Events

Speaker: Bill King

After ambling along with Bill on the wonderfully varied Thames Path, we now reach the section of the walk that continues from Teddington where the Thames becomes a tidal river. It passes through the historic Borough of Richmond and on through Kew Gardens, continuing towards London and ending on the outskirts of the capital at Chiswick.

Image Credit: N Chadwick

Speaker: Dr. James Taylor

2026 is the 200th anniversary of the first voyage of HMS Beagle when Fitzroy became captain. It is fitting, therefore, to welcome Dr James Taylor to tell us about this and about the second voyage when Charles Darwin became the shipboard naturalist and collected evidence for his Origin of the Species.  Dr Taylor is a former curator of pictures at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.

Speaker:  Andy Mellor

You do not need to be a cider drinker to be intrigued by the sound of these old varieties of apples. Andy will tell about where the apples came from, the processes involved in making the cider as well the many traditions involved.

Image Credit: Missvain

Speaker: David Head

We welcome back David Head to talk about a very topical subject with special reference to the Arctic and Antarctic which he sees as the weather stations of the world. Using amazing photos and videos, he will look at what has been promised by leaders, what has and hasn’t been done as well as what is happening and likely to happen to our planet.

Speaker: Pamela Holland

Pamela has lots of stories, legends and ‘hows and why’s for us relating to Italian food. She will talk about the relevance of the geography of Italy, about pasta (no surprise there!), about local fiestas and not forgetting puddings and ice cream. Pamela lived in Italy for a long time and was taught to cook ‘the Italian Way’ by her ex mother-in-law. Her pictures may make us feel rather hungry!

Speaker:  Douglas Eyre

We welcome Douglas Eyre to talk about his life as a caricaturist and about the type of work he has done. Although he has drawn political caricatures, he describes himself as mainly a ‘kind’ caricaturist who is more interested in creating someone’s story and we will hear how he does this.

Image credit: https://www.dougeyre.com/contact

Speaker: Arthur Ball

Since retiring, Arthur has been travelling the world, bird and wildlife watching. He had never been to Africa but had seen the Okavango delta on television and this made him determined to visit Botswana. He will tell us about his experiences with pictures that show the rich variety of bird and animal life, the varied terrain - and a charge from an angry bull elephant!

Image Credit: Diego Delso

Speaker: Caroline Casterton

Now retired from NHS Wales and England, Caroline is a speaker and volunteer (medical and administrative) for Mercy Ships UK, a non-governmental charitable organisation. There are two ships currently in the fleet - ‘Global Mercy’ and ‘Africa Mercy’. Mercy Ships deliver free world class heath care and change thousands of lives every year by tackling the surgery crisis in underdeveloped countries. Caroline will tell us about this work and the many volunteers who make it happen.

Speaker: Dr Gillian White

This month we welcome back one of our most popular speakers. Gillian will tell the story of how John Churchill successfully navigated the torrid world of late Stuart politics, achieved huge success for his country on the battlefield and was then toppled as the political sands shifted. We also meet the women who helped and supported him: a sister, a lover, a wife and a queen. Gillian says that the 1st Duke of Marlborough was a national hero but not a plaster saint.

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Speaker:  Anthony Roberts

Our speaker this month is from Archeoscan, an organisation which, among other things, provides opportunities for public involvement in local archeological digs. At present, they are working on a medieval manor house at Guiting Power and a large Iron Age and Roman site at Slimbridge which was a possible port and landing area. There will be other digs on the go by the time Anthony comes and he will be able to give us exciting first hand and up-to-date information.

Image Credit: https://www.archeoscan.com/

Speaker:  Nick Brunger

Nick is an award-winning magician and gothic storyteller and this month he presents some suitably spooky Christmas Ghost Stories, guaranteed to send a chill down your spine. Enjoy a veritable feast of festive frighteners, carefully selected to thrill and enthrall. Creepy castles, mournful mansions, snowbound landscapes and ghastly ghouls abound in this afternoon of Yuletide yarns.