Le Cool

Race The Great Pancake Race

Why not do something different for lunch today? All you need is 3 of your friends, some running shoes and a frying pan. The registration form needs to be completed by Friday but apart from that all you need to do is head down to Tower Hill Terrace, join in the race and choose a snappy team name. This year the fundraising will be for CLIC Sargent a charity which provides care for children with cancer. Last year the event raised hundreds of pounds from Help the Hospices and had teams from the City Police and HM Revenue of Customs. So as well as doing your bit for charity you can also get the one and only chance this year to get one up on any of them. Pancakes will be provided and the winning team will walk away with a bottle of bubbly. So what have you got to lose? / Sophie Khan
where
All Hallows by the Tower, Byward Street, EC3R 5BJ

when
1pm

how much
Free

Le Cool

film Breakfast at Tiffany's

Valentine’s Day is here again and for the lucky so-and-sos out there who do have a Valentine the question is what do you do this year? I’m talking to the boys here BTW. You’ve done the flowers, the chocolates, the dinner, the diamonds (if you are a rich kid) and probably also the nice weekend break which was much appreciated, I bet. So options are now limited and time is also ticking, only a couple of days left if you haven’t already booked or ordered something. But don’t worry, that’s what I’m here for, suggestions. And have a got a suggestion for you. It ticks all the boxes and if you are quick may still be able to book the few tickets that are still available. The screening of one of the best-known films which was made for Valentine’s Day, I think, will be showing across the capital on the day. So you have no excuses now. A surprise, a night out and something you will enjoy watching as well for a change. Who doesn’t want to be Paul Varjak? / Sophie Khan
where
BFI, Belvedere Road, South Bank, SE1 8XT
020 7 928 3232


when
6.20pm

how much
£9

Le Cool

exhibition In Harm's Way

What do you get when you mix a Royal Marine, a camera and a light bulb? OK – there’s no light bulb, just the camera and the Marine. You get some of the best images of the human face of war in Afghanistan and the chance to see for the first time the soldier’s perspective of fighting a war with no end. From mid-November the images will be on billboards in many of the London Underground tube stations. So instead of mindlessly staring at advertisements and promotions for this or that we can see and remind ourselves of the reality of life for a soldier in Helmand and the vast difference between our daily routines. The images exhibited were taken by Sean Power who was embedded with a forward unit over a three-week period in October and form part of his portfolio as the official Royal Legion photographer. So next time you are waiting for a tube to work you might be face-to-face with a soldier thousands of miles away carrying out his job, but unlike us he won’t be able to go home at the end of the day. / Sophie Khan
where
London Underground stations & Gallery 27, 27 Cork Street, W1S 3NG

when
10am-6pm

how much
Free

le cool

Demonstration Stop the Spread of Guantanamitis

With the new legal year beginning today and the "old Bush laws" still in operation, we have a real chance to stand up against the continuous breaches and violations of international law that are infecting governments around the world. The Islington and Hackney Amnesty Group are holding a demonstration on behalf of the 223 Guantanamo detainees to show that much still needs to be done to free them from illegal detention and that we need to stop "Guantanamo-style" detention centres spreading across the world. There will be banners with the names of all the remaining detainees held in solidarity on the day. The demo will be opened by singer Sarah Gillespie and saxophonist Gilat Atzmon followed by speeches by lawyers, human rights campaigners and journalists on Guantanamo Bay and the far-reaching influence that it has had on national and international law. So join me and let’s try and stop the spread of Guantanamitis. / Sophie Khan
where
Parliament Square, Westminster



when
1pm - 4pm

how much
free

Le Cool

If you want to read words that are more powerful then weapons, which survived a decade of censorship and become an underground anthem of resistance then Brother Yasin should be on the top of your list. The poems are a personal recollection of Nabeel Yasin’s life before and during Saddam’s regime and the screening tells his story from his exile to the UK to his return visit to Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam. The film, directed by Georgie Weedon, captures the astonishing journey not just of the poet but his poems which were smuggled across borders back into Iraq and copied and distributed among the sympathetic even though they were banned and if found punishable by arrest. The film shows how the poems touched an Iraqi psyche that was struggling under the daily hardships of the regime and how now the poems and the poet himself have become part of the national identity of Iraq. / Sophie Khan
where
Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2 1QJ
020 7479 8950


when
7pm

how much
£10

Le Cool

Play The Mountaintop
Everybody knows about the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, but what about the night before the assassination? What did he say? What did he do? This play tries to answer those questions and does its well. Based in King’s Memphis motel room after delivering his momentous speech ‘I’ve been to the Mountaintop’, he is brought after-hours coffee by the motel maid who stays and converses with him. She turns out to be much as an orator as he is. The performance by the two actors is perfect, particularly David Harewood, who plays King. From today, the play moves to a new home for seven weeks following a sold-out, critically-acclaimed run at Theatre 503. Though the story is grounded in reality, its American playwright, Katori Hall has written an imaginative portrayal of King which is unique in its approach and the period it portrays. This top-rated production not only provides a captivating tale, but also highlights the difference between the man and the myth that was Martin Luther King Jr. / Sophie Khan

where
Trafalgar Studios, 14 Whitehall, SW1A 2DY08700606632

when
8pm

how much
£15.00 - £39.50

Le cool

Theatre George Orwell, A Celebration
How do you celebrate the contribution of one of the most influential writers of our century? A writer who is not only respected by the literary world for his outstanding artistic poise, but also by those who fight injustice in today’s society and protect the right of liberty and freedom from abuse and torture. It’s a hard thing to do but a theatre production adapted by Dominic Cavendish, from the Daily Telegraph, has done just that. Along with a monologue version of Coming Up for Air, based on the middle-class anxieties during political and economic pressures, the show also has performance extracts from the most famous novel to have been written, Nineteen Eight-Four. The interrogation scene by the ‘Ministry of Truth’ may not compare to Abu Ghraib but his writing remains a true description of the abuse of power as when he wrote it and represents the relevance of the issues that we continue to face today. / Sophie Khan

where
Trafalgar Studios, 14 Whitehall, SW1A 2DY08700606632

when
2.45pm & 7.45pm

how much
£22.50