Just over a year ago Herga moved venues for the first time in 43 years, to go to Harrow Arts Centre. We had great expectations, but many of them did not materialise (though we did pick up some new members); in particular, the room where we are based now looks like a Portakabin class room - which it is - and the whole drinks situation was unsatisfactory. So we looked around...

Well, we found a new venue, and we will be moving to it from 2nd October. It is at the Pinner Green Social Club, Rickmansworth Road, Pinner, Middlesex HA5 3TJ.

It is a huge hall, but with a nice enough atmosphere and lighting that we can use just a corner of it for open evenings (with a couple of partitions perhaps to help the agoraphobics). But it also has a full stage, professional lighting and sound equipment, fully equipped Green Room and can hold 150 punters, for when folk becomes trendy and we are fighting them at the door.

It also has its own side entrance to the car park, own toilets and bar (shoud we want to use it, though we normally won't), it is disability friendly, has new hardwood floor and new furniture, and the sound tiles on the roof are about to be replaced and the hall repainted. Drinks from the main club bar, at club prices. And the club WANTS us (it helps that one of our committee is in the club's mgt committee as well).

For the first time in the club's history we will be at a venue that allows us some of our own decoration (the aforementioned partitions will be plastered with posters in due course and we can have a notice board). Some candles for atmos wouldn't go amiss either. And with the new hall there are ideas about restarting the Herga keilidghs, long since lapsed, and perhaps even the Herga Morris side (the Herga Mummers are still going of course, with a Greek playing the Turkish Knight). Also a quarterly "open mic" evening to attract younger wannabes.

Today Harrow - tomorrow ze vorld...