Things To Do In London Today: Friday 25 October 2013

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Ye Hongxing, East of Eden. Image courtesy of the artist and Scream London

Listings

BLOOD: Today’s opportunity to donate blood is at Brewers Hall in the City of London. Free, see site for terms and conditions

STICKER ART: At first glance, Ye Hongxing's works appear to be massive and intensely bright paintings, but upon closer inspection you see they are made entirely of children’s stickers. See the pieces at Scream on Eastcastle Street. Free, just turn up, until 7 December

PRIVACY: Also on Eastcastle Street, a new photographic exhibition at the Getty Images Gallery looks at the changing nature (and rarity) of privacy. Free, just turn up, until 15 November

ANIMATION: The 10th London International Animation Festival arrives in the capital for 10 days of events, screenings and sessions. See website for more details, until 3 November

ORIGINS: Border Crossings brings to London some of the world’s foremost indigenous musicians, dancers, theatre-makers, visual artists, film-makers and cooks for a series of performances, exhibits and debates as part of Origins Festival 2013. See website for more details, until 3 November

FILM: Screening for a week at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Muscle Shoals charts the story of Fame Studios, a music studio in the Alabama swamplands that became famed for its unique atmosphere. 310/£8, prebook, until 31 October

FREE CONCERT: London Symphony Orchestra and students of Guildhall School explore the dramatic music of Russia in a family-friendly, 45 minute lunchtime concert at St Luke’s. Free, just turn up, 12.30pm

REGULAR MUSEUM LATES: See in the weekend with a spot of culture at the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, Royal Academy, National Portrait Gallery or V&A. Free, check websites for closing times and events

THE NORTH: Take a break from London, as Paul Morley debates the North and (almost) everything in it, at Foyles. Free, prebook, 6pm

RARE ELEMENTS: Know anything about neodymium, gadolinium or dysprosium? Andrea Sella gives an introduction to the rare earth elements of the lanthanide series — once obscure particles on the fringes of science, but now important elements in the electronics and renewable energy industries — at UCL's chemistry department. Free, just turn up, 6pm start

GUILDHALL GOTHIC: A chance to roam around the Guildhall’s catacombs, view the new Victoriana exhibition, take part in an Art Macabre death drawing session, and watch retellings of the 19th century’s scariest stories. £11.25, prebook, 6-10pm

ASIAN LIT: The South Asian Literature Festival continues and tonight Gaiutra Bahadur talks about her ‘Coolie Woman’ ancestor at University of Westminster. £5, prebook, 6.30pm

21ST CENTURY THEATRE: Guardian theatre critic Lyn Gardner hosts a debate on repertory and ensemble theatre past and present, at the British Library. £7.50/£5, prebook, 6.30pm

NOVEL: Elizabeth Gilbert talks about her novel The Signature of All Things at the Southbank Centre. £12/£10, prebook, 7.30pm

MUSICAL: Every month, Primo Bar invites different singers from London musicals to take to the stage and perform the much-loved songs. Naaaaaants ingonyamaaa bagithi Babaaaaa etc (bonus points for those of you who know what that is from). Free, just turn up, 8pm

CHEESE AND HUMANITY: Winning the prize for “most oddly aligned topics of the day”, artist collective Spork host a cheese tasting and lecture at Kappacasein Dairy (Bermondsey), exploring “cheese as an embodiment of the desires and fears that drive the ways we eat and view ourselves”. Free, just turn up, 8pm

DANSE MACABRE: The Last Tuesday Society have put together a Halloween Ball 'of the utmost magnificence’. And they’re not kidding. Ten stages, a full symphony orchestra, 200 performers, a trans-Siberian marching band. And it’s in the abandoned Coronet picture palace near Waterloo. £25, prebook, 9pm-4am


Ticket Alert

Every weekday in October we’re bringing you a selection of last minute deals from our sponsor StubHub. Today’s deals are:

  • Goo Goo Dolls at Eventim Apollo, 18.30, tickets from £69.98
  • Jake Bugg at O2 Academy Brixton, 19.00, tickets from £28.73
  • The Feeling at O2, 19.00, tickets from £11.50

Ticket prices correct as of 5.15pm on Thursday 24 October.

For more info on these events as well as other upcoming live events in London check out  http://bit.ly/1fW7Jah

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Good Cause of the Day

London Africa Cultural Event (LACE) celebrates Black History Month with a cultural event to raise money for the African-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust. Tonight, head to the Westminster Kingsway College for a celebration of African culture in the form of fashion shows, workshops, presentations, styling and goodies. £5-£8, prebook, 10am-8pm

London Connection Puzzle

Your full set of clues is: ALBERT, VICTORIA, MARLBOROUGH and QUEEN ELIZABETH. What's the London connection? (We already have a winner, so no need to email in.)

From the Archive

25 October has not been a great day for classic Londonist content over the years. We're sorry. We'll try and publish something mindblowingly amazing today to make up for it. But, because we don't want to leave you with nothing, it is (vaguely) interesting to think that this time three years ago the Cheesegrater (or Leadenhall Tower) had only just got the green light to be built.

London Weather by Inclement Attlee

Mild, wet and windy. But enough about the Londonist editors. The big story of the day is the onset of gusts, which will pick up over the next few days, culminating in some rather bothersome conditions. If you visit the BBC, you'll notice a couple of prominent red boxes to say that "Weather warning(s) have been issued".  It's mostly for the south-west of England (a semi-mythical land somewhere beyond Wimbledon), but London might take a clout as well.