What we're reading:
- Sadiq Khan brands driverless tubes "madness".
- National Portrait Gallery to get £35.5 million makeover.
- Could Citymapper's Smart Ride give TfL a run for its money?
- Bloomsbury braced for Britain's first women-only members' club.
- Londoners build Hedgehog highways to help local wildlife.
Things to do:
CAROL NUNES: It's your last chance to see green-fingered artist Carol Nunes' vibrant, plant-like sculptures at the Barbican Library. Drawing inspiration from Columbia Road Flower Market, the exhibition echoes both English gardens and tropical shrubbery. Free, just turn up, 10am-8pm
WHALE OF A TIME:Catch the Natural History Museum's Whales: Beneath the Surface exhibition before it washes away. There are over 100 specimens of the ocean's giants to behold, including the famous Thames whale. Natural History Museum (South Kensington). £11.50, just turn up, 10am-5.30pm, until 28 February
HOLI-DAY: Banish winter blues with a visit to Cinnamon Kitchen's House of Holi pop-up. The restaurant is celebrating the Indian festival of colour early, with paint-pelting parties for kids and adults alike. Cinnamon Kitchen (Liverpool Street), book in advance, 2pm-9.30pm, until 10 March
ORPHANED LAND: Pioneers of Oriental Metal Orphaned Land descend upon The Underworld, Camden, with support from In Vain, Subterranean Masquerade and Aevum Door. The Underworld (Camden), £20, book in advance, 6pm
SCRUMPTIOUS SOHO: The University of Westminster's Difference festival kicks off its celebration of Soho's unique history by focussing on the neighbourhood's vibrant culinary culture. Sip drinks, catch a viewing of the 1956 short film Sunshine in Soho, and learn about the area's historical and contemporary restaurants. University of Westminster (Regent Street), free, book in advance, 6pm-8pm
FOOD FOR THE SOUL: Learn how to whip up delicious Ethiopian dishes at Migrateful's latest cookery class. This for-profit social venture sees asylum seekers, refugees and migrants with a passion for cooking, teach their traditional cuisines to the public. Cafe Van Gogh (Brixton), £35, book in advance, 6.30pm-9.30pm
MOVING HOLOCAUST STORIES: Professor of Social History Tim Cole explores the colourful life of artist and Holocaust survivor Toni Schiff in this lecture held in her memory. The Wiener Library (Russell Square), free, book in advance, 6.30pm-8pm
FRINGE THEATRE: Preview not one, not two, but seven ambitious new plays as companies battle for a £10,000 fund to present a professional production at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Pleasance Theatre (Islington), £7, book in advance, 7pm-9.15pm
FAIRY TALE OPERA: This is opera with a difference. Goldilocks and the Three Little Pigs reveals both the darkness and light of human nature through beloved childhood tales in this atmospheric new production. Copeland Gallery (Peckham), £25, book in advance, 7.30pm
CAMDEN CALLING: Author Tom Bolton brings the history of Camden to life in a talk that explores the borough's most significant buildings, both forgotten and vanished. Small Hall (East Croydon), £2, just turn up, 7.45pm
Good cause of the day
Migrant Connections are hosting a migration-themed Spoken Word open mic night. Participants are welcome to perform using their chosen medium — expect a melting-pot of spoken word, prose, poetry, rap and more. The proceeds will fund the upcoming Migration Connections festival in April, which seeks to bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and build practical and political solidarity through workshops, performances and art. LimeWharf (Bethnal Green), from £2.74, book in advance, 7pm-10pm
