What we’re about
Ever go to a social event and meet people that you have zilch shared passions in common or synergies in personalities with? As funny man Chris Rock said recently "an expensive gourmet meal with someone uninspiring is a horrible meal whereas a hotdog with an interesting person is an amazing meal...it's all about the company"
Here at Chillout we concur so we filter people for every event based on interests/passions to maximise opportunities to meet like-minded interesting people who share similar interests and hobbies! Our membership is biased towards successful but unpretentious down to earth financially solvent career professionals with financially solvent careeers from 22 upwards (i.e. post university) with engaging personalities who are intellectually curious with brilliant sense of humour/banter!
We host predominantly free fun themed social & interest based events around a common theme in a social settings to ensure highest levels of engagement, high quality turnout and authentic connections. We do this by asking a simple theme related screening question to filter in people based on mutual interests/passion.
We value quality over quantity so aim to constrict attendees for any given event to people with an authentic love of the event theme in order to foster good engagement dynamics, promote more enjoyable conversations & confine numbers to a socially mixing conducive but manageable size.
As the following breadth of past events will provide testimony to - unless you have zilch passionate interests/hobbies in your life outside work- there should be at least one activity that still gets you excited like a kid: Stargazing BBQ, rockaoke (sing with live band), museums/galleries, different genre music themed music events (00s, 80s, 90s, 70s, 50s, Hip Hop, Reggae, Jazz, Rock, Bollywood & French nights), guided tours (music, cultural & historical), coffee chats, firework displays, active sporting events (badminton, rounders, tennis), Halloween pub crawls, dinners/lunches, cutting edge talks/seminars & exhibitions, tasting/supper club, sprituality events, comedy nights, arts, concerts.
Our London events are hosted by a sociable big personality Londoner with professional career who is passionate about the theme of every event we run so you can expect theme authenticity from the start! We also attempt to avoid holding events in touristy/obvious west end venues so attendees get to enjoy authentic London experiences, and meet people that actually live in the city instead of tourists if that is part of your goal.
Waiting lists wise - when places become available, preference will be given to people who have adequately answered the simple event theme screening question, those with complete profiles (including face pic) who have stipulated their passion/interests, and to our most loyal members and those with a close proximity to event location, so it's paramount that you fill out your profile without flippancy!!
And here at Chillout, our philosophy is you shouldn't have to pay a premium to enjoy the things that you love so in accordance with the fundamental founding tenet of Meetup - the vast majority of our events are free! However in rare cases, where direct or venue hiring costs are incurred for putting on a specific event and collaboration with other non meetup paid groups there maybe a small charge.
So whether you’re originally from London or brand new to the city, here's to enjoying some memorable brilliant times out with a carefully crafted audience and even forming new authentic interest based long-lasting connections along the way.
Lastly, I have a busy commercial consulting career in entrepreneurial environments that often requires holding last minute meetings with my C-level executive clients & sometimes working 16 day hours till 2am! As this is what pays my mortgage, my work always has to take priority - I can't tell the CEO or the client "sorry mate - no can do - I got a meetup to host!!!". So sometimes postponing an event becomes necessary but I usually try to provide at least several hours of notice. Accordingly you should always check the event page on the day of the escapade for any announcements - especially if it is scheduled during the working week.
Lucas - Group Owner & Organiser (and an obvious essay writer!)
Terms of attendance. For security screening, traceability and protecting our members - unless you have attended events previously and we know who you are - we require everyone to have a face pic on their profile prior to attending an event. Given these are real life social events anonymity seems irrational and any violation will result in you being removed from the attendance list. If you need to conceal your identity for safety reasons, please provide rationale to me directly to assess. In addition, if you are identified or reported to having different motives for attending events other than for socialising with like minded people around a shared interest/theme that you are genuinely passionate about then you will be removed.
In addition, If you recieve unsolicited private contact/messages from random people you have never met before please feel free to report to me (so I can remove), obviously exercise judgement here factoring in the context of any such communication. Also to protect your own safety and mitigate against any potential harassment or stalking, I advise not to give out your telephone number to random people you have just met/don't know well enough, or to post it on event pages or share private taxi/cars. And do not accept or request drinks from other members you do not know well enough. If you have any issues please report ASAP to me and or directly to meetup & the police.
Feel free to follow us on Twitter o keep updated with new events here:
https://twitter.com/Chillout_London
https://twitter.com/LucasBulsara
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And now for some blatant testimonial marketing with generous bank transfers on way:
"I first went to Chillout when I moved to London from the US and I always had a really great time. Everyone was super friendly. Lucas always has cool captivating themes and I always felt deeply engaged, never bored. We ended becoming good friends. I'd definitely recommend!" Staci
"His energy, passion for the theme, beauty and brief conversation shifted my mindset tremendously in less than a few minutes which is very rare when attending meetups" Clare
"Wow....I love the integrity, transparency and care you show for those who are serious about meeting genuine and authentic soul connections!!" Yungz
"Los eventos de Chillout London son siempre sinónimo de originalidad, variedad y diversión. Música, tours, observaciones de estrellas... En ellos siempre conoces a personas amables, interesantes y con una mentalidad abierta con quienes disfrutar de una buena conversación. ¡En seguida te sientes entre amigos! Lucas, además de ser pura creatividad, se encarga de que así sea propiciando siempre un ambiente relajado y divertido" Inma
"It was so much fun. I'll definitely join more events. You are a great host and I loved all the people I met. Nice group and you do a great job to make everyone feel welcome. I had such a great time!! Thanks for all." Marta
"Meeting Lucas and attending his event was a lovely experience. He had so much knowledge and passion for the event. It was really good. Very impressive" Komal
"The organiser is often late, undisciplined and boyishly mischievousness. As a former school teacher - I have no idea how he made it through school or university without being expelled but his events are so novel & addictive I just can't stay away" Reena
"Lucas często sobie żartuje, ale ja go kocham. Kiedy grał jako DJ na nocnych imprezach w swoim klubie muzycznym, odmawiał grania Never Tear Us Apart, więc jeśli lubisz dobrą muzykę, sugeruję unikanie imprez Chillout, dopóki on tego nie zrobi, a jeśli znów nazwie mnie Poliski, zabiję go." Dominika
"It's about time Lucas grew up, got married like the rest of his mates instead of wasting time on this meetup lark (don't worry mate - if you're gay as we suspect you can come out now). We never see him anymore - he should be hanging out with his real friends!" Adam (Me: "nah mate - your wife has you on curfew bloud - you gotta be home by midnight, I might as well stay in and watch Holby City")
"The organiser is one of the funniest, irreverant and entertaining people I've met. He is really passionate about all his event themes and so there is always an air of excitement and never a dull moment. Now I'm a regular for over 5 years - I always leave either learning something new or laughing on the way home" Lorraine
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- 🔭 Watch Planets, Comets, Stars & Nebula Over Drinks With TelescopesArchway Tube Station (outside the station - come out the Junction Road exit), London
Ever glanced up at the sky and marvelled with insatiable curiosity at the wonder of the universe - our place in it, how life began on our planet, what else is out there, how insignificant Earth is (the real pic is just eqv to a sand grain size capture of the sky with each dot an actual galaxy), and where in the cosmos other civilizations might live?
Then RSVP to view the breath taking rings of Saturn, the potential life harbouring moons of Jupiter, the international space station, Tau Ceti star with 2 Earth like planets in the habitable zone that support life as we know it plus a range of other fascinating celestial wonderments (star systems, galaxies, asteroids) over drinks and engaging chats and banter this Aug.
In between observing we'll have a drinks and engaging chats on all astronomy related topics for those inclined (astrobiology, SETI/Femi Paradox, astrophysics, cosmology etc.) as well as non space chatter and banter. No doubt we'll hear the usual jokes we've all heard hundreds of times before! If those don't make you laugh then my impersonation of Los Angeles ET will! 👽
====Joining Astronomers Group & Telescopes =====
I'm able to take a limited number of people (please only RSVP if you can make it) to join a friendly informal relaxed London amateur astronomers' club that I have been a member of for over a decade. As there will be people attending from my other group plus from the Astronomers group itself - total attendees is far higher than what you see here! We need to confine numbers because as for practical reasons of limited telescopes - we have pay public liability insurance along with other fees to Regent's Park covering a maximum defined number of people.Over the years we have enjoyed numerous evenings of social stargazing and thought provoking chatter with people of all ages and varying levels of astronomy knowledge - so complete beginners that are genuinely curious about the universe are very welcome! The world renowed famous BBC Television Sky at Night also attended events pre covid and interviewed some of the key regulars for it's show that aired on BBC1 in Feb 2019. BBC Radio London (94.9 FM or digital) were also there last Aug to cover our meteor shower broadcasting live to millions of Londoners for 3 hours!
You don't need a telescope as you will be able to view through scopes belonging to me and other club members (as long as you behave responsibly and don't temper with expensive equipment). If you have your own telescope/binoculars feel free to bring along and I can help you with setting up if you're a newbie.
Alcoholic beverage (wine, beer, cider only), hot drinks and food/snacks will be available to purchase at the observation point/warm indoor cafe with seating area and outside (glass) view of the park.
====ITINERARY=====
Meet outside Camden Station, on the high street side (not Kentish Town). After a short wait for anyone delayed, I will escort everyone to the observation point in the park 20 minutes walk away. We usually go for drinks after in Camden===What Can You Expect To See (this time of year)? ====
- Orion Nebula
- Jupiter and 4 moons
- Geminid Meteor Shower
- Andromedia Galaxy
- Saturn & rings
- Star clusters such as The Owl Cluster, pleiades etc
- International Space station fly by
- Venus & Mercury
- Binary & tripple star systems (think planet Tatooine in Starwars!),
- Neptune
- Uranuus
- Mars
- Our moon
More here from Jodrell Bank Observatory/Astrophysics Centre:
http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/astronomy/nightsky/Guide to viewing the cosmos for beginners:
https://phys.org/news/2018-05-universe-distant-starstips-cosmology-backyard.html#jCp===Weather=====
The event is subject to clear skies forecasts on the night so if on the actual late afternoon of the event the weather forecasts looks unsuitable beyond doubt then I will postpone so please check the event status on the scheduled day . If this event is still listed here at 5PM, we will be going ahead at the designated day and time!Happy Stargazing!
Lucas Skywalker (Amateur Astronomer)