Queer Books

WHO IS READY FOR GAMES? (now with added videogames) *What is the vibe?* This is a social with games.... The games are all easy to play (nothing too serious) so come along even if you just want to socialise In general. This is open to *everyone* under the LGBTQIA+ Umbrella and allies. *Boardgames -* Giant jenga Codenames Uno Monopoly go Connect 4 Sushi go Chamelon Blokus Azul Just one Exploding kittens Please bring your own too if you wish. *Videogames -* Mario Kart World Mario Party Jamboree Overcooked 2 Street fighter 6 Smash Bros Ultimate Streets of rage 4 Super Mario 3d World Super Mario Wonder Wii Sports Just Dance TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES Resident evil 5 (Coop) Retro games - GCN, NES, MEGA DRIVE, N64 AND SNES *How to attend* As always if you have meetup please RSVP but if you dont have meetup yet you are free to just turn up. Checkout this Meetup with LGBTQ+ London: https://meetu.ps/e/NQhq1/CLkL7/i The event starts from 7pm where there will be a table with nametags which are self service. A host will be present until 7:30 for Introductions. After this time if you need a host please approach us (we will be playing games/chatting to others) *The space* We have a large amount of space so plenty of room for everyone. Videogames/Giant jenga can also be played whilst standing too. Plenty of options *How the event works* Hosts are present to welcome people but there are no gamesmasters. Everyone finds a spot, finds a game and just gets on with it. There are instructions 😀. *Location* Betty & Joans 9 Hewson Wy, Elephant Park, London SE17 1JS *Time* 7pm onwards (Usually finishes 10:30/11pm) *Food* Venue does not serve food but you are welcome to bring in food or deliveroo. *How to be a good gaymer?* Playing a game and see someone on their own? Invite them In a conversation and see someone is new? Invite them into the chat Respectful of games - after playing games please return as you saw them as we are run by donations. I will post when I arrive and it is all set up via @⁨⁨Event Chat⁩⁩ but the chat will be locked. All info is provided here. _____________________________ Please Rsvp if you plan to come and also join our Whatsapp. https://chat.whatsapp.com/JFBV5gaLGA2CNUbeZwi34C If the link does not work please Dm mark or leave a comment. __________________________________ Dont forget we run all events for free but there are many costs to running a meetup and Social group. Send your yearly donations to the following. Name: Mark Geer Account number: 03450947 Sort code: 04-00-04 Reference- donate thanks a lot

**We are using Playwaze to manage booking and payment. Please go to the link below to book. Make sure you check the date you want to attend and book and pay for the correct date:** [Playwaze - Session Dashboard](https://playwaze.com/lcwbc-badminton-club/3yupmsu7wwt/session-getdashboard) **Do not book or join waitlist here on Meetup as it will charge you additional fee.** **The number of attendees shown here is not accurate. The actual number is shown on Playwaze.** **Thank you** **Brian Ng**

Join **The Gayzelles LGBTQIA+ Running Club** for a fun way to both keep fit and socialise with other LGBTQIA people in our local area! We meet at 6.30pm every Tuesday outside St Benet's Church on Abbey Grove. We then do a 5.5k route taking in Lesnes Abbey Woods and going around Southmere Lake before heading back to our original starting point. Afterwards, there may be a chance for a bit of a social if people feel like doing so. We look forward to seeing you there! 🌈

So my surname used to be MacAngus… and I know a thing or two about Edinburgh! 😁🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 It’s one of my fave UK cities that I’ve got to know well, and one of the world’s most famous places to ring in the New Year, so I'm super excited to invite you to join me and other women in our community on this new 3 day, 2 night break! 🥳 Hogmanay is the Scottish word for New Year’s Eve, considered the most important Scottish holiday as Christmas was virtually banned in Scotland for around 400 years so, until the 1950s many Scots worked over Christmas and celebrated their winter solstice holiday at New Year. So, simply put, the Scots know how to do NYE right! 🥳🙌 The highlight of Hogmanay is a massive outdoor street party beneath the iconic Edinburgh Castle, which is illuminated with a show stopping midnight fireworks display, then everyone joins hands to belt out ‘Auld Lang Syne’ before continuing to party into the wee hours! 😁 But I've got much more lined up to share this brilliant city with you too; so have a look at the link below for all the info... If, like me, you’re bored of the Christmas and New Year hols being a bit of a meh, anti-climax, then join me and other women in our community who want to make the most of life, on a Scottish adventure to make this festive season a special one to remember! 🙌✨ And if you’ve been thinking about joining us on one of our bigger trips in the future, this short break could be the perfect little taster of your first group trip and way to sample what Travel Queen is all about! ☺️ But you’ll need to be quick; I announced this on social media only last week and 5 places went right away! We also need to get our hotel rooms confirmed and street party tickets booked ASAP as these are likely to sell out fast, and it really isn’t long off now… Our new 3 day Edinburgh NYE Hogmanay city break is now live on the Travel Queen website so you can find out all you need to know there, book online and message me through the chat with any questions - here’s the link: [https://www.travel-queen.co.uk/edinburghnyebreak](https://www.travel-queen.co.uk/edinburghnyebreak) Roll on Hogmanay ladies - who’s joining us?! 🥳 Mel x (Please ignore the number of attendees here on Meet Up as this trip is mainly promoted directly through our website and most attendees will not be listed here.)

This week we'll look at the first chapter of [Science and Human Values](https://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/students/envs_5110/bronowski_1956.pdf), by Jacob Bronowski. In this work Bronowski contends that science is not merely a technical method, but instead is grounded in the same philosophical principles which characterise an open society. These values include honesty, freedom, and tolerance of uncertainty and, he argues, abandoning them leads to intellectual and moral disaster. Please read the chapter before attending.

Join us at the All Good Bookshop for regular board game sessions! Bring your own games or join in with what other people bring! This is free to join, but we'd love it if you'd donate £3-5 while you're there. You can also buy coffee, books, etc (if you're struggling financially, don't worry - we'd rather you came than didn't)!

We're the All Good Bookshop writing group - we've been around for 10 years now. We offer writing feedback and discussion, whatever your level. Never been before? That's fine. Can only come once in a while? That's fine. Want to come regularly? That's fine. While we're predominantly narrative-based, any type of writing is welcome. Fiction, non-fiction, screenplays, novels, short-stories... bring it along and see if it fits. The cost is £5 to join us. Half of this goes to the bookshop and the other half goes towards snacks/drinks for everyone. Pay when you get there. (If you're having any financial problems, feel free to have a discreet chat with Chris about it). HOW IT WORKS First, we do introductions, which cover: 1 - Who you are 2 - What kind of thing you write 3 - What you're working on 4 - What you've done in the last two weeks. Then we find out who has stuff to read out (1,000 - 2,000 words), and who has questions/discussion points. If you'd prefer to do written hand-outs, you can as well. We then run through as many people as we can fit in, so they can read out or run through a discussion point. The group is run by Chris Brosnahan, an experienced writer and a long-running facilitator of writing groups. HOUSE RULES 1 - No egos. Everyone's stuff is up for criticism/feedback. 2 - Be constructive. We're not a review group - we're trying to help each other improve. 3\. No pressure\. You can turn up and just observe if you want \- you're not under pressure to read out or feed back\. 4 - We do our best to be a safe space. You don't know the backgrounds of everyone in the room. If you're going to read something that might be problematic or emotionally difficult, talk about it first - and if you're unsure, ask. 5 - We do our best to be a safe space. For particularly graphic scenes, please discuss in advance. A reminder that listening to erotica is, in itself, a sex act, and needs the enthusiastic consent of everyone involved. 6 - Content warnings apply. This doesn't just mean things like sex or violence. It also includes things like abuse, long-term illness, death - think of things that someone may find difficult if they're dealing with at the moment. We do our best to be a safe space. 7 - If you're struggling with anything being read, you can take a break without any justification or questions. 8 - Banned question: "Is this based on your own life?" - it doesn't add anything and can make discussion awkward. Please don't ask it. 9 - Let other people talk. You'll get your chance to feedback or ask questions, but it can be all too easy to talk over people. You also don't need to respond to every piece of feedback. 10 - Keep it respectful. Keep it friendly. Any problems? Get in touch and ask.

Looking to meet more LGBTQ+ people in 2026? Join us at The London Art Bar for our regular meet-ups hosted by LAB co-founder Gareth. Now in our fourth year, our meet-ups are all about meeting new people, making friends, and having a good time in a queer-friendly space. The meet-ups have a very relaxed vibe with background music at just the right volume for chatting to people! There are also some boardgames on the shelves if people fancy playing them. Feel free to bring your own! I (Gareth) try my best to greet everybody, but this is of course easier at the beginning of the event. If you are ever stuck, say hello to our friendly bar team who can point you in my direction. Come by yourself or bring a friend :)

Get your kids book written! This is an un-hosted meetup for anyone who wants to come and write for a couple of hours in the company of other kids writers. It's a great way to move your project forward in a lovely arty atmosphere. The only rules are to say hello to other writers and leave them to work until 8:30 when you are free to have a chat. If you're by yourself, don't worry. You'll get two hours of writing closer to your goal. Enjoy and Write Write Write!

Lezmeeters who wanna party at Mint for NYE come join us for drinks, good vibes and dance to ring in 2026.

Hot Bi Beverages! The Bi Coffee group (a separate group) meets at 3–6.30pm on the first Saturday of every month. The old Leon venue is permanently closed, so the group now meets in a Caffè Nero near Tottenham Court Road/Shaftesbury Avenue. **The venue**: Caffè Nero, the Central Saint Giles one; at the bottom (south end) of Earnshaw Street, at the corner with Shaftesbury Avenue (a big junction); round the corner from Tottenham Court Road Station. **Address**: 1a St. Giles High St, London WC2H 8AG Vicki is running Bi Coffee each month, come and go as you please. Find us by looking for our little purple unicorn and sign. Respect each other. Newcomers and quiet people are most welcome. There are regulars from outside our group (but in the general London bi community) so even if there's no-one else listed from here you'll be in a friendly and safe group. But do please note this is a separate group from our meetup group and for most reliable updates check out the [facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/groups/bicoffeelondon/). Its run enthusiastically by upstanding bi community member(s) and heartily recommended if more relaxed and quiet hanging out in a café is more your thing. 🟣 Accessibility: The cafe is ground floor and claims disabled toilet and access, baby changing facilities, wifi, and air conditioning (only one toilet though, which can occasionally mean a longer queue for that than for service). The cafe is opposite Tottenham Court Road bus stop S (busses 14, 176). It is on the junction so taxis will need to stop outside it. 🟣 More Info: Facebook group: [facebook.com/bicoffeelondon/](https://www.facebook.com/groups/bicoffeelondon/) Old Bi Coffee website (ignore the outdated location,map): [bi.tocotox.org/bicoffeelondon/](http://bi.tocotox.org/bicoffeelondon/) Venue: [website](https://caffenero.com/uk/store/central-st-giles-654/) / tel:[02072407412](tel:02072407412).

Join us for our January Book Club gathering where we will come together to discuss *Can't Spell Treason Without Tea* by Rebecca Thorne in a safe and welcoming environment. Make new friends who share your passion for books and connect with fellow LGBTQ book enthusiasts.

Join us for our February Book Club gathering where we will come together to discuss *A Master of Djinn* by P. Djèlí Clark in a safe and welcoming environment. Make new friends who share your passion for books and connect with fellow LGBTQ book enthusiasts.

**Calling all queer crochet enthusiasts;** I am a visual artist located in Columbus that is searching for people who may want to gather while also participating in creating a piece of artwork. My goal is to spend time enjoying one another’s company while making a work of art that will be displayed within our community. I plan to teach people to crochet (if unfamiliar) while also inviting current fiber artists to join us for some much-needed social interaction. There are no expectations from those who attend, materials will be included, and any amount of participation is welcome! If you have a favorite crochet hook or current project you are welcome to bring that along too! The primary goal is to foster a safe space for our community to chat, create and be. For further information please email [landerknits@outlook.com.](http://landerknits@outlook.com.) \*This will be our first meeting, bring friends and make new ones. Come as you are and make along side other like-minded folks.

**We are expanding our creative programming opportunities with Queer Quills, a quiet writing and sharing space. Queer Quills features some prompts, supplies and friendly faces to help get some inspiration or feedback for your writing. Hope to see you there!**

Welcome, readers! ❄️ Our December read is **_A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella._** A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella is a tender, character-driven novel that follows three people in a small Pennsylvania town as they each cope with loss and seek connection. Chuck, a widower, struggles to find meaning after his wife’s death; Ella, a young woman, faces the heartbreak of her missing daughter; and Kirsten, a veterinary technician, grieves her father while contemplating her future. Their stories intertwine gently, revealing how grief and hope coexist—and how even small acts of kindness can help people rediscover purpose and peace in the aftermath of tragedy. Looking forward to discussing with everyone! At this meeting, our third annual White Elephant book exchange will take place! If you'd like to participate, bring a gift-wrapped book that you already own. On the gift wrap, write the genre of the book. We will meet at Zaftig Brewing Co in their event room in the back. We are welcome to bring in our own food, but **drinks must be purchased at the bar.** Happy reading! 📖

Volunteer with Westerville Queer Collective and the Neurospicy Meetup to build care packages for local unhoused folks, which will be distributed throughout local camps and neighborhoods via Heer2Serve (501c3). Will you donate any items? If so, comment what will you bring Please make sure clothing items are clean and if you’re donating food, ready to be eaten without a stove or microwave. We expect to assemble around 50-100 packages, so if you’ll purchase items, please consider that amount (ie bulk individually packaged candies etc.). Fun and interesting book or entertainment item donation also welcome! Package assembly will take place on January 17th from 10-12 am. Location TBA but will be in Westerville, Ohio.