Things to do
WAR PAINTINGS: For three days only, war paintings by artist and Chelsea Pensioner Rick Graham are on display, to mark the centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Scenes depicted include British men setting off for the battlefields, and a war-ravaged city of Ypres, as well as the hospital itself. Royal Hospital Chelsea, free, just turn up, 29-31 March
MAPS OF ENFIELD: Get a closer look at Enfield Archives Centre's collection of maps of the local area. The tour of the collection includes a map dating back to 1658, maps from both world wars, and some present day local cartography. Dugdale Centre (Enfield), £3, book ahead, 10am
WAR LEGACY: The RAF Museum launches a new series of lunchtime lectures, about the legacy of the first world war. Today, photography curator Andrew Renwick talks about developments and advancements of photography in the Royal Air Force in the period between the two world wars RAF Museum (Hendon), free, book ahead, 12.30pm
BAZALGETTE'S BIRTHDAY: This year marks 200 years since the birth of Joseph Bazalgette, the Victorian engineer responsible for designing much of the sewage system still used by London today. London Metropolitan Archives throws him a birthday party celebrating his life and achievements — let's be fair, it's probably the only party you'll ever go to that celebrates sewers. London Metropolitan Archives (Clerkenwell), free, book ahead, 2pm-4.30pm
MUSEUM LATES: Get some Friday night culture at the Natural History Museum's monthly late-night opening. Anything nature can do, we can do better, is the premise, with talks and workshops on topics such as whale echolocation and dazzling beetles. Natural History Museum (South Kensington), free entry (charge for some events/exhibitions), just turn up, 6pm-10pm
MAPPING THE WORLD: Discourse events are something of a tradition at the Royal Institution, and tonight neuroscientist John O'Keefe takes up the mantle, offering an insight into how our brains map physical space. He studied the movements of rats and signals from nerve cells in the hippocampus, and found that cells in the brain form a kind of internal map. Royal Institution (Mayfair), £20, book ahead, 7.20pm-8.45pm
CRIMINAL COMEDY: Comedians Deborah Frances-White, Mike Wozniak, Lucy Trodd and Ruth Bratt solve a murder mystery in front of you in this comedy improv show. Three of them are suspects, one's a detective, and no-one knows quite how it will end. Kings Place (King's Cross), £12.50, book ahead, 7.30pm
CONCERT FOR EUROPE: On the day we were expecting to have left the EU (#awkward), The Concert for Europe brings together a mixed group of professional and amateur musicians and singers from all over Europe to perform Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Money raised goes to Médicins sans Frontières. St John's Smith Square (Westminster), £5-£40, book ahead, 7.30pm
QUARANTINE AT SEA: National Maritime Museum launches a new immersive storytelling experience for adults, and find out what it would be like to be on a quarantined ship as the quarantine zone closes in around you. Steel your nerves with a free tot of rum before hearing sinister tales of plague and pestilence. National Maritime Museum (Greenwich), £18/£16, book ahead, 8.20pm/9pm
THATCHER CLUB NIGHTS: This special one-off club night is a spin-off of current drag cabaret show, Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho. Expect non-stop '80s hits, dance-offs and lip sync battles. Wiltons (Limehouse), £10-£15, book ahead, 9.30pm
Tube ponderings with Barry Heck
Our resident tube fancier dishes out daily thoughts on the London Underground.
Fiendish Friday quiz time. I have my back to a Zone 2 tube station, but which one? The first person to tweet the correct answer to @HeckTube wins an uncredited screengrab from Google Street View.
Good cause of the day
This weekend, IKEA installs toy donations points in selected stores — including Wembley and Greenwich — where the public can regift unwanted toys to children's charity Barnados. Find out more.
What we're reading
- How thieves stole £1m of jewellery, as thousands of people ran past outside.
- Apparently there's a 10-year difference in the life expectancy of varying London postcodes.
- The top secret (not anymore...) tunnel that'll provide power to the US Embassy.
- Diamond Geezer on how many London museums and galleries have received donations from the Sackler family.
