The Time Out London hot list
The biggest and best things happening in London this week
As the cold, dark nights draw in, there's no shortage of hot events in the capital to warm them. Bursting at the seams with great films, events and exhibitions, this month will have you embracing December with open arms. For starters, here's our pick of things to do and places to visit this week – trust us, you won't be disappointed.
Got a tip for something hot happening next week? Tweet us your suggestion and it might just make our top ten!
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The ten hottest events this week
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Foxlow
Fine British grub from the boys behind Hawksmoor. 69-73 St John Street, EC1M 4AN
Having sold a majority steak (sorry, stake) in their four-strong restaurant chain, Will Beckett and Huw Gott have opted not to go shopping for a small Caribbean island or the penthouses at One Hyde Park, but to create this new enterprise. The cooking at Foxlow, on the whole, is terrific. There’s a daily specials board of impeccably-sourced steaks – but unlike Hawksmoor, Foxlow is not a steakhouse. Instead, a compact menu offers food that will comfort and soothe: the sort that you want to eat after a break-up, or after watching too many episodes of ‘Homeland’. But what makes Foxlow special is the service. On our visit, not only did the youthful staff know their menu better than their phone numbers, but they threw in bags of personality, beaming smiles and a nothing-too-much-trouble attitude. They could have made a cheese toastie in a grubby caff seem like fun. Alakazam!
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Released Friday
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Released Fri Dec 13. Cinemas nationwide
With Gollum’s iconic cave scene out of the way, we finally get to clap our eyes on the infamous dragon in the second instalment of Peter Jackson’s three-part Tolkien adaptation. An early trailer showed us plenty of leg, with dramatic landscapes, barrel-hopping action, CGI monsters, marching orcs and scarifying spiders. The highlight was undoubtedly a first hint of Benedict Cumberbatch's lugubrious tones as Smaug the magnificent, lord of lizards.
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Snowy Fingers Vintage Market
Tuesday
Tue Dec 10. Round Chapel Old School Rooms, Powerscroft Rd, E5 0PU
From the folks who put on the fantastic Dusty Fingers Vintage night markets, comes a snowy twist on a classic. As it’s the one-year anniversary for the market the vintage veterans are planning an extra-special evening, which includes a kilo-sale where you can buy Christmas gifts by weight, street food and mulled tipples will be on offer plus there'll be a chance for you to try your hand at cake decorating. Over 50 traders are set to be selling homeware and furniture, as well as kitchen accessories, jewellery, fashion, vinyl and more. Ditch the high street this year, treat your loved ones to a stocking full of second-hand gems instead.
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Christmas Compendium of Reason
Thursday and Saturday
Thu Dec 12 and Sat Dec 14.Hammersmith Apollo, 45 Queen Caroline St, W6 9QH
Everyone's favourite dreamy-eyed scientist, Professor Brian Cox, and superb, erudite comedian Robin Ince join forces for their annual Christmas blow-out at the Hammersmith Apollo. The pair are co-hosts of Radio 4's 'Infinite Monkey Cage', and these live shows will be similar, but with more of a variety feel, bringing together an array of yet-to-be-announced scientific minds, stand-ups and musicians. Expect some seriously special guest this year, trust us.
Read more about Brian and Robin's Christmas Compendium of Reason
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Body Language
Until March 2014
Wed Nov 20 – Sun Mar 16 2014. Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Rd, SW3 4SQ
You can see the headlines now: ‘Painting is BACK’... At least, you imagine, that’s what the team behind this show of contemporary figurative painting and sculpture at Charles Saatchi’s Chelsea mega-space were hoping for. Well, it ain’t gonna happen. But there is some fantastic work on display. Dana Schutz’s breezy and colourful paintings of surreal picnics and Technicolor human sacrifices are awesomely off-kilter. Jansson Stegner’s fantastical and pervy nymph-like policewomen carry a brilliant threat of violence, and technically, Michael Cline’s squalid, satirical pictures of American life played out on the streets are the best on display, brilliantly painted and full of sneering sarcasm.
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Spitalfields Winter Festival
From Monday
Fri Dec 6 – Tue Dec 17. Various Spitalfields venues
This winter, Spitalfields host yet another series of stunning live music events across the area's most iconic, most atmospheric, and most unsung venues. Spanning across 12 days, this year's festival offers a mixed bag of early masterpieces, contemporary music and intimate performances. Our highlights include Remember Me: A Desk Opera, an intimate, immersive opera which delves into an imaginary world set in a, err, desk, and The Hilliard Ensemble's Fortieth Birthday Party, a celebration showcasing music from across the centuries.
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Vauxhall Village Winter Screen
Thursday to Sunday
Thu Dec 12 – Sun Dec 15. Arch 50, South Lambeth Place, SW8 1SP
After the huge success of Vauxhall Village's pop-up screen this summer, the movie maestros decided to bring it back for a winter outing. Unlike the summer screens, which were in a park, these films will be shown indoors (well, under the arches of a railway bridge). Festive films on offer include 'Miracle on 34th Street', 'Elf', 'A Muppets Christmas Carol' and 'Home Alone', to name just a few Christmas cinema classics. Before the films kick off, each day there will be a festive market with all proceeds going to a local charity.
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Christmas at Dennis Severs
From Monday
Sun Dec 8 – Fri Jan 3. Dennis Severs’ House, 18 Folgate St, Spitalfields, E1 6BX
This time capsule immerses visitors in a unique form of theatre. Guests are escorted, in total silence, into candlelit chambers from which, apparently, their eighteenth- and nineteenth-century inhabitants have only just withdrawn. Powerful historical sensations and a family saga add up to a magical journey through time – specifically, Christmas time, as the house will be decked out accordingly for this festive season. The Silent Night visits, which take place in the evening (you must send your first and second choice time slot requests in beforehand), include a wander around the house in silence, after which you can choose any room with a roaring fire to be seated in and enjoy a mulled wine and mince pie.
Read more about Dennis Sever's Annual Christmas Installation
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Christmas No. 1 Singalong
Saturday
Sat Dec 14. Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank, SE1 8XX
Clap your hands, stamp your feet and laugh along as comedian and conductor Rainer Hersch hosts a brand new Yuletide treat this Saturday – a jamboree of classic UK Singles Chart Christmas Number Ones. He promises singalong, stand-up comedy and a show-stopping trip down memory lane, with some cracking tunes along the way. Do they know it’s Christmas? After this – no doubt about it.
Read more about Christmas No. 1 Singalong with Rainer Hersch
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The Big Reunion Xmas Party
Saturday
Sat Dec 14. The O2, Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX
Prepare to party like it's 1999 this weekend at The Big Reunion's Christmas shindig. Keeping alight the eternal flame of the era that gave us Smash Hits Top Trumps, the Nintendo Gameboy and many other cultural treasures, Five, B*Witched, Liberty X, Atomic Kitten, 911 and The Honeyz will perform a set this Saturday featuring whichever original members haven't quite reached the end of the line. What this mammoth gig lacks in guitar solos, spine-tingling instrumentals and any real singing talent, it makes up for in nostalgia, dance routines and solid-gold pop bangers.
Looking for more fun in London?
Just announced concerts
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And our readers recommend...
Afro Supa Hero
- Free
‘A collection of black action figures and memorabilia from the 1960s and 70s. It’s a colourful mix of black pride and P-funk - an inspiring trip down memory lane.’ Phoebe Thorne
- V&A Museum of Childhood Cambridge Heath Rd, E2 9PA
- Thu Dec 12 - Sun Feb 9
Only in England: Photographs by Tony Ray-Jones and Martin Parr
'Absurdly creative images capture the joyfulness and melancholia of English seaside towns. A vivid celebration of eccentricity.' Steven Robson
- Science Museum Exhibition Rd, SW7 2DD
- Wed Dec 11 - Mon Mar 17
The Cheapside Hoard: London's Lost Jewels
'The wonder lies not in the size of these gems, but in their delicacy. This exhibition is made up of dozens of tiny, dazzling universes... it was impossible to choose a favourite.' Darren Ross
- Museum of London 150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN
- Wed Dec 11 - Mon Apr 28
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2013
- Free
'Loved this - incredible photos by amateur astronomers. Makes you feel that with a little bit of knowledge around a camera and some determination, you too could take some very cool photos of the night sky.' Elizabeth Seymour
- Royal Observatory Blackheath Avenue, SE10 8XJ
- Thu Dec 12 - Sun Feb 23
Want to share your thoughts with the rest of London? Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to join in our weekly discussion of the last seven days.
Most popular events this week
- Hyde Park Winter Wonderland 2013
- Oxford Street Christmas Lights 2013
- Covent Garden Christmas 2013
- Christmas at Kew Gardens 2013
- Skate at Somerset House
- Carnaby Christmas 2013: The Year of the Robin
- Natural History Museum Ice Rink 2013
- Hogwarts in the Snow
- The Alternative London Tour
- Travelling to the Wonderland: Xu Bing installation at the V&A
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