All week The Museum of the Moon, Luke Jerram, Old Royal Naval CollegeLANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY: Head to the main entrance of Southwark Cathedral to see the newly-installed exhibition of landscape photography by the Royal Photographic Society. It's previously been on display in Edinburgh and York, and consists of 61 images depicting scenes of mountains, lakes, forests... and a couple that'll look very familiar to Londoners too. FREE, 8-31 January BUFFY REVAMPED: One for fans of the Vampire Slayer, Edinburgh Fringe show Buffy ReVamped rocks up at Wilton's for a whistlestop tour through all seven seasons and 144 episodes of the popular TV show, in just 70 minutes, as told by Spike. 9-13 January EVA GONZALES: It's the final week of Discover Manet & Eva Gonzalès, a free display at the National Gallery. It features just a single painting, a portrait of artist Eva Gonzalès, and uses it as a starting point to explore her life, her work and her relationship with Impressionist painter Edouard Manet. FREE, until 15 January NEW BLACK VANGUARD: Time's also running out to see Saatchi Gallery's current exhibition, The New Black Vanguard. It's a collection of photographs celebrating Black creatives, Black bodies and Black lives, and tackling important issues such as race and gender. Until 22 January MARK MAIER: Highgate's Lauderdale House has just opened a free exhibition by pet portrait artist Mark Maier. View 40+ coloured pencil drawings of cats, dogs and elephants, as well as people and trees. FREE, until 30 January MUSEUM OF THE MOON: Luke Jerram's magnificent Museum of the Moon is still on display in the equally resplendent Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Gaze up at a replica of the moon suspended from the ceiling, adorned with imagery by NASA. Until 5 February EXECUTIONS: A reminder that the current Executions exhibition at Museum of London Docklands is ongoing, depicting the city's history of capital punishment. A replica of the notorious Tyburn Tree features, along with some impressive objects and thought-provoking details. It's one of this excellent museum's best exhibitions yet Until 16 April Monday 9 January Chelsea Birkby is at Soho Theatre tonightORGAN RECITAL: Head to Southwark Cathedral at lunchtime for a free recital by James Gough, the cathedral's assistant organist. It's the final event in a series marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of French composer Cesar Franck. FREE (donations welcome), 1.20pm MIDDLE EAST: TV presenter Jonathan Dimbleby talks to the BBC's Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen, about how the region came to be what it is today. Head to The Frontline Club in Paddington to get an insight into the area's complex past and troubled present, to coincide with Bowen's new book, The Making of the Middle East. 7pm-8.30pm ROBIN HOOD: History expert Professor Ronald Hutton gives an online talk about famous outlaw Robin Hood. Find out whether he was a real figure, or merely a fictional invention, and what it was that made him so well-known compared to other outlaws — fictional or otherwise. 7.30pm-9pm HAPPY MONDAYS COMEDY: Head to the Amersham Arms in New Cross for tonight's Happy Mondays Comedy. Sion James is MC, with Amy Webber, Kyrah Gray, Sharon Jackson and Joseph Emslie among the acts taking to the stage, along with a special guest. 8pm CHELSEA BIRKBY: Award-winning comedian Chelsea Birkby performs her highly acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe debut, No More Mr Nice Chelsea, at Soho Theatre for one night only. The show brings a lighter touch to often heavier topics, such as mental health and sexual shame. 9.15pm Tuesday 10 January Learn about All Hallows by the Tower. Photo: M@/LondonistNOT JUST WORDS: UCL Art Museum opens a new exhibition, Not Just Words, which offers a look at different approaches to language learning, and shows how language and culture are intertwined. Find out which languages are easiest to learn for native English speakers and why. FREE, until 9 June A SINGULAR CHURCH: Get the lowdown on All Hallows by the Tower, the oldest church in the City of London, located right next to the Tower of London. All Hallows guide Pete Smith gives a free talk, telling stories from the building's past featuring headless bodies, Roman remains and a phantom cat. Head to Guildhall Library for the talk or watch it online. FREE, 2pm-3pm KENSINGTON HIGH STREET: Join Footprints of London guide Richard Watkins for a virtual tour through the history of Kensington High Street, to be enjoyed from the comfort of your own sofa. Find out about the history of the Barkers and Derry & Toms department store buildings (the Barkers building had the longest shopfront in the UK). 6pm-7pm PIANO RECITAL: Head to Leighton House Museum for the latest in a series of piano recitals at the recently-reopened venue. Thomas Kelly performs tonight, with the concert taking place in Leighton's studio, and your ticket includes access to the rest of the museum. 7pm-8pm OCCUPIED UKRAINE: Head to the Frontline Club for a screening of Occupied, a BBC investigative documentary about the invasion of Ukraine, which uses footage by Dmytro Bahnenko, a journalist in Kherson who witnessed Russian tanks rolling down his street. Over three months, he recorded the unfolding situation in a city where food and medicine were becoming scarce, Russian military vehicles were becoming more common, and people were starting to disappear. 7pm-9pm Wednesday 11 January Take a virtual tour of the National Archive's current exhibition, Treason: People, Power and Plot. Image: LondonistCITY CHURCHES: Guildhall Library offers a guided walk, uncovering some of the secrets of churches on the east side of the City of London. Hear about wine, a plague pit, marsh monsters and a Ripper murder. 11am-1pm MOTHERS AS GUARDIANS: The Foundling Museum offers an online talk about widows who were left as guardians of their own children in London's Court of Orphans, in the 17th-18th centuries. The speaker is Jess Ayres, who is working on a PhD thesis using administrative records to understand the full extent of women’s role in the Court of Orphans. 1pm VIKTOR WYND TOUR: Viktor Wynd, proprietor of the East End museum of the same name, leads a guided tour around the collection. Hear stories of how some of the artefacts, including dodo bones and extinct bird feathers, came to be in the collection — helped along with a glass of absinthe, which is included in your ticket. 6pm-7.30pm LONDON MOTH STORYSLAM: Vices is the theme of this month's London Moth StorySLAM, a regular storytelling event in which anyone is welcome to get up on stage. Got a tale to tell about a wicked habit? Sign up for a slot. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy others spinning their yarns on stage at Rich Mix. 7.15pm ONLINE CURATOR TOUR: A curator from the National Archives leads a virtual tour of the current exhibition, Treason: People, Power and Plot. Find out how British laws relating to treason have changed over time, and about the events which shaped them. FREE, 7.30pm-8.30pm Thursday 12 January Catch Harry Hill in CroydonSOCIAL KNITTING: Got a knitting project on the go, or want to learn some new knitting techniques? Head along to The Yellow, a community hub in Wembley Park, for a free social knitting session. New and seasoned knitters alike are welcome.FREE, 10am-12pm LUNCHTIME LECTURE: Head along to the V&A Museum this lunchtime for a free lecture about Prince Albert and the influence he had on culture in Britain and beyond. One of the biggest achievements of Queen Victoria's husband was initiating the creation of the museums and other cultural venues in the South Kensington area, a development also known as Albertopolis. FREE, 1pm-1.55pm BLACK GIRL: As part of its Greatest Films of All Time 2022 series, the BFI Southbank screens 1966 Senegalese film Black Girl. Set shortly after Senegal achieved independence, it's the story of Diouna, who leaves the country to take up childcare work in France. 6.15pm HARRY HILL: Comedian Harry Hill's latest tour, Pedigree Fun, stops by Fairfield Halls in Croydon for one night only. We're promised an "all-singing, all-dancing one-man spectacular" with brand new jokes from the TV comic. 7.30pm SKATE LATES: Missing London's festive ice rinks? Skate at Somerset House is open until the end of this week, with a couple of Skate Late events thrown in to keep the party going. Tonight, south-east London DJ and vocalist Ell Murphy provides the soundtrack as you take to the ice late into the evening. From 8pm (with another Skate Late tomorrow night) Friday 13 January Somerset House hosts Skate Lates on Thursday and Friday. Photo: Somerset House/Owen HarveyINDIAN ARMY: Dr Alan Jeffreys, Head of Equipment and Uniform at the National Army Museum, gives a free lunchtime talk about officership in the Indian Army during the world wars. Head to the Chelsea museum or watch online to find out how the Indian Army expanded as its duties increased throughout both world wars, and how this resulted in the need for more officers. FREE, 12pm LIVE AT LUNCH: Upgrade your lunch break with Live at Lunch at the Royal Opera House, a free performance featuring Royal Opera House, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, The Royal Ballet and guest artists. FREE, 1pm THE PRISONER: Catch the debut performance of new opera The Prisoner — about a man on death row who cannot wait to die — at the Royal Academy of Music in Marylebone. Unlike traditional opera, it's written in colloquial English to make it accessible to a wide audience. FREE, 6.45pm MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA: Bloomsbury Theatre and Studio hosts a screening of Man With A Movie Camera, which was voted the best documentary of all time by film critics. It depicts a day in the life of Soviet citizens shortly after the death of Lenin, at the optimistic beginnings of the USSR. 7.30pm THE COMEDY STORE: Soho's The Comedy Store pops up at OSO Arts Centre in Barnes for the night, for a show featuring a compere plus three different comedians — exact line-up TBC. Age 18+. 8pm JUDY CARMICHAEL: Jazz singer and pianist Judy Carmichael comes to Watermans in Brentford for an evening of live music, joined by guitarist Colin Oxley and saxophonist Oliver Wilby. She's taking part in a meet-and-greet session after the show too. 8.30pm Saturday 14 January The Midnight Apothecary hosts a WassailADULT STORYTELLING: Performance storyteller Olivia Armstrong is at the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow for an afternoon of history, poetry, folklore and myth, designed for an adult audience. Take a tour of the current King Arthur exhibition and then enjoy a reimagining of the myth of Arthurian heroine Lynett. Age 18+. 1.30pm-4pm PICCADILLY LINE EXTENSION: 90 years after the Piccadilly line was extended to Cockfosters, Southgate District Civic Voice hosts an open meeting with a focus on the extension. TfL heritage managers Gareth Leslie and Edmund Bird give a talk about this stretch of the line and Southgate station in particular, which was designed by Charles Holden, and is one of only five Grade II* listed stations on the whole network. 2.30pm-5pm GLENN MILLER ORCHESTRA: Enjoy an afternoon of hit songs from the 1940s, including wartime chart toppers, courtesy of the Glenn Miller Orchestra at Southbank Centre. Little Brown Jug, Moonlight Serenade and American Patrol are all on the programme, while guest singers include Mark Porter, Catherine Sykes, Ray Wordsworth and John James. 3pm PONGAL FEAST: Celebrate the triple whammy of Veganuary, Tamil Heritage Month in London and Thai Pongal (Tamil Harvest Festival) — with an unlimited veggie feast featuring banana leaves piled high with curry, courtesy of Gopal's Corner and Market Halls Oxford Street. Remaining slots 4pm-5.30pm and 6pm-7.30pm MIDNIGHT APOTHECARY: Rotherhithe's rooftop cocktail bar The Midnight Apothecary hosts a special Twelfth Night celebration in the form of a wassail. Gather around the campfire and enjoy cider-based tipples, before taking part in a procession down to the lower garden for traditional wassailing songs and carols. 6pm-10pm NORRIS AND PARKER: Last chance to catch the new show from bewitchingly dark comedy duo Norris and Parker. Sirens promises to drag you screaming into the murky depths of their wild, nautical sketches. We gave N&P's last Soho Theatre show ★★★★ 10pm-11pm (also on 11, 12, 13 Jan)
Sunday 15 January Head to the Asylum Chapel for a retelling of the Snow QueenHOW TO DISAGREE: Expert Ian Leslie is at Conway Hall in Holborn to offer tips on how to disagree successfully. He's consulted interrogators, hostage negotiators, divorce mediators, diplomats, and addiction counsellors, and considered aspects such as psychology and culture to write his book, How to Disagree: Lessons on Productive Conflict at Work and Home. 3pm THE SNOW QUEEN: Join storytelling collective London Dreamtime at the atmospheric Asylum Chapel in Peckham for a retelling of fairytale The Snow Queen, accompanied by live music and set in candlelight. The venue is a ruined chapel, so dress warmly and bring a blanket, and a candle in a jar. Suitable for adults and older children. 3.45pm-5pm WEST HAM VS MAN CITY: The Hammers' women's side are at home to Man City this evening — with the teams currently shoulder-to-shoulder in the league. Head to Chigwell Construction Stadium, to watch this clash of the titans. KO 6.45pm SIMON AND GARFUNKEL: Mrs Robinson, Cecilia, Bridge Over Troubled Water and Homeward Bound are just some of the songs performed by tribute act The Simon and Garfunkel Story, who pitch up in Croydon tonight. The live music is accompanied by photos and film footage of the musical duos performances. 7.30pm WILD MEN OF BORNEO: Author Carl Hoffman discusses his latest book, The Last Wild Men of Borneo, in which he tells the stories of two men who went in search of the wild tribes of Borneo. Tribal art collector Michael Palmieri has made over 150 expeditions into Borneo, and Swiss environmentalist Bruno Manser disappeared in the region in 2000, and is presumed dead. 8pm-9.30pm Urban oddity of the week Image: Ellen Richardson/Laine Pub Co in creative commonsThe talk featuring Charles Holden's Southgate station (see Saturday) reminds us that there is in fact a pub named after the great London Underground architect. It's nowhere near Southgate though — it stands opposite Colliers Wood station, which is, of course, another Holden confection. Next time you're in that neck of the woods, go for a pint and raise a glass while admiring the chunky art deco station through the pub window. Good cause of the week Image: Dudley Miles in creative commonsCharity Thames21 do sterling work rewilding and revitalising the waterways around London and further afield. But they're in constant need of volunteers to help with their conservation work. In particular in the coming months, they're looking for people to join them in planting trees at Enfield Chase, and rewilding the River Rom — find out more details on their website. | 