Has anyone else noticed the uncanny resemblance between Dangermouse nemesis Baron von Greenback, and new Chelsea manager Avram Grant? No? Just us then.

We particularly like the look of:
Monday 24th September: 2.30pm (if you can skive off for the afternoon) ? an open rehearsal at the light and aerial
Siobhan Davies Dance Studio in St. Georges Road?

Wednesday 26th September (?til 19th October): from 1pm ? 6pm ? Brainwave, the new exhibition from the people at Cooltan Arts, who provide arts facilities for those with mental health issues

Saturday 29th September from 9pm at the Roxy Bar and Screen in Borough High Street ? Eclectic Method ? VJs with knobs on. And it?s free.

Anyway, get thee to SE1 and make merry this week.

Picture courtesy of Ewan-M?s flickr stream

We're adamant that this week we're going to pretend it's still Summer. We're not content with sitting in watching the telly. We want to go out and play. But if we're going to do this every night this week, we're going to have to do it for very few pennies indeed. Here's the free stuff we've found this week:

Tuesday: We tried really hard but we can't find you any free theatre for Tuesday. So instead we thought we'd find you a wonderfully theatrical club. Trash Palace is having its shiny new relaunch tonight and we're expecting quite a party. Expect free food, free drinks and free frolicks.

Wednesday: It's not just for fun shows, The National Theatre even shows exhibitions for our freebie viewing pleasure. This week week can see Unfamiliar Thames. You can find out about all the bits of London that you don't usually see and there's loads of plants and wildlife thrown in too. We're planning on taking a stroll along the river afterwards.

Thursday: It's a fact that Londonist doesn't really read enough. We're a bit lazy like that. So we're going to Bethnal Green's Broadway Bookshop for 'Anything But Hackneyed'. Russell Celyn Jones is going to talk all about his writing and Will Ashton is going to read his book 'Clear Water'. Because we are still too lazy to actually pick up a book.

Friday: Willard Wigan has been in the news a bit recently. He's making the tiniest art in the world. We don't really know how, but it's pretty amazing. He accidentally inhaled his Alice in Wonderland sculpture. His Lloyd's of London micro sculpture fits onto a pinhead. Don't worry, they give you a microscope to peek at them. Try not to swallow the statue of Liberty.

Saturday: We're think going to need something a little more chilled this weekend so a club isn't quite going to cut it tonight. So instead we thought some blues would be pretty perfect. And where better than Music Palace? You can see Green Amber there twiddling their instruments and singing their tunes.

Sunday: Seeing as we're pretending to be in the heights of Summer, we need a bit of seaside treatment. Our luck's in as there's a Punch and Judy festival in Covent Garden. We'll be cheering at Toby the dog stealing sausages all afternoon.

Or, jet off the Cuba and really enjoy what's left of the Summer instead.

Photo from Jason Rogers' flickr stream.

There's lots of stuff to do here, and lots of opening and closing times. Londonist thinks you should take a quick gander at the websites before you go for more information.

For the exhibition is portraying the misery and reality that is modern sex trafficking.
The expo unfolds through a series of seven containers designed by some big artistic names including Anish Kapoor, each one representing different stages of a woman?s journey from the moment she is ensnared to her release into a hopeful future. As with a lot of the nastier stuff going on around us, the organisers have recognised the superior power of art to tackle the subject. As one of the designers says:

'This is the dark side of life - human trafficking, rape, torture. It's so awful, you can't show that in photographs. No one wants their portrait taken.?

What can we say? There is nothing not to support about this work. No room even for the most satirical Londonist to make a flippant quip. It is nothing short of a disgrace that such goings-on are going on in our capital city.

But we do get all excited about two aspects of this installation: it is great to see Trafalgar Square in use as much as it is ? it is rapidly becoming a sort of free for all open exhibition space; and we just love art in containers ? it does it for us.

Image courtesy of Nic0?s flickr stream.

The key to underwater dinner is jelly; a fine coating of which made the salmon, vegetables and toffee apple morsels hold together in the pool although clearly the delicate consumption of the formal meal was a challenge. In this Telegraph video Actor, James Dreyfus, admitted that swallowing half the pool along with his food was "pretty disgusting".

6 charities will benefit from the sponsored diners' efforts to breathe, eat and not drown but this was also a world record breaking attempt. The previous record holders were a Comic Relief crew, headed up by Jimmy Nail in 1991 when around 100 people took part. The stunt was, unsurprisingly, awarded the golden nose for "Maddest Sporting Event".

Still, it was all in aid of good causes and while Acton's diners wait for confirmation from the Guiness Book of World Records of the exact size of their sub-aquatic achievement they all received a "certificate of insanity" for participating and can feel jolly pleased with themselves for raising a large amount of cash.

Which just leaves us wondering, where will fundraising go next?

Now in its fifteenth year, Raindance has matured from a youthful dalliance as the edgy alternative to the LFF to become one of Europe's most highly respected film festivals, and a proving ground for both young Turks and established auteurs. Now-classic films such as Memento, Coffee and Cigarettes and Capturing The Friedmans have been championed at Raindance in previous years, making it the perfect place to catch a future cult flick before the hipster crowd have gotten wind of it.

Londonist likes the look of the following:

- Being Michael Madsen - Madsen plays himself as the victim of a paparazzo who decides to make a documentary on his telephoto-wielding tormentor. Sounds like Abbas Kiarostami's Close-Up re-imagined by Christopher Guest, and judging by Madsen's general brilliance in almost everything he appears in, this should be a good'un. The eponymous star will be in attendance to discuss the film.

- LiveAmmunition ? Raindance is a promoter of emerging talent, and to that end, LiveAmmunition invites filmmakers to pitch their ideas against a panel comprised of the muscle and the money in the Brit film landscape, including Ewan McGregor. Despite the reality show-like format, it has worked in the past, with Meet The Parents and 51st State emerging through this unorthodox method.

- Paranoid Park ? Gus Van Sant's latest was feted in Cannes, where it won the 60th Anniversary Award. The film, which tells the story of a teenage skateboarder who accidentally kills a security guard, is in keeping with Van Sant's preoccupation with adolescent trauma ( My Own Private Idaho and Elephant), and is showing as part of the festival's closing night gala on October 7th.

Raindance Film Festival, 25th September ? 7th October, various central London locations. For more information visit the website.

By Dean Nicholas

Image of Raindance poster created by Gee Vaucher and used courtesy of the Festival.

Do you enjoy filling in questionnaires and sipping drinks in pint measures? Are you aware of how British you are? Would you like to go to the pub to do a quiz that won't ask tricky questions about football in the 1960s but instead tax you on how much tax you should pay if you're self-employed and working from home, after deductions but before taking into consideration any savings you may have equal to, or above £2,000? Clear your diaries for Thursday night because there's a new quiz in town... and top prize is your right to stay in this country.

The Manifesto Club is a pro-human campaign group that is less about the politics of left and right and more about Enlightenment for the 21st century. Liberation through creativity and knowledge is what the club wants and they're going to the pub this Thursday night to sort it out in The Great British Citizenship Pub Quiz.

In order to investigate the full implications of granting British citizenship through the existing multiple-choice British Citizenship test, the questioning chaps of the Manifesto Club have adapted it into a pub quiz. This way, participants get to see what is asked in the Citizenship test but have the chance to discuss and develop citizenship with a small 'c' in a pub environment - and the debate about what is true citizenship starts right there. Is a good citizen one with a high test score? Or one who knows that standing on the left on escalators is bad?

The Great British Citizenship Pub Quiz will be hosted at the same venue Londonist held our fabulous pub quiz earlier this year, The Old Queen's Head in Islington - turn up early to bag seats as anyone who has attended quiz nights will tell you. Otherwise you'll have to prop yourself against one of the fireplaces and risk serious head injuries on the oversize mantelpiece, which we can tell you from experience is extremely likely.

The Great British Citizenship Pub Quiz, organised by the Manifesto Club, Thursday 27 September, doors open at 7pm, quiz starts at 8pm. For more information about the Manifesto Club and the quiz, go to the website here.

There are a *lot* of bands and artists in London, so many that it's easy to never discover the really great ones. Bandwatch is a new feature on Londonist where we talk to a new band or artist we think are really exciting. Of course it's our personal opinion and you might think our choices suck, but Bandwatch relies as much on you filling us in on the amazing band you discovered last week, as us pimping out our favourites.

To start us off, meet Bethnal Green's The Toy Guns. They've been recently signed to the Regal branch of Parlophone and released their first single two weeks ago. Suggs and Jerry Damners are already fans of their ska-indie styles and we're pretty sure their incredibly danceable fast & furious antics will mean you like them too. If you do then catch them live this Thursday at The Fly.

Who's in the band?
Dan- vox/guitar, Johnny- guitar, Ross - bass, Franz- drums

What are you upto at the moment?
We're gettin everyone to buy our double a-side single 'Nice One Jerry/Shoot The Boy' from all good indie record shops and hmv! On Saturday we're off to play the teenage cancer trust gig in Newcastle.

What do you sound like?
Like The Kinks being repeatedly kicked by various members of The Clash and The Specials.

Why should we listen to you than every other new band out there?
Coz we rinse it hard, and mix up our influences with new ideas n regional spices.

What's your favourite London venue?
Wos the Spread Eagle in Shoreditch before it was bought by some sick chain now its probs the Old Blue Last or the Hope & Anchor.

Can you think of an unusual London location that should open itself up for gigs?
The Dungeons!

What's your favourite record shop in London?
The New Rough Trade in East London.

What's your favourite club night in London?
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang promo nights.

What's your favourite song so far this year?
The Fatels - Sonny & Cher

What other new London bands / artists should we be checking out?
The Fatels and Molloy
Where can we see you playing next?
We're playing at The Fly on 27 Sept, DJing at Kiss Kiss Bang Bang on Oct 5 and are live at Metro on Oct 10.

What's your London secret?
Get to columbia flower market at 1pm on sunday and everything is half price. And the Stingray Cafe around the corner are still rinsing the party from saturday!

For a publisher based on Broadway, New York, The Little Bookroom seems obsessed with the pockets of oddness that permeate our city. A few years back, they published City Secrets London, a bumper book of anecdotes about the capital. Their latest guide The Traditional Shops and Restaurants of London does exactly what it says on the tin. Literally, given the vintage canister that forms the jacket design.

The 300-page book is about the size and shape of a Pret Ham & Eggs bloomer, but celebrates the wares of far more established retailers.

More than a hundred shops are described, from Savile Row tailors to Brick Lane bagelmongers. All sumptuously illustrated by photographer Phil Nicholls.

Even the most ardent Londonophile can learn a thing or two between its covers. Hitherto, we felt rather smug pointing out James Smith & Sons, New Oxford Street, which sells little but umbrellas. But one umbrella shop is not enough; this book has a whole section. The author has done her homework. She even mentions the secret passage beneath Berry Brothers & Rudd, which we thought was our little secret. Hmphhh.

This could have ended up being just another repackaged slice of lesser-known London. But the visible research and high production values make this a choice cut of Londonophilia, as rich as anything from Mayfair butchers Allen & Co.

The Traditional Shops and Restaurants of London, RRP £9.99 from The Little Bookroom.

The stats are pretty shocking. We really do take placcy bags for granted. Over 13 billion bags are issued to shoppers each year which works out at at least 220 per person in the UK although, it actually feels a lot more to us. Unfortunately, only about 1 in every 200 are recycled so billions are sent to landfill every year. Where they sit about for around 400 years. Marine life also suffers from our penchant for mindlessly chucking out plastics: Up to a million sea birds and over 100,000 mammals (including whales, seals and turtles) are thought to be killed or injured each year from accidentally ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic (much of which is from plastic bags).

What we have here is a big problem with a simple solution. Stop issuing throw away shopping bags. Switch to environmentally friendly, reusable alternatives.

Of course, this involves a fundamental change in our approach to shopping. We'll all get caught short on occasion if the plastic bag is banished but, at a time when all of us are increasingly aware of and affected by climate change and other environmental issues, the banning of the throw away shopping bag seems a feasible proposal that we can all support - with little detrimental effect to our lifestyles - and may well lead to a more general change in attitudes towards consumerism and the throwaway culture we've got so inured to.

London Councils propose several alternatives including targeting only major retailers, applying a levy to retailers or shoppers, banning only plastic bags (and allowing paper) or doing nothing at all but surely we should take the bull by the horns and go for the outright ban? Be an early adopter. Dig out your Nana's string bag, the crumpled "Bag for Life" or delve into that store of 500 squished up old supermarket carriers and show that this is a no-brainer.

Read the consultation document and various proposals and submit your response here.

While you're thinking about it, check out some novel ways to reuse plastic bags.

Image courtesy of Megandavid's Flickrstream.