Things to do
MODEL ENGINEERING: Choo choo! The London Model Engineering Exhibition returns to the capital this weekend, with 2,000 miniature locomotives, ships and aircraft to ogle. Clubs and societies from across the UK show off their creations, including a rideable 5" gauge steam loco, 750 tiny 1:1200 scale models of iconic ships and a James Bond exhibition. Alexandra Palace, £11.50/£4, book ahead, 17-19 January
TRIA FATA: Translating as 'three fates', puppet show Tria Fata is part of the London International Mime Festival. French theatre company La Pendue uses a puppeteer and a one-man band to portray an old woman approaching death, postponing the inevitable by recounting her life. Jacksons Lane (Highgate), £18/£16, book ahead, 17-19 January
SHORT FILMS: Only a couple of days left of the London Short Film Festival. Our picks from today's programme are Midnight Movies, a series of thrilling and chilling shorts screened at the witching hour, How To Deaf, films which explore the D/deaf experience, and Gothic!, a series of macabre shorts. Various locations and prices, book ahead, until 19 January
ESCAPING WITH HIS LIFE: Hear from Sir Nicholas Young, whose book Escaping With His Life tells the story of his father, Major Leslie Young, from Dunkirk to D-Day and beyond. Major Young took part in a raid on the Lofoten Islands in Norway, fought and was captured in Tunisia, and escaped from an Italian prisoner-of-war camp before it was taken over by the Nazis — it's quite a tale to hear. National Army Museum (Chelsea), free, book ahead, 11.30am
LIVE MUSIC: Leeds-based seven-piece band Têtes de Pois play a free Friday evening gig. Kick your weekend off with a blend of jazz fusion, world grooves and some of the band's original music from their debut EP. Southbank Centre, free, just turn up, 6pm
SK8 FRY-DAYS: Head to the skate park underneath Waterloo station for an evening of tackling ramps and courses. It's completely free — including the fried chicken and beer available at the cafe. House of Vans (Waterloo), free, just turn up, 6pm-10pm
BIG ART NIGHT: Have a creative Friday evening at the Big Art Night, a pop-up exhibition and drawing class. Browse and buy affordable collage and charcoal artworks, and create your own. Make sure you take some cash along for the bar. Kentish Town Community Centre, £5.98, book ahead, 7pm-9pm
THE AMAZING JOHNATHAN: Watch 2019 documentary The Amazing Johnathan, filmed three years after illusionist Johnathan was given just a year to live due to a heart condition. In the film he's on an epic comeback tour, and the screening is preceded by a comedy and juggling performance. Harris Academy South Norwood, £9/£7/£5, book ahead, 7.45pm
RESISTANCE COMEDY: Dugdale Centre's regular comedy night Resistance Comedy returns, with quite the line-up. See Jerry Bakewell — Britain's most unsuccessful Mexican wrestler and Europe's heaviest light entertainer — plus rising star Kelsey De Almeida, TV comedy star Fiona Allen, and others live on stage. Dugdale Centre (Enfield), £13/£10, book ahead, 7.45pm
DEAD FUNNY: Comedy act Myra Dubois — dubbed "the siren of South Yorkshire" — performs chuckle-worthy cabaret show Dead Funny, in which she brings forward her own funeral to ensure she milks it for maximum attention. Watermans (Hounslow), £15/£14, book ahead, 8.30pm
Tube ponderings with Barry Heck
Our resident tube fancier dishes out daily thoughts on the London Underground.
The Victorians invented a lot of things, but they weren't so hot at health and safety. I thought I'd give them a helping hand by upgrading the signage on this vintage, 1881 drawing of a crowded platform.
Follow Barry on Twitter @HeckTube.
What we're reading
- What I Rent: £1,690 a month for a studio flat in Canary Wharf.
- Big Issue competitors arrive as rough sleeping rises.
- The best roast dinners in London last year, as decreed by Lord Gravy.
- This London maternity centre has had a colourful makeover.
