The Lords of Lightning have touched down in London this weekend. The metal suit-clad duo fling four million volts of raw electricity at each other while standing on two metal podiums!

I saw the mesmerising act last night at a hip bar perched atop Peckham multi-storey car park in South London, which affords eye-popping views of the city’s skyline. Before the sizzling performance began, a girl behind me said: “I don’t want to stand too close. I might get electrocuted!” The crackling sound of the electricity coupled with the smell of burning made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. And I found the sight of the lightning bolts coming out of their hands, heads and swords utterly dazzling.

Presented by the Mayor of London and London 2012 Festival as part of Showtime, you can catch the Lords of Lightning again tonight (2 Sept) at 8pm and 9pm at 10th floor, Peckham multi-storey car park, 95A Rye Lane, London SE15 4ST. 

Entry is free but you are advised to book tickets in advance

Make the most of the many exciting cultural events taking place this weekend by exploring one of the Mayor of London’s cultural trails.

This Saturday, it’s all about South London, with activities taking place from 10am to 9pm. And it’s all free!

Start your day at the Southbank Centre where you can watch a documentary about the Diverse City – Breathe project, a unique collaboration between disabled and non-disabled performers from Dorset and Brazil.

Next, pop into the Southbank Centre’s shop on Festival Terrace, which is being curated by not-for-profit organisation Design Nation all month. Here you can see new products and showcases from some of Britain’s best design talent.

Your next cultural stop is Tate Modern. Take a look at Tino Sehgal’s Turbine Hall Commission. This live show involves choreographed movements and sounds from participants in the space – you’ll never have the same experience twice! Then check out the brand new Tanks at Tate Modern, hosting an ongoing programme of live art, performance, film and installations during the London 2012 Festival.

There’s more performance at your final stop in either Burgess Park or Peckham. Mayor of London Presents Showtime (a festival visiting all London boroughs) is collaborating with Southwark’s annual Elephant and the Nun festival. Highlights include the electrifying Lords of Lightning at Peckham Multi Storey Car Park (free but booking advised).

Download the free London Official City Guide app to guide you on the trail, and to give you more ideas along the way, or download a PDF

We’ve currently got more than 800 Italian restaurants listed on Visit London: there are probably more. London has long been enamoured with the delicious cuisine that comes from Italy: according to the History of Italian Restaurants in Britain, the first Italian Eating House appeared just off Leicester Square in 1803.

We’ve ventured a little further from Central London to gather a set of recommendations for local Italian restaurants in London. Here are our suggestions; we’d love you to add yours to the comments below.

Laura Haggett, Camberwell
Caravaggio in Camberwell Church Street is a real find. The waiters are welcoming and always happy to recommend the specials of the day. The plates of pasta on offer are for those with hearty appetites and there is always a good range of quality meat and fish options. They don’t do pizza, but you won’t miss it. Most dinners are under a tenner, with pasta around the £5 mark, so you’re still smiling when you pay the bill and leave, even if your stomach is so full that they have to roll you out the door!

Foamy, Dartmouth Park
Nuraghe in Dartmouth Park serves up genuine (I think!) Sardininan dishes with a smile. Try the venison tortellini – amazing.

Chris Wareham, Hampstead
My favourite Italian restaurant is L’Artista in Golders Green. The portions are enormous, the prices very reasonable and the food genuinely Italian, including thin-based pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven. The staff are friendly, boisterous and loud, so it may not suit those looking for a quiet, romantic meal, but for a less intimate evening of Italian food, it’s unbeatable.

Lisa Williams, Fulham
For someone with an allergy to wheat, mention of Italian usually fills me with dread as pizza and pasta are massive no goes. However my local Italian, Pappa & Ciccia in Munster Road always puts a massive smile on my face as they serve the most amazing wheat-free pasta dishes.  I always know I can head in there with my wheat-eating friends, and not feel left out and have the most amazing food.

Charlotte Thomas, Brixton
J’s in Primrose Hill is a perennial favourite with my work colleagues and me. Cheap and cheerful and great for lunch after a big night the evening before!

John Craig, Peckham Rye
I’ve been enjoying the wood-fired pizzas and lovingly made pasta at San Marco Pizzeria on Clapham High Street with my girlfriend for years. The staff are always so friendly. When our favourite waitress told us she was moving back to Italy we were gutted. But she gave us her address and phone number, and told us to visit her anytime. We haven’t yet, but that’s probably because we can get a proper, authentic taste of Italy with a short trip to Clapham!

Jose Adams, Mortlake
Il Portico on Kensington High Street.  Family run (in fact London’s oldest family run restaurant), terrific service, very friendly, delicious food, perfect for special occasions.  Reassuringly traditional menu (like escalopes of veal layered with Parma ham and sage with a white wine sauce) and very comfortable seating – so my boyfriend is happy. I’m a veggie and they will always do something delicious for me. 

Abby Penlington, Tulse Hill
Il Porcini, West Dulwich is a great little place has an inventive menu with a great black squid ink spaghetti, prawn and chilli pasta.

Coralie Grassin, Farnborough
My favourite haunt would be Ecco. This pizza place does not look like much from the outside but wow! Those are gorgeous – very fresh ingredients, as if the tomatoes and basil have just been picked from the plant. The staff are always doing that little bit extra too and cheer me up on bad days. From £3.50 for pizza, this is the best deal in town!

Kat O’Donnel, Seven Sisters
Il Bacio in Stoke Newington has quickly become a regular haunt. Traditional Italian with changing specials as well as all the usual favourites – pizza, pasta, carne, pesce. Plus tasty Italian wines and very genuine staff. And it’s on the Taste Card, bonus!

Peter Spring, Morden
Al Forno in Wimbledon is superb. The portions are huge and the food is excellent but it’s the staff that make this cosy, wood-paneled restaurant special. For a friend’s surprise birthday bash the staff dished out free shots of Italian liqueur and shoveled spoonfuls of cake into the guy’s mouth! Al Forno’s staff always seem to be in a good mood and they are expert at ensuring this vibe permeates to each and every guest. My top tip (and theirs!) is to order a small pizza because the medium is massive.

Please add your favourite local Italian restaurants to the comments below

It’s an unlikely venue for an art exhibition.

But the launch of Bold Tendencies IV on the top two floors of the multistorey car park in Peckham still drew around 1,500 people last Wednesday.

The crowd was mostly made up of impossibly thin art students, the bigness of their hair and sunglasses making up for the smallness of their artfully distressed clothes. Plus their mums and dads; Peckham’s ever-interesting locals; and a few art celebs (hello, Jay Jopling, Antony Gormley and Alison Jackson).

Bold Tendencies IV, as the title suggests, is the fourth in a line of annual sculpture projects organised by the Hannah Barry Gallery.

I have to admit that, while I quite liked Alex Hoda’s The Dancers, the art on display is quite hit and miss, and rarely beats the incredible views of London from the top of my local multistorey.

And there’s always the suggestion that it’s Frank’s Campari Bar, a make-shift structure of impossible coolness in one corner of the top floor that might, for some, be the main attraction, more than the works of art themselves.

Frank’s is designed by Lettice Drake and Paloma Gormley (Antony’s daughter) and run by Frank Boxer and chef Michael Davies.

Debates will wrangle over whether Frank’s is London’s coolest summer pop-up bar (I challenge you to name a better one); but last Wednesday it was definitely the busiest. With queues about seven people deep, we didn’t even try to get our hands on any of the promised Campari, leaving it to the pushy students in possession of “bolder tendencies” than ours…

Check out more Bold Tendencies IV photos on flickr.

Bold Tendencies IV and Frank’s Café and Campari Bar is at Peckham Multi-Story Carpark, 95A Rye Lane, London SE15 until 30 September. www.frankscafe.org.uk