Things To Do In London: Wednesday 29 October 2014

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Joan Burnstein, photographed by Billie Sheepers for Design Museum's Women Fashion Power exhibition

Listings

BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at Belvedere Road (outside County Hall), The Hop Exchange on Southwark Street, St Olave Parish Church on Fenchurch Street, St Agnes Centre in Cricklewood, and the usual donor centres. See site for terms and conditions.

HALF TERM: Yep, it’s here. If you’re wondering how to keep the kids occupied, take a look at our October Half Term listing. There are things to do for all budgets and all interests — from bear hunts to London buses, Tudor history to comic books.

HALLOWEEN: The week of Halloween is upon us (remember when Halloween used to just be one day?!?). Our Halloween event roundup covers everything from films to food to family fun.

NEW EXHIBITION: Oxo Tower Gallery hosts a very short exhibition called How To Get To 100. The display explores our century’s longer life expectancy and focuses on contemporary technology. Free, until 2 November

WOMEN FASHION POWER: The Design Museum's new exhibition, Women Fashion Power, is curated by architect Zaha Hadid and brings together interviews, items of clothing and multimedia exhibits to portray the role of women in fashion over the past 150 years. £12.40/£6.20, prebook, until April 2015

FILM SCREENING: To commemorate the centenary of the First World War, Brent Civic Centre in Wembley Park hosts the screening of Whose Remembrance?. The film explores the experiences of the peoples of Britain’s former empire in the two world wars. Free, just turn up, 1pm

OUTDOORS GROUP: Central London Outdoors Group, which regularly holds walks, weekend trips and holidays, as well as social activities, is having a new members night to encourage more people to get involved in the club. The walk part of the evening departs from Canada Water starting at 6.30pm, or join the group in The Ship pub in Rotherhithe from 7.30pm. Free, just turn up, from 6.30pm

LIVING LONDON: London Society hosts an evening at Eleven Spitalfields in which artist Julie Held and architect Chris Dyson discuss the soul of the city. Held's most recent exhibition, Living London, looks at the people behind the structures and buildings of the city. Dyson is most famous for his architectural work in Spitalfields. £5, prebook, 6.30pm

MUSEUM LATE: The Science Museum hosts its monthly adults-only late opening, and this time the theme is food and drink. There will be talks, games and an alcohol measurement session. Free, just turn up, from 6.45pm

POLISH CINEMA: As part of Play Poland Film Festival, Hackney Picturehouse hosts a special screening covering All You Need to Know About Polish Short films. The line up consists of the most widely awarded and best Polish short films from recent years. £5, prebook, 7pm

ANIMAL MADNESS: The Freud Museum near Finchley Road has an author’s talk by Laurel Braitman. Her book, Animal Madness, is about how mental illness can manifest itself in animals (particular reference to dogs) in the same way that it does in humans. £10/£7,prebook, 7pm

SHAKESPEARE SINFONIA: Simon Russell Beale joins the City of London Sinfonia at Cadogan Hall for the next concert in their series celebrating the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth. The Kings is an evening of music from the films Richard III and Henry V and Russell Beale will perform excerpts from the latter. £5-£32, prebook, 7.30pm

ADULT STORYTELLING: Crick Crack Club storytelling for adults is at The Forge in Camden. Storytellers Dominic Kelly, Mikael Oberg, Ben Haggarty and Emily Parrish lead a mythological themed evening, with music by Jonah Brody and Hannah Sanders. £10/£8, prebook, 7.30pm

MEMORY EXPLORATION: Art meets science at Rich Mix in Shoreditch tonight. Through interactive talks and theatre, music, spoken word and circus, the topic of memory will be explored, and artists and scientists will be challenging each other on the topic. £8/£6, prebook, 7.30pm

MUSEUM CONCERT: Head to the Brunel Museum in Rotherhithe — the Engine House of the Museum to be precise — for a concert by trio Sunday Driver, who fuse together elements of Indie, World music, Asian traditional sounds, jazz and folk. £10, prebook, 7.30pm

Find more London events in our Free & Cheap events listings. Want to see your event in these last-minute listings? Email us at hello@londonist.com at least 48 hours before the event, and we will consider it for inclusion. Note: due to high volumes of email, we can’t always reply.


Good Cause of the Day

Ex-Royal Marine Ben McBean, who lost an arm and a leg in a mine explosion in Afghanistan in 2008, is making a 31-mile run through London's streets in the shape of a poppy, to raise money for the Poppy Appeal for The Royal British Legion.  He's already done the first half of the run, and hopes to complete the second half today. As well as a film of his journey, there will be a map image showing the poppy shape of his route. Supporters can donate via JustTextGiving (text the unique code POPP58 with the amount (£1, £2, £5 or £10) to 70070), and the Vodafone Foundation will match every pound given, up to £100,000. Find out more here or follow Ben on Twitter for updates.

From the Archive

With Halloween speeding towards us, we thought we'd take this opportunity to remind you of some of the monsters which lurk on London's streets, from ghost bears to devils.