Jane Austen

This is a calm, low-pressure morning walk in Greenwich Park. The idea is simple: we walk together, take things at an easy pace, and enjoy being outside. There’s no pressure to talk — you’re welcome to walk quietly or chat if you feel like it. This is not therapy and there’s no agenda. Just a safe, friendly space to start the day gently and connect with others. We’ll walk for about an hour and finish back near the starting point. Everyone is welcome.

The session is aimed at beginners and intermediate level players who have either never played tennis previously or would like to improve on their game. Join our 2 hours session which will consist of warm up followed by drills focusing on technical skill coaching and will include Forehand / Backhand / Volley and Serve. Finally you get to play each other refining your skills and techniques and ultimately having fun. Rackets can be borrowed please let me know if you need a racket in advance. You need to make a payment 24 hours before the session. If you cannot attend the session please provide 24 hours notice. Should you wish to cancel. This will allow other players on the waiting list the chance to attend the session. If severe weather conditions prevent the session you will have credit for your next session. If there is less than 6 players unfortunately the session will not go ahead. If you have any questions contact me by either through this email. hmasoudi@email.com or call/text me on 07901662457 £ 30 per player per session. H. Masoudi Sort code 40-03-33 Account number 31344609 The session is with less than 12 players is run by one main qualified coach.

Join us for a relaxed wander through Marylebone’s charming mix of historic streets and boutique vibes. We’ll start at Marylebone Station, meandering past the elegant façades of Marylebone High Street & nearby Marylebone Lane, ending up near Bond Street station & going for a pub social. Meet outside Marylebone Tube station.

Step away from the screen and join us for our Offline Women Hangout at the Reading Room. We are meeting to unplug and enjoy a few hours of unstructured time together. There is no set agenda or forced socializing. We simply gather to exist in the same space, screen-free. The Reading Room inside the Wellcome Collection is a unique mix of a library and a gallery. It is filled with over a thousand books and curious historical objects. Unlike a standard library, this is a social space where talking is welcome. It is specifically designed for movement, conversation, and discovery. **What you can do** * **Explore**: Try out the various activities stationed around the room, from creative prompts to interactive displays. * **Read**: Pick up any book from the open shelves or bring your own. * **Create:** Bring your journal or sketchbook to capture thoughts (note: the library allows *pencils only* to protect the books). * **Relax:** Grab a beanbag on the stairs and just exist and people-watch. * **Socialize:** Engage in low-pressure conversation with other Offline Women in the social zones. Spots are limited to ensure the group remains small, intimate, and everyone has a great time connecting face-to-face.

**Join Our 2026 French Conversation Community** Experience the best of London while improving your French with our **Annual Membership**. By making a single payment, you bypass recurring platform fees and secure your place for a full year of social connection and language practice. **Why Join Us?** * **12 Monthly Events:** A consistent, **sustainable** way to practice French throughout the year. * **Scenic Locations:** Enjoy guided walks through **Hampstead Heath** and summer picnics in **Green Park** and **Hyde Park**. * **Convenience:** We handle the admin for you. You are added to events automatically—simply show up or update your status if your plans change. * **Social & Transformative:** Move beyond textbooks. Meet new friends and practice naturally in a relaxed, outdoor setting. * **Weather-Proof:** If it rains, we head to a local pub or cafe! The conversation continues regardless of the British weather. **The Logistics** Events typically take place on the **first Sunday of each month**. While we occasionally adjust dates for weather, transport strikes, or holidays to ensure the best experience for everyone, our commitment to 12 high-quality gatherings remains the same. **2026 Event Schedule** 11 January, 8 February, 8 March, 12 April, 10 May: Hampstead Heath walks 21 June: Green Park 5 July: Picnic (Hyde Park) 2 August: Picnic (Green Park) 6 September: Picnic (Hyde Park) 4 October, 1 November, 6 December: Hampstead Heath walks **How to Register** To secure your membership for all 12 events, please follow these two steps: 1. **Register for this event** on the platform. 2. **Complete your payment** of £20 via our secure PayPal link: 👉 **[\[Buy the subscription](https://www.paypal.com/webapps/billing/plans/subscribe?plan_id=P-2UM44235W3669982UNFWOLQQ)]** **Important Payment Policy:** To keep our administration efficient, members who have not completed their payment within **7 days of registration** will be removed from the attendee list. We look forward to seeing you soon! **The London French Language Group**

Join our group for under-represented writers who want more time to write, feedback on their work, and tips on developing their craft. \*\* Please come to the Reading Room on the 2nd floor at The Wellcome Collection and look out for the Writer's Corner sign \*\* The Writers' Corner is a peer support community for under-represented writers, with bi-monthly meet-ups both online and in-person. Join us if you want more time and space to write, get feedback on your work or to develop your craft. We welcome all writers who tend to get overlooked by the publishing industry, or struggle to afford the costs of other writing courses and groups. We'll let you self define, but we particularly welcome writers of colour, those from the LGBTQ+ community, disabled writers, unpaid carers, low income writers and anyone who self-defines as a woman. While we have done our best to pick venues that are accessible to all, if you have any specific accesss requirements please send us a message so we can discuss how we can meet your needs. That includes anyone feeling anxious about attending a group for the first time (very happy for you to come a bit early, before everyone else, if that helps). While we are establishing the group we will be deciding week-by-week how each session will be structured. This will be led by the group. Once we are more established we will have a structured programme of events that you can chose to take part in.

**It’s that time again! With February now here, we're hugely excited to be hosting our latest Social Pub Quiz, exclusively for 20s and 30s.** Yep that's right, every month we host latest our very special creative and quirky pub quiz in Central London, just for our community. And as always, our crack team of quizmasters have concocted a range of entertaining and social quiz rounds, each designed to challenge your wit and intelligence with a range of fun and fascinating questions. And we'll also be throwing in some fun team games designed to test your speed, creativity and teamwork - with previous quizzes featuring everything from crafty challenges, poetry duels to Marmalade Sandwich time trials! Best of all, we have some amazing prizes up for grabs and so don't miss out on what promises to be a memorable afternoon of quizzing, socialising, and friendly competition. Unfortunately as the pub can only fit a limited number of us in for the quiz and so as always, places will be offered on a first come, first serve basis. **\- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \-** **WHERE/WHEN** Venue Address: The Star By Liverpool Street, 94 Middlesex St, London E1 7EZ ([https://maps.app.goo.gl/hcx4jN9BnqDry2Ws5](https://maps.app.goo.gl/hcx4jN9BnqDry2Ws5)) Nearest Tube Stations: Liverpool Street (5 mins walk) and Aldgate (10 mins). Start Time - 4:30pm Finish time: 7:30pm - 8:30pm (Approx) **\- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \- \-** **JOIN THE COMMUNITY** Set up in November 2021, the project was set up to help 20s and 30s in London meet, connect and hopefully build life-long friendships. To help make this happen, we also host all kinds of events from free social walks, games evenings, day trips, social events, activity nights to picnics. To learn more about our community or to follow us on social media, please follow one of the links below. **Website - [https://friendship-project.co.uk](https://friendship-project.co.uk/)** **Instagram - [https://www.instagram.com/great.friendship](https://www.instagram.com/great.friendship)**

Welcome back ramblers, rovers, loungers and loafers and happy 2026! It's a new year, but we're picking where we left off, in the onetime capital of cockney London with its dockworkers and gangsters, the Isle of Dogs - which became the landing-pad for an invasion of alien Thatcherites in the 1980s with the construction of Canary Wharf, which now towers over the council estates and parklands of this misunderstood peninsula. From there we'll head west, looking eventually to end up in the Brutalist wonderland (featured in Kubrick's *Clockwork Orange*!) of Thamesmead, possibly by way of the free Woolwich Ferry service from north shore to south. Meet at Canary Wharf station, out in front of the big curved class canopy. Elizabeth Line services at Abbey Wood will get us home. See you there! Check planned TfL disruptions here - our day should be all clear for most everybody: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/planned-track-closures.pdf A little background on our City Drifting project here: **Now just wait a minute. What the hell is a drift ([dérive](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9rive))?** A drift is any unplanned journey through the urban landscape in which participants practice a form of radical mindfulness, collectively exploring new ways of relating mentally, ideologically and materially to the "ordinary" urban environment we all think we know so well. First theorised publicly by Situationist thinker, artist and provocateur Guy Debord in his 1956 essay *[Theory of the Dérive](https://libcom.org/article/theory-derive-guy-debord)*, drifting is a sort of *critique of ideology* done by walking, looking, and feeling. **The urban environment of London is not a neutral space:** it is packed with surveillance equipment, anti-homeless architecture, consumerist [Gruen transfers,](https://www.smartcapitalmind.com/what-is-the-gruen-transfer.htm) crowd management systems and security perimeters, among a thousand other subtle and not-so-subtle methods of population control. Moreover, our everyday relationship to the city and its pathways is conditioned deeply by our habits of movement and our habitual perceptions: our commute to work, to school, our nips down to the shops, etc. **All these routines create what Marxists call a *reified* relationship with the urban environment: through over-familiarity it becomes something seemingly natural, "just there", ordinary, unchangeable - boring.** This boredom and familiarity kills the radical imagination, without which we're fucked. To be able to start to imagine how society could be transformed, we also need to imagine how spaces, buildings, their use, their whole purpose (and who these serve) could themselves be transformed. A necessary step in this process, according to Debord and the Situationists, is the drift. Like the 19th-century gentleman *[flâneur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fl%C3%A2neur),* by wandering the city with an attitude of "fresh eyes", we can shake loose our ingrained sense of what London and its streets are like. **As a collective, we will work to "estrange our senses" and see the streets, buildings and people differently, as if we were encountering them for the first time.** That is to say: these aren't just random walks around London - with the right frame of mind, they will be opportunities to turn the world upside down, if only for a moment! But don't take it from me - as Debord observed: *"In a dérive one or more persons during a certain period **drop their relations, their work and leisure activities, and all their other usual motives for movement and action, and let themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there.** Chance is a less important factor in this activity than one might think: from a dérive point of view cities have [psychogeographical](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychogeography) contours, with constant currents, fixed points and vortexes that strongly discourage entry into or exit from certain zones."* See you on the streets comrades, and remember, as [Raoul Vaneigem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raoul_Vaneigem) once wrote: *"All space is occupied by the enemy. We are living under a permanent curfew. Not just the cops — the geometry".*

Join us for our monthly Sunday group walk in Lesnes Abbey Woods! Enjoy some fresh air, beautiful surroundings, and get to know other LGBTQIA+ people in your local area. This will be a relaxed walk with the intent of socialising and getting to know other members of the group. Each participant is free to set their own pace. We'll meet from 10:30am outside Chestnuts Kiosk (on the side of the Lodge where refreshments are served, facing onto the Monk's Gardens), where you can grab yourself a drink to keep warm and introduce yourself to your fellow walkers. We'll set off at 10:45am. At the end of the walk, we'll return to Chestnuts Kiosk where everyone will be welcome to get another drink, relax in the Abbey's grounds, and continue chatting with each other (and maybe even reward yourself with a nice slice of cake!) ☔ This meetup will still go ahead if it's raining (to a reasonable degree!) However, if the weather is forecast to be particularly bad or potentially dangerous, we'll reschedule the activity with as much notice as possible. 🐶 Dogs, families and friends are more than welcome! While the park and gardens of Lesnes Abbey are accessible for wheelchairs and buggies, many areas of the woods have steep hills or steps. You can [check the park's facilities and accessibility information](https://www.lesnesabbeywoods.org/plan-your-visit/facilities-and-accessibility/) to find out more about accessibility at Lesnes Abbey.

Join us as we get together to see the steamy-romance-period-drama, WUTHERING HEIGHTS. Director Emerald Fennell gives us her take on the romance between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw from the classic Emily Bronte novel. Here’s a description, trailer and plan for this event: DESCRIPTION: The film tells a passionate and tumultuous love story set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire moors, exploring the intense and destructive relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. The film is directed by Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman, Saltburn) and is loosely based on the classic novel by Emily Bronte. It stars Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Alison Oliver, Owen Cooper and Hong Chau! TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fLCdIYShEQ PLAN: We’ll plan for a 7pm-ish showing and will meet inside the lobby area about 30 minutes before the show begins. Advance ticket purchase not required for this theater but early arrival is advised! Be sure to mention you’re with the Movie Group for admission and concession discounts! And, after the movie, don’t miss the best part of the night – food and drinks at the nearby Rusty Bucket! Complete details will be confirmed/announced as the date gets closer! Look forward to seeing you there, Dan

WQC has weekly Thursday night social nights at the Westerville Java Central. Come and grab a coffee and connect with the community: low stakes, chill environment, and tasty drinks. No registration is required; come as you are.

Join us for an hour of writing! We’ve discovered that it’s strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See if it’s true for you at 7:00pm on Wednesday, February 11 at Streetlight Guild. Be it a book, blog, script, essay, dissertation, resume, melody, poem or just plain work stuff, you are invited to write it with us. No one will see what you've written or give you unsolicited advice. Instead of just thinking about writing, come and get some real writing done. **SCHEDULE:** 6:45ish - Quick introductions 7:00 - Timer starts: write for 1 hour 8:00 - The End **OPTIONAL SOCIALIZING** happens before and after the writing hour. Writing is very solitary. Connecting (and sometimes even commiserating) with other writers is a cool thing. **BEING LATE IS OKAY:** just show up and get settled! If you were on time, please be willing to make room for the friendly latecomer. Happy writing & I look forward to seeing you at Streetlight Guild! **WHAT SHOULD I BRING?** Whatever you need to be able to write! You're welcome to bring earplugs/headphones if noise will bother you! **OTHER IMPORTANT DETAILS:** * **RSVP:** Please RSVP by 6:00pm the evening of the meeting. This helps me know how many to expect, and if we'll need additional space! * **COVID:** While masks are not required, please be mindful of the other writers around you and their comfort levels. * **WIFI/OUTLETS:** Outlets are limited, so please ensure your devices are charged when you come! But Streetlight Guild does have free WiFi! Yay! * **PARKING:** There is free public parking at Streetlight Guild.

Connected Westerville Night of Networking flips the script on networking, with surprises and connections that'll make you say, "Who knew networking could be this much fun?!"

We'll meet at The Capital One Café, 167 Easton Town Center, Space A-103. This is in the main mall where the Microsoft store used to be, on your left if you're standing at the bottom of the AMC Theater escalator. Join us on Sunday for an hour of uninterrupted wordmaking! • What we'll do Join us for an hour of writing! We’ve discovered that it’s strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See if it’s true for you at noon on Sundays. Be it a book, blog, script, essay, dissertation, resume, melody, poem or just plain work stuff, you are invited to write it with us. No one will see what you've written or give you unsolicited advice. Instead of just thinking about writing, come and get some real writing done. SCHEDULE: 12:00 - quick intros. 12:10 - timer starts: write for 1 hour. 1:10 - chat / take off / keep writing. OPTIONAL SOCIALIZING happens at 1-1:30ish. Writing is very solitary. Connecting (and sometimes even commiserating) with other writers is a cool thing. BEING LATE IS OKAY: just show up and get settled, then check-in with me after the session. If you were on time, please be willing to make room for the friendly latecomer. Happy writing and I look forward to seeing you! • What to bring Whatever you need to be able to write! Bring earbuds/earplugs if you want to block noise or the occasional conversation by other patrons. Electrical outlets are limited, so charge your devices before whenever possible. See you at The Café on Sunday!

We’re still working to get more people into these Meetups, but our goal is to give PlayYourCourt members a few social tennis outings each week in addition to your practice sessions and Challenge League matches. These Meetups are co-ed, super laid back, and all skill levels are welcome. Post your skill level and a suggested court in the comments section so we can round up as many players as we can for some tennis fun! Also, if you’re looking to meet new practice partners or play some matches and you aren’t already in the PlayYourCourt Community, you can go here to see what we’re all about and sign up: https://www.playyourcourt.com/tennis-community/columbus-oh/meetup/ If you love tennis, we’d love to have you! Be sure and watch the quick video that explains how everything works. Happy hitting! - Scott

As you may or may not know--I didn't until late last year--Aristotle wrote extensively on "friendship" in the Nicomachean Ethics. After 69 years the concept of friendship still creates questions and uncertainty. I had close friends in high school and for a few years after high school but our interests diverged and people moved all over the country so it was hard to maintain connections. * So if I/you haven't talked with a friend for several years, are you still friends? Are we friends who meet at Drunken Philosophy or Omnipresent Atheists? * Can you be friends with someone with whom you have virulently divergent political views? Sartre and Camus could not. * Aristotle regarded friendship as essential to a good life, not merely an added "bonus." Do you agree? * In the Nicomachean Ethics (Books VIII and IX), he claims that wealth and power are meaningless without friends. Trump has wealth and power but seems to have no real friends, but wealth and power seem meaningful to him in perverted ways. Can you have meaning in your life without friends? * Do men and women view and maintain friendships in different ways? * Aristotle categorizes friendship into three types, based on what forms the bond: * **Utility**: Based on mutual benefit, but this type is fragile and ends when the usefulness ceases. * **Pleasure**: Based on shared enjoyment (e.g., humor, hobbies). Common among youth but fades as interests change. * **Virtue (The "Complete" Friendship)**: Based on mutual respect for each other's character and goodness. You wish good for the other for their sake, not yours. * **Key Principles of "True" (Virtuous) Friendship:** * **Permanence**: Virtuous friendships last a lifetime whereas those based on utility and pleasure are fleeting. * **Reciprocity**: Requires mutual goodwill; secret or unreciprocated affection does not qualify. * **The "Second Self"**: A true friend is "another self"—their virtue helps you understand and improve yourself. * **Time and Intimacy**: Deep ("complete") friendships are few, built on time and shared experiences. * **Self-Love and Friendship:** * Good friendship starts with being a friend to yourself. * They distinguish shallow egoism (chasing honors) from real self-love (pursuing virtue). * A virtuous person’s pleasant self-company allows them to be a stable, good friend to others. * Aristotle argues that one's social circle ultimately reflects one's character—a view with striking relevance today. Well--the Drunken Philosophy social circle certainly reflects good character!