Monday, December 8, 2008

Friday Night Drinks Report # 34

Thanks to all who turned up for last week's Friday Night Drinks at the Dvorni Bar in Ljubljana. We had a stupendous evening, with quite possibly the highest turnout for any of our events! Special thanks to the ICS Band for cranking out some great tunes on Friday despite the challenging acoustics and an erratic sound system that was not quite up to par with their debut performance two months ago. In any event, they deserve lots of credit for a job well done and we'll be happy to welcome them back again next year.

We've posted some great photos of the evening up on the FND photo blog for anyone who'd like to have a look. Be sure to also visit our new website and say hi or leave comments for the people you met on Friday. Thanks also to Kevin from Slovenia Relocations for sponsoring several rounds of free drinks before the concert started. You can find his special business offer for FNDers below.

We wish everybody a happy holiday season and look forward to meeting again in January. If you have any friends who would like to join us for future events, be sure to pass the word along or send us their emails so we can add them to the mailing list.

See you next year!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Monday, December 1, 2008

Friday Night Drinks this Friday at Dvorni Bar

This month's Friday Night Drinks will be happening this Friday, 5 December, starting at 8:00pm at the Dvorni Bar in Ljubljana, located at Dvorni trg in the old town. This will be our our final event of 2008 as well as our holiday party to kick in the festive season, so be sure not to miss it! We will have the ICS band performing some classic favorites for us... they were a big hit during their debut performance in October.

We'll also have some free tapas snacks waiting for you at the bar... so be sure to mark the date on your calendar and pass the word along to any of your friends who might like to join the fun.

See you on Friday at the Dvorni Bar!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Beaujolais Nouveau!

Sorry for the late notice about this... we received an email from our friend Serge at Bon Appetit this week with the following special offers for FNDers:

1. Beaujolais Nouveau

• On Thursday the 20th, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (and later if needed) : we will welcome the Beaujolais Nouveau ! On that and only that day, either for eating or just for degustating, the first glass will be offered free !
• Until Friday the 28th, Bon Appétit will be open everyday (incl. Sat. and Sun.) from 12:00 am to 12:pm

Of course, the Beaujolais Nouveau that we propose is not a "supermarket wine" - but a true, genuine wine made by a small but exceptional family-owned winery. Nothing to do with those bottles anybody can find in shopping centers...

2. December meals

• For end-of-year meals, we propose that for any meal (lunch or dinner), the Bon Appétit offers a free glass of Champagne ! The conditions are :
- Table of 4 guests at least, and
- Upon reservation (possibly Sat. - Sun.), and
- Invoiced to a company's account only.

• A la carte choice, or 30 € and 50 € special menus, all included, including drinks and coffee.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Friday Night Drinks Report # 33

FND Report # 33

Thanks to all who turned up for last week's Friday Night Drinks at the Da Bu Da Thai restaurant. We had an excellent evening with another incredible turnout, as well as a high number of first-time FNDers judging by the large number of new emails collected. We've posted some photos of the evening up on the FND photo blog for anyone who'd like to have a look. Be sure to also visit our new website and say hi or leave comments for the people you met on Friday... there are already 77 members online.

Special thanks are due to Steve and the gang at Ernst & Young for sponsoring the fantastic welcome drinks, as well as Ljubljana Life Magazine for sponsoring all the free food.

See you all again in December... we will have the ICS band perform for us live on Dec. 5th.
Details will be announced via email and the website.

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

November Friday Night Drinks

This month's Friday Night Drinks will be happening this Friday, 7 November, starting at 8:00pm at the Da Bu Da restaurant in Ljubljana (Subiciva 1a, located next to Maximarket). Once again we are happy to announce that we'll have free food and welcome drinks for your this month, complements of our sponsors Ernst & Young and Ljubljana Life Magazine.

If you haven't already, be sure to sign up on our new FND Network website... you may just get lucky and win something!

We look forward to seeing everyone at the Da Bu Da on Friday. Be sure to mark the date on your calendar and pass the word along to any friends who migtht like to join the fun!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

FND News & Events

The next Friday Night Drinks is still few weeks away, but there are some other events happening this week that may be of interest to FNDers:

1. The ICS Band, which is composed of a group of fellow FNDers, is performing live for the first time in Ljubljana. Here are the details:
VENUE: Sax House bar/restaurant, Trnovski Pristan 4a (in Trnovo along the Ljubljanica river; website: www.sax.si)
WHEN: 8:30pm, this Friday 24th October.
TYPE of MUSIC: mainly classic pop/rock songs of the sixties & seventies, and a few more...
RSVP: Please let the band know if you plan to come by emailing "ics0505expat@yahoo.com" or "dirkvangansberghe@yahoo.com".

2. The Guinness Laughter Lounge is starting up again this weekend, with a performance by the veteran comedian Carey Marx from the UK. We have two free tickets for this Saturday's performance, which we will give away randomly. To qualify, you must create (if you haven't already) or update your profile on the FND website by tomorrow. Just add some more data, upload a photo, connect with a friend, or post a comment on someone else's profile. That's all you need to do for a chance to win!

3. Last but not least, Queen Elizabeth II is visiting Slovenia. According to our inside sources, "she will visit Lipica, Ljubljana castle, attend a Duke of Edinburgh Award ceremony at the Philharmonic and will go on a walk about Ljubljana at 14:30 tomorrow." Rumor has it that she's a big fan of FND, so perhaps she'll join us in town for a drink as well! :D

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Friday Night Drinks Report # 32

FND Report # 32

Thanks to all who turned up for last week's Friday Night Drinks at the Bon Appetit French restaurant. We had a really fun evening with a record turnout... we're not sure of the exact number, but by 10.30pm the restaurant had already given away 130 free welcome drinks ...and this not even counting the 'extra' free drinks for the first 40 who signed up on our new website! Judging by the large number of new emails we've collected, we also had a record number of first-time FNDers this month.

We've posted some photos of the evening up on the FND photo blog for anyone who'd like to have a look. Be sure to also visit our new website and say hi or leave comments for the people you met on Friday. Please send any FND-related comments to Gerry here.

Special thanks are due to Tom and the team at PriceWaterhouseCoopers for sponsoring the free drinks on Friday. Let's try to send them some business so that their pockets will be even deeper for buying us drinks next time around ;-)

See you all again next month!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

PS: Everyone that signs up on the new FND website will also be eligible to win two free tickets to the next comedy show at the Guinness Laughter Lounge on Oct. 25th.

Monday, October 6, 2008

FND, the economy, and the FND-book

Well folks, the economy may be tanking but rest assured that Friday Night Drinks is doing it's part to help stimulate consumption ;-) Our next event will be this Friday, 10 October at 8:00pm at the Bon Appetit French restaurant located on Miklosiceva 28 (in the basement of Kinoteka), with free food and free drinks sponsored by our great friends at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Congrats to the first 20 FNDers who signed up for the new FND social network - two free drinks will be waiting for each of them on Friday! Thus far 27 FNDers have joined... still a way to go before we catch up with Facebook, but we're working on it :-) Gerry has also added some new profile questions, so if you were one of the first to sign up, please come back and share your answers. Feel welcome also to suggest some additional questions.

We still have a dozen more free drinks to give away, so if you haven't signed up yet, please do so! To date only one of our French FNDers have signed up... I guess that free French wine at a French restaurant is simply not exciting enough... Oui? Non?

Remember, membership has its privileges! See you all at Bon Appetit on Friday...

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Friday, October 3, 2008

Friday Night Drinks - 10 October

The next Friday Night Drinks will be on 10 October at 8:00pm. This month we'll be meeting at the Bon Appetit French restaurant located on Miklosiceva 28. This will be a very special event, with free food and plenty of free drinks, thanks to our good friends at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

We will have a free welcome drink for everyone who arrives between 8pm and 10pm.
As part of the kickoff for our brand new FND Global Network, we will also offer more free drinks for FNDers who sign up and create an online profile:

The 1st 40 Fnders to sign up will get one additional free drink!
The 1st 20 Fnders to sign up will get two additional free drinks!

And these are not cheap free drinks, but good quality French wine!

Remember to also sign up for the Ljubljana group and any other groups you would like to follow... and please post a picture and a few details about yourself. We would like to encourage more contacts and open discussion between members of the FND community. Remember, membership has its privileges!

See you all next Friday at Bon Appetit... remember to mark the 10th on your calendar and also invite your friends to join us!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Monday, September 8, 2008

Friday Night Drinks Report # 31

Thanks to all who turned up for last week's Friday Night Drinks at the Stara Macka restaurant. We had a really good evening with an excellent turnout of 80+ FNDers from all over the globe. We've already posted some photos of the evening up on the FND photo blog for anyone who'd like to take a look.

There were an incredible number of new people on Friday, from countries near and far including Australia, Britain, Canada, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Slovenia, Sweden, Venezuela, and elsewhere. We only managed to collect the emails of a few of the new people, so if anyone happens to knows one or more of these first-timers, please send us their emails so that we can put them on the mailling list.

Also, we'd like to thank Kevin from Slovenia Relocations who sponsored last Friday's free drinks. Kevin's company is offering professional relocation services, and he also has a special offer for a free financial and investment consultation for any of our members who may be interested (see below).

We look forward to seeing you all again next month. Details will be available on the blog and sent by email as usual. We are also starting to organize occasional events in other cities, such as Belgrade and Jakarta. If you happen to know anyone in other cities who might have an interest in helping to expand the FND network, please put them in touch with us!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

FREE OFFER for all FNDers!

Dear FNDers,
In these worrying times for financial markets, you are offered a FREE 30 minute financial consultation with a UK authorised Independent Financial Adviser, Mr. Gerry Morrison of PFS Financial Strategists (Glasgow), www.pfs-ifa.co.uk

Gerry and his company PFS are highly experienced financial advisers, looking after British and international clients with more than 100 million of investments. They are now looking to expand their services to offer expatriates in Slovenia and local Slovenians the same excellent service.

Gerry will be in Ljubljana for the launch of the British Chamber of Commerce in Slovenia this week and has a few possibilities for some informal meetings (one to one or groups) in late afternoon 8th and until 5pm on the 9th September.

Please call Kevin at Slovenia Relocations (Relocations Ltd) on +386 (0)40 424 123 to book your 30 minute free no obligation consultation.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Reminder: September FND this Friday!

The first Friday Night Drinks of the season will be happening this Friday, 5 Sep at 8:30pm. Well be meeting at the Stara Macka restaurant in Ljubljana's old town (same location as in May... next door to the Macek pub along the river). 

We'll have some free food again this month, compliments of the house, and our good friend Kevin from Slovenia Relocations will be on hand to sponsor a few rounds of free drinks (and some free Scottish humor as well :-)  So come join us on Friday for an entertaining night on the town and help us kick off another exciting season of FND!

Remember to pass the word along to your friends who might wish to join us, and be sure to arrive early so as to not miss out on the free food and drinks!

Friday, August 29, 2008

September Friday Night Drinks

It's true... FND is back! After a long break for the summer, the first Friday Night Drinks of the new season will be happening next Friday, 5 Sep at 8:30pm. Well be meeting again at the Stara Macka restaurant in Ljubljana (same location as in May... next door to the Macek pub along the river in the old town).

We're planning to have some free food for everyone this month, so come join us and help kick off the new season and enjoy one of the few remaining summer nights together with good friends in Ljubljana's old town.

We look forward to seeing you at Stara Macka next Friday. Be sure to mark the date on your calendar and pass the word along to any of your friends who might wish to join the fun!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Monday, June 23, 2008

Friday Night Drinks Report # 30

Thanks to all who turned up for last week's Friday Night Drinks at the Pizzicato restaurant in Ljubljana. It was a very enjoyable evening and a we had great crowd turn up as usual, including good number of first-time FNDers joining us from countries near and far. It was a perfect evening for watching the EuroCup game and enjoying drinks with friends outdoors. We've posted some nice photos of the evening up on the FND photo blog for anyone who'd like to take a look.

This was our final event of the season as we'll be taking a short break for the summer, but rest assured we'll be back again in September. If anyone would like to organize an event of their own sometime during the summer and would like to invite other FNDers to join the fun, then send an email to Gerry and he'll announce the event on the FND mailing list.

See you in September!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Thursday, June 19, 2008

June FND this Friday at Pizzicato in Ljubljana

Sorry for the relatively short notice... this month's Friday Night Drinks will be this Friday, June 20 at the Pizzicato restaurant (Gornji trg 33 in Ljubljana's old town, starting at 8:30pm). This will be our final event of the season before we take a break for the summer (resuming again in Sept.) so be sure not to miss it. We'll have some hearty hot food on hand, compliments of the house, which should help keep our spirits warm during this very non-summer-like rainy season!

We look forward to seeing everyone again on Friday... be sure to mark the date on your calendar and remember to invite along a friend or two to join us for another fun-filled evening of FND!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Friday Night Drinks Report # 29

Thanks to all who turned up for last week's Friday Night Drinks at the Stara Macka restaurant in Ljubljana. It was a very fun evening and we had a great crowd turn up as usual, with a good number of first-time FNDers joining us. We've got some fine photos of the evening up on the FND photo blog for anyone who may have missed the event last Friday.

Once again, thanks to our sponsor of the evening, Poteza Ventures, the region’s leading Venture Capital Fund.

We look forward to seeing everyone again in June. Further details about next month's event will be announced via email and on the FND Blog. Don't forget to pass along the email addresses of any of your friends who would like to be on the mailing list.

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

PS: For anyone interested, there will be another fun-filled night of stand-up comedy next Friday, May 30th at the Guinness Laughter Lounge in Ljubljana.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Friday Night Drinks at Stara Macka

This month's Friday Night Drinks will be happening this Friday, 16 May, starting at 8:00pm at the Stara Macka restaurant in Ljubljana (next door to the famous Macek pub along the river in the old town). We'll be meeting inside the restaurant on the ground floor, nearby the bar, and hopefully if the weather's nice we'll be able to venture outside as well.

We've arranged to have plenty of free drinks this month as well as some free snacks, complements of our newest sponsor, Poteza Ventures, the region’s leading Venture Capital Fund.

We look forward to seeing everyone at Stara Macka on Friday... be sure to mark the date on your calendar and pass the word along to any friends who might wish to join the fun. See you there!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Monday, April 14, 2008

Friday Night Drinks Report # 28

Thanks to all who turned up for last week's Friday Night Drinks at the Da Bu Da restaurant in Ljubljana. It was a delightful evening and a great crowd as usual, with plenty of first-time FNDers joining us from countries near and far, including France, Japan, Malta, and Slovenia. We've got a few photos of the evening up on the FND photo blog for anyone who'd like to have a look.

Once again, thanks to our cosponsors of the event, the British International School and Ljubljana Life magazine. The British School will be opening in Bežigrad this September for Slovenian and foreign children aged 3 to 15, so pass the word along to any friends with children who may be interested.

Also, Gerry still has 2 more free tickets to give away for this Friday's performance by Marty Mclean at the Guinness Laughter Lounge in Ljubljana, so hurry and contact him by email if you are interested!

See you again next month!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

April Friday Night Drinks at Da Bu Da

This month's Friday Night Drinks will be happening this Friday, 11 April, starting at 8:30pm at the Da Bu Da restaurant in Ljubljana (Subiciva 1a, located next to Maximarket). It's the same location where we met in November last year. We're planning to have some free eats again for your this month, complements of our sponsors, the British International School and Ljubljana Life magazine. The British School will be opening in Bežigrad this September for Slovenian and foreign children aged 3 to 15.

Gerry will also have 10 free tickets to give away for the upcoming performance of comedian Marty Mclean at the Guinness Laughter Lounge, which will be taking place the following weekend, April 18th. The free tickets will be given away to the first 10 people who ask for them (starting at 8:30pm Friday) so be sure to show up early if you are interested!

We look forward to seeing everyone at the Da Bu Da on Friday. Be sure to mark the date on your calendar and pass the word along to any of your friends who might wish to join the fun!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Monday, March 17, 2008

Friday Night Drinks Report # 27

Thanks to all who turned up for our special live music event last Friday at Emonska Klet. We had a great turnout with more than 100 FNDers present, and the band was excellent. We'd like to thank Steve from Ernst & Young for sponsoring the free food and helping to compensate the musicians, as well as the US embassy who provided the sound equipment and helped in bringing the band to Slovenia as part of their America Days festival.

As usual we have some great photos of the evening up on the FND photo blog... as well as a short video of the hilarious late-night comedy performance at the Guinness Laughter Lounge.

We hope to see you all again next month... Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

FND After Hours

Here's a brief peak at last Friday's opening night performance of Glen Wool at the Guinness Laughter Lounge in Ljubljana.

Monday, March 10, 2008

FND this Friday with Banjo Band + More!

The next Friday Night Drinks will be happening this Friday, March 14th. We'll be meeting at 8pm at the Emonska Klet Pub, located at plečnikov trg 1 (nearby the underpass between Kongresni trg and Maximarket).

We'll be serving up some special treats this month complements of our sponsor Ernst & Young
, including a live band called Bill Bailey's Banjos from the US, who are here in Slovenia as part of the America Days festival. We will also likely have some free food for those who come early... and to top everything off, Gerry will be giving away free tickets to the premier performance of an Irish Comedy Club (the comedy act will start at 11:30pm for those who are interested).

We look forward to seeing everyone at the Emonska Klet on Friday. Be sure to mark the date on your calendar and pass the word along to any of your friends who might wish to join the fun!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Friday Night Drinks Report # 26

Thanks to all who turned up for this month's FND at the Dvorni Bar last Friday. We had a fantastic time and the turnout was excellent at 80+, even with many FNDers away due to the school holiday week. Many thanks to Jeremy from the British International School of Ljubljana, which will be opening in Bežigrad this September for Slovenian and foreign children aged 3 to 15 - visit www.britishschool.si for details.

As usual we have some great photos of the evening up on the FND photo blog.

We have a special event with a live banjo band lined up for the 14th of next month, so stay tuned for further details via the blog and email. If you have any friends who would like to join us, be sure to pass the word along or send us their emails so we can add them to the mailing list.

See you again in March!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

February's Friday Night Drinks

Attention FNDers!

The next Friday Night Drinks will be happening next Friday, February 22nd. We'll be meeting at 8pm at the Dvorni Bar, located on Dvorni trg (nearby the Philharmonic). It's the same location where we kicked off our infamous Pub Crawl in December.

We'll be serving up some special tapas treats this month complements of our newest sponsor, the British International School of Ljubljana. The school will be opening in Bežigrad this September for Slovenian and foreign children aged 3 to 15 - visit www.britishschool.si for details.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the Dvorni Bar next Friday. Be sure to mark the date on your calendar and pass the word along to any of your friends who might wish to join the fun... and be sure to show up early as we know the free tapas won't last all night!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Monday, January 21, 2008

Friday Night Drinks Report # 25

Thanks to all FNDers who turned up for our first event of the year at the Pizzicato restaurant last Friday. We had a fantastic crowd this month and the food was excellent... many thanks to the restaurant for providing it to us on the house! As usual we have some great photos of the evening up on the FND photo blog.

We'll be meeting at a new location next month, so stay tuned for further details via the blog and email. If you have any friends who would like to join us, or perhaps know some of the expats who are working here for the EU Presidency, be sure to pass the word along or send us their emails so we can add them to the mailing list.

See you again in February!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Friday Night Drinks - Jan. 18th at Pizzicato

The holiday season may well be over but the fun will soon be returning with our first Friday Night Drinks of the new year this Friday, January 18th. We'll be meeting at 8pm at the Pizzicato restaurant (Gornji trg 33). It's the same location where we met in October and April last year.

We'll have some special treats complements of the house this month, including a 'medieval-style dinner menu'. The food will be fresh and hot, so be sure to come early if you are hungry!

We look forward to seeing everyone at our first event of the year. Be sure to mark the date on your calendar and pass the word along to any of your friends who might wish to join the fun. See you there!

Gerry@FridayNightDrinks.com
Jim@Fridaynightdrinks.com

Friday, January 11, 2008

Happy New Year!

A belated Happy New Year to all FNDers and best wishes for 2008! We'll soon be kicking off the new year with our January event, which will likely take place on the 18th or 25th. More details will follow soon... meanwhile, here are the must-see videos of December's Pub Crawl event in case you may have missed them earlier...