FRIDAY 12

BOOK LAUNCH Embodiment. Dinah Livingstone launches her 10th poetry collection. Torriano Meeting House, 99 Torriano Avenue, NW5. Free. 7pm.

DANCE Ballroom and Latin dance classes. Luther Tyndale Church Hall, Leighton Crescent, NW5. 020 7821 0874/020 8452 1853. Weekly. Improvers 6pm-7pm. Beginners 7.15pm-8.15pm.

SATURDAY 13

BLOOMS Summer Flower Show. The Highgate Horticultural Society host their summer showpiece. There will also be plants for sale, along with cakes, jams and teas. United Reformed Church, South Grove, N6. 2pm-4.30pm.

CHESS Chess Class for children. Beginners and intermediate classes for six to 12-year-olds. Keats Community Library, Keats Grove, NW3. 020 7431 1266. £5 per child per session. No booking required. 2.30pm-3.30pm.

FAMILY Somers Town Festival. Soak up a whole host of summer fun, including stalls, games, live music, dancing and food. Chalton Street, NW1. Noon-6.30pm.

SUNDAY 14

PETS Hounds on the Heath. Join Mayhew Animal Home at their flagship summer event, in support of four-legged friends everywhere! Dog show jam-packed with a celebrity judges, plus a dog agility course, a variety of stalls and delicious vegetarian and vegan food and drink. Parliament Hill Fields, Hampstead Heath (near the cricket pitch), NW5. £4 per dog per category. For more details visit www.themayhew.org 11am-4pm.

POETRY An evening of readings. Guest readers the Camerade Group of Poets. Poets from the floor welcome. Torriano Meeting House, 99 Torriano Avenue, NW5. 020 7267 2751. £5/£4. 7.30pm.

MONDAY 15

TALK Pensions in the Post Office: The Debates and Constraints of the 19th Century Civil Service Pensions (pictured above). On Monday, Dr Kathleen McIlvenna, from the University of Derby, will examine the pension applications and rewards for the Victorian Post Office. This talk will reveal the impact these early occupational pensions had on the lives of letter-carriers, clerks and telegraphists. London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Road, EC1. 020 7332 3820. Free. 2pm-3pm.

SPORT Free all-age multi-sports sessions, including football, rugby, dodgeball and rounders. Castlehaven Community Association, Castlehaven Road, NW1. 020 7485 3386. 4pm-6pm.

TALK Night Sky: The Cultural Connection. Professor Richard Hechter from the University of Manitoba in Canada will explain how astronomy can be the nexus for connecting people across cultures and religions in an effort to help create a better world. Talk for 18s and over. Institute of Physics, 37 Caledonian Road, N1. Free. Visit www.eventbrite.co.uk to book. 6pm-8pm.

TUESDAY 16

ART Develop your drawing and visual skills with artist Jeff Sawtell (RCA). All materials will be provided. Queen’s Crescent Community Association, 45 Ashdown Crescent, NW5. £2. For further info contact Mary Pierce by calling 020 7267 6635 or emailing mary@qcca.org.uk. 11.30am-1pm.

BIRDS Hampstead Heath walk with Marylebone Birdwatching Society. Bring binoculars. Meet at the Parliament Hill Staff Yard, NW5 at 10am. Walk ends at Kenwood at noon. Occasional visitors welcome. Free. Call 020 7267 8434 for further details.

TALK Salt and Time: Recipes from a Russian Kitchen. Kino Vino founder Alissa Timoshkino will be signing copies of her debut cook book. There will be food talk, wine, and samples for people to taste after the talk. The Owl Bookshop, 207-209 Kentish Town Road, NW5. 020 7485 7793. £5. 6.30pm.

TALK Mud and Stars. Travel writer Sara Wheeler covers the sweep of Russia, from the Arctic to the Caucasus, to explore the relationships between its landscape and the writers of Russia’s Golden Age. Primrose Hill Community Library, 14 Sharples Hall Street, NW1. 020 7419 6599. £2. 7pm.

WEDNESDAY 17

FOOD Traditional English Dishes. Two-course meal for people aged 55 and over. Queen’s Crescent Community Association, 45 Ashdown Crescent, NW5. £3.50. For further information contact Mary Pierce by calling 020 7267 6635 or emailing mary@qcca.org.uk. Midday-2pm.

READING Reading and Rebellion: An Anthology of Radical Writing for Children 1900-1960. Authors Kim Reynolds, Jane Rosen and Michael Rosen present a new anthology of radical writings for children from the first half of the 20th century. Housmans Bookshop, 5 Caledonian Road, N1. 020 7837 4473. £3, redeemable against any purchase on the evening. Visit www.billetto.co.uk to book. 7pm.

TALK The History of King’s Cross Station. Talk by Peter Darley, founder of the Camden Railway Heritage Trust. Primrose Hill Community Centre, 29 Hopkinson’s Place, NW1. 020 7586 8327. Free. 2pm.

THURSDAY 18

TALK The Bead Collector. Sefi Atta discusses her new book. The Owl Bookshop, 207-209 Kentish Town Road, NW5. 020 7485 7793. £5. 6.30pm.

TALK At the Pond. Launch of a new book that combines personal reminiscence with reflections on the history of Hampstead Ladies’ Pond over the years and through the changing seasons. At the Pond captures 14 writers’ impressions of this unique place. Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3. 020 7794 8206. £5. 6.30pm.