Things To Do In London Today: Friday 23 May 2014

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Learn about ice-age creatures at Natural History Museum's Mammoths.

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Listings

BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at Stoll in Fulham, East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf, Asda in Charlton and Ewen Church Hall in Barnet. See site for terms and conditions

BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND: Plan your weekend with our Things To Do In London This Weekend to help you make the most of the extra day.

MARINE CONSERVATION: Today is World Turtle Day. To mark the occasion, London Aquarium has a temporary exhibition of  jellyfish made from plastic bags. The display highlights the dangers plastic bags pose to marine wildlife, killing millions of creatures annually. There's also a one-off Turtle Workshop today. Included in admission price, prebook at busy times, until 25 May

RETURNING THEATRE: The Animals and Children Took to the Streets returns to the National Theatre for a six-show run. It focuses on the arrival of a woman and her daughter to Bayou Mansions, a seedy tenement block on the fringe of a big city.£15-£25, prebook, until 26 May

ANATOLIA: Anatolian Cultural Festival takes place in Clissold Park, Stoke Newington, and runs for a few days. This free entrance festival includes live performances such as shadow puppet shows, an ottoman marching band, concert and oil wrestling. Free, just turn up, until 26 May

MAMMOTHS: The new exhibition at the Natural History Museum, Mammoths, opens today. See the world's most complete mammoth, Lyuba, discovered in Siberia in 2007, 42,000 years after she died. Come face to face with life-size models of a sabre-toothed cat and giant short-nosed bear. £10/£8, prebook, until 7 September

GUIDED WALK: CoolTan Arts presents the themed walk War in Walworth, meeting point is Newington Library. Free, just turn up, 12.30pm-3.30pm

SPANISH HISTORY: Javier Cercas, a writer specialising in modern Spanish history will be in conversation with Paul Preston, author of The Spanish Holocaust, at London Review Bookshop. Cercas’ new book, The Outlaws, is set just after the end of Franco’s dictatorship. £10, prebook, 7pm

LIVE MUSIC: Award-winning singer-songwriter Albert Hammond performs at Jazz Cafe as part of his worldwide Songbook Tour. From £28, prebook, 7pm

LIVE CABARET: Clissold Arms in East Finchley has a night of cabaret, jazz and blues with renowned cabaret artist Aletia Upstairs and her pianist. Free, just turn up, 8pm

FRIDAY NIGHT SKATE: The London Friday Night Skate is a marshalled street skate open to all rollerbladers and roller skaters able to stop, turn and control their speed on hills. Starts at Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner. Free, just turn up, 8pm

CEILIDH NIGHT: The Ceilidh Club returns to Cecil Sharp House for an evening of Scottish dancing. No experience necessary as all dances are called. £18.15, prebook, 8pm

WOMEN'S RIGHTS FILM: DocHouse has a screening of The Invisible War at Lexi Cinema in Kensal Rise. The Oscar nominated documentary is about an epidemic of rape and sexual assault within the US military, and is followed by a panel discussion with Lisa Longstaff from Women against Rape, Sharon Hardy is the sister of Anne-Marie Ellement, a Royal Military Police officer who alleged that she had been raped by colleagues, and Emma Norton from human rights organisation Liberty. £7/£5, prebook, 8.45pm

REGGAE NIGHT: Rompa's Reggae Shack returns to The Waiting Room in Stoke Newington for a night of reggae, dub and ska music. There will be both DJs and live music. Free before 11.30pm, £5 after, just turn up, 10pm

Find more London events in our Free & Cheap events listings.


Good Cause of the Day

St John's Ambulance is looking for more people to take part in the Superhero Skydive. You can choose a location and a date to suit you, and get sponsored for taking part in an amazing experience. There is a registration fee of £70, but after that, anyone who can raise over £395 can jump for free. If you don't think you can raise that much, you can still take part by paying the £200 jump costs, and then raising as much as you can. Find out more here.

London Connection Puzzle

Your complete set of clues for the week are KENNINGTON COMMON, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS, MARBLE ARCH and HORSEMONGER LANE. What connects these four London locations? No need to email in as we already have a winner.

From the Archive

See London landmarks such as the walkie-talkie and cheese grater skyscrapers at night in this video of the Square Mile after dark. It's surprising how inconspicuous The Gherkin is, compared with its towering neighbours.