NEIL D’ARCY-JONES picks his Top Five Events for the week ahead.

• Colchester Art Society Winter Exhibition, Minories Gallery, High Street, Colchester, until Saturday, from 10am. Free, and Firstsite Open Exhibition, Firstsite Gallery, Lewis Gardens, Colchester, until Sunday, from 10am. Free. 01206 577067.

OK so two picks for the price of one but that’s because it’s your last chance to catch some really incredible works of art, more importantly all created by local artists.

Over at the Minories it’s the Colchester Art Society’s Winter Show, which has some stunning pieces from familiar names such as Ian Hay and Charles Debenham as well as some new artists to watch out for the future.

And demonstrating just what a wealth of talent we have on our own doorstep, don’t miss out on the last few days of Firstsite’s immensely popular inuagral Open Exhibition.

• Stargazing, Abberton Reservoir Nature Reserve, New Cut Road, Layer de la Haye, Saturday, 6pm to 9pm. To book a place call 01206 738172.

Join Essex Wildlife Trust and North Essex Astronomical Society to look at the night sky through a series of large telescopes.

There’s a chance to check out the Big Dipper and Orion’s Belt but pray for good weather because the event will only run with clear skies.

Bacon rolls and hot drinks will be available on the night to keep star spotters warm.

• Colchester Repair Café Launch, Colchester Library, Trinity Square, Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Free.

The launch of a pioneering repair service at Colchester library where people can take broken items, including bikes to furniture or electronics and clothes, to be mended free of charge.

Hourly sessions start at 10am with cycle repairs and continue throughout the day until 3pm’s educational hour, where experts tell people how they can fix items themselves, before an open hour rounding off the day from 4pm to 5pm.

The Repair Café will continue to run every Thursday at The Waiting Room at the Old Bus Station from 7.30pm to 9pm.

• Blondel: A History of Dance, St Andrew’s Church, Church Lane, Marks Tey, Sunday, 3pm. £7, £5 concessions, on the door.

An expanded Blondel line-up brings you dance tunes spanning from the 13th to the 17th centuries on shawms and sackbut, recorders, bagpipes and fiddle.

Named after Richard I’s legendary minstrel who came looking for him while he was imprisoned, the Colchester-based group have performed all over the country at such prestigious events as the Leeds International Medieval Congress and Cambridge Early Music Series.

• National Theatre Live Encore: Of Mice and Men, Assembly Rooms, High Street, Dedham, Wednesday, doors 6.30pm. £10. www.dedhamfilms.co.uk Dedham Films present a screening of John Steinbeck's classic American tale direct from Broadway in New York.

Directed by Anne Sapiro, the highly acclaimed production features American actor James Franco as George and the IT Crowd’s Chris O'Dowd as Lennie.