APRIL 2 INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S BOOK DAY The International Board on Books for Young People is co-ordinating events to celebrate this day (Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday), including storytelling sessions in children’s hospitals. For more information about the day or about IBBY, telephone: 0181 392 3008.

APRIL 2-MAY 18 FROM THE LONGEST DAY TO A BRIDGE TOO FAR: UNTOLD STORIES FROM THE CORNELIUS RYAN ARCHIVE The first British exhibition at National Army Museum, Chelsea, London SW3, to feature unpublished stories from Ohio University’s papers of the Reuters and Telegraph reporter Cornelius Ryan. Free admission. Details: 0171 730 0717.

APRIL 4-MAY 18 EDGE OF MADNESS: SARAJEVO, A CITY AND ITS PEOPLE UNDER SIEGE Photographic exhibition at the Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, London SE1, of collaborative images taken by Tom Stoddart and Alastair Thain. Stoddart has captured the human tragedy of war - suffering, fear, the unharnessed emotions of bereavement - and the courage, dignity and enduring spirit of people trying to survive one day at a time. A monumental backdrop is provided by Thain’s images of the devastated streets and buildings of this once fine Olympic city. Free admission. Details: 0171 960 4242.

APRIL 4-12 FROM THE HEART: INNOVATIONS IN IRISH MUSIC AND ARTS Irish festival at the Barbican Centre, London EC2, comprising five major concerts; free foyer performances; literary events (including Irish poetry set to music by leading new music ensemble Concorde); applied art exhibition by Irish silversmith Cara Murphy; “Green on the screen” film season; and food. Musicians brought together by Donal Lunny include: Sinead O’Connor, Mary Black, Marie Brennan from Clannad and Liam O’Maonlai from Hothouse Flowers. Details: 0171 638 8891.

APRIL 5 COUNTDOWN TO THE MILLENNIUM To mark the start of the 1,000-day countdown to the new Millennium, a family day of free activities based on time and the Millennium will be held at the Home of Time, the Old Royal Observatory, Greenwich. The programme includes: “Time in our hands”, a display by the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers in which visitors can obtain a free check on the accuracy of their watches and discover the skills and technology of timekeeping; and the first and only chance to witness the Greenwich Millenium Countdown Clock reading “1000” days. Details: 0181 858 4422 or 0181 312 6565 (24-hour information line).

APRIL 8 SOAP DAY: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY, FILM AND TELEVISION, BRADFORD Tony McHale, Eastenders and Casualty writer and director, will explore the role of the soap opera writer and the scriptwriting process; and Philip Draycott, a former Coronation Street and Eastenders director now at De Montfort University, will discuss production and post-production challenges. Screenings and discussion included. Fee: Pounds 3. Details: 01274 725347.

APRIL 9 ELUSIVE PARTICLES, EXPLODING STARS, AND THE BIRTH OF THE UNIVERSE Professor Haim Harari, president of the Weizmann Institute Foundation, will give the WIF annual lecture at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, 21 Albemarle Street, London W1, 7.30pm. Admission by complimentary ticket only available from: 0171 486 3954.

APRIL 11 ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER IN CHILDREN, ADOLESCENTS AND ADULTS: NEW UNDERSTANDINGS Presentation by Dr Thomas Brown, associate director of the Yale Medical School’s clinic for attention and related disorders, at Long Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge, 7-9pm. Organised by ADDADHD Support Group, Hertfordshire, in conjunction with the ADHD Family Support Group UK. Tickets Pounds 5 from 01763 220153 (after 1.30pm).