What do an ex-Python, Martha Stewart, and a woman in the running for first female poet laureate all have in common? Come on now, use your deductive reasoning skills. They all somehow feature in this week’s Book Grocer, of course! Monday: Novelist David Benioff has a few recognisable names on his CV – he’s both collaborated with Spike Lee and written the screenplay for The Kite Runner. Tonight Benioff is at Foyles to discuss......

That's one of the relaxing conversation pieces to be found at a ‘Skeptics in the pub’ meetup. Tonight’s guest speaker is Dr Matthew Smith from Liverpool Hope University, who will talk about fate, the meaning of life and mid-life crises. We caught up with co-organiser Sid Rodriques to find out what skepticism is, and whether we should be skeptical of it. How would you define a 'skeptic'? A skeptic is someone who asks for......

As we ease out of the austerity, self-denial and penny-pinching of January, so too the arts world comes even further out of its shell. This week sees a whole host of exciting openings. Take your pick; payday's passed and February's just round the corner! Be the first Gilbert and Sullivan's hilarious opera about love, corrupt local government, marriage, executions and heroics, The Mikado comes to the Gielgud Theatre from Wednesday. Alistair McGowan stars as......

Just when you thought MySpace, Facebook, and other social networking sites had pretty much achieved world domination, along comes a site with even more infinite aspirations. Londoner Victoria Vanstone’s yourdeathwish.com wants to help you create the “perfect” funeral. Yes, in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee, you could be well on your way to arranging the funeral you’ve always dreamed of: choose the musical set list, the wake menu, the......

We're still wondering whether civil servant, Trushar Patel, is either a clever sod, just another thieving crook, or a bit of both. Either way he's spending the next 18 months on the tax payers board and lodging for: conspiring to procure the execution of a valuable security. Or, in the long-lasting Queen's English, he swindled London Underground out of twenty two grand by getting his family to fill in bogus fare refund forms. Now......

Tonight marks the climax of nine months' eager anticipation since we broke the news to you that the NFL was coming to town. Two days ago we secured a ticket via the final sale we mentioned last Tuesday and we can't wait for the action to begin at 5pm. If you're catching the game on TV (Sky Sports live, or BBC2 highlights at 10:50pm), you're in plenty of company. The game is being carried......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 30th July 1966: England defeat West Germany in the FIFA World Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, claiming the Jules Rimet Trophy (and, of course, the status of Football World Champions for the next four years). Tuesday – 31st July 1962: Violence erupts at a rally of the Union Movement (formerly known as the British Union of Fascists) in Dalston, East London. Sir Oswald Mosely, leader of the......

Seeking somewhere new to have a picnic lunch? Perhaps you're an MP in need of an oasis of calm? Or a Vauxhall clubber who's lost their way on the north bank? St John's Gardens provides the perfect place. A small but perfectly-formed garden in Millbank, its high trees, huge flowerbeds, formidable fountain and generous smattering of benches make it a lovely summer spot and only a hop and skip from Parliament or the river.......

When you woke up this morning, your first thought was most likely “It’s St. George’s Day!” You undoubtedly leapt out of bed, barely able to contain your excitement, ready to kick up your heels and start celebrating in style. However, you might find yourself stumped as to what you can do to commemorate this special occasion, seeing as you most likely have to work (unless you happen to be employed by this guy). But......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 23rd April 1979: 33-year-old teacher Blair Peach dies from head injuries following outbreaks of fighting with police at an Anti-Nazi League demonstration against a National Front meeting in Southall, West London. Tuesday – 24th April 1993: A massive IRA bomb explodes on Bishopsgate in the City of London, killing one person, injuring 44 more, and causing more than £350m damage to the area. Wednesday – 25th April......

From the Beeb. The cast and creators of Monty Python musical Spamalot are hoping to set a new record for the world's largest coconut orchestra...The public will be given a pair of coconuts to "clip-clop" in time to the Python classic Always Look On The Bright Side of Life. Gallop over to Trafalgar Square (site of a former royal stables) on St George's Day (23 April) to take part, followed by a screening of......

The Wise Men gave the baby Jesus gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh. What is myrrh? Eddie Izzard believed myrrh might have been an illicit rollable herb of the Roman Era. He was wrong, of course. Wasn't he? And the Wise Men, as depicted in "Monty Python's Life of Brian" (1979) explained that myrrh was - if memory serves - a kind of bomb. But ever-reliable Wikipedia says that myrrh was an ancient perfume......

Let's take a look back at a week that raised this Zen koan: if Kevin Federline got into a wrestling ring with a wrestler, who would you root for? Austinist was in an entertainment state of mind as they covered the dickens out of the Austin Film Festival, depicted all the Big 12 football coaches as South Park characters, and interviewed Jose Gonzalez. Chicagoist talked about the passion as they bid adieu to Bell......

It's enough to get Dan Brown pulling at his pencil again. One minute the gentle folk of the Thames and Medway Canal Association are doing their thing cleaning up and restoring the disused canal, the next they're soaping themselves in garlic and bulk ordering their crucifixes. OK, we made that last bit up. Instead of the usual car tyres, bottles and body parts we take for granted washed up off our waterways, they recently......

Once a month Londonist sits down with a pile of the months releases that have dropped through our letterbox. Since we're almost at the end of April, we'd better get on with it. The Victorian English Gentlemen's Club - Amateur Man (Single released 3rd April on Fantastic Plastic) A double jab of schizotic art punk on the VEGC's second single. It has all the energy of a rendition of Knees Up Mother Brown in an......

YouTube is great for many reasons, but we really like the time travel possibilities. Check out this interview with Robert Plant & John Bonham from 1970 as it a) begins like a Monty Python sketch and b) gives those idiots The Beatles a good kicking: Anyone know anything about "the final and tragic conclusion to the case of the missing Enfield children"?......

We're knights of the round table, We dance whenever we're able, We do routines, and chorus scenes, With footwork impeccable. We dine well here in Camelot, We eat ham, and jam, and spam a lot. Monty Python, the most beloved English comedy export, has been busy in Broadway with their stage musical version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail which, in its theatrical incarnation is called Spamalot. Doubts are always cast on film......

A branch of Marks and Spencers in London is one of six in the country to install a 'man creche': a special area for men to "chill out and relax" while their partners try clothes on. Some would say that this is a cynical (possibly even sexist?) way of dragging customers into a chain which has been struggling financially for years now. However, an M&S spokesperson sees it differently, calling it "a fun way......