The King of Pop may have moonwalked his last, but the trademark hat and shoes Michael Jackson wore at his epic 2001 Madison Square concert are expected to fetch more than £10,000 today at the Bonhams annual film and music memorabilia sale. Other choice picks include Alan Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham tunic, costumes worn by Laurence Olivier in Richard III, a set of Beatles
autographs and props used in the hit BBC comedy series The Mighty Boosh.
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Sport: Naming of the England 2018 World Cup host cities After much anticipation and celebrity endorsements, the England 2018
bid team decide today which 10 cities will be hosts for the World Cup finals bid.
Talk: A Dickens of a Christmas Paisley Museum & Art Gallery Glasgow 12.30-1pm Learn how the novel A Christmas Carol, redefined
the Victorian idea of Christmas setting the template for festivities today.
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Talk: The Thrill of the Climb Royal Scottish Geographical Society 7.30pm Mountaineer Stephen Venables, the first British climber to scale Everest
without supplementary oxygen talks ice, thrills and death defying feats.
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Charity: Live the Dream Foundation launch party Old Billingsgate London 5.30pm-1am £495 Gavin and Stacey's James Corden hosts an evening
to launch Premiership footballer Rio Ferdinand's charity.
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Workshop: Tudor cookery live Hampton Court 11am-3pm £7-£14 Learn how to cook a feast fit for a king at Hampton Court. As part of a five-year research project into the culinary history of the palace, chefs will be cooking up Tudor specialities like Beef-y-stywyd (beef stew) and Cokuntryce (roasted suckling pig and capon stiched together to create a hybrid delicacy),
plus Stuart specialities live in the palace kitchens.
Current affairs & more continued on next page >
Current affairs
MPs may rise for recess today but they won't be short of issues to consider over the Christmas break as the latest labour market statistics, which may surprise Gordon Brown's cabinet, are released today. Nuclear physicists will be on edge as the Science and Technology Facilities Council announces cuts to fill the gaping £40 million black hole in its budget. The Council of Mortgage Lenders market review conference launches today, aiming to debate and discuss recommendations from the Mortgage Market Review and at The Royal Insitute Sue Hartley explores whether climate change will upset the balance in the arms race between plants and their
herbivores. RIGB, 21 Abermarle St, W1, 6pm, £7-£14 020 7409 2992.
Coming up
This week
Award: TIME Magazine Person of the Year The publication will name its choice for the most influential
person or group of 2009. Last year's winner was Barack Obama.
This month
Festive: Boxing Day hunt Despite the ban, the traditional Boxing Day Hunt continues to attract thousands:
in 2008 more than 320,000 people followed 300 hunts across the UK.