Things To Do In London: Thursday 22 January 2015

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The future of coral is under discussion at Wellcome Collection

Listings

COMEDY: LOCO Comedy Film Festival kicks off today, primarily at BFI Southbank. Check out our recommendations for flicks to see.

WAR ADVERTS: The National Archives in Kew hosts a talk about adverts from the First World War, including how many artists who drew illustrations for newspapers switched to adverts. Free, prebook, 2pm

WINSTON CHURCHILL: To mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Winston Churchill, Gresham College runs a lecture about The Legacy of Winston Churchill at the Museum of London. Is he seen as pointing the way to the future or as the prelude to the collapse of British power? Free, just turn up, 6pm

CHOIR SEASON: Borough Market Choir is a community choir based in Borough Market, currently looking to recruit basses and tenors for the 10 week season, starting tonight. There are no auditions, all that's required is enthusiasm. £75 for the 10-week season, but your first session is free, email join@boroughmarketchoir.org.uk to book, 6.30pm

TREASURE ISLAND: National Theatre's family show, an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, gets the NT Live treatment tonight, with cinemas across London and across the country broadcasting the performance live from the London stage.  Find your nearest participating cinema or read our review of the production. Various prices, prebook, 7pm

MUSICAL BINGO: Just like regular bingo, but instead of shouting out numbers, songs are played. Each round takes on a different theme of song choices,  either a decade, genre or a just a quirky random topic. At Concrete in Shoreditch. £10, prebook, 7pm

CORAL CONSERVATION: Marine biologist Dr Mary Hagedorn is at the Wellcome Collection to talk about her work in coral conservation. She has adapted human IVF techniques to freeze coral sperm and is now beginning to successfully grow corals in a bid to save them from extinction. Free, prebook, 7pm

EASTERN EUROPE FILM: The Institute of Contemporary Arts Cinema hosts a screening of Chantal Akerman's D'Est. The 1993 film focuses on winter in the countries of Eastern Europe, from East Germany, through Poland and the Baltic states, across Russia towards Moscow, following the collapse of the Soviet Era. £7-£11, prebook, 7pm

SPOKEN WORD: Stand Up And Slam is back at Hackney Attic for a night of spoken word, where six acts from the worlds of performance poetry and stand up comedy go head to head, with the audience voting for the winner. Performers include teacher-turned-spoken-word-artist Mark Grist and TV and film actress Amy McAllister. £8/£7, prebook, 7.30pm

BLUE PLANET: If you enjoyed the BBC wildlife series Blue Planet, head to Royal Festival Hall where the Philharmonia Orchestra plays a live score to accompany specially edited footage from the series. We're imagining something a little more complex than the Jaws theme tune. Few tickets lefts so book quickly. £29, prebook, 7.30pm

DIRTY OLD LONDON: Victorian London author Lee Jackson is at Dagenham Library to talk about his latest book, Dirty Old London. Free, just turn up, 7.30pm

BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at Sainsbury's in Sydenham and the usual donor centres. See site for terms and conditions. Scared of donating blood? Watch our video.

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

Sign up now to take part in Mencap's Step Up Challenge on 8 March; it's an urban running challenge event between three landmark London buildings. The finish line is the Walkie Talkie building's Sky Garden. Find out more and register. Money raised goes towards helping young people aged 16-24 with a learning disability.

From The Archive

Last February, for Fat Thursday, we rounded up five of London's best doughnuts. It's tough work, but someone's got to do it. What do you mean, there's sugar on our lips?