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Listings
BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at Paddington Central Building 3 and outside Wells House in Bromley. Free, see site for terms and conditions
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS: A month of activities showcasing the Waterloo Sights & Sounds project (to document changes to the social landscape of the area) begins today with a soundscape and photographic exhibition at Morley Gallery (see 11 January for more free activities). Free, just turn up, until 30 Jan
BODILY POSSIBILITIES: This workshop at Wellcome Collection with B-Floor Theatre explores how the workings of the body can be expressed through movement. Free, prebook, various times until 12 January
LIGHT PRINCESS: Director Marianne Elliott and designer Rae Smith reflect on the National Theatre’s lovely musical The Light Princess at this Platform event. £4/£3, prebook, 6pm
MEDITATION: Inner Space on Chiswell Street offers an evening meditation class — half an hour of guided relaxation and visualisation designed to declutter your mind...before the stress of the commute home. Free, prebook, 6pm
GALLERY LATE: Based around The Courthauld Gallery’s latest exhibition The Young Dürer: Drawing the Figure, this late opening allows you to explore the main collection, enjoy live music, cocktails and art workshops. £6/£5 (or get in for free if you dress up as your favourite artist), just turn up, 6-9pm
ART LECTURE: Artist John Phillips presents an illustrated talk at London Print Studio on the stories behind his prints exploring captivity in Venice and Parateri prison, Estonia. Free, just turn up, 6.30pm
QUIZ: A quizzing event at Hackney Attic takes on the theme of ‘action heroes’ – testing your knowledge of muscle men and wonder women in a series of interactive rounds. £4, prebook, 7pm
FILM QUIZ: Watched a lot of films over Christmas? Test your new-found knowledge at the You’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat film quiz at Boogaloo in Highgate. £4, just turn up, 7.30pm (early arrival recommended to bag a good table) *APOLOGIES, WE GOT A BIT OVER EXCITED AND LISTED THIS A MONTH EARLY. THE FILM QUIZ IS BACK IN FEBRUARY*
LONDON LANDSCAPE: As a city with such a rich history, it may be no surprise that London has its fair share of urban legends. Join the South East London Folklore Society for a talk on London’s Legendary Landscape, at The Old King’s Head on Borough High Street. £2.50, just turn up, 8-10pm
Good Cause of the Day
Today, London’s Air Ambulance celebrates 25 years of saving lives around the capital. Happy Birthday London's Air Ambulance! Since its inception 25 years ago, it's treated over 30,000 critically injured patients in London. Now, the charity is asking for the public's support and donations to help it acquire a much-needed second helicopter and recruit additional crew to extend its daylight flying hours in the summer months. Find out more or donate what you can at www.londonsairambulance.co.uk/donate.
London Connection Puzzle
Your cluewords so far have been MARTIN and ESTHER. Today's addition is ELIZABETH. What's the London connection? No need to email in, as someone already guessed it from just two clues.
From the Archive
Londonist went underground on 9 January 2013 and presented iPad drawings of the tube, by Nadja Ryzhakova.
Londoddities
Continuing with our Sherlock theme from yesterday...have you ever been upstairs at the Sherlock Holmes pub on Northumberland Street? It contains one of London's most unusual pub interiors — a replica of Sherlock Holmes' study. The installation includes many references to the Conan Doyle stories, including semaphore dancing men, a shelf full of chemicals, a pair of boxing gloves and the detective's trusty violin. Most salient of all is the wax dummy of Holmes, complete with bullet hole, used in The Adventure of the Empty House. We reckon it looks a lot like Vladimir Putin.
The Holmes study is itself rather historic. It was created for the Festival of Britain in 1951, then reassembled in the pub a few years later.
Next time you're in the Charing Cross area, pop in the side door, head up the stairs and take a look. It's free to view, and no one will pester you. But if you do decide to stick around, the adjoining dining room is a decent place to get some inexpensive pub food, and some tables have a ringside view of Mr Holmes' abode.
Previously this week: a police coat hook, a letter to Holmes, a curious pub sign.
