Things To Do Today In London: Thursday 5 March 2020
Things to do
FOUND FOOTAGE FESTIVAL: Organisers of The Found Footage Festival have sorted through America's thrift stores and charity shops to dig out old VHS tapes. Watch the resulting footage, including the 1987 Miss Junior America Wisconsin pageant, and a fitness video called Jugglercise. Soho Theatre, from £12.50, book ahead, 5-7 March
ARAB WOMEN ARTISTS NOW: Cultural festival Arab Women Artists Now begins today, celebrating the work of Arab women in fields including comedy, film, music and literature, and bringing them to a wider audience. Events over the next three weeks include live music, film screenings, poetry performances and more. Various locations and prices, book ahead, 5-29 March
WOMEN OF WHITECHAPEL: All this week, Katie Wignall of Look Up London leads International Women's Day walks. Today she turns her attention to the Women of Whitechapel, telling stories of inspiring women from the east London district, from princesses to philanthropists. Whitechapel station, £15, book ahead, 2pm-3.30pm
HEAR IT LIVE: Every Thursday afternoon, Horniman Museum hosts free performances and talks based on the musical instruments in its collection, including a 1772 Kirckman harpsichord. Today, harpsichord and organ player Josef Laming performs. Horniman Museum (Forest Hill), free, just turn up, 3.30pm-4pm
ORCHIDS AFTER HOURS: As the Orchids Festival comes to an end, stay late at Kew Gardens to see the beautiful Indonesian flowers in a new light. Orchids: After Hours takes place in the Princess of Wales Conservatory, with Indonesian-inspired food and performances to enjoy, as well as a last chance to see that floral volcano. Kew Gardens, £18, book ahead, 6.30pm/8pm
STOLEN GOLD: Investigative journalist Tom Bower and author Adam LeBor join forces to discuss the tale of the Swiss, the Nazis and the stolen gold. Author Hella Pick CBE chairs the event, which focuses on how Swiss senior government officials and financial institutions apparently conspired to keep billions in gold, which the Nazis had stolen from its rightful Jewish owners. The event is part of Jewish Book Week. Kings Place (King's Cross), £16.50, book ahead, 7pm
GOTHIC ROMANCE: Gothic mansion Strawberry Hill House stays open late for evening tours. Begin with a glass of fizz, before taking a romance-themed tour. The cafe and bar are open all evening. Strawberry Hill House (Twickenham), £20, book ahead, 7pm
POWER OF PRINT: London College of Communication lecturer Jess Baines talks about east London's alternative printing initiatives between the early 1970s and 1990s. Learn about the wider cultural and political context of these often radical and social movements. Nunnery Gallery (Bow), £5, book ahead, 7pm-9pm
SILENT DISCO: Celebrate Women's Day at a silent disco workshop. Release your inner diva by learning moves from the likes of Madonna, Beyonce and the Spice Girls, before you're free to pick your own channel and dance to music from either the 70s and 80s or 90s and noughties. Antidote London (Belsize Park), £7, book ahead, 7.15pm-9pm
BLOODY BRILLIANT WOMEN: Author and Channel 4 presenter Cathy Newman hosts a talk, document display and book signing about the women of the 20th century who are often overlooked. Hear bits of British history you didn't learn in school, including a spy princess and an aeronautical engineer. The National Archives (Kew), £20/£16, book ahead, 7.30pm-9pm
CUNNING FOLK: Watch a screening of 1974 release Akenfield at this month's Cunning Folk Film Club. An adaptation of the Ronald Blythe book, it's set in the Suffolk village of the same name, and tells the story of a farming family who have lived for generations in that village. Balham Bowls Club, £5, book ahead, 8pm
London weather with Inclement Attlee
Our idiosyncratic weather forecaster returns, keeping you up to date on London's skies.
Today's skies will be greyer than David Gray and Macy Gray duetting the theme to Grey's Anatomy in Gray's Inn Hall, with a stage decorated in grey by Grayson Perry. Enough rain should fall to furnish a cup of Earl Grey tea.
Contact Mr Attlee with any weather-related thoughts or pictures by emailing hello@londonist.com; subject line "For Mr Attlee".
Tube ponderings with Barry Heck
Our resident tube fancier dishes out daily thoughts on the London Underground.
I recently flagged up the four (soon to be five) stations with 'roundel clocks', but the network has many other interesting timepieces. I particularly like the simplicity of this clock in Hammersmith station, whose dial recalls tube line diagrams for the District and Piccadilly lines, which the station serves.
Follow Barry on Twitter @HeckTube.
Good cause of the day
For more than 20 years, Wise Thoughts has worked with LGBTQI+ and BAME artists, filmmakers, and practitioners to organise art festivals and events. Based in Haringey, but with a much wider-reach, the charity is the driving force behind the annual cross-arts GFEST. It also does valuable work supporting the local community, with regular drop-ins and social meet-ups, including a weekly drop-in for young LGBTQI+ people. To find out more, visit their website, or make a donation to help the cause.
What we're reading
- London Marathon could be cancelled due to coronavirus.
- South-east London school scraps 'racist' hair rules.
- Historic photo shows man spraying London bus with anti-flu preparation in March 1920.
- Mating toads close road in south London.
