Thursday, August 17

ART Wembley Art Society present their 47th annual art exhibition at St. John's Church Hall, Crawford Road, Wembley, until Saturday. Open 10.30am-8pm.

PLAY The Gift, a play about family love and loss by Roy Williams, runs until Saturday at the Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Road. Call 020 7328 1000 to book.

SHOW The Lost Laugh, a fast-paced family show incorporating circus skills, audience participation and ultra-violet puppetry, is at the Compass Theatre and Arts Centre, Glebe Avenue, Ickenham, at 11am. Call 01895 673200 for details and tickets, which are £4.

SOCIAL The Second Time Around Group is meeting at J.J. Moons, High Street, Hatch End at 9pm. Call Graham on 01923 242062 for further details.

WORKSHOP Find Your Laugh Circus Skills Workshop at the Compass Theatre and Arts Centre, Glebe Avenue, Ickenham, at 2pm. Suitable for 7-12 year olds, £4 per place. Call now to book.

Fri 18

COMEDY Ha Bloody Ha at Ealing Studios, Ealing Green. Tonight's line up: Paul Zierdin, Steve Jameson, Mitch Benn, Mike Milligan. Doors open 7.30pm, show starts 9pm. Booking tables is recommended; call 020 8566 4067.

WORKSHOP The Willy Wonka Comedy Workshop at the Compass Theatre and Arts Centre, Glebe Avenue, Ickenham, from 10am-4pm. Suitable for 8-12 year olds. Places £8, strictly limited. Call 01895 673200 to enrol.

SAT 19

ART The Stanmore Art Society's 44th Annual Exhibition begins today at Bernays Memorial Hall, The Broadway, Stanmore, at 11.30am. Call 01923 226383 for details.

ART The Pinner Sketch Club's annual Art Exhibition at the Parish Church Hall, High Street, Pinner begins today. Open 10am-6pm every day (noon-6pm Sundays) until September 3. Admission free.

CONSERVATION Barn Hill Conservation Group will be working on Half Yards Meede in Fryent Country Park. Meet at 2pm at the entrance between 109/111 Valley Drive, Kingsbury. Call 020 8206 0589 for details.

SUMMER SCHOOL Drawing Methods and Colour Mixing at the Lowry Room, Harrow Arts Centre, Uxbridge Road, Hatch End. 10am-4pm, fee £19.50. Call 020 8428 0123 to enrol.

SUN 20

FUN DAY Summer fun party at Pitshanger Play Centre, Pitshanger Park, Meadvale Road, Ealing, in aid of the National Childbirth Trust, on August 20. Tombola, face painting and more. Call Tamsin on 020 8997 8360 for details.

OPEN DAY BOV Nature Reserve, Harrow Weald, is open to the public from 11.30am to 3.30pm. Guided walks combining nature and history at noon and 2.30pm. Worksheets and puzzles for children. Signposted from the Uxbridge Road east of Brookshill.

WALK Barn Hill Conservation Group are leading a guided walk on the history of field names in Fryent Country Park. Meet at 10am at Fryent Way Car Park (A4140), Kingsbury. Call 020 8206 0589 for details.

WILDLIFE Willow Road work morning, Ealing. Call Ann on 020 8578 3486 for details.

WILDLIFE Meadow Mowing at Gutteridge Woods, a workday with free tea and coffee. Contact Ian Elliott on 01895 236279.

Mon 21

WORKSHOP 2K Performance, a two-week drama workshop for young people aged 14-19 interested in producing plays will be held at the Compass Theatre and Arts Centre, Glebe Avenue, Ickenham, from today. Cost: £20. Call 01895 465572.

WORKSHOP Learn to make beaded jewellery in the Neomari Workshops. A new session for women starts today. The cost is £25 for the whole week, £15 concessions, and classes are held at Eastman Hall Committee Room, Kodak Recreation Ground, Harrow, from 12.30pm to 2.30pm today until Friday. Call Ekky on 020 8427 2761 for more details.

Tue 22

ART The Harrow Arts Society is having an exhibition and sale of paintings until September 3 at Debenham's, Station Road, Harrow.

SUMMER SCHOOL Life Drawing and Painting at the Gainsborough Room, Harrow Arts Centre, Uxbridge Road, Hatch End. 10am-4pm, fee £21.50. Call 020 8428 0123 to enrol.

SUMMER SCHOOL Watercolour for Starters at the Lowry Room, Harrow Arts Centre, Uxbridge Road, Hatch End. 10am-4pm, fee £17.50. Call 020 8428 0123 to enrol.

wed 23

JUMBLE SALE A jumble sale will be held at Sts Peter and Paul Church Hall, Leyborne Avenue, Northfields, at 6.30pm.

WEDNESDAY

back on August 26

FAMILY HISTORY Trace your ancestors at the Hillingdon Family History Room, Baptist Church, Hercies Road. Friday and Saturday 10am-1pm, non-members £1.

back on August 27

OPEN DAY Harlington Locomotive Society open day, High Street, Harlington. Train rides and refreshments from 2pm until 5pm.

FURTHER AFIELD

BIBLE CLUB The Beach Party, a holiday Bible club at St. Andrew's United Reformed Church, Rushdene Road, Eastcote, runs from August 29 to September 3. Suitable for 5-12 year olds. Call Roy Cadoux on 020 8868 9002 for details.

CARNIVAL Northwood Carnival will take place at Northwood Football Club's ground in Chestnut Avenue, courtesy of the Northwood Lions, on Bank Holiday Monday, August 28. Proceeds to charity.

COMEDY Tickets are on sale for six nights of comedy at the Watford Colosseum this Autumn: Graham Norton (September 28, £15); Harry Hill (October 21, £16.50); Jethro (November 8, £12.60/£11.55); The League of Gentlemen (November 12, £16.50); Paul McKenna's Hypnotic Show (November 30, 12.50); Lee Hurst (December 3, £12). Box office 01923 445000.

DANCE The Footloose Line Dancing Club is starting a new class for beginners from September 4. It will be held every Monday from 10am to 11am at Sts Peter and Paul Church Hall, Cambourne Avenue, Northfields. Call Betty Carter on 020 8579 2817 for details.

FLOWER SHOW Newton Park Horticultural Society are having a flower and veg show on September 2 at 2.30pm at Newton Farm School, Ravenswood Crescent, South Harrow. Tombola, bulb sale, tea and cakes. Admission free.

JUMBLE SALE St. Thomas More Church Hall, Field End Road, Eastcote, on Saturday September 9. 11am start.

PLAY An Die Musik, a performance about the Holocaust, comes to the Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Road, from September 11. Call 020 7328 1000 for details and tickets.

SHOW The Beck Theatre Summer Youth project brings The Pirates of Penzance to the Beck Theatre, Grange Road, Hayes, on August 24. Call the box office on 020 8561 8371.

SHOW Cookin'!, the Wok 'n' Roll sensation, comes to Richmond Theatre, The Green, Richmond on September 1 and 2. Tickets £7-£18. Call 020 8940 0088.

Reg

COFFEE The Women's Centre at 99c Hindes Road, Harrow, has a drop in coffee morning and social every Friday, between 10am and noon. Call 020 8863 4500.

CONSERVATION The Barn Hill Conservation Group meets most weeks for work days in Fryent Country Park, Kingsbury. New helpers are always needed. Call Rose Bennett on 020 8206 0589 for details.

DANCE Beginners! Learn to Waltz, Quickstep, Jive, Cha-cha-cha and Rumba at the Harrow Regal Dance School, 314 Station Road (above Burton's), every Tuesday at 8.15pm. Entry £3.50. Call 020 8427 0132.

DANCE Enjoy modern sequence dancing at the Canons Community Association, Wemborough Road, Stanmore, Fridays from 2pm to 4pm. For details call 020 8428 1074.

DANCE Viva Salsa! every Wednesday at The Rayners, corner of Imperial Drive and Village Way, Rayners Lane, Harrow. Two fun salsa classes at 8pm and social dancing until 11.30pm. Admission £4/£2.50. For more details ring 020 8866 9093.

DANCE Learn to Lindy Hop at the Beecham Grove Church Hall, Clarendon Road, Watford. Every Thursday at 8pm, dance lesson followed by free dancing. Entry £6, £5 for members and students. Call the London Swing Dance Society on 020 7387 1011 for more details.

DANCE Learn Swing Jive every Thursday at the Working Men's Club, Strafford Road, Acton. Beginners 7.30pm, intermediates 8.30pm, social dancing until 11pm. £2.50 for newcomers. Call 020 8866 9093.

POETRY Poetry Workshop with the Pitshanger Poets at Questors Theatre, Mattock Lane, Ealing, every other Wednesday at 10am. Call 020 8567 3233 for details.

SOCIAL The Ealing Forum meets at Ealing Town Hall on the third Tuesday of every month at 1.45pm. All retired people welcome to join the meetings, walks and outings. Call Barbara Nash on 020 8932 1013.

SOCIAL The Rotaract Club of Ealing is open to anyone aged between 18 and 30 who wants a better social life and to help the local community and charities. Meetings are at the Drayton Court pub, The Avenue, West Ealing, on the first, third and fifth Thursday of each month at 8.15pm. Call 020 8810 8897 for details.

SOCIAL The Hillingdon Friendship Group meets at Bailey Hall, Christ Church, Redford Way, Uxbridge every second Monday of each month from 2pm to 4pm. All over 50s welcome. Walks, lunches and outings also arranged. Call 01895 470708.

SOCIAL Hillingdon 18 Plus meets every Wednesday at 9pm at the Load of Hay pub, Villier Street, Uxbridge. Social events for 18-35 year olds.

SOCIAL Breakout, a lesbian, gay and bisexual support group for 16-21 year olds in Harrow, meets every Friday from 6.30pm. Call Ewan on 020 8424 7539 or 07946 100056 for details.

SOCIAL Hillingdon Quest, a social group for the over 35s, meets every Tuesday except the first Tuesday of the month at 9pm at the Load of Hay pub, Villier Street, Uxbridge. Call Clive on 01895 466557.

FURTHER AFIELD

CAR BOOT Taplow Giant Car Boot sale is every Sunday (Monday on Bank Holidays) from 1pm-6pm. Main Bath Road (A4), Maidenhead, Junction 7 off M4. Call 07956 486448.

Worlds collide at the Pinner Festival

Jazzindo, a multicultural band combining jazz and Indian classical music, will be performing as part of the Pinner Show on Saturday, September 2.

Members include sitar player Punita Gupta, who studied under the famous Ravi Shankar, and jazz pianist John Southgate. John came up with the concept of combining the rich traditions of both styles of music back in the 1960s.

The concert will be a celebration of the ethnic and cultural diversity of the population of Pinner and the surrounding area, and will take place at Pinner Parish Church, High Street, at 8pm.

Tickets are £8 in advance and £10 on the door, and students are half price. Call 020æ8421æ0946 for advance purchase details.

æAlso appearing at the Pinner Festival is the Humphrey Lyttelton Band. The group play at Pinner Parish Church on Sunday September 3. Tickets for this event are £12 in advance, £14 on the door.

Call 020æ8421æ0946 for more details about both these concerts.

Barnyard music

The Herga Swing Band will be continuing the season of open-air concerts outside the Barn, Harrow Museum and Heritage Centre, Headstone Manor, Pinner View, on Sunday.

The band takes its names from the old Anglo-Saxon word for Harrow.

The concert starts at 3pm, and admission is free. Refreshments are available in the Barn, where the concert will take place if it rains.

There won't be an open-air concert next week, as the Harrow Show will be taking over the area for the two days of the Bank Holiday.