EXHIBITION Shadowman: Surrealist Artworks by Patrick Hourihan. London-based Surrealist Patrick Hourihan presents a selection of paintings and drawings. The artist uses automatic drawing and other channels of accidental discovery to unlock the poetic potential and sense of the marvellous in seemingly mundane and unexpected situations in everyday life. Highgate Gallery, 11 South Grove, N6. 020 8340 3343. Free admission. Opening times Tues-Fri 1pm-5pm, Sat 11am-4pm, Sun 11am-5pm (closed Mondays). Until October 24. Pictured left is Hourihan’s Night Music

FRIDAY OCTOBER 4

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.

PLAY Why Shouldn’t I Go? The Friends of Belsize Library host a play written and performed by Janet Behan, and directed by Jessica Higgs. Why Shouldn’t I Go? is an absorbing one-act play telling the stories of three very different Irishwomen who have one thing in common – religion and the impact it has had on their lives. Belsize Community Library, Antrim Road, London NW3. £10 on the door, or call 07940 193 631 for ticket reservations. 7.30pm.

TALK Cyber Security: Avoiding Scams. Leslie Jackson and Tom Lee from the Metropolitan Scam Safe Unit offer up advice on how to avoid being scammed. Highgate Society, 10A South Grove, N6. Free. Visit www.highgatesociety.com/people/events/ for further details. 10.30am-12.30pm.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 5

ART The Annual St Dominic’s Art Exhibition. The weekend showpiece returns with art and crafts from a host of local artists on offer at fair prices. Blackfriars Hall, Southampton Road, NW5. Call 020 7485 0120 for further information. Free entry. Saturday 2pm-6pm and Sunday 9am-4pm.

CONCERT Augustine Cornwall-Irving (lute and chitarrone) performs a selection of music from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. St Peter’s Church, Belsize Square, NW3. Free admission-retiring collection. 1.15pm.

MUSIC Cellar Upstairs Folk Club. Spirited singing by Mary Humphreys and Anahata, who will be playing dance tunes with instrumental accompaniment. Calthorpe Arms, 252 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1. 020 7281 7700. £8/£6. 8.15pm.

SUNDAY 6

CONCERT Piatti Quartet and Simon Callaghan. The Piatti Quartet are joined by Conway Hall’s director of music Simon Callaghan to perform Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet. Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1. 020 7405 1818. £12, or free for anyone aged eight to 25 years old courtesy of the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust. 6.30pm-8.30pm.

POETRY An evening of readings. Guest readers Linda Black, Timothy Ades, Steven Fowler and other Torriano locals. Poets from the floor welcome. Torriano Meeting House, 99 Torriano Avenue, NW5. 020 7267 2751. £5/£4. 7.30pm.

PUB QUIZ Win a £50 bar tab each week. Overall prize is France vs England Six Nations tickets. Golden Lion Public House, Royal College Street, NW1. 7pm.

MONDAY OCTOBER 7

LECTURE Experimental Gardens from Francis Bacon to Today. This lecture will begin with Bacon’s imagined garden, then consider the long-term promise of the experimental or scientific garden, which would eventually lead to today’s biotechnologies. Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn, EC1. 020 7831 0575. Free. Visit www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures for further details. 6pm-7pm.

MUSIC Fleet Singers. Join this community choir preparing for a peace-themed concert in November. Gospel Oak Methodist Church, Agincourt Road, NW3. 020 7267 8658. Free introductory rehearsal for newcomers. 7.30pm-9.30pm.

PERFORMANCE Exiled Lit Cafe: Opening Land. An evening of poetry, prose, discussion and creative partnerships. Writers from Muslim and Jewish backgrounds explore identity and creativity in an era of increasing Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism. Poetry Cafe, 22 Betterton Street, WC2. 020 7420 988. £5/£3. 7pm-10pm.

WORKSHOP Kentish Town Bike Workshop. Bring your bike for free advice and use of tools to keep it in top shape. Kentish Town Health Centre, 2 Bartholomew Road, NW5. Visit tiny.cc/ktbw for further details. 6.30pm-8.30pm.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 8

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.

BOOK SIGNING Comedian, actor, film director and Travel Man Richard Ayoade signs copies of his new book, Ayoade On Top. London Review Bookshop, 14 Bury Place, WC1. 020 7269 9030. Free, but booking essential. Visit www.londonreview bookshop.co.uk for details.

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 midday. Occasional visitors welcome. Free. Call 020 7267 8434 for further details. 1pm.

PHOTOGRAPHY The Hampstead Photographic Society. Offering weekly tips, expert advice and competitions. Crypt Room, St John’s Church, Church Row, NW3. £5. Visit
www.hampsteadphotosoc.org.uk for further details and a full programme. 8pm.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9

PERFORMANCE Iberian Dancers perform Spanish and Mexican dances. Primrose Hill Community Centre, 29 Hopkinson’s Place, NW1. 020 7586 8327. Free. 2pm.

TALK The Bells of Old Tokyo. Author Anna Sherman tells of her search for the bells of Edo, exploring the city of Tokyo and its inhabitants and the individual and particular relationship of Japanese culture – and the Japanese language – to time, tradition, memory, impermanence and history. Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3. 020 7794 8206. £5. 6.30pm.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 10

TALK From Crouch Hall to Gin Lane: The Rise of Madam Geneva (pictured above). On Thursday, historian Ruth Hazeldine reveals how and why Highgate has a local connection with gin, and the origin of the phrase “to take Dutch courage”. Highgate Society, 10A South Grove, N6. £8/£5 (plus booking fee). Visit www.highgatesociety.com/people/events/ for further details. 7pm-9pm.

POETRY An evening celebrating British poet Louis MacNeice (1907-1964). Actor Christopher Benjamin will read from the poet’s work, and fellow actor Lee Montague will talk about MacNeice’s extraordinary life. Keats Community Library, Keats Grove, NW3. £10, from the library or call 020 7431 1266. 7.30pm.

POETRY Three Wild Woman: An Evening of Poetry. Three distinguished poets, Jehane Markham, Linda Black and Martina Evans, read from some of their work celebrating 25 years of National Poetry Day. Highgate Library Civic and Cultural Centre, Croftdown Road, NW5. Free, all welcome. 7.30pm.