MAKE SURE YOU...

Take... a peek into the future. Sci-fi apologists have always defended the genre's more outlandish visions by rejoining that the best sci-fi extrapolates its fantastical concepts from contemporary fears and anxieties. That may be so with literary classics such as Orwell's 1984, Clarke's 2001 and Huxley's Brave New World, but how much does it matter that these works and others often fail as predictions for the future? Debating this in the South Bank Centre tonight will be the sci-fi doyen Brian Aldiss, Bruce Sterling (who rose to prominence on the "cyberpunk" movement of the last decade) and Sarah Lefanu, editor of, amongst other anthologies, Obsession and Sex, Drugs and Rock'n'Roll. pounds 6, 7.30pm Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, London SE1 (0171-960 4242).

Clear... a space on the mantelpiece. The spring Fine Art & Antiques Fair showcases Britain's first exhibition of Phoenician artefacts, Phoenicia - its Art and Influence, and also features an exhibition dedicated to contemporary British design. Modernground //sic// covers the best of British in every conceivable design medium and also provides a platform for a series of specially commissioned performance art works. To 1 March, pounds 5 Olympia, Hammersmith Road, London W14 (0171-373 8141)