On the agenda: Ballet, books and must-have handbags (and that's not to mention free posh chocolates)

News in pictures
News in pictures
On Facebook
Life & Style blogs

Annual flooding losses set to reach £1bn

Homeowners may be unable to obtain flood insurance

Living a long, healthy life – looking after your heart

In my clinic I see all sorts of people walking through my door. Mostly, they come to me because they...

Tips on renting your property to students

Five important things to think about before the Freshers arrive...

Food

There's only one thing better then tucking into smooth artisanal chocolate, and that's when it's free. Chocolate Week starts tomorrow, with some of the country's most exclusive chocolatiers imploring us to set our sights higher then a bar of Yorkie. "Agenda" has hunted down two of the best free events: chocolatier L'Artisan du Chocolat (www.artisanduchocolat.com) is holding 30-minute speed-tasting sessions throughout the week at its London shops and Selfridges ; while Chococo (www.chococo.co.uk) is hosting chocolate-making demos washed down with a generous helping of it new autumn range at its Swanage store. Adam Jacques

Art

The week that sees the start of the UK's biggest annual contemporary arts fair, Frieze, also sees the opening of a small gallery with an entirely different sensibility. The Museum of Everything is the first art space dedicated to outsider art – unknown artists who create works for their own therapeutic benefit – with 200 examples from unlikely contributors such as an American janitor, a former slave and a reverend, selected by the likes of Jarvis Cocker and Eva Rothschild. www.museumofeverything.com AJ

Dance

Some dancers inspire a particularly loyal following, and none more so than Royal Ballet principal Sarah Lamb, whose gazelle-like grace, enchanting footwork and striking good looks have helped make her among the most popular in the corps (former pres Bill Clinton was a fan). So after a year-long absence due to an ankle injury, next week sees her long-awaited return in The Sleeping Beauty. www.roh.org.uk AJ

Fashion

The X Factor's Dannii Minogue presented last year's winner Alexandra Burke with one of Tabitha's 'Stardust' bags (above, £240) on her 21st birthday, and the range is about to be sold exclusively at the new Anthropologie store on London's Regent Street (opens 23 October). We've waited long enough for the American shop (which sells everything from dresses to jewellery to chandeliers) to open its doors over here. Let the countdown begin! www.anthropologie.co.uk Harriet Walker

Books

The book group is dead; long live the literary salon. Following the success of the Shoreditch House Literary Salon, the new big thing is the reading weekend. The first so-called (sponsored by Penguin Books) is at Tilton House in Sussex, Keynes's former home, on the weekend of 14 November. Expect "bibliotherapy" from a School of Life expert, talks from authors and Virginia Woolf walks "that don't end in suicide". A second weekend is planned in January – on Palm Island in St Vincent's. Bookishness has never been hotter. Contact Damian Barr at MrDLBarr@yahoo.com Katy Guest

Film

Writer/director Kevin Smith hasn't set the world alight of late. Last year's Zack & Miri Make a Porno bombed while his 2004 Ben Affleck vehicle Jersey Girl is best forgotten. So it's with some relief that we hear his career has now turned a corner with a slew of new projects on the way – including the Bruce Willis cop comedy A Couple of Dicks. Those wishing to delve deeper will get the chance to spend an evening with the Chasing Amy director when he speaks in Glasgow tomorrow. www.glasgowconcerthalls.com AJ

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Career Services

Day In a Page

Child of the revolution: the Burmese family that democracy brought back together

Home of the free

The Burmese family that democracy brought back together
Cannes review: Canine accolade and Hitler's return are high spots amid the gloom

Cannes review

Frocks, canine accolade and Hitler's return
Robert Fisk: The going price of getting away with murder... would $33m be enough?

The going price of getting away with murder

Robert Fisk: The long view
Principled Skinner rises above the fray

Principled Skinner rises above the fray

Andy McSmith meets Dennis Skinner
Patrick Cockburn: I fear this terrible massacre will be the beginning of a long civil war in Syria

Patrick Cockburn

I fear this terrible massacre will be the beginning of a long civil war in Syria
Hardeep Singh Kohli: For me, it is all about 'Gregory's Girl', a record of first love

Hardeep Singh Kohli

For me, it is all about 'Gregory's Girl', a record of first love
Christian Louboutin: 'I don't think comfort equals happiness'

Christian Louboutin interview

'I don't think comfort equals happiness'
Happy birthday, Hotel Babylon!

Happy birthday, Hotel Babylon!

Hollywood's home to the A-list celebrates 100 years of discreet luxury
Rupert Cornwell: Low-rise capital could finally reach for the sky

Rupert Cornwell: Out of America

Low-rise capital could finally reach for the sky
The secret life of the red carpet

The secret life of the red carpet

As Cannes reaches its climax with the Palme d'Or and the celebrities gather in London for the Baftas tonight, Kate Youde and Jack Dean investigate the real star of the show
It's not easy being Professor Green: The rapper, the heiress and a drama made in Chelsea...

It's not easy being Professor Green

The rapper, the heiress and a drama made in Chelsea...
Hardcore, hard-wired: How the prevalence of porn is changing our everyday lives

How porn is changing our lives

It's everywhere - from pop videos to fashion magazines to the theatrical stage.
River Phoenix: the final reel

River Phoenix: the final reel

Twenty years after the actor's death, his last film is to be released
Facebook: The shares shenanigans

Facebook: The shares shenanigans

Investors are crying foul over the huge losses they incurred when the social network site floated on the stock market last week
Up and away – how '7 Up' went global

Up and away – how '7 Up' went global

As the last episode of Britain's '56 Up' airs, the first episode of '28 Up', from the former USSR, starts. Then there's the US, Japan, Germany...