Things To Do In London: Friday 27 February 2015

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London Map

We've lost hours of our lives to taking in the minute details of this hand-drawn map of Westminster by artist Jojo Oldham, who embarked on a project to draw every London borough.

Things To Do

Recreate Gordon Bruce's London scene in Maida Vale.

PUB: It's Friday, so if all you want to do is kick back with a pint and a packet of cheese and onion, take a look at our pub database. It's organised by London area, and we've personally tried all of the pubs (it's a tough job...). See if your local has made the cut, or go completely off-piste and discover the boozers waiting for you in a completely new area of London.

CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS: Cirque Éloize's bold new show, Cirkopolis, may not have been the most highly polished show we've ever seen, but it more than makes up for it by packing a punch — we were certainly grinning throughout. ★★★★☆ £15-£42, prebook, until 28 February

FLAMENCO FESTIVAL: It's your last chance to get swept up in flamenco fever at Sadler's Wells' Flamenco Festival. £12-£40, prebook, until 1 March

SHOW 'N' TELL: Helen Greaves, a PhD student at UCL, picks her favourite object from the Grant Museum of Zoology's collection and gives a lunchtime talk about it. She'll also talk about her work on agricultural ponds in the UK and how their restoration supports some of the UK’s rarest animals and plants. Free, just turn up, 1pm

MUSEUM LATES: It's the last Friday of the month so it's all happening in South Kensington, as both Natural History Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum stay open late. Natural History Museum offers a chance to explore the exhibitions and galleries (charge for some exhibitions) while enjoying food and drink. Free, from 6pm. The V&A Late has a theme of Queer and Now. Free, from 6.30pm

CANDLELIGHT CLUB: The clandestine, 1920s speakeasy themed pop-up party celebrates Mardi Gras at a secret London location, with live music from the Candid Jug Orange Band, doling rolling rhythms from the Big Easy, the birthplace of jazz. £20, prebook, 7pm-midnight

SHERLOCK HOLMES: Join in a debate at the Museum of London about who, of the many actors who have taken on the role of Watson, created the best portrayal of Sherlock's sidekick. Get in the right frame of mind by visiting the current Sherlock Holmes exhibition at the Museum. £15, prebook, 7.30pm

BALLAD NIGHT: Four folk musicians come together to perform at the second event in Cecil Sharp House's Ballads series, exploring the ballad traditions of England and Scotland. £16, prebook, 7.30pm

FUNDRAISING COMEDY: Andy Zaltzman hosts a night at Battersea Arts Centre with Daniel Kitson, Russell Howard and Alun Cochrane to raise funds to send an eight-year-old south London girl for cancer treatment in the US. £15/£12, prebook, 8pm

POP-UP PAINTING: Have a go at recreating Gordon Bruce's London image (above) at the Truscott Arms in Maida Vale, courtesy of Pop-Up Painting. No experience required, all materials provided. £29, prebook, 8pm

TONIGHT'S DINNER: Rio Carnival may have been and gone, but you can still catch a flavour of Brazil at London's best Brazilian restaurants, from Kilburn to Vauxhall. Go on, it's Friday...


For more things to do around London, why not try…

Wingit? Available on Android and iPhone, Wingit is a smart (and free!) little app that solves the problem of “I want to do something now, but what is going on nearby?”. With just one tap, Wingit finds your location, scans social media and sends the best events happening nearby, straight to your device. From performances to pop-ups, screenings to street art, download Wingit today on the App Store or Google Play to see what’s going on just round the corner.

Londonist September

This week’s Things To Do In London is sponsored by Wingit.


Good Cause of the Day

High-end fashion enterprise, glamgiving, is running a pop-up event at Crouch End’s Harris + Hoole coffee shop today in aid of Haringey-based disability charity Action For Kids. Buy designer garments, as well as items donated by the likes of actress Tamzin Outhwaite and Game of Thrones’ Indira Varma, at a fraction of the usual cost.

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Find more London events in our Free & Cheap events listings. Want to see your event in these last-minute listings? Email us at [email protected] 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.