Cole Parker is shattered. He apologises for looking scruffy and for being a bit worse for wear. But you would never know he had the mother of all hangovers. Sipping Appletize, the comedian chatters away animatedly, full of witty stories, observations and even the occasional political rant. Tonight he has got to be in Brighton for a gig. Last night was the second event of The Laughing Ghost, his new fortnightly comedy club in Bromley.

Parker has been performing professionally on the comedy circuit for three years. He feels The Laughing Ghost will bring much-needed entertainment to Bromley.

"There is a big hole for comedy in Bromley and this is quite a coup. It should be a perfect gig. The room is perfect it is a smaller, more intimate venue. The atmosphere and warmth are perfect for comedy. You can chat back. In a bigger venue you could be stuck behind a pillar somewhere. This is how stand-up should be. And at this club, we only get top-flight people on the bill so you can't lose."

"I use Jongleurs as a yardstick because it has top-flight comedians but actually it is comedy McDonalds. It is very corporate. It has 20 venues and they are all identical. You pay £14, you get four comedians, a compere, and a chicken-in-a-basket meal. I can't say it's s**t because that will offend the readers."

Cole says out of the 100-odd comedy clubs in London only 25 to 30 are worth visiting but the punters don't necessarily know which ones to go for. He cites Greenwich's Up The Creek as being one of the best in Europe. It is the place where Cole himself cut his teeth as a comedian and also where Jo Brand famously walked out.

The Laughing Ghost's first event saw Ninia Benjamin from BBC's non-blondes reality comedy show and Ricky Grover a man Cole describes as being "renowned all over the circuit for being a big fat bearded Londoner". Headlining was Glen Wall who has been compared to Bill Hicks and sold out at Edinburgh two years running. Cole admits two were crowd-pleasers to get a good reaction from the audience but said of future shows: "I want acts across the board. If it is funny, it is funny and I will vet it myself."

At his second show he had Marian Pashley opening an "ascerbic Northern lass with social observation and conversation". Then there was Ronnie Golden, a musical performer who has been going for about 20 years. Headlining was Dave Hadingham, a "dark and filthy man".

Organising a night of comedy is complicated. Cole tells me about some of the things a host has to consider. "You can get a bad crowd or a badly-weighted bill. You have to vary the acts on the night. When you tackle heavy issues people get scared off by subject matter. If you go into racism, most of the people who will be offended are middle-class white people. Certain words prick people's senses. When you use the word black you can feel the tension in the room. You have to do it in a delicate way so people can tell your stance. When you have got people on board and they trust you, don't force politics down their neck."

Speaking of politics, Cole suddenly asks with wide-eyed disapproval: "Did you know Bush and Blair have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for invading Iraq?"

It is this kind of "big slice of satire" Cole likes to uncover. "Sometimes I think we are too complacent as a nation. We let people walk all over us. If I can make a few people aware of stuff they should be aware of I will be happy."

Cole describes himself as being "pretty ruthless" with the hecklers. Sometimes he has had to use his charm and expertise to get himself out of scrapes. "I was doing a piece on how disabled people get ignored on TV. A laugh came too late. I started tearing into the person, taking the piss because he was being sarcastic."

But the lights were bright on stage and actually the heckler was a disabled man agreeing with Cole's points. The comedian won the crowd back by pure honesty.

"What you see on stage is my personality. If you are honest with the crowd, they respect you a lot more."

And Cole's aim for The Laughing Ghost? "Bromley is quite conservative and stuck-up. Basically we want people to come down, enjoy themselves and be open minded."

It doesn't sound much to ask.

-- The next Laughing Ghost night, on March 25, features Paul Foot, the off-beat surreal observationist who won the BBC New Comedy Award, the hilarious Tony Law and, to keep you all in suspense, a top TV comedian who cannot be named, The Phantom restaurant, High Street, Bromley, £10/£7/ free to diners 020 8466 1101.