Pizza and board games

Pizza and board games | 06/12/2022 | 6:00 pm-8:00 pm

Pizza and board games

Join us for our ever-popular game night and pizza party! Cost is 7 euros (covers pizza and non-alcoholic drinks, 5 euros for native English speakers and children under 13). Event starts at 6 pm sharp. Last entry at 6:15 pm. First come, first serve with 40 participants max. Children under 13 need to be accompanied by an adult.


Luncheon Club

Luncheon Club | 06/12/2022 | 12:30 pm-2:30 pm

Luncheon Club

Do you love French food and restaurants? Would you like to speak English more, but in a relaxed environment? Join the Luncheon Club! Enjoy a meal and great conversation in English once a month at a local restaurant. This activity is open to library members. Spaces are limited. For more information or to sign up, please contact the group coordinator here.


Saturday Reading Group

Saturday Reading Group | 03/12/2022 | 3:00 pm-4:30 pm

Saturday Reading Group

The Saturday Reading Group is for anyone who loves to read, socialize in English, and meet new people. For this meeting, the group will read Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard.

Cocaine Nights won great critical acclaim from reviewers, who hailed the novel as Ballard’s masterpiece for its fusion of surrealism and detective story. Ostensibly, Cocaine Nights tells of Charles Prentice’s quest to exonerate his brother Frank, who is held in a Spanish jail and charged with a murder to which he has confessed. But the real (surreal?) story is that only the existence of crime can energize a somnolent resort community of retirees. Every time I read another book by Ballard I move him up the list of my favourite authors (Goodreads)”

Meetings are once a month on Saturday afternoons starting at 3 pm. Open to all library members. To sign up please contact the group coordinator at bookgroup@ellia.org.


Sean Gregory, published writer, to speak about his book “Three Graves”

Sean Gregory, published writer, to speak about his book “Three Graves” | 02/12/2022 | 10:00 am-11:00 am

Sean Gregory, published writer, to speak about his book "Three Graves"

Sean Gregory, published writer, will be in the library to speak about his book “Three Graves” with a talk entitled “No end to Anthony: Writing to the Past”.

When celebrated writer Anthony Burgess arrives in Manchester for a book signing, he encounters three spectres from his past. They refer to him as John Wilson, Our Jack, Mancunian lad and struggling composer. But is John Anthony Burgess Wilson in search of the real past or out to rewrite his history? And what of those left behind, and those bound to him for better or worse?

Sean Gregory is a writer based in the North of England. His first novel, Three Graves, was published by Bluemoose Books in September 2021. The novel was longlisted for the Bridport First Novel Prize. He won the Aesthetica Creative Writing Prize, for his short story ‘Louish & Benim’, which was also longlisted for the BBC Short Story Prize. Sean teaches creative writing at Leeds Arts University.

Reviews of “Three Graves”:

‘A bold, gripping and audacious debut. What its subject Anthony Burgess would make of it is uncertain, but he’d surely have to acknowledge its literary power and inarguable success as a novel’ – Benjamin Myers.

‘A novel of metaphysical strands and language games, grounded in a very human portrayal of the son of music hall performers who became a literary showman’ – Wes Brown, Literary Review, Autumn 2021

In collaboration with CIRPaLL, Confluences and JSSE.

Free and open to the public. No reservations necessary. Just come and enjoy!


Knit and Natter

Knit and Natter | 02/12/2022 | 10:00 am-11:00 am

Knit and Natter

Come along and bring your knitting,

Have a natter while you’re sitting,

Or learn to knit with wool provided,

Needles loaned and stitches guided.

Knitted garments are très chic,

So be in vogue and start this week.

Knit and Natter is a free activity, open to all library members. No need to reserve, just come and enjoy! If anyone has some extra yarn please bring it in.


Coffee House

Coffee House | 02/12/2022 | 9:00 am-11:00 am

Coffee House

This is the last Coffee House before the summer break! Save the date of September 16th to kick off the new year of friendship and fun! Join the library community for a special moment to talk about anything and everything (in English of course!). Just come in and chat with others, have a cuppa and enjoy the company! Coffee House is free and open to all library members. No need to reserve! Donations welcome as always!


Film Club presents “Suffragette”

Film Club presents “Suffragette” | 26/11/2022 | 3:00 pm-6:00 pm

Film Club presents "Suffragette"

The film club presents a film in English once a month on a Saturday afternoon. This showing will be of “Suffragette”, a British historical film directed by Sarah Gavron, released in 2015. This story, takes place in 1912-1913, centered around the activists of the British movement for the right to vote for women, the suffragettes, and is the first film in history that could be shot inside the English parliament.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a British women’s organization wanted the right to vote for women. They belonged to different social classes, but together they were engaged in the same struggle: no longer being considered the weaker sex and obtaining the same rights as men. They were multiplying peaceful demonstrations. But the government was becoming increasingly violent. Forced into hiding, these women opted for violence in order to make their demands heard. They were aware of the stakes: they risked losing their jobs, their families, their lives. But nothing stopped them. Maud Watts, the main character, is allied to this cause. She would never have imagined such consequences.

Watch the trailer here.

Screening begins at 3 o’clock sharp and will be followed by a discussion in English. This activity is free and open to all library members.  


Reading Shakespeare

Reading Shakespeare | 25/11/2022 | 3:00 pm-4:30 pm

Reading Shakespeare

Treat yourself to an afternoon of a collective reading of one of Shakespeare’s plays. This activity consists of watching a BBC production on DVD and then reading relative scenes. This is a great activity for lovers of language and fans of the great wit. Free and open to all library members. For more information or to sign-up, please contact the group coordinator here. The number of participants is limited.


Knit and Natter

Knit and Natter | 25/11/2022 | 10:00 am-11:00 am

Knit and Natter

Come along and bring your knitting,

Have a natter while you’re sitting,

Or learn to knit with wool provided,

Needles loaned and stitches guided.

Knitted garments are très chic,

So be in vogue and start this week.

Knit and Natter is a free activity, open to all library members. No need to reserve, just come and enjoy! If anyone has some extra yarn please bring it in.


Coffee House

Coffee House | 25/11/2022 | 9:00 am-11:00 am

Coffee House

This is the last Coffee House before the summer break! Save the date of September 16th to kick off the new year of friendship and fun! Join the library community for a special moment to talk about anything and everything (in English of course!). Just come in and chat with others, have a cuppa and enjoy the company! Coffee House is free and open to all library members. No need to reserve! Donations welcome as always!


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