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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The Christmas Pudding Race
Saturday
Sat Dec 7. Covent Garden Market, Covent Garden Piazza, WC2E 8RF
Head down to Covent Garden this weeekend and see intrepid festive nuts attempt to keep a Crimbo pud balanced on a plate while negotiating foam slaloms and other inflatable hazards. If you fancy joining in the fun, register online to enter a team, or just turn up on the day to laugh and point/lend support.
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Collider
From Monday
Until May 6 2014. Science Museum, Exhibition Rd, SW7 2DD
Us mere mortals might not have the chance to explore what is deemed one of the greatest scientific endeavours of our time, but with the help of designers and theatrical experts, this new Science Museum exhibition will create an experience that immerses visitors in the world of the giant particle collider at CERN in Geneva.
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Frozen
Released Friday
Released Fri Dec 6. Cinemas nationwide
There are three things classic Disney animations are supposed to have. One: belting showtunes. Two: a bit of danger and darkness amid all the schmaltz. And three: an ultimately conservative message wrapped up in a traditional feel-good happy ending. Loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Snow Queen’, ‘Frozen’ initially promises to deliver on all three.
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Talented Mr Fox
One Leicester Street, WC2H 7BL
Talented Mr FoxSome sure serves up some mixtures for pioneering drinkers rather than traditionalists: the Bloody Mary is made with a bit of (clarified) pig’s blood and ‘black pudding distillate’; the White Ape has ‘sweetcorn and cornflake distillate’ and ginseng liqueur among its elements. Even the more ‘accessible’ concoctions are adventurous – anything with prune and wild fennel or burnt butter cream soda is bound to be a bit more complex than a Cosmo. The invention doesn’t stop with the ingredients, either – the Urban Foxtail is served in a little wheelie bin. The drinks and techniques involved in making them are as exciting as you’ll see anywhere in London.
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Christmas on Columbia Road
Wednesday
Until Wed Dec 18. Columbia Road, E2 7RG
Most famous for its travel-worthy flower market, this week Columbia Road puts up the Christmas decks and opens it annual festive market. Now in its eighth year, this Wednesday evening (plus a bonus Saturday) shopping event boasts over 50 participating shops including a place to stop off and pick up the newest (green, piny) addition to your household.
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Richard II
From Sunday
Sun Dec 8. Barbican Centre, Silk St, EC2Y 8DS
David Tennant played time travelling extraterrestrial The Doctor as a sort of matey everybloke, so it’s a fun irony that in his second post-Whovian stage role he portrays historical figure Richard II like a fey alien. Indeed, at one point in Greg Doran’s production, Tennant’s elfin monarch literally descends from the skies in the sort of ‘Close Encounters’-style blaze of light that was forever denied to him by that stupid phone box.
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Jake & Dinos Chapman
Until Feb 2014
Fri 29 Nov - Sun Feb 9 2014. Serpentine Sackler Gallery, Kensington Gardens, W2 2AR
Clown heads painted over Goya etchings, mutilated figures, genital faced children, and miniature models depicting horrific carnage. This is the world according to the enfants terribles Champan brothers and it’s about to arrive at the Serpentine’s new Sackler gallery. Jake & Dinos have been working together since the 1990s, but we’ve not been privy to a show at a public institution since 1996, so expect some surprises with new works alongside old pieces that have never been seen before.
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Bush Hall Presents...
(© Neil Bennett) Friday
Fri Dec 6. Bush Hall, 310 Uxbridge Rd, W12 7LJ
Every so often the beautiful Bush Hall in Shepherd’s Bush is taken oven by intelligent, all-headline comedy bills featuring some of the most erudite comics in the land. This Friday Bristolian comic and best-selling author Mark Watson takes to the stage, with support from British Comedy Award-winning sketch duo Cardinal Burns, double Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee James Acaster and consummate host Richard Herring. Prepare for some proper pre-weekend LOLs with this lot.
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A Very Vintage Christmas
Friday to Sunday
Fri Dec 6 - Sun Dec 8. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, E20 2ST
Do Christmas the old-fashioned way at the Olympic Park Christmas markets, where you'll find festive food, gifts and vintage goodies for sale. There's a Victorian funfair, with helter skelter and, inside a Victorian dodgem track, a... roller disco. Still, who needs authenticity when you've got fun? A beer festival – also serving up sloshings of mulled wine and spiced cider - runs alongside the Christmas festival, with food stalls providing snacks to soak up the jollity.
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Warp x Tate
Friday
Fri Dec 6. Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1P 4RG
Prepare for a party this Friday as Warp Records and Jeremy Deller have put together the latest of the Tate's 'Late at Tate Britain' series. Appearing live are Deller's Acid Brass project – a traditional brass band performing arrangements of classic acid house and techno tracks – and Warp producer Patten with an audiovisual set. Around the galleries there'll also be newly commissioned installations by electronic artists Oneohtrix Point Never, Hudson Mohawke and Rustie, as well as a tribute to '808 and 303' – the drum machine and bass synth popularised by acid house – and more surprises from Deller.
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
- until Feb 9 2014
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
- until Mar 17 2014
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
- until Apr 28 2014
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
- until Feb 23 2014
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
- Natural History Museum Ice Rink 2013
- Skate at Somerset House
- Carnaby Christmas 2013: The Year of the Robin
- 3D: Printing the Future
- Hogwarts in the Snow
- Christmas at Kew Gardens 2013
- The Alternative London Tour
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