaign, Borough Market holds a live demonstration kitchen today with resident chef Hayley Edwards showing shoppers how to create dishes with seasonal produce. Various traders will also be giving advice on the best ways to use their produce. Free, just turn up, 12-2pm

AIR POLLUTION: Professor Jonathan Grigg and Dr Rossa Brugha discuss whether we need to worry about air pollution, as part of Centre of the Cell’s Big Question Lecture Series. Free, prebook, 6pm

PICASSO: The Courthauld Gallery’s incredibly popular Picasso exhibition runs its final late event tonight, so you can explore this world-famous gallery after hours. Tickets cost £6/£5 but if you dress as a 1901 Parisian you get in for free! Just turn up but get there early, from 6pm

BRITISH POETRY: Anne Stevenson, Simon Armitage, Professor Stephen Regan and Fiona Sampson debate the state of contemporary British poetry at the British Academy. Free, registration required, 6pm

DISCOVER LONDON: London guide and writer Peter Berthoud leads a talk at The Step in Bowes Park on London's New River, which marks its 400th birthday this September. £7/£5, just turn up or prebook, 7.30pm

STORIES: A night of live literature and storytelling awaits at The Invisible Dot tonight. Tim Key, John Osbourne, Nick Hart and Tom McCarthy are all on the bill. £8, prebook, 7.45pm
FREE FILM: Mamma Mia screens at a pop-up cinema in Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens tonight. Head along to nab a deckchair and enjoy the free film. Free, just turn up, from 6pm but film starts at 8.30pm

COMEDY: Tall Tales at the Good Ship in Kilburn has launched several Radio 4 series (like: Warhorses of Letters, Before They Were Famous). See what John Finnemore, Ian Leslie, Gareth Edwards, Helen Arney, Viv Groksop, Toby Davies, Susannah Pearse and host Robert Hudson are working on now – plus the further adventures of Copenhagen and Marengo. £5, prebook, 8pm

Random London Fact of the Day
We wish a mildly pleasant birthday to Paddington-born Chancellor George Osborne, who turns 42 today. Also on this day, in 1701, the pirate Captain Kidd was hanged in Wapping. Raise a toast to neither in the Captain Kidd pub, also in Wapping.

Unintentionally lewd Dickens quote of the Day
The jackal then invigorated himself with a bum for his throttle.” – A Tale of Two Cities, Chapter 5.

Good Cause of the Day
A special performance of Beethoven's 'Choral Symphony' takes place at St Paul's Cathedral tonight, in aid of the Lord Mayor's Appeal charity. This grant giving charity minimises set up costs for the annual Lord Mayor's Appeal, and also establishes long-running relationships with City donors. £40/£30/£20/£10, prebook, 6pm

London Weather
Today's forecast comes via your usual weatherman, cack-handedly trying to use the free graphic software GIMP for the first time. Words cannot describe how grey and miserable it will be out there today — only a half-arsed, amateur digital sketch, with no flair or mastery, can really convey the feeling of ennui and indifference the heavens present today.

(That said, if you'd like to have a go at sketching the forecast for future days, electronically or on paper, we'd welcome contributions. Please send to matt@londonist.com.)