Things to do
BOARD GAMES: The Museum of Brands has been keeping Londoners busy with a pop-up board games area, and there are only a couple of days left. Take up residence for the afternoon (food and drink are available from the museum's cafe), and challenge friends and family. The games range includes Monopoly (if you've got a spare eight hours), Scrabble and Connect 4, as well as a few lesser-known titles. Museum of Brands (Ladbroke Grove), included in museum admission, just turn up, until 31 January
DISEASE X: Disease X, an exhibition which closes this week, looks at what London's next big epidemic outbreak could be, 100 years after the outbreak of ‘Spanish Flu’, which killed at least fifty million people. Find out about past epidemics in London and what we can learn from them to protect ourselves for the future. Museum of London, free, just turn up, until 1 February
STRONG ISLAND: Fitness is the focus at Canary Wharf this week. Strong Island is a fitness and wellness festival with various classes and workshops taking place around the area, showing people how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Full programme here. Canary Wharf, times and prices vary, book ahead, 28 January-3 February
COURT TOURS: There's a rare chance to go behind the scenes at the UK's Supreme Court tonight. A member of staff leads the out-of-hours tour, visiting three courtrooms and the Justices' Library, and offering an insight how it all works. Supreme Court (Westminster), £15, book ahead 6pm (tickets here) or 6.15pm (tickets here)
HIT SO HARD: Watch Hit So Hard, a documentary about Patty Schemel, the openly gay drummer of Courtney Love's seminal rock band Hole, and the struggles she faced. Producer and Director P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes take part in a Q&A session via Skype from America too. London College of Communication (Elephant & Castle), free, book ahead, 6pm-8.30pm
THE CLASS CEILING: Find out why it pays to be privileged at this LSE lecture and book launch, which looks at how class background still affects those trying to break into elite professions, and what barriers there are to upward social mobility. LSE (Holborn), free, just turn up, 6.30pm-8pm
BAND OF BURNS: 12 folk musicians from five countries — who originally formed the Band of Burns for Burns Night 2017 — perform a special show celebrating the life and work of Scottish poet Robert Burns. Union Chapel (Islington), £25/£20, book ahead, 7pm
MINIATURE BOOKS: Miniature books are not just scaled-down versions of regular books. Instead, they offer a fascinating insight into the possibilities of typefaces and artistic bindings. Author Simon Garfield gives the lowdown, with plenty of examples. British Library, £12/£8, book ahead, 7pm-8pm
JOKÉMON GO: At this comedy night, acts including Jamali Maddix, Lucy Frederick and Faye Treacy have the opportunity to revive material they were forced to retire due to the zeitgeist changing/news events changing/fewer people getting the references. Betsey Trotwood (Farringdon), free (donations welcome), book ahead, 7.30pm-10pm
POLARI: Author Julie Cohen is the special guest at regular LGBTQ+ literary salon, Polari. Cohen discusses her latest novel, Louis and Louise, which follows the life of a person in two realities: one in which they’re born male, and one in which they’re born female. Southbank Centre, £5, book ahead, 7.30pm
CULT OF WATER: Radio presenter David Bramwell uses music, animation, archive film and monologue to take a look at the folklore and history of rivers, sharing their secrets and his own memories. There's also a Q&A on London’s lost rivers with folklorist Chris Roberts. Soho Theatre, from £10, book ahead, 8.45pm, 28-30 January
Good cause of the day
Chefs Francesco Mazzei and Merlin Labron-Johnson go head to head in a Ready Steady Cook challenge tonight to raise awareness of food waste. Each uses leftover ingredients provided by The Felix Project charity to whip up a dish or two, and all proceeds go back to the charity. Find out more and book.
What we're reading
- A week in the life of a London murder detective
- Why does London have some of the slowest broadband speeds in the UK?
- £34k of parking fines have been written off by one London council.
- Cinema prices drop but theatre tickets are getting more expensive.
