To mark distinguished physicist and cosmologist Professor Stephen Hawking’s 70th birthday, the Science Museum has opened a new display in his honour. Fittingly situated in the Exploring Space section of the Science Museum’s ground floor, the display looks to celebrate not only Hawking’s birthday, but also ‘his life and achievements’.

After a winter of torturing a plethora of Z-list ‘celebs’ in the Australian Outback, a certain group of creepy crawlies are about to descend on the capital’s Science Museum this spring. Cue: the mighty cockroach!

‘Atmosphere – something you wouldn’t get on the moon that is’, a fellow Tweeter jested once. However, you’ll certainly get tonnes of it at this place. Expect lots of touch-screen technology and group effort – particularly great for families and school parties to whittle away at!

Newcomers to Knightsbridge would do well to feel a bit nervous setting up here. Cue Bar Boulud, a relatively new addition at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Namesake of head chef Daniel Boulud, Bar Boulud opened in May this year with high expectations – with Boulud’s ‘Daniel’ in New York having received rave reviews and three Michelin stars since opening in 1993.

Christmas has long been a season of indulgence – with its lavish roasts and gigantic tins of mass-manufactured sweeties. But this year, ditch the Roses and (not much) Quality Street – and head to the London Chocolate Festival for some proper confectionery!

Many times over the course of our lives, we find that our appreciation of certain things take time to develop. Take a good wine for example, or a trip to the museum. For me, it has been the latter – having visited the Natural History Museum (NHM) on the last Friday of September.

They, will, not, force us! They will stop degrading us!’ If the mass chanting was anything to go by, an unwitting listener may just have thought this was a rebel protest, with swathes looking to fight against corrupt governments or tear down a dictatorship.

The Deptford Project are pushing the boundaries of hush with the launch of their outdoor silent cinema last week. Conceived by journalist Damian Barr, founder of the Starlite Urban Drive-In Cinema, a little part of darkest Deptford will be home to a mini gala of headphone-littered film showings.

Visiting an art gallery is a high-brow activity, no? It’s something that I’ve always considered in the past. Before now, I had never visited an art gallery, which is shameful considering the multitude of such venues that we are blessed with here in London.

Most people have seen fire eating, pieces of material cut and magically rejoined and implausible feats of memorisation. All three of these featured during Penn and Teller’s run at the Hammersmith Apollo, which concluded the weekend that just passed. ricks and illusions are executed seamlessly with rich storytelling, verve and passionate criticism, in addition to scepticism of the magic and supernatural professions.