The ianVisits guide to February's unusual events, tours, lectures and exhibitions happening around London.
Thursday 1st February
One hundred years on from the first granting of the vote in Britain, this talk highlights the key role of lesbians and bi women in the fight for women’s citizenship.
1pm to 2pm
Holborn
Free
The Irish Embassy in London will mark St Brigid’s Day by hosting an event to celebrate the creativity of women.
3pm to 9pm
Belgravia
Feisty, canny, cunning, conniving and endlessly intellectually curious, Caroline of Ansbach is one of the most remarkable consorts in British Royal history.
6pm to 8pm
City of London
How does new information about climate change impact our existing beliefs? Cass Sunstein identifies some surprising biases and findings.
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
The Mile End Institute's ‘In Conversation’ series brings senior figures from across the political spectrum and UK media to Queen Mary University of London for in-depth discussions about British politics.
6:30pm to 8pm
Whitechapel
Ecologist Michael Waller, who will be discussing the 19 different orchid species that can be found around the capital.
7pm to 9:30pm
Stoke Newington
Ecologist Michael Waller will be discussing the many different orchid species that can be found around the capital.
7pm to 9:30pm
Stoke Newington
£16.00
Leading immunologist Daniel Davis will describe the scientific quest to understand how the amazing human immune system works.
7pm to 8:30pm
Hanover Square
£28.00
Stories of everyday Londoners revealed by in a forensic bone workshop.
Starts at 7pm
Barbican
Working the Boats by Kirk Martin. Kirk spent many years working on canal boats.
7pm to 5pm
Islington
More London events on Thursday 1st February
Friday 2nd February
Diane Atkinson, author and curator of a major exhibition on the suffragettes at the Museum of London, will reflect on the daring, often violent, endeavours women undertook to break into an exclusively male political system.
Starts at 12am
Russell Square
Dr Ildiko Csengei will explore poetry, pamphlets, letters, diaries and caricatures responding to the French invasion scare in Britain in the 1790s and 1800s.
11:30am to 12:30pm
Chelsea
Join the Design Museum for an evening screening of Andrea Marini’s debut documentary Ferrari 312B: Where the Revolution Begins.
6pm to 8pm
Kensington
More London events on Friday 2nd February
Saturday 3rd February
Monthly open day at one of London's more curious and delightful museums, devoted to the history of the sewing machine.
2pm to 5pm
Tooting
More London events on Saturday 3rd February
Sunday 4th February
Step back in history and visit the terminus building of London's original international airport - in Croydon.
11am to 4pm
Croydon
Occasional open days at Capability Brown's Gatton Park landscaped 600 acres.
1pm to 5pm
Reigate
More London events on Sunday 4th February
Monday 5th February
Join Dr Nicholas Tromans, Curator of Watts Gallery, to hear about one of the most ambitious and dramatic sculptures of the 19th century, ‘Physical Energy’ by G F Watts.
11am to 12pm
Picadilly
The campaign will be examined, concentrating on the work of the constitutional suffragists as well as on the more notorious suffragettes.
6pm to 7pm
Barbican
Join The Wiener Library in celebrating the launch of Thomas Weber's latest book.
6:30pm to 8pm
Russell Square
Go down the rabbit hole with writer and broadcaster Julia Eccleshare in this illustrated talk and re-live the last 100 years of children’s literature.
7pm to 8:15pm
Camden
Preselected writers read an extract of their unpublished work, then receive feedback from both the audience and guest author Hannah Kohler, who will also discuss the art of writing historical fiction.
7pm to 8:30pm
Camden
An illustrated talk by Len Taphouse for the Barking & District Historical Society.
7:45pm to 9:30pm
Barking
More London events on Monday 5th February
Tuesday 6th February
A talk about the rise of computers, and their problems in hospitals.
1pm to 2pm
Barbican
Come find out more about the complex nature of Britain’s publicly subsidised, privately operated railway system and how political aspirations to take it back into the public sector might be realised.
1:10pm to 1:55pm
Paul Davies, Operations Director for The National Archives and a resident of Kew, will talk about the history of The National Archives’ site.
2pm to 3pm
Richmond
The Lecture will provide an overview of Europe’s biggest infrastructure project and the challenges that come with it.
5:15pm to 8pm
South Kensington
Former World Bank Group CFO Bertrand Badré discusses his recently published book Can Finance Save the World? with former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
The highly acclaimed silent film accompanist performs a live score to Anthony Asquith's 1928 romantic drama, set on and around the London Underground.
Starts at 7pm
Clerkenwell
£29.00
In this discussion, architects, developers, planners and heritage consultants will consider the enduring value of building in historic styles.
7pm to 8:30pm
Regent Street
More London events on Tuesday 6th February
Wednesday 7th February
Join Mark Sutton Vane, founder of Sutton Vane Associates, as he discusses how light can enhance the experience of museum visitors and help tell the stories being presented
1pm to 1:45pm
South Kensington
Dr Harkup will give an illustrated lecture and short reading from her new book focusing on the difficulties of transplanting a heart into such a creature.
6:30pm to 8:30pm
Barbican
BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking explores the idea of the modern state. What should be the ideal size and role of the state in the 21st century?
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
Katherine Connelly uncovers the inspiring stories of Sylvia Pankhurst and the East London Federation of the Women’s Social and Political Union, exploring their acts of resistance.
Starts at 7pm
City of London
The dramatic true story of scientists Francis Crick and James Watson, in a race to solve one of the greatest mysteries of 20th-century science – the structure of DNA.
7pm to 10pm
Camden
More London events on Wednesday 7th February
Thursday 8th February
This lecture will explore the history of lesbian motherhood in Britain 1945–1978 – a period when cultural attitudes largely assumed that it was impossible to be both a lesbian and a mother.
1:10pm to 1:55pm
Using documents from The National Archives, this event will explore the origins of Spanish Flu and how it came to affect people in every corner of the world.
2pm to 3:30pm
Richmond
The screening will act as a fundraiser for St John's Soup Kitchen in Ealing - one of the primary locations used during the film.
6pm to 7pm
£10.00
Explore the Designs On Britain exhibition after hours and enjoy fun crafts, talks, interactive workshops and more.
6pm to 9pm
Camden
Ed Williams, CEO of Edelman UK, discusses the findings from the newly released Edelman Trust Barometer, the world’s largest annual global study of trust.
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
To mark the 100 year anniversary of women gaining the right to vote, London Transport Museum and Transport for London are hosting a festival-style Late Debate to celebrate women, discuss the state of gender equality today, and explore current feminist issues. Join us for talks, debates, and workshops. Network at our pop-up bar and explore the collection after hours - including the special exhibition 'Poster Girls - a century of art and design' showcasing transport posters by female artists from the last one hundred years.
6:45pm to 10pm
Covent Garden
£16.00
Science writer Emma Byrne will explore the close connection between bad language and our emotions.
7pm to 8:30pm
Hanover Square
An evening with suffragette descendant and leading women's rights campaigner Dr. Helen Pankhurst in conversation with historian Dr. Matthew Green.
7:15pm to 8:15pm
Elizabeth’s Rival is the first-ever biography of one of the most prominent women of the Elizabethan era, Lettice Knollys, known as the Queen’s nemesis.
Starts at 7:15pm
Hornsey
Sparkes will talk about Harry Price, his Magical Library and psychical research as well as her extraordinary experiences of being an artist 'making ghosts' at the Magical Library.
Starts at 8pm
Southwark
More London events on Thursday 8th February
Friday 9th February
Susannah Walker discusses the origins of Second World War propaganda posters and their impact on the public.
11:30am to 12:30pm
Chelsea
Rikesh Shah, Head of Commercial Innovation at TfL, will talk about their open data journey, how open data has created an eco-system of innovators.
1pm to 2pm
Shoreditch
A free talk on the archaeology of the Thames foreshore at Greenwich by Thames Discovery Programme's Helen Johnston. Find out about some of the most fascinating foreshore archaeology in London, from the Mesolithic Period through to the modern day, including significant shorefront remains of the Tudor Greenwich Palace.
6:30pm to 8pm
Greenwich
How a secret subculture of music lovers and bootleggers defied the Soviet Union censor using homemade recording machines to copy forbidden music onto x-rays.
7pm to 8:30pm
Camden
Gain after-hours entry to the exhibition, meet other fans and get involved in a range of Harry Potter-themed activities.
7:30pm to 10:30pm
Camden
More London events on Friday 9th February
Saturday 10th February
This is an opportunity to hear the stories of professional women and girls in science and technology, to learn more about the work they do, and to get hands on with fun learning activities in free workshops.
9am to 5pm
Shoreditch
Ben is a former Doctor Who screenwriter and the author of the bestselling "Rivers of London" supernatural crime series.
2pm to 3pm
Bexleyheath
More London events on Saturday 10th February
Sunday 11th February
A follow on from the filming at Blackfriars the other week, another morning of low-level helicopter filming for "a major movie".
8am to 12pm
City of London
Meet the Valentines Mansion Studio Artists, see how their work is made and take home a unique work of art.
10am to 4pm
Ilford
£12.00
Embark on this 90-minute guided walk exploring the age of improvement. We delve into the underworld of Music Halls, the introduction of ice cream to the masses and the fortitude of Victorian engineering.
1pm to 2:30pm
Trafalgar Square
More London events on Sunday 11th February
Monday 12th February
Diane Atkinson talks about the campaign for the vote and new names that emerged from her research, which examines the contribution made by working-class women.
6pm to 8pm
Holborn
Daniel Franklin, Executive Editor of the Economist, will give a guided tour of the trends, triumphs and travails that will shape the year ahead.
6:15pm to 7:30pm
Euston
Andrew Prince will show the many lavish and opulent accessories that accompanied the aristocracy on their journeys to and from their estates and on diplomatic visits abroad.
7pm to 8:45pm
South Kensington
More London events on Monday 12th February
Tuesday 13th February
The launch of the London Assembly Transport Committee report into how technological advances could change the way London’s roads are used.
10am to 12pm
Robotics is another of HM Government’s ‘eight great technologies’. Is it possible that in a few years we might have machines with artificial intelligence?
1pm to 2pm
Barbican
In this talk Kirsty Chilton will explore the infamous case of the Italian boy and the murky world of professional body snatchers - the resurrection men.
2pm to 3pm
Clerkenwell
Some countries have adopted online voting and some have regarded it as extremely dangerous for democracy. What are the facts?
6pm to 7pm
Barbican
An evening with best selling history author Charles Spencer as he talks about and reads from his latest book To Catch A King.
Starts at 6:30pm
Kensington
Leading women's rights campaigner Helen Pankhurst, Jill Liddington and Robert Wainwright discuss the struggle for the vote and ask how far women have come since the suffragettes.
7pm to 8:30pm
Camden
More London events on Tuesday 13th February
Wednesday 14th February
Enjoy a gin punch while you learn more about the symbolism behind various flowers as you have a go at making your very own nosegay.
6pm to 8pm
Holborn
A showcase hidden queer histories of some of the UK’s best known museums and galleries.
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
This Valentine's day join a lineup of historians, comedians and experts for a night of tales of love, where women always come out on top.
Starts at 7:30pm
City of London
More London events on Wednesday 14th February
Thursday 15th February
The lecture will use archival research to examine the RAF’s negotiation of the temporal dimension in its earliest years.
Starts at 6:30pm
Picadilly
More London events on Thursday 15th February
Friday 16th February
Dr Matthew Johnson discusses our changing understanding of political citizenship during the First World War.
11:30am to 12:30pm
Chelsea
A chance to view the museum's specimens over the course of an afternoon, particularly if you'd like to draw them.
2pm to 4:30pm
Barbican
In this panel discussion, leading public figures consider the political issues associated with reducing inequality.
6pm to 7:30pm
Holborn
Free
Professor June Purvis will talk about her full-length biography of Christabel Pankhurst, the first for forty years, which draws upon feminist approaches to biography.
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
Hear from Bethan Lloyd Worthington, a London based artist who works with drawing, objects and installations to explore themes of place, landscape and archaeology.
6:30pm to 8pm
South Kensington
£16.11
Reject valentines and celebrate something we all have in common: life and death.
7pm to 10pm
City of London
A film screening, followed by a panel discussion about the brilliance of Ramanujan and the importance of his work to modern mathematics.
Starts at 7:30pm
South Kensington
More London events on Friday 16th February
Saturday 17th February
Watch Shire horses Nobby and Heath, with Irish champion ploughman Tom Nixon, harrowing the heritage wheat growing area on Ruskin Park
9am to 2pm
Camberwell
An occasional opening of a decorated underground chamber built in the 18th century.
10am to 12:30pm
Twickenham
Enjoy this kitsch classic featuring a soundtrack by Queen and outrageous outfits with prizes for best cosplay.
6:45pm to 9:15pm
Greenwich
More London events on Saturday 17th February
Sunday 18th February
Celebration of One Man Operation on busses and a chance to ride on some special vehicles used on these services.
9am to 4pm
North Weald
Help to build bird boxes at Walthamstow Wetlands during National Nest Box Week 2018
10:30am to 3pm
Tottenham
£5.00
A large private garden that is open to the public on a few days of the year.
11am to 3pm
Highgate
The free annual event across London Chinatown and the West End.
Starts at 12pm
More London events on Sunday 18th February
Monday 19th February
Historian Peter H Wilson, University of Oxford, examines the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), Europe’s most destructive conflict prior to the two world wars in the 20th century.
Starts at 12am
Russell Square
Sara Chiesura, Lead Curator of East Asian Collections, introduces items from the Library’s Chinese collection and discusses how they are stored, shared and preserved for future generations.
1pm to 2pm
Camden
Technology is moving faster than it has ever done before. Since the days of Alan Turing we’ve seen computers go from the size of a room to something that can fit easily in our pockets.
6pm to 8:30pm
Strand
The Peckham Coal Line Community Project committee share their experience of 'Growing a new urban park'.
Starts at 6pm
Richmond
Architect and engineer Carlo Ratti will discuss how the layers of networks and digital information that blanket urban space are radically transforming the ways in which we understand and design cities.
6:30pm to 8pm
Picadilly
Sci-Fi Sessions is a monthly event showcasing the most mind-expanding, thought-provoking, and imaginative science fiction, fantasy, and horror writing.
Starts at 6:30pm
Euston
Video games: a series of talks exploring the relationship between video games, history and culture.
Starts at 7pm
Barbican
A lecture by Mark Laity, one of NATO's foremost experts and thinkers on communications and a former BBC Defence Correspondent.
7pm to 8:30pm
Camden
Join actor Jenny Agutter, writer and creator Heidi Thomas, and executive producer Dame Pippa Harris for a discussion of how the societal changes of the era can be portrayed on screen - and how these themes still resonate today.
7pm to 8:45pm
South Kensington
For the younger generations considering their future career options, are the technological advances transforming the way we work something to be afraid of or excited by?
8pm to 9pm
Holborn
More London events on Monday 19th February
Tuesday 20th February
This lecture looks at our changing understanding of ourselves, focussing on Charles Darwin’s theory of human origins and the religious, scientific and ethical questions raised.
1pm to 2pm
Barbican
Explore the development of design during the austerity of WWII and post-war Britain.
2pm to 3pm
Clerkenwell
This event has been organised to give young people who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic an insight into the different roles within politics.
6pm to 9pm
Whitehall
Geoff Mulgan will reveal how collective intelligence can guide corporations, governments, universities, and societies to make the most of human brains and digital technologies.
7pm to 8:30pm
Hanover Square
Join Haunt London for some strange tales from the London Underground. Sometimes scary, sometimes funny, London is full of stories.
Starts at 7:45pm
Whitechapel
More London events on Tuesday 20th February
Wednesday 21st February
Academics from the Department of International History at LSE will reassess the 1942 Beveridge Report in the light of German, American, and British planning for reconstruction after World War II.
12:30pm to 2pm
Holborn
Jonathan Glancey examines the critical legacy of both well known and either forgotten or underappreciated highpoints in the history of world architecture.
1pm to 1:45pm
South Kensington
Derek Morris aims to help family historians find records in Wapping, Whitechapel and Mile End.
2pm to 3pm
Clerkenwell
This talk by City of London Guide Jill Finch aims to recreate that precinct with a Cathedral surrounded by buildings, a churchyard and even a prison
2pm to 3pm
City of London
A public question and answer session on the future of surveillance cameras in the UK
6pm to 8pm
Aldwych
This lecture will consider trends and advances in these two diseases, and the chronic genetic lung disease cystic fibrosis.
6pm to 7pm
Barbican
Author Thomas Morris will discuss some stories from this eponymously titled book, focusing on the contribution of London hospitals in the period between 1800 and 1930.
6:30pm to 8:30pm
Barbican
Hear from LGBTQ+ personnel as they discuss their lives in the army.
6:30pm to 10pm
Chelsea
Join an expert panel as they dissect the triumphs and pitfalls of Trump’s first year in charge.
6:30pm to 8pm
St James
This panel discussion, chaired by Jodie Ginsberg (Index on Censorship), will include contributions from experts from across the sector.
Starts at 7pm
Barbican
£7.00
From their medieval life as private royal hunting grounds to their modern incarnation as public spaces, Travis Elborough traces the extraordinary history of the capital’s parks.
Starts at 7pm
City of London
More London events on Wednesday 21st February
Thursday 22nd February
A new series of free morning talks on Big Ben and the Elizabeth Tower will be held monthly.
Starts at 10:30am
Whitehall
The lecture will review the content and context of the Beveridge Report and explain why it is of enduring importance.
12:30pm to 2pm
Holborn
So, is it possible to combine science with literary and cultural history to understand sleep better?
1:10pm to 1:55pm
£7.50
Elizabeth’s Rival, written by British historian Nicola Tallis, is the first ever biography of the extraordinary Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester.
2pm to 3pm
Richmond
Where is welfare now coming from? What can anthropological research bring to debates about a new social contract for the 21st century?
6pm to 7:15pm
Holborn
£10.00
Colleen Murphy tracks the groovy story of evolution of the record player, from Edison’s phonograph and Berliner’s Gramophone through to the portable Dansette and the weird and wonderful world audiophile high-end turntables.
7:30pm to 9pm
Camden
£12.00
Part of a series of talks exploring technology and our urban futures in partnership with DLA Piper and the Guardian.
Starts at 7:30pm
Barbican
Find out more about the important role that the code-breakers at Bletchley Park played in breaking enemy codes and ciphers during the Second World War.
7:30pm to 8:30pm
Bexleyheath
Free
This panel session debatea what Beveridge 2.0 would involve for work and how work could change in the future, to provoke a broader discussion on what is happening with work today.
7:30pm to 8:30pm
Holborn
Free
This panel discusses how ageing could come to dominate the giant issue of health and social care, and potentially all areas of the welfare state.
8pm to 9pm
Holborn
More London events on Thursday 22nd February
Friday 23rd February
Designed for those who want to find out more about the medieval history of the site and recent Crossrail excavations.
Starts at 10:30am
Clerkenwell
Join us at tea market to celebrate all things tea, from tea pots and tea leaves, to books and decorative items, so join us and find your favourite cuppa.
12pm to 6pm
Soho
Hear Dr Marcus Potter from BAE Systems explain how tracked military vehicles have evolved to meet current needs.
2pm to 3:30pm
Strand
The film explores the links between consumption of fast fashion in the West and its production in developing countries, with knock on effects on water pollution.
6:30pm to 8:30pm
Holborn
More London events on Friday 23rd February
Saturday 24th February
£14.00
An opportunity to view a wide range of aircraft and vehicles which aren’t usually opened to the public.
Starts at 12am
Colindale
Learn how to find and select the right materials to build your fire, and light it without matches.
10am to 12pm
Tour of Hornsey Town Hall - an iconic modernist public building
11am to 12pm
Hornsey
Help clean up this special reservoir in north-west London, for the benefit of nature and wildlife.
11am to 2pm
Colindale
Join us at tea market to celebrate all things tea, from tea pots and tea leaves, to books and decorative items, so join us and find your favourite cuppa.
12pm to 6pm
Soho
Come and explore this beautiful nature reserve which is usually closed to the public.
1pm to 4pm
Brockley
£5.55
Join us for a light-hearted, but none-the-less competitive, debate between Team GB and Team China to determine which nation is the king of tea time.
3:30pm to 4:30pm
Soho
More London events on Saturday 24th February
Sunday 25th February
Join us at tea market to celebrate all things tea, from tea pots and tea leaves, to books and decorative items, so join us and find your favourite cuppa.
12pm to 6pm
Soho
More London events on Sunday 25th February
Monday 26th February
An illustrated talk describing the development of this historically important and popular park.
All Day
Fulham
A talk about how Stereoscopic photography rapidly became a worldwide craze after the Great Exhibition of 1851.
6pm to 7pm
Barbican
£15.00
Kate Malone, ceramic artist and judge on BBC Two’s 'The Great British Pottery Throw Down', will discuss her attitude and approach towards creativity in this special one-off talk at the V&A.
7pm to 8:45pm
South Kensington
The talk will examine significant buildings, surviving and vanished, to reconstruct Camden’s past and consider its present.
Starts at 7:45pm
Croydon
More London events on Monday 26th February
Tuesday 27th February
£10.00
Join the Design Museum for an evening talk on luxury, sustainability and design.
6:30pm to 7:45pm
Kensington
Six performers from the worlds of reading, writing, publishing, academia and comedy will over-analyse the same classic book, each taking a different entertaining angle.
Starts at 6:30pm
Tottenham Court Road
In this talk, Sarah Banet-Weiser will discuss the ways in which contemporary popular feminism re-imagines and re-directs what "empowerment" means for girls and women
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
£15.00
How do modern day witches, druids and pagans find their place in the modern world, adapt (or not) their beliefs and maintain their networks in a world very different from the one in which their belief systems were founded?
7pm to 8:30pm
Camden
The remarkable story of the automatic record booth. Introduced in the 1930s, they allowed anyone at the end of a pier, at a railway station or in a department store to step up to the mic and record.
7:15pm to 8:30pm
Camden
An event where we ask enthusiasts, scientists, miscellaneous experts and comedians to talk about whatever they want.
7:30pm to 10:30pm
Bethnal Green
From strange patterns of inheritance to real life genetic superheroes living amongst us, whose DNA provides them with resilience against serious illnesses, science writer and broadcaster Dr Kat Arney explains what we do and don't know about how our genes work.
7:30pm to 9pm
Holborn
More London events on Tuesday 27th February
Wednesday 28th February
1pm to 1:45pm
South Kensington
The event will provide the opportunity for an open discussion on how we can re-imagine the City after dark.
5:30pm to 8pm
City of London
What's it actually like to be a bus driver? Why do London bus numbers make no sense? Was the tube always this bad?
Starts at 6:30pm
The monthly themed late opening for adults only at the Science Museum.
6:45pm to 10pm
South Kensington
Daniele Archibugi and Alice Pease offer an analysis of the successes and shortcomings of the global justice system from 1945 to the present day.
6:45pm to 8pm
Holborn
Hear from speakers on a range of LGBTQ subjects, and explore the queer histories that can be found in the Bishopsgate Institute Special Collections and Archives.
7pm to 4pm
City of London
£12.00
The evening features a selection of expert speakers talking passionately (but not too passionately) about subjects sitting on the intersection between the ubiquitous and the obscure.
7pm to 8:30pm
Camden
