Things To Do In London Today: Friday 30 August 2013

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Meet Tiny the dinosaur in Islington today, details below.

Listings

BLOOD: Today's opportunity to donate blood is at St Olave Parish Hall on Fenchurch Street. Free, see site for terms and conditions

THAMES: Today is the last day you can catch Ray Wise's Thames photography exhibition Blood, Sweat and Tides at The Mad Hatter on Southwark Street. From Sunday the exhibition will be available to visit at The Greenwich Tavern. Free, just turn up, until 27 September

DONKEYS: There is an unusual sight to be seen in the City today. Donkeys. In St Paul's Cathedral. An art exhibition at St Paul’s will see 25 life-size painted donkeys arrive at the Cathedral having travelled from Cairo in the name of peace and compassion. Free with entry to the Cathedral (usually £16/£14), just turn up, until 23 September

MOUTH AND FOOT PAINTING: Join Mouth and Foot Painting Artists (MFPAs are artists who have lost the use of their hands through accident or illness) at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park for a demonstration of their painting techniques. Free, just turn up, between 11am-5pm until 1 September

FILM FESTIVAL: Summer might nearly be over, but Southwark Film Festival in Burgess Park is making the most of what we have left with a free outdoor screening of Inception tonight (and The Italian Job tomorrow). Free, just turn up, 8pm

LITERARY LOLS: The CLR James Library in Dalston has free events all day. Sarah Hadland from Horrible Histories talks to authors who write about the past from 2.30pm, plus create your own pop-up book, illustration workshop and singalongs. Free, just turn up, all day

DINOSAURS: Visitors to the N1 Centre in Islington can meet Tiny the stegosaur today, "brought to life" through the wonders of modern technology. Learn about natural history with Tiny and an on-hand palaeontologist. Free, just turn up, sessions at 1, 2 and 3pm

CLOCKS: If you’re a clock lover (don’t want to misspell that…) then join Wallace Collection’s team of conservators for a special walking tour of the collection where you can see them open many of their historic clocks and wind the mechanisms. Free, just turn up (limited spaces so first come first served), 1-2pm

DRAWING: Directors at the drawing research journal TRACEY discuss some of the big issues in drawing today, at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. £5, prebook, 3pm

MADDADDAM: Margaret Atwood is signing copies of MaddAddam at Waterstones Gower Street. We recommend arriving early. Free (although you might want to buy the book!), just turn up, 4.15-5pm

MUSEUM LATES: Unwind after work with a spot of culture at the British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, or the V&A. Free, check websites for closing times and events

PRIVATISED FEAR: Writer Anna Minton speaks about how privatised 'public' spaces can cause fear and paranoia, at the Royal Academy. Free with an exhibition ticket (£8), just turn up, 7pm

PING: The ping-pong craze is still going strong — King Ping’s annual tournament takes place tonight. Expect music, drinks and, ahem, “pingspirational” activities. Free, just turn up, 7-10pm

FILM: Live by the Lake at Kenwood House puts on a screening of Singin' In the Rain tonight, along with a performance by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. £38.50, prebook, 7.30pm

ROLLER SKATE: The Friday Night skate starts at Wellington Arch. Anyone who feels competent on skates is welcome to join. Free, just turn up, 8pm

COMEDY: The fantastic Paul Sinha headlines at the Piccadilly Comedy Club night at The Comedy Pub tonight, with support from Mike Belgrave and Mike Manera. £12.50/£10, prebook, 8pm

Good Cause of the Day

October can be a gloomy time, so add a splash of colour to the month while raising money for a good cause, with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Glow Neon Fun Run. Kicking off when the sun goes down, along the 3km route you will be sprayed by six cannons filled with luminous paint, so you are sure to finish the run in colourful style. All proceeds raised go towards the RNIB, who offer support and advice to almost 2 million people with sight loss. £25, register online, Friday 25 October.

London Connection Puzzle

So, your complete set of clue-words for the week are: NELSON, STATE, TULIP and DEAN'S. Think you know the London connection? A couple of people have already solved it, so no need to email in.

From Londonist’s Archive

Today is the last weekday in August, so we are going to end on an oldie but a goodie. In August 2011, we took you Inside A Ghost Tube Station. There is a video and everything.

London Weather by Inclement Attlee

More than a few readers have accused me of being a little eccentric in my weather forecasting. Pah! I remember one graduate of Meteorology School — I think her name was Rihanna or something — whose daily atmospheric observations were always the same: "Beautiful, like diamonds in the sky". If you then pressed her for more detail, she would simply repeat: "Shine bright like a diamond" over, and over, and over again. All rather tiresome, and nearly always inaccurate. Only on rainy days would her mantra change, to ceaseless repetitions of "You can stand under my umbrella ella ella eh eh eh". Poor lady. I think she lost her job at the Met Office and is now a singer or something. All of which is to remind you that there are forecasters out there even more idiosyncratic than me ("It's raining men", indeed!).

And today's forecast? Many, many, much, much clouds, with occasional clouds, and clouding over by evening.