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