Things to do
BURNS NIGHT: Officially, Burns Night is on Saturday, but London's Scots are starting the party early with plenty of events happening tonight. Browse our list of Burns Night celebrations to find your nearest party, ceilidh or haggis.
A CAPELLA CONCERTS: London A Cappella Festival is taking a break this year, but the organisers are still putting on a pair of concerts by two renowned UK vocal bands, The Swingles and The King’s Singers. The concerts are both different — choose whether you buy tickets just for one, or splash out on both. Kings Place (King's Cross), £44.50, book ahead, 24-25 January
NEW NORMAL: How did the first world war change London? Members of the London Military Museums Network use the stories of both soldiers and civilians to show how the conflict affected the capital and its residents. The talk ties in to an exhibition in the museum's atrium. National Army Museum (Chelsea), free, book ahead, 11.30am
EVERYDAY RISKS: Simply living is a risky business... but how risky? Statistics expert Jen Rogers talks about the numbers behind risky activities, from cycling without a helmet to travelling to countries to contagious diseases. She also asks whether we all perceive risk in the same way. Royal Institution (Mayfair), £16/£10/£7, book ahead, 6pm-7.15pm
BUTTERFLY: Catch a screening of 2018 Italian documentary Butterfly, about Italy's first female boxer to make it to the Olympics. Follow the story of 18 year old Irma Testa as she moves away from her family to train, and the influence that has on the lives of her loved ones. Bertha DocHouse (Bloomsbury), £9/£7, book ahead, 6.30pm
VICTOR & ALBERT: Comedy duo Victor & Albert's show Get The Party Started is an Edinburgh show about putting on an Edinburgh show. Follow the chaos as acts drop out, and find out if they manage to pull off the perfect party. Pleasance Theatre (Islington), £8/£6, book ahead, 7.30pm
SOPHIE DUKER: It's Sophie Duker's turn to showcase her latest comedy material, ahead of her appearance at Edinburgh Festival in the summer. She's been nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer award in the past, so we're expecting good things in this new show about old hags, sexy stepmothers, deadly sins and magic pussy. Pleasance Theatre (Islington), £5, book ahead, 7.45pm
JOKER: If you missed last year's hit film Joker when it was in cinema's here's another chance to see Joaquin Phoenix in the origin story of the DC Comics villain. Harris Academy South Norwood, £9/£7/£5, book ahead, 7.45pm
FLEETWOOD MAC: The Blues Kitchen house band performs the biggest hits of Fleetwood Mac, in a tribute to the blues rock band's 30 year career. Hear tracks from Rumours and Lies, interspersed with other vintage soul, blues and rock tunes. Blues Kitchen (Camden), £4.52, book ahead, 9pm-2am
FRANKIE GOES TO VAUXHALL: Roll back to the eighties at legendary LGBTQ venue Royal Vauxhall Tavern. Live DJs spin synthpop, new wave and classic tracks from the likes of Pet Shop Boys, Blondie, Madonna, Duran Duran and more. Royal Vauxhall Tavern, £6, book ahead, 10pm-3am
Tube ponderings with Barry Heck
Our resident tube fancier dishes out daily thoughts on the London Underground.
London Underground first opened in 1863. But imagine if, somehow, the full network had instead been carved out by the Anglo-Saxons, tunnelling away with their axes. We might have ended up with a tube map something like the one embedded above. The medieval tube map, created by Londonist's Matt Brown, shows every underground station, but with a name that might have been used 1,000 years ago.
Follow Harry on Twitter @HeckTube.
Good cause of the day
Book ahead for next week's Australian Bushfires Benefit Concert at the Google building in King's Cross. Australian and UK musicians perform, and money from tickets, food and drink goes to the Red Cross appeal. Find out more and book tickets.
What we're reading
- Barbican residents call for tube speed restrictions to reduce noise.
- Apparently there's an appetite for a 'Summer Wonderland' in Hyde Park.
- Super-rich elites making London 'off-limits'.
