Co-hosted by Dillons and the Association for Science Education in the Palmer Theatre G10, Reading University, 3.15 pm. Professor Lewis Holpert, Imperial College, London, Professor John Gilbert, Reading University, and others will discuss whether the national curriculum gives enough coverage to science and technology plus other topics. Tickets Pounds 2 from Dillons Bookstore, Reading University, 01734 874858.

FROM JANUARY 8 CREATIVE MEDIA DISPLAY

Staying Out, a Hackney Youth Service project which works with gay, lesbian and bisexual young people, has put together a mixture of poetry, photography and collage done by its members on themes associated with World Aids Day. Venue: Stoke Newington Library, London E8. Details: 0181 533 2174.

JANUARY 11-MARCH 3 EELS, PIE AND MASH

To the uninitiated, pie and mash shops are strange places where diners wrestle with squirming eels, meat pies and mashed potatoes swimming in green mush. This exhibition by photographer Chris Clunn at the Ragged School Museum, Mile End, London E3, captures the 130-year history of this slice of London life. Details: 0181 980 6405.

JANUARY 12-28 LONDON INTERNATIONAL MIME FESTIVAL

Highlights include: Black Mime Theatre’s Dirty Reality 2, a look at the history of black people in Britain and the impact of mixed-race relationships; Reject’s Revenge with Peasouper, a Victorian melodrama of greed and lust; Sweden’s Theatre Manjana with a clown interpretation of Lorca’s House of Bernarda Alba; and France’s Compagnie Rasposo recreating the magic of 18th- century circus theatre. Venues include: The Royal Festival Hall, ICA Theatre and Battersea Arts Centre. Free programme booklet from: 0171 637 5661.

APRIL 25 TAKE OUR DAUGHTERS TO WORK DAY

Schools, employers and parents will help girls (11-15) overcome lack of self confidence about future careers by giving them the opportunity to see the choices that the world of work offers. For details send SAE to: Take Our Daughters to Work, 20-22 Craven Road, London W2 3PX.