Mystery Book Club

The next book is The Wedding People by Alison Espach. If you’re interested, read the book if you want to, and join us for dinner at The Bickley Arms. The booking will be under Olivia.

Well, the last book wasn’t popular for all sorts of reasons. A shame as Adam Kay’s books have always entertained in the past. This month we’re reading Daphne du Maurier, The book is The King’s General. It’s set in the seventeenth century and tells the story of a family and a family riven by war and features one of fiction’s most original heroines.

**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**

It’s glorious weather, so join us for a Bank Holiday drink at The Mayflower, Rotherhithe. The pub is by the Thames with an outdoor area. We may move to other pubs nearby. Will update any change of location in message discussion. ☀️ 🍻

UEL will be hosting a “Community Open Day” on Bank Holiday Monday, 25 May. As the resident Badminton Club, we have been allocated a 2-hour session from 2:00–4:00 pm, with 5 courts available. The aim is to invite existing members to come and play, as well as to welcome members of the public to try badminton. We will allocate 3 courts for games. The session fee is £8 per person. Payment must be made before the session starts. Bank transfer details will be shared by email once you RSVP. • There is a large car-park at UEL. • Nearest DLR stations are Gallions Reach and Cyprus, then a 5 minutes walk to UEL Sports Dock. • Session are more suited for Intermediate to Club standard players. Simple "If"Rules: • If you want to attend, you must RSVP • If you want to bring a friend you MUST RSVP for them • If you do not RSVP, you will be turned away If you RSVP and DO NOT attend you will be fined £20, unless you remove your RSVP at least 24hrs before the session start time. Please respect the session limit, they are for your own good as over crowding means less games for you! The organisers decision on all matters is final. Important Note: Your are responsible for your own well-being. Black Arrows Badminton Club or the management at UEL are not responsible for any injuries or loss of items.

**The Talbot Room at the George Inn** The George provides the room free of charge (they are awesome), and we encourage you to purchase drinks (and food – the burgers are great!). As it’s a pub and not a picnic area, please don’t consume your own food and drink there. We usually meet in the Talbot room which is on the top floor on the left hand side of the pub as viewed from the courtyard. If lost please send a message here shortly before the meeting starts. **We are sorry to say that there is no step-free access to the Talbot room, and it is at the end of three flights of stairs.** **Format** We start at 7pm and run until 9pm. We hear approximately six readings of 10 minutes (\~2000 words), then discuss the piece for 10 minutes. Email your work to: london60transmitter@emailitin.com as an attachment (It must be an attachment). A link for access to googledocs will be given at the start of each session to enable people to read along, which in turn enables more considered feedback. Work submitted will be automatically deleted after 10 days. We decide on readers/pieces at the beginning of each session. **Safe and respectful space** The group is run by volunteers, and we don’t have the capacity to read submitted work in advance. If there is anything in your work that might distress or disturb some readers, for example concerning any kind of abuse, please give a trigger warning before you read. Be specific and concise. If it becomes apparent during a reading that a piece is inappropriate, the moderator will stop the reading. In discussing others’ work, please be mindful of how you express yourself and do not use discriminatory language, even if such language features in the piece.

**🪷 Zoom Speed Dating for Harrow Singles from Your Couch** Throughout the event, you'll participate in rapid one-on-one Zoom dates with Harrow locals selected for your age range by quiz results, while everything stays on track thanks to a live host. Prior to the event, there is a brief matching questionnaire to fill in — we use those answers to identify compatible Harrow singles for your rounds, giving the whole evening a better shot at real connection. After all the rounds, we send out mutual matches — with privacy guaranteed for all non-mutual picks — and it is yours to follow up without any rush. **Select your age group to secure your place:** - **Ages 18-32** → [REGISTER HERE](https://tempodating.com/product?productId=501.0&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Harrow&groupurlname=genuine-bonds-formed-over-weekend-brunch&ar=18-32&face_v=4.0) - **Ages 30-46** → [REGISTER HERE](https://tempodating.com/product?productId=501.0&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Harrow&groupurlname=genuine-bonds-formed-over-weekend-brunch&ar=30-46&face_v=4.0) - **Ages 40-58** → [REGISTER HERE](https://tempodating.com/product?productId=501.0&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Harrow&groupurlname=genuine-bonds-formed-over-weekend-brunch&ar=40-58&face_v=4.0) - **Ages 55+** → [REGISTER HERE](https://tempodating.com/product?productId=501.0&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Harrow&groupurlname=genuine-bonds-formed-over-weekend-brunch&ar=55+&face_v=4.0) **⚠️ Do not skip this:** Rsvping here does not hold your place in the event, so use the link for your age range, complete sign-up, and submit the personality questionnaire — capacity is intentionally small so get in early, and both are needed — the RSVP alone counts for nothing. --- **Who it is for:** - Singles across Harrow fed up with app fatigue and empty match queues and are ready for something that feels natural. - Singles near Harrow done with the app treadmill that goes in circles and are ready for something genuine instead. - Daters in the Harrow area who are tired of unread messages and dead-end conversations and value real conversation over curated profiles. - First-timers living in Harrow moving on from matches that ghost after two messages and need a better way to meet people. **Here is how the evening goes** 1. **Pick your age group** – by tapping the link for your age group, then take the brief personality quiz, since your spot is held only once this is done. 2. **Join Zoom** – by clicking the Zoom link at the event start time, no app is required since Zoom runs in your browser, and a friendly host manages everything once you are on. 3. **Do the rounds** – timed one-on-one speed dates with Harrow locals in your personality-matched group, while the host runs the clock so you can focus on the conversation, and the people in your rounds were sorted specifically for you. 4. **See your mutual connections** – mutual connections are confirmed and sent after the session, as privacy is guaranteed for all non-mutual selections, and then the rest is yours to decide entirely. ⭐ *"Finally something that is not swiping — real conversations with real people"* – Harrow single --- ✨ Harrow singles worth meeting are in this event — pick your age group and sign up and the evening takes care of itself while places last. The host will see you shortly. 🍀 ✨

**🌻 Hosted Speed Dating for Enfield Singles — Verified Locals** On the night, you'll have back-to-back quick private Zoom rounds with Enfield people in your age bracket who match your profile, with a dedicated host managing each round. Prior to the event, there is a brief matching questionnaire to fill in — those details are used to sort your Enfield matches by personality and age, so your conversations have a better chance of going somewhere. Once the event finishes, match results go out — exclusively for mutual selections — and it is yours to follow up without any rush. **Click your age bracket to register:** - **Ages 18-32** → [REGISTER HERE](https://tempodating.com/product?productId=501.0&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Enfield&groupurlname=genuine-bonds-formed-over-weekend-brunch&ar=18-32&face_v=4.0) - **Ages 30-46** → [REGISTER HERE](https://tempodating.com/product?productId=501.0&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Enfield&groupurlname=genuine-bonds-formed-over-weekend-brunch&ar=30-46&face_v=4.0) - **Ages 40-58** → [REGISTER HERE](https://tempodating.com/product?productId=501.0&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Enfield&groupurlname=genuine-bonds-formed-over-weekend-brunch&ar=40-58&face_v=4.0) - **Ages 55+** → [REGISTER HERE](https://tempodating.com/product?productId=501.0&productType=onlineSpeedDating&city=Enfield&groupurlname=genuine-bonds-formed-over-weekend-brunch&ar=55+&face_v=4.0) **⚠️ Two steps needed:** Just clicking rsvp will not save your spot in the session, so use your age group link above to register and complete the short personality quiz — places close once the group is full so sign up early, and only a completed registration locks in your seat. --- **Ideal if you are:** - Someone across Enfield who have had enough of conversations that fizzle before a first date and are serious about meeting someone. - Daters throughout Enfield moving beyond app fatigue and empty match queues and want actual face-to-face conversation. - First-timers based in Enfield who are tired of endless scrolling and zero real dates and are ready for a genuine first impression. - First-timers in Enfield who have given up on swiping with nothing to show for it and want actual face-to-face conversation. **Here is how the evening goes** 1. **Claim your spot** – through the age-specific link above, then finish the personality questionnaire, as completing both steps locks in your place. 2. **Jump on Zoom** – using the link that will be sent ahead of time, browser-based so no special app is required, and the host controls the pace so you can relax. 3. **Meet people** – brief timed one-on-one chats with Enfield singles matched to your personality and age, as a dedicated host runs every round from start to finish, since personality and age shaped every pairing in advance. 4. **Get your matches** – mutual match details are sent privately after the event, and everything non-mutual stays confidential between you and us, and you are in control of everything that happens next. 💡 **Helpful hint:** prepare one or two opening questions, which means you can focus entirely on the conversation, and two minutes of sorting this saves the whole session. --- ✨ Done with apps — start here — secure your place via the link above and all the logistics are covered for this one. Real connection starts here. 🕊️ ✨

Time is precious. Here we value non-boring valuable chats and interactions that are fully engaging, soulfully enriching, inspiring, and leave you a bit wiser than when you arrived. In that spirit (mind the pun!), today’s fully hosted laid back social coffee chat will offer a perfect haven for the inquisitive & curious - those drawn to the mysteries of the universe, life and everything in between. A tasty caffeine infused fun afternoon of thought-provoking causal chats exploring spirituality/consciousness and related interconnected topics spanning **philosophy,** **neuroscience**, **parapsychology,** **paranormal.** **cosmology** and **noetic sciences** over a mug of sweet coffee (or amazin value Chardonnay!) Chaired by me - a former Reuters journalist & published empirical researcher exploring spirituality topics in pursuant of the "truth" since a teenager, there'll be no strict structure - a relaxed friendly space to openly chat, exchange ideas & experiences without judgement, but I'll preside to promote inclusivity and zone in on specifics to avoid people digressing onto unrelated tangents to ensure like all of our events - particpants derive maximum utlity and engagement from attending. We’ll touch on everything from the limits of scientific understanding to exploring the unexplained using practical fun exploratory divination practices drawing on elements of **psychology, metaphysics, epistemology** and **statistical** **probability** of rare events as we do so. Whether you're a practicing "spiritualist", a curious skeptic, or just someone who loves deep conversation on **life’s big questions**, you’ll hopefully walk away more enlightened with some practical tips you can start applying and inspired to explore more! As well as illuminating chats to guide self-reflection, obviously no sprituality event woul be complete without practical tools so there'll be FREE Tarot & I-Ching readings, demonstrations of meditation method to activate super powerful gamma brain waves, and pyschic tests for a bit of fun, laughter & intrigue! **Sample of conversational threads** might include: Are we mere organisms pursuing biological survival or does consciousness exist beyond neurons firing in our brains? What explains peoples' paranormal experiences? What would reality look like If our brains were limitless? Declassified CIA files show that as as well as mind control experiments, the US govt employed mediums and remote viewers. If all mumbo jumbo then why? Is Nirvana just a fantasy of deluded people? Does everything happen for a reason? To clarify - we define spirituality here as an exploration of consciousness, Donald Rumsfeld's unknown unknowns and undiscovered aspects of reality, NOT religion. After all, as my philosophy professor once rightly postulated to me: "If God created Adam, who created God Lucas?" Yep - that inconvenient flaw **debunks every fairytale religion** out there including the oldest religion of them all - paganism - so why is witchcraft still practised outside of **Hogwarts** today? I may also share the latest peer reviewed empirical evidence surrounding **paranormal** and **consciousness** phenomena. **=== POTENTIAL CONVERSATION STARTERS ===** 1. Does consciousness survive death or is Cambridge Astrophysics Professor Brian Cox right in asserting if **ghosts** existed then particle accelerators at CERN would have already detected ghost molecules making Ouija boards kids play? Are Poltergiests 100% hoax? Brain scans indicate thalamocortical circuits in our brain (pathways in the parietal cortex & central lateral thalamus) drive **consciousness -** so how can spirit/mind live on after **brain death**? 2. Is **synchronicity/coincidence** simply randomness disguised in the eye of the beholder or can what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance" (quantum entanglement) explain it? Molecular Biologists have shown that just like plants - our cells give off resonant frequencies between 10 & 180 kilohertz - could this be a source of non-verbal communication like telepathy? 3. Given **neuroscience**'s infancy with much yet undiscovered - could mediation help access functions outside of our BAU alpha & beta brain wave states? Can **Kundalini yoga** boost **DMT** (dimethyltryptamine) naturally vs drugs like ayahuasca, mushrooms, LSDand if so by what mechanism? Do the artifically created neural signatures using magnetic stimulation observed during mystical experiences debunk them? Is the Maharishi Effect real? 4. Are clairvoyants and mediums just good people readers or are they really able to access time and space in non-linear ways? Is Tyler Henry the real deal or just faking it? Was **Abraham Lincolm** precognizant when he dreamt his own fatal assignation? 5. The laws of statistical probability, Drake Equation & common sense tells us there is other non-microbial life out there. So what explains the Fermi Paradox? Was that 1976 WOW signal aliens? How about the recent strange bahaviour of Boyajian's star or Oumuamua/Atlas interstella object that has just entered our solar system? 6. Could metaverse explain deja vu & reincarnation vs theories from the **psychology** literature (Mandela Effect?) or do we just live in a **simulation** as **Elon Musk** proposes? 7. **Stephen Hawking** once said: "The past, like the future, is indefinite and exists only as a spectrum of possibilities" If matter only manifests when observed as the double slit experiments shows, does that mean everything is consciousness? Does the discovery of *quantum superposition /* disappearing neutrons imply **parallel universes**? 8. Do NDEs suggest something beyond physicality? Were Steve Jobs final words "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow" before he died (New York Times) visions of an afterlife or just neurochemical changes / drugs playing tricks? 9. Can photons omitted by our bodies explain auras that people see? 10. Could limits in our understanding of quantum physics, space and time explain paranormal experiences? 11. What existed before the **big bang** \- how do you get something from "nothing"? I believe our reality is the product of a black hole\. What you reckon? ***So how do we get to the "truth"?*** Both in my journalism days and applying the most advanced empirical research techniques in my client consulting work - it becomes clear the truth is often elusive. No matter how much we triangulate evidence - we can only provide part answers. "All models are wrong, but some are useful" George Box What we think we know and reality diverge leading to that great **paradox of knowledge.** And as the boundary between knowns and unknown converge, we end up with cognitive dissonance and more questions. In that spirit - every credible philosopher & scientist acknowledges - we'll never get to the complete truth but could **experimental methods** get us closer to it? A balanced approach guided by Immanuel Kant's pragmatism and Aristotle's deductive reasoning seems the most rationale framework here but are there any other methodologies? How about the **"spirituality"** toolkit? **=== RENDEZVOUS POINT ===** We will meet inside the pub upstairs - located in Islington, 4 seconds walk from Highbury & Islington station or 12 mins from Angel station. l I'll be wearing a **Starwars identifier** and will share mobile hotline just before event start and table number/location. For stargazing we will walk to park 5 mins away around 7.30pm Lucas - The Unenlightened Desperately Seeking Answer

Basic Ideas: 🌞 📚☕ Any books sitting there collecting dust? Some holiday gifts? Or it’s a book that has changed your life that you want to share? Feel free to bring book(s) to discuss or swap, we usually have more books than people in the end, so feel free to pop along just to have a chat as well. Aiming for every 4 weeks book swap meetup. Note: The event is free to attend, so the only cost for you will only be buying a drink at the location, so coffee/tea/beer etc.

Hello, This event is for anyone who enjoys reading and wants to do it in the quiet company of others. We’ll be reading together in complete silence no pressure to talk, just bring whatever you’re reading and settle in. When you arrive, grab a drink from the café if you like, find a comfy spot, and start reading. We’re usually there for about 2 hours, but feel free to come and go whenever it works for you. Looking forward to meeting you! Dee

Welcome, readers! Our May read is **_Kindred_ by Octavia E. Butler.** The story follows Dana, a Black woman living in 1976 California, who is suddenly pulled back to a Maryland plantation before the Civil War. She learns her survival is tied to a white slaveholder’s son. Forced to move between centuries, she must endure the brutal realities of slavery while fighting to hold on to her identity. Tense, intimate, and unforgettable, Kindred explores how the past refuses to stay buried. Looking forward to discussing with everyone! 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! 📖

Let’s meet and share discussion of the James Baldwin short story collection, Going to Meet The Man.

Welcome, readers! Our June read is ***Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible*** ***Voyage*** **by Alfred Lansing.** A work of nonfiction, and one of the most astonishing survival stories in history, we follow Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew after their ship is crushed by Antarctic ice. Stranded in one of the harshest environments on Earth, the men endure months of isolation, freezing temperatures, and near starvation—yet refuse to give up hope. Lansing brings their ordeal to life through vivid detail and firsthand accounts, capturing both the brutality of nature and the resilience of the human spirit. At its core, the story is a powerful testament to leadership, perseverance, and the unbreakable will to survive against impossible odds. Looking forward to discussing with everyone! We will meet at Zaftig Brewing Co in their event room in the back. We are welcome to bring in our own food, but **all** **drinks must be purchased at the bar.** Happy reading! 📖