Welcome to the IanVisits Calendar of lectures, talks, heritage events, organised walks and other random miscellany which Ian thinks would be of interest.


Disclaimer: I do my best to keep the information up to date and accurate, but caveat emptor applies and you are advised to check with the venue before travelling.


Include recurring events

= Event is free of charge (sometimes a donation is appreciated)
= Pre-Booking required.
Fri, 19 Mar, 2010
12:00 PM Pilgrim badges (Barbican)
  A chance to see and handle some medieval Pilgrim's Badges - many of which have not been on display before
01:00 PM Reel London - Treasures of the Councils of London (Farringdon)
  A showing of old promotional films made by the former London County Council and GLC
07:00 PM The Famous Fanny Burney - Performed by Karin Fernald (Fleet Street)
  A solo show based on the journals and letters of Fanny Burney, later Madame D'Arblay (1752-1840)
07:00 PM The miraculous disaster of immortality (Mayfair)
  Understanding why we age and die might enable us to achieve that ultimate goal - immortality. But what kind of life would eternal life be?
07:00 PM The miraculous disaster of immortality (Mayfair)
  Understanding why we age and die might enable us to achieve that ultimate goal - immortality. But what kind of life would eternal life be?
Sat, 20 Mar, 2010
09:00 AM Carters Steam Fair in Battersea Park (South Lambeth)
  Traditional steam based funfair visits London for the weekend
10:00 AM Study Day: Labour on Labour
  This one-day event will ask today’s labour movement to describe the people or groups who inspired them in their beliefs and politics
10:30 AM WW2 Reenactment Group at Military Museum (Woolwich)
   A team of re-enactors will be portraying airborne Royal Artillery Gunners who took part in 'Operation Varsity' in 1944
11:00 AM Fulham Foreshore Clean-up (Fulham)
  Help to clean up the riverside foreshore in Fulham
11:00 AM Hackney History Walks - Monuments and Memories (Clapton)
  Guided tour around St John at Hackney Church - one of the area's dominant landmark buildings.
01:30 PM Wild Food Walk (Bow)
  Join us for an edible, guided walk and have a nibble around the park learning about what foods can be eaten from the wild at this season.
Sun, 21 Mar, 2010
09:00 AM Carters Steam Fair in Battersea Park (South Lambeth)
  Traditional steam based funfair visits London for the weekend
10:00 AM Low-Tide walk along Deptford Creek (Deptford)
   A 2.5 hour walk along Deptford Creek at low-tide, nr Greenwich
10:30 AM London Film Day - Film Locations and History at Somerset House (Temple/Aldwych)
  Tour of Somerset House focusing on its use in film and TV shows
10:30 AM WW2 Reenactment Group at Military Museum (Woolwich)
   A team of re-enactors will be portraying airborne Royal Artillery Gunners who took part in 'Operation Varsity' in 1944
02:00 PM Guided Tour of Copped Hall
   Guided tour of this Georgian mansion - currently being restored - as well as the gardens.
TBA Dockyard dictionary (Poplar)
  Spoken-word artist Germander Speedwell marks World Poetry Day by leading a wordy wander around the docks.
Mon, 22 Mar, 2010
01:00 PM Feliks Topolski: Eye witness to the 20th Century (Barbican)
  A look at Topolski, who spent 14 years working on a 600ft mural in the railway arches in Waterloo.
Tue, 23 Mar, 2010
06:00 PM Post-Recession Prospects in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (Green Park)
A talk by the President of the European Bank on the impact of the credit crisis on the region, and the work of the EBRD
06:30 PM With Winston Churchill at the Front (Green Park)
  This talk will take a detailed look at his time 'at the front' and show how Churchill proved to be a very able, if unusual, leader of men.
07:00 PM People, Place and the Interpretation of Time (Greenwich)
  Panel debate on the concept of time, social exchange and economics prior to an art event on the Jubilee Line.
07:00 PM The Blackest Streets (Barbican)
  Sarah Wise, author of 'The Blackest Streets', discusses the nature of the crowded slums of 19th-century London
Wed, 24 Mar, 2010
04:00 PM Launch of 'New Architecture in Japan' and talk by Yuki and Edmund Sumner (Camden)
A talk and photo book launch focusing on architecture in Japan.
05:30 PM Creativity, Innovation and Design (South Kensington)
This presentation will explore the tensions involved with creativity, the value and use of creative tools in engineering and the importance of design.
06:00 PM Alfred Hitchcock's London Odyssey: Location Art in the Capital (Trafalgar Square)
An illustrated talk by Sandra Shevey on the London set design of film director Alfred Hitchcock.
06:30 PM A View From the Foothills - Talk and book signing With Chris Mullin (Farringdon)
   Chris Mullin MP talks about his book on the life in the New Labour Government from 1999 to 2007
06:30 PM St John Passion at St Paul's Cathedral (St Paul's Cathedral)
  Free concert of Bach's famous musical composition for Easter.
06:30 PM Towards a Greener Building Industry (Bloomsbury)
A debate about low energy design in new building projects
07:00 PM Is the age of celebrity-obsessed media coming to an end? (Bayswater)
  A group of journalists discuss the state of celebrity dominated news media.
07:00 PM The Web: The Ultimate Propaganda Machine? (South Kensington)
What happens when authoritarian governments try to control internet activisim
Thu, 25 Mar, 2010
12:30 PM Sir Thomas Fairfax and the English Revolution (Chelsea)
  Weekly lunchtime talks at the National Army Museum.
01:30 PM The art of Benin (Bloomsbury)
Anthropologist Nigel Barley brings to life the spectacular art and culture of the West African kingdom of Benin in an illustrated talk
02:00 PM Guided Walk - 19th Century Pioneers
A walk that will look at the achievements of a group of influential people who are remembered with statues and memorials in Kensington Gardens.
06:00 PM Southwark Lore (Southwark)
  An evening of Southwark history from an esoteric point of view
07:00 PM Russia: a 19th-Century Power in a 21st Century World? (Bloomsbury)
  A talk with diplomat, Sir Tony Brenton on the current Russian political situation.
07:00 PM The Big Itch with Strange Attractor (Hackney)
  A lament for the UK's declining flea population followed by an introduction to bed bugs
07:00 PM The Honey Bee - Gateway to biology, cultural icon and agricultural helper (Kew)
  A talk by Professor Ratnieks - the leading authority on honey bee biology, bee keeping and other social insects
Fri, 26 Mar, 2010
11:00 AM Easter Chocolate Festival (Southwark)
  The Chocolate Festival returns to Southbank Centre just in time to shop for all your Easter treats.
01:00 PM Medieval marriage (Barbican)
   Lunchtime talk on the subject of medieval women and marriage.
07:00 PM The History of Swearing, The World of John Willie and the Community of Time Travellers (Hackney)
  The talks on three strange topics.
Sat, 27 Mar, 2010
08:00 AM Steam train (60019 Bittern) running through North London (Camden)
  A famous, and visually distinctive steam train, the 60019 Bittrn will steam from Euston Station towards Manchester
09:00 AM Carters Steam Fair in Battersea Park (South Lambeth)
  Traditional steam based funfair visits London for the weekend
11:00 AM Easter Chocolate Festival (Southwark)
  The Chocolate Festival returns to Southbank Centre just in time to shop for all your Easter treats.
11:00 AM Hackney History Walks - Monuments and Memories (Clapton)
  Guided tour around St John at Hackney Church - one of the area's dominant landmark buildings.
All Day Event From Enlightenment to Romanticism c. 1780–1830 (Bloomsbury)
  lectures and gallery talks on topics including Grand Tourists, public science, Sir John Soane, and the Enlightenment Gallery.
All Day Event The City Musick (Barbican)
  All-day seminar on the London Waits, the official City musicians in the 16th to 18th centuries.
Sun, 28 Mar, 2010
09:00 AM Carters Steam Fair in Battersea Park (South Lambeth)
  Traditional steam based funfair visits London for the weekend
11:00 AM Easter Chocolate Festival (Southwark)
  The Chocolate Festival returns to Southbank Centre just in time to shop for all your Easter treats.
11:00 AM Walking tour of Stoke Newington (Barbican)
  Find out how Stoke Newington grew from a small village on the edge of north London into a smart eighteenth-century suburb.
TBA The First UK Underground Farmers & Craft Market (Willesden)
  A 'farmers market' with crafts and talks
Mon, 29 Mar, 2010
06:30 PM Pushkin, the Russian Autocracy and Rebellion (Farringdon)
   Professor Robert Chandler, the author of a recent book on the greatest of Russian poets, looks at the politics of Pushkin.
Tue, 30 Mar, 2010
07:30 PM JOURNALISM IN LONDON: The Wapping Strike
  Andy McSmith looks at the Wapping dispute between Rupert Murdoch's company and the print union.
Wed, 31 Mar, 2010
01:00 PM Button bonanza (Barbican)
   Hear about our new collection of over 2,500 medieval and early modern buttons recovered from the Thames.
06:00 PM Alfred Hitchcock's London Odyssey: Location Art in the Capital (Trafalgar Square)
An illustrated talk by Sandra Shevey on the recurring theme of food in Hitchcock's films.
06:30 PM Transport for London's Ivan Bennett - Defining a City (Southwark)
  Talk by TfL London Buses' product designer on street furniture and signage design
07:00 PM Laughlab (Mayfair)
  Richard Wiseman talks about his research to find the world's funniest joke
07:00 PM Laughlab (Mayfair)
  Professor Richard Wiseman talks about his quest to find the world's funiest joke
Thu, 1 Apr, 2010
06:30 PM PhotoSocial: Creative Commons
  A debate about the future of photography and copyright issues
Fri, 2 Apr, 2010
12:00 PM Clowns International Clowns' Gallery and Museum (Hackney)
  Monthly opening of the Clown museum archive.
Sun, 4 Apr, 2010
10:30 AM Bexley Country Show (Bexley, Kent)
   Traditional country fair with animal demonstrations, food stalls, funfair, etc.
11:00 AM Kirkaldy Testing Musum - Open Day (Southwark)
  Monthly open day at the museum of materials testing in Southwark. One very big machine and lots of small ones.
Mon, 5 Apr, 2010
10:30 AM Bexley Country Show (Bexley, Kent)
   Traditional country fair with animal demonstrations, food stalls, funfair, etc.
02:00 PM Mayfair - A Culinary Tour (West End)
  A walking tour around Mayfair with a food and drink theme led by a City of Westminster Guide.
Tue, 6 Apr, 2010
06:00 PM Candlelit evening at Sir John Soane's House (Holborn)
  Monthly evening opening of the museum with the rooms lit by candles.
Sat, 10 Apr, 2010
All Day Event Carters Steam Fair in Ravenscourt Park (Hammersmith)
  Traditional steam based funfair visits London for the week
TBA The Tweed Run
  Annual cycle procession of young (and old) fogies in Tweet and single-gear bicycles.
Sun, 11 Apr, 2010
All Day Event Carters Steam Fair in Ravenscourt Park (Hammersmith)
  Traditional steam based funfair visits London for the week
Tue, 13 Apr, 2010
11:00 AM Annual Inspection of the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery (Camden)
  The Annual Inspection of the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery by the Director Royal Artillery.
12:30 PM The Italian Boy: Murder and Grave-Robbery in 1830's London (Fleet Street)
  On the trials of three bodysnatchers that marked the ending of that gruesome trade
06:30 PM From the sublime to the ubiquitous - design excellence for the masses (Covent Garden)
  A talk about two design icons - Ambrose Heal, of furniture fame and Frank Pick of London Underground
Fri, 16 Apr, 2010
10:30 AM Gothic Fantasies and the Palace of Westminster (South Kensington)
  Starting with 19th century photography of the Houses of Parliament, followed by a tour of the building.
Sat, 17 Apr, 2010
All Day Event Carters Steam Fair in Ravenscourt Park (Hammersmith)
  Traditional steam based funfair visits London for the week
Sun, 18 Apr, 2010
02:00 PM Guided Tour of Copped Hall
   Guided tour of this Georgian mansion - currently being restored - as well as the gardens.
All Day Event Carters Steam Fair in Ravenscourt Park (Hammersmith)
  Traditional steam based funfair visits London for the week
Mon, 19 Apr, 2010
06:30 PM Mayfair - A Culinary Tour (West End)
  A walking tour around Mayfair with a food and drink theme led by a City of Westminster Guide.

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