Pre-Christmas cheer

I've been a bit quiet, but the Centre hasn't - and there's an unmissable event coming up next week. On Friday 18 December it's time to enjoy some pre-Christmas cheer with There's Lovely See comedy club.

The line-up includes Josh Widdicombe from the hit Edinburgh show 'South by South Wales'; Joe Rowntree, host of the TV programme Brainiac; James Dowdeswell from Extras; and guest MC Marian Pashley. As ever, tickets are £10 including a free drink. A perfect early Christmas present to yourself!

Practical info
Venue: London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road
Time: Friday 18 December, 8pm (doors open 7.30)
Booking: 0207 837 3722 / pay on door.

Wales v Samoa - big screen at the Centre

Wondering where to watch the Wales-Samoa rugby match? It will be shown live on the London Welsh Centre on Friday 13 November. Come along and watch at the big screen, with Brains SA and light snacks available!

Admission is free to members, otherwise £3 on the door including a donation to the tsunami appeal.

Practical info
Venue: London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road (King's Cross or Chancery Lane tube)
Time: kick-off is 7.30pm
Cost: free to members/£3 non-members

An evening with Meinir Gwilym

Tomorrow night, Welsh singer-songwriter Meinir Gwilym will be at the London Welsh Centre. Tickets are only £8 for Centre members (£12 for non-members, including temporary membership) - a bargain for the opportunity to hear this talented performer in London.

S4C show Wedi 7 will also be at the Centre tomorrow evening, filming for the programme. We look forward to seeing you there!

October comedy night

This month's comedy night, featuring Maureen Younger, Grainne Maguire and Shazia Mirza with Marion Pashley as MC, was a great success. Here are a few photos from the evening.

Comedy spectacular!

Next Friday 16 October, there's a brilliant night of comedy with the London Welsh Centre's There's Lovely See club. The line-up may sound like the opening of a joke - a Scottish woman, an Irish woman and a Muslim woman - but we can promise you more than one great punchline!

Maureen Younger, Hackney Empire New Act finalist, is a London Scot with 'natural gift of the gab, engaging and funny' (Three Weeks).

Grainne Maguire has been an 'enjoyably bizarre' finalist in Funny Women 2008 and Hackney Empire New Act 2009.

Shazia Mirza, as seen on Richard and Judy and Have I Got News For You. In the words of the Guardian, 'with her laconic one-liners she actually manages to make being a Muslim woman seem wonderfully life-enhancingly funny.'

And our MC is Marion Pashley, a There's Lovely See favourite whom the Guardian found 'delightful'.

Practical info
Venue: London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road
Time: Friday 16 October, 8pm (doors open 7.30)
Booking: 0207 837 3722 / pay on door.

Weekend highlights

Tonight is comedy night at the London Welsh Centre: come down to There's Lovely See comedy club for a great evening's entertainment and a free drink, all for just a tenner.

Sunday and Monday at 7.30pm, there's bilingual theatre at the Hen & Chickens Theatre in Islington. Tickets are £8 for 'a darkly comic two hander' about an encounter between a man called Richard Parker and an enigmatic stranger. Click here for more information/bookings.

This weekend at the Welsh Centre

Well, summer is over, but there's no cause for regret: the autumn programme of events at the London Welsh Centre is getting underway. There are two great events at the Centre over the next few days:

Friday 11 is film night. Come along to the bar for 7.30pm and watch Passport to Pimlico on the big screen. This Ealing comedy explores what happens when Pimlico turns out to be part of Burgundy...

Saturday 12 is Pwy Bia'r Gan? - a skit in Welsh on Britain's Got Talent with all original music by Robat Arwyn and a cast of 50 youngsters from Cardigan Schools. An enjoyable event in support of the Centre, with £10 tickets available on the door. 7.30pm start.

And a diary date that'll help you smile in September: the next Comedy Club will be on Friday 18. Usual time and cost (8pm/£10 with a free drink).

Learn Welsh in London

It may be summer holiday time, but next month is back to school - and a great time to start learning Welsh. The London Welsh Centre has excellent, affordable classes at levels 1 and 2 - and a great social life including after-class drinks in the bar upstairs and regular parties.

Links to further information and a booking form can be found on the Centre website here.

Edinburgh previews on 17 July

A last-minute reminder not to miss out on the Edinburgh previews at tomorrow's There's Lovely See comedy club. This is your chance to enjoy shows by Zoe Lyons and Patrick Monohan before they head off to the Festival. And as ever, your ticket includes a free drink!

Practical info
Venue: London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road
Time: Friday 15 May, 8pm (doors open 7.30)
Booking: 0207 837 3722 / pay on door.

Diary dates

Some upcoming events at the London Welsh Centre - all well worth noting in your diary:

Friday 19th June, 8.30pm - There's Lovely See Comedy Club returns for another night of quality comedy featuring Paul Harry Allen, Stephen Carlin, and Marian Pashley as Guest MC.

Monday 22nd June, 7.30pm - Annual General Meeting. Everyone welcome. Your thoughts and ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Friday 26th June, 8pm - Open Mic Night. If you know of any budding musicians who would like to test out their talent and practise their stage presence do tell them about this. It's a great opportunity to gain confidence from performing in front of an audience.

Saturday 27th June, 7.30pm - Gwalia Male Voice Choir concert. Tickets are £15 including a buffet, and are available from the office (huw@lwcentre.demon.co.uk).

Quiz tonight!

Don't forget that tonight, the Quiz for Africa hosted by Fraser Cains is being held at the London Welsh Centre. Bring your team or join one on the night, and enjoy an evening of fun, challenge and a great raffle! All for the very good cause of bringing a safe water supply to a village in Zambia.

Practical info
Time: 7.30pm, Wednesday 17 June
Venue: London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road
Cost: £5 per person

Quiz for Africa

Next Wednesday is the third Quiz for Africa hosted by Fraser Cains. Thanks to previous fundraising a borehole has been sunk in Zambia, water tower built and tank placed on top; this evening it's hoped to raise the money for pipework to Kasupe Farm.

Fraser promises us 'questions to invigorate the brain, bring you to your senses and lay pipes' as well as a brilliant raffle (past prizes have included everything from champagne to pickles). All that fun and a good cause, for just £5 a head (and donations of prizes are also welcome!)

Practical info
Time: 7.30pm, Wednesday 17 June
Venue: London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road
Cost: £5 per person

This Wednesday: Gwyneth Glyn

Just a quick reminder that there's still time to get your tickets for the concert this Wednesday by Gwyneth Glyn, the outstanding Welsh singer-songwriter. It promises to be a lovely night out, and tickets cost just £5.

Practical info
Time: 7.45pm, Wednesday 7 June 2009
Venue: the bar, London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road
Tickets: £5 each, email huw@lwcentre.demon.co.uk or buy online

Gwyneth Glyn: contemporary Welsh folk at the London Welsh Centre

Wednesday 3 June will be a very special evening at the London Welsh Centre as we're visited by acclaimed singer-songwriter Gwyneth Glyn. The Welsh Herald has described her as having 'a wonderful voice, haunting melodies and an extraordinary eloquence - a sorceress at work.' She is also a published poet and author, and was Wales' Children's Poet Laureate in 2006-7.

Gwyneth will be singing songs from her first two albums. For a taste of her music, listen at her myspace page.


Practical info
Time: 7.45pm, Wednesday 7 June 2009
Venue: the bar, London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road
Tickets: £5 each, email huw@lwcentre.demon.co.uk or buy online

Tonight: comedy club with Shazia Mirza

Don't forget tonight's comedy club at the London Welsh Centre, featuring Robert White, Jen Brista and headliner Shazia Mirza. Tickets are only £10 and include a free drink!

Practical info
Venue: London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road
Time: Friday 15 May, 8pm (doors open 7.30)
Booking: 0207 837 3722 / pay on door.

One-day Welsh course

Fancy learning Welsh but feel worried about mutations, consonants that turn out to be vowels, and the fact you haven't spoken it since school/some time last century/ever?

Already learning Welsh and would like an opportunity to practice without leaving the city?

We have the perfect solution!

The one-day Welsh course on Saturday 13 June is a chance to enjoy lessons in friendly, relaxed classes with an expert tutor. What's more, it's a real bargain at £30 for a full day, including tea, coffee and two-course lunch.

For more information and a booking form, contact Theo on tbpdc@anoeth.demon.co.uk
Location: London Welsh Centre, 157-163 Gray's Inn Road, WC1
Times: 9.30-5.30
Register by: 1 June 2009

Fun and a free drink next Friday!

On Friday 15 May, There's Lovely See comedy night returns to the London Welsh Centre with a superb line-up. Come along to enjoy the 'quickfire wit and relentless energy' of Robert White, 'surreal ideas and slick banter' of Jen Brista and the 'life-enhancingly funny' Shazia Mirza - as seen on Have I Got News For You! The resident MC is Sion James and - as if all that wasn't enough to tempt you - there's a free drink with every ticket.

Practical info
Venue: London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road
Time: Friday 15 May, 8pm (doors open 7.30)
Booking: 0207 837 3722 / pay on door.

Quotations courtesy of the Brighton Argus, Sunday Times and Guardian.

Tonight:

At the London Welsh Centre this evening, a chance to make and listen to music:

Our FIRST Open Mike night at the centre - THIS FRIDAY A Jam (& Honey) session!
ENTRANCE FREE TO ALL MEMBERS AND FRIENDS 7.30 ish to late

Lead Artist this Friday Art Simpson on Sax with friends;
Also promised recording artist Mitch Palmer on Guitar;

Bring your own talent & join in!

Come & support this evening which - if it is succesful - will become a regular
feature at the club.

Poetry on Wednesday

Don't forget the evening of poetry this Wednesday night at the London Welsh Centre. Celebrating the anthology Poetry 1900-2000: One Hundred Poets from Wales, the event will feature editor Meic Stephens and poet Paul Henry, hosted by Fraser Cains.

Practical info:
FREE event
Venue: The bar, London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road
Time: 7.30 for 8pm, Wednesday 22 April 2009

Quick, it's comedy time!

Tomorrow (Friday 17 April), it's another unmissable comedy night with There's Lovely See. MC Steve Parry hosts a line-up including Tom Goodliffe, Paul Harry Allen and Wes Zaharuk. Judging by previous evenings, it will be a brilliant evening - and don't forget, every ticket includes a free drink! (Use the button on the right to buy them online).

Practical info
Venue: London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road
Time: Friday 20 March, 8pm (doors open 7.30)
Booking: 0207 837 3722 / click here to buy online / pay on door.