The ianVisits guide to October's unusual events, tours, lectures and exhibitions happening around London.
Top events in London Today
Free
Sicily Fest
A festival focused on Sicilian food, with art, exhibitions and food demonstrations.
4:30pm to 10pm
Whitechapel
Free
Black Poppies
Historian Stephen Bourne explores the lives of black servicemen and Britain's black community during the First World War.
11:30am to : Chelsea
For 4 evenings, an installation made by artist Richard Sharples will be shown in St. George’s Gardens, together with the short film Imagining Mountains, which will be projected in the Chapel of Rest.
7pm to 9pm Euston
£10.00
Lunar Dreams
Join four of London’s most exciting storytellers for a multicultural voyage around the moon’s myth and folklore.
7:30pm to 9:30pm Euston
£12.60
54: The Director’s Cut (15)
Sex, drugs and debauchery on the dance floor – this restoration of the 1998 disco drama has it all.
6:30pm to : Barbican
Join astronomer Dr Robert Massey and art historian Dr Alexandra Loske for an illustrated talk about how our obsession with the Moon has manifested itself in the sciences and visual arts,
6:30pm to 7:30pm ClerkenwellMore London events on Friday 18th October
Top events in London tomorrow
Free
Sicily Fest
A festival focused on Sicilian food, with art, exhibitions and food demonstrations.
11am to 10pm Whitechapel
Free
Under The Moon Hub
Arts and science collide in a fun, engaging day exploring all things moon-related.
11:30am to 5pm EustonTwo days of sake tastings bringing together four breweries from Japan’s rural prefecture of Kochi, on Shikoku island.
1pm to 6pm Kensington
The Barbican Archive Residency is a weekend of free talks, workshops, films and pop-up installations in the foyers of the Centre.
12pm to 6pm Barbican
Waterloo Classics is a monthly classic car show/meet in central London.
12pm to 4pm Southwark
For 4 evenings, an installation made by artist Richard Sharples will be shown in St. George’s Gardens, together with the short film Imagining Mountains, which will be projected in the Chapel of Rest.
7pm to 9pm Euston
£12.00
Morbid Ink
Dr Troyer will talk about the implications of marking a living body with representations of death and discuss current innovations in memorial tattooing
1pm to : West Brompton
£12.00
How to get away with murder
Naomi Ryan will discuss some of the strangest acquittals in legal history and explore how a system that strives for rationality and objectivity tackles some of the weirder and darker claims made by defendants.
5pm to : West BromptonElstree Studios, where many of these shows were made, will play host to this very special event to celebrate the fantastic programmes we all remember and love.
6:30pm to : Elstree
£8.00
Science Showoff
Join Steve Cross and eight hilarious geeks from the local area for a chaotic evening of stand-up about science and the lives of scientists.
7:30pm to 10pm EustonA visual and emotional treat with unique live church organ improv from David Hinitt.
7:30pm to : Southgate
More London events on Saturday 19th October
Top events in London on Sunday
Free
Sicily Fest
A festival focused on Sicilian food, with art, exhibitions and food demonstrations.
11am to 8pm Whitechapel
Free
October Plenty
Annual harvest festival parade - this year in Lambeth -- with the Corn Queene and Berry Man.
12pm to : Kennington
Two days of sake tastings bringing together four breweries from Japan’s rural prefecture of Kochi, on Shikoku island.
1pm to 6pm KensingtonThe Barbican Archive Residency is a weekend of free talks, workshops, films and pop-up installations in the foyers of the Centre.
12pm to 6pm BarbicanFor 4 evenings, an installation made by artist Richard Sharples will be shown in St. George’s Gardens, together with the short film Imagining Mountains, which will be projected in the Chapel of Rest.
7pm to 9pm Euston
£12.00
Mummies, magic and medicine
Campbell Price’s talk will explore why we are so fascinated with the ancient Egyptian dead and whether it reveals more about our own anxieties and prejudices than it informs us about ancient Egypt.
3pm to : West Brompton
Annual Transportfest which this year, includes a special emphasis on commercial vehicles as well as the extensive bus displays and rarely-seen early examples
10am to 5pm Weybridge
An opportunity to have a look at the buildings and engines, to take in the exhibition and learn something of the Victorian sewer system.
10:30am to 4pm Abbey Wood
More London events on Sunday 20th October
Monday 21st October
Natalie Fiennes invests in a radical, inclusive and honest sex education, taking us beyond learning about the ‘birds and the bees’, to identifying inequality that stands in the way of sexual freedom.
7:30pm to 9pm Holborn
More London events on Monday 21st October
Tuesday 22nd October
Free
State of the Earth
An evening of conversation with climate diplomat Christiana Figueres and Professor Sir Brian Hoskins, chaired by BBC Countryfile presenter Tom Heap.
7pm to 8:30pm St James
This panel discussion explores how cabarets and clubs have always been spaces of creativity, considering moments in history to ask when and how club culture started to influence our wider society.
7pm to : Barbican
More London events on Tuesday 22nd October
Wednesday 23rd October
A special talk from Alec Tritton, a featured Speaker at RootsTech London 2019, on the old and 'new' Poor Laws and how they affected the people.
2pm to 3pm Clerkenwell
From walking across Afghanistan to becoming Deputy Governor of Iraq, advising Hillary Clinton to tutoring Prince William, the breakout political star of 2019 has led an extraordinary life to date.
7:30pm to 8:45pm Pimlico
From the edgelands to the beating heart of the clamorous 21st century megacity, a wealth of anecdotes, fascinating details, cultural and social history awaits.
7pm to 8:15pm Soho
From collaborations with artists, forays into drawing and her role as a campaigner, a panel debate on Rossetti’s extraordinary life and legacy.
6:30pm to 8pm St James
Free
Frozen in Time
This talk will also review the dramatic consequences on what we observe in the night sky that arise purely from the consequences of light-travel time effects.
1pm to 2pm BarbicanThe event will focus upon mathematical expeditions, outlining how the use of mathematics has been instrumental to the success of historical voyages of exploration.
4pm to 7pm BarbicanMore London events on Wednesday 23rd October
Thursday 24th October
Meet the Gibbonologists and find out everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the world from a gibbon’s point of view.
2pm to 3pm Euston
A talk about the authors and writers who have committed suicide.
7pm to : Highgate
Delve into London's dark past of death and disease in this practical workshop.
6:30pm to : Barbican
An alternative view of the North West of England that delves into its stranger past.
7pm to 8:15pm Soho
£5.00
Churchill's German Army
Dr Helen Fry uncovers the story of the German and Austrian refugees, most of them Jewish, who fought for Britain in the Second World War.
6:30pm to 8pm Chelsea
Art critic William Feaver discusses the first volume of his new work of biography of one of the most important artists of the twentieth century.
6:45pm to 8:30pm St James
In this talk, discover the story of Richmond’s rail links with Central London and the design and development of the two Stations that served them.
7:30pm to 9pm Richmond
More London events on Thursday 24th October
Friday 25th October
Free
Where Light Falls
Inspired by original poetry, video projections will illuminate the outside of St Paul's Cathedral.
6pm to 10pm City of London
Celebrate science fact and science fiction at Lates.
6pm to 10pm South Kensington
£12.00
Contemporary Gothic
Get ready for a spooky Halloween in this literary panel talk with authors of contemporary Gothic fiction.
6:30pm to : Clerkenwell
£9.00
Up Late: Autumn Wilds
A late opening of the garden museum with a gin and events.
6:30pm to 9pm Southwark
More London events on Friday 25th October
Saturday 26th October
Free
Where Light Falls
Inspired by original poetry, video projections will illuminate the outside of St Paul's Cathedral.
6pm to 10pm City of LondonCelebrate the lunar festival, Diwali, with dance, music, art and a celebration of light at the National Maritime Museum.
11am to 4:30pm GreenwichVisit the c.1397 Grade 2 listed ‘threshing’ barn, over 100ft x 40ft in size, with a fine crownpost roof.
10:45am to 1pm RickmansworthMonthly open day at a wood and nature reserve that's next to the railway at Forest Hill.
1pm to 4pm Forest Hill
Explore and handle medical objects from centuries past from London’s most intriguing medical museums - all in one place.
2pm to 5pm Wapping
£12.00
Count Dracula
This talk will explore Stoker's time in London and the capital's appearance in his fiction, most famously in Dracula and The Jewel of Seven Stars.
1pm to : West Brompton
Follow a lantern-lit tour amongst the tombs of the East End's famous and infamous dead
6:30pm to 8:30pm Bow
Love it or hate it, the concrete landscape of Europe’s largest art centre has been dividing opinion for generations.
Starts at 2pm Southwark
Matthew Sadler, Natasha Regan and Fan Hui discuss their world-first experiences with AI and DeepMind, an organisation at the forefront of artificial intelligence research.
7:15pm to : Southwark
£5.00
Meccano Show 2019
See working models of cars, cranes, trains, funfair rides and more, all built from Meccano
10:30am to 4:30pm Eltham
£5.00
RISC OS London Show
An exhibition of Acorn / BBC / Archimedes / RISC OS computers and software.
11am to 5pm Hatton
£8.80
Autumn Tree Festival
A local fete type event, but with a focus on timer and woodland management.
10am to 4pmMore London events on Saturday 26th October
Sunday 27th October
Free
Where Light Falls
Inspired by original poetry, video projections will illuminate the outside of St Paul's Cathedral.
5:15pm to 10pm City of LondonDiscover the history of the building and climb the 135 stairs for the best view of Hackney.
2pm to 4:30pm Hackney
Free
Unnatural Predators
A talk about the supernatural terrors that haunt our imaginations.
3pm to : West Brompton
£12.00
Dead Hand
Why would someone choose to write or draw and then claim not to be the author of those words or images?
3pm to : West Brompton
£12.00
Voices in the ether
In an age in which we find ourselves 'ghosted' by potential internet friends, this talk will provide a whistle-stop tour of the way that technology has transformed our spiritual lives.
1pm to : West Brompton
Join Star Wars actor Anthony Daniels as he reflects on his time playing one of the most famous droids in cinematic history.
7pm to : Southwark
A monthly open day at a quirky transport museum housed in an old water pumping building.
10am to 4pm Enfield Town
David Robert Grimes shows how we can be lured into making critical mistakes or drawing false conclusions, and how to avoid such errors.
3pm to 4:30pm Holborn
£8.80
Autumn Tree Festival
A local fete type event, but with a focus on timer and woodland management.
10am to 4pmMore London events on Sunday 27th October
Monday 28th October
Inspired by the exhibition 'Urban Bodies', presentations and a panel discussion, with Willi Dorner, exploring the links between architecture and performance.
6:30pm to 9pm City of London
More London events on Monday 28th October
Tuesday 29th October
Hear about the Egyptian Society, the first of its kind, which emerged during the 18th century as interest in antiquarian study peaked.
5:30pm to 6:30pm CamdenJoin Eric Parry and Richard Deacon to learn more about their collaboration on One Eagle Place, a seminal building in the heart of Piccadilly.
6:30pm to 8pm Euston
After winning the Cold War, did the West lose the peace? Political scientist Ivan Krastev sheds light on the East/West divide, thirty years on.
1pm to 2pm Trafalgar Square
£12.00
Space Architecture
Hosted by architect and technologist Xavier De Kestelier, this discussion will speculate on the future of architecture beyond planet Earth.
6:15pm to 8pm Kensington
For all tea lovers, Nazani Tea will host an evening bridging the tea and infusion traditions of the East and West.
6:30pm to : Aldwych
Follow a lantern-lit tour amongst the tombs of the East End's famous and infamous dead
6:30pm to 8:30pm Bow
Occasional open week where tours are offered of a former Archbishop's palace.
1:45pm to 3:45pm Croydon
More London events on Tuesday 29th October
Wednesday 30th October
This discussion will address underlying issues around black, Asian and minority ethnic diversity in both academia and the creative and cultural industries.
6:30pm to 8pm Whitechapel
In a series of gruesome activities not for the faint-hearted, visitors can test their ‘attractiveness’ to blood-sucking mosquitoes or embark on a medical journey through the bloodstream in study of cuts, scabs and bruises.
6:45pm to 10pm South Kensington
£13.48
The East Edge
A nocturnal walking tour through one of east London's most atmospheric landscapes.
6pm to 7:30pm Bow
Occasional open week where tours are offered of a former Archbishop's palace.
1:45pm to 3:45pm CroydonProfessor Paul Watt presents a talk on post-Olympics East London with a focus on housing and homelessness.
7pm to : City of London
Free
The Occult
Philosophy often presents itself as founded on logic and rationality, but even the most rigorous of us must concede that the world can be a strange place.
6:30pm to 8pm Holborn
Free
How to Speak Machine
A leading thinker on the crossover between design, technology and business, reveals how essential it is that we educate ourselves about the laws of our digital age, and how to do just that.
6:30pm to 8pm HolbornThis lecture will also consider one of the fastest moving areas of cancer treatment, stimulating the immune system to attack cancers.
6pm to 7pm BarbicanOn this, her first visit to LSE, Lady Black will speak about her work as a judge, reflecting on her career in the law.
6:30pm to 8pm Holborn
