A Butler welcoming guests at the door and a secret entrance through a bookcase added to the atmosphere of this fifth anniversary celebration of Brighton’s 21st-century discussion club.

Moving from its usual home at Latest Music Bar for this one-off event, the audience was treated to four of the best from the club’s past four years.

Former Aren’t Birds Brilliant officer for the RSPB, Dan Parkinson, launched proceedings with a defence of the humble herring gull, encouraging the audience to join in with the birds’ more common calls.

Then it was time for our host Dr David Bramwell to return to a holiday of a lifetime in the strange time-travelling temple near Turin, Damanhur, before Lorraine Bowen celebrated the Casio keyboard between 1980 and 1983.

Comic and musician Pete Fijalkowski’s tales of his television-watching childhood with The Persuaders closed the talks and perfectly summed up what the evening was all about.

So much of stand-up comedy is about sneering and hate. The Catalyst Club approaches its subjects with love and respect for the minutiae of life, leaving you with a warm tingly feeling.

Sunday night was truly a celebration of the club at its best.

  • The next Catalyst Club will be at Latest Music Bar, Manchester Street, Brighton, on Thursday, June 11, from 7.30pm