knees-up

• I am sure we can all congratulate Nick Boles, the Tory MP for Grantham and Stamford and parliamentary bag-carrier to schools minister Nick Gibb, for celebrating his civil partnership with Shay Meshulam with a knees-up on Ibiza this weekend.

Stephen Bates's diary 2011

At Christmas they have a festive knees-up – champagne is drunk from Babycham saucers and the night always ends with a singsong around the old ship captain's piano.

A room of my own: Dan Gillespie-Sells 2011

It's well known to the industry but Sheffield's annual non-fiction knees-up is making the most of its new June slot to find ways to reach out to the public – like next week's free open-air screenings on Devonshire Green, graced by special guest Albert Maysles, who'll introduce his legendary Grey Gardens.

This week's new film events 2011

Every Wednesday, the owner leaves her large back room in the hands of performance poet Josep Pedrals, who has been organising the poetic equivalent of a knees-up here for the last few years.

10 of the best literary haunts in Barcelona 2011

It's well known to the industry but Sheffield's annual non-fiction knees-up is making the most of its new June slot to find ways to reach out to the public – like next week's free open-air screenings on Devonshire Green, graced by special guest Albert Maysles, who'll introduce his legendary Grey Gardens.

This week's new film events 2011

On an ambitious weekender including Cleo Laine, Joe Lovano and Iain Ballamy, plus genre-crunching Mercury nominees Led Bib, the Subway Moon project still stands out, a community venture promising much more than just a knees-up for the local citizenry.

This week's new music 2011

The sonically lubricious Gillespie, meanwhile, played with Grinderman once, when Warren Ellis curated one instalment of All Tomorrow's Parties, the hallowed outsider-indie knees-up by the sea.

Grinderman Kitty Empire 2010

There's almost no national ailment that he feels can't be solved, or at least distracted from, by taking off his suit jacket, loosening his tie and suggesting a good old-fashioned knees-up.

You're the prime minister, Cameron. Please stop behaving like the David Brent of British politics | Sam Delaney 2011

At the other end of the spectrum, are the parents who insist they won't expect much and that it's just a good excuse for a knees-up.

I'm an atheist. Is that a problem? 2011

Every Wednesday, the owner leaves her large back room in the hands of performance poet Josep Pedrals, who has been organising the poetic equivalent of a knees-up here for the last few years.

10 of the best literary haunts in Barcelona 2011