Events

Speaker:  Joanna McKerlie

As it will be nearly Christmas, Joanna McKerlie is coming to entertain us with poems which could not be further away from those we heard last month.  Using her very great acting skills, she will amuse us with a range of very funny seasonal offerings.

Image Credit:  Jennifer C.

Speaker: Andy Wyatt

We start the year with a bang and a very welcome return by Andy Wyatt who enthralled a packed hall last year with his tales of ‘Flying the Queen and other stories..’.  He briefly mentioned ‘The Red Arrows’ last time and he is now going to tell us a lot more about his time on the Aerobatic Team. Andy is a fantastic speaker and these stories are not to be missed!

Image Credit: Cpl. Andy Benson, Open Gov Licence

Speaker:  Bill King

This month we will reach the end of our walk with Bill King along the Thames Path. This fifth segment is called ‘A walk on the Thames Path - from Runnymede to Teddington Lock’. He will describe this historic final section of the non-tidal river as it passes through Staines, Shepperton and Kingston to Hampton Court before reaching Teddington Lock where the tidal Thames begins. As always, we will be enjoying Bill’s photographs as he describes the geography and natural history of the area. 

Speaker: David Head

David Head’s talk this month is called ‘Iceland - land of Ice and Fire’. We will hear about the geographical and geophysical aspects of Iceland, including waterfalls, lakes, volcanoes, the Great Divide, hot springs and geysers. We are promised amazing pictures to illustrate his descriptions and explanations so this is a date put on the calendar. 

Image Credit: Andril Gladii - Wiki Commons

Speaker: Ian Caskie

In April, Ian Caskie will talk about ‘SS Great Britain: From Launch to Relaunch”. This is a talk full of fascinating detail about Brunel’s second great ship and the first ocean-going steamship with an iron hull and the first driven by a propeller. Ian describes her as a ship that ‘transformed shipbuilding and sea travel for ever’. 

Image Credit: Wiki Commons

Speaker: Robert Bryant

This month Robert Bryant returns with a much-recommended talk entitled “Gardens Here and There in England’. Once again, his own wonderful photographs will illustrate his descriptions of gardens well known and lesser-known around the country. Robert was a garden designer for many years and also a garden guide at Highgrove.

Image Credit: Michael Garlick, Wiki Commons

Speaker:  Mike Aggleton

After our AGM, we welcome Mike Aggleton whose talk is called ‘Radio and TV Hoaxes’. He will concentrate on three items. One may have been seen live by many of us, another comes from the early days of radio and the third is from American radio and was badly mis-represented at the time.

Image credit: Heri Nugroho

Speaker:  Chris O'Grady

We welcome back a very popular speaker this month. Chris O’Grady talked to us about his Walk to Rome in 2022 and last year gave us a fascinating talk about Art and Antiques. This time, his talk is called ‘Keep the sea on your left - remember to turn right at Land’s End’. Chris will tell us tales of what he describes as a ‘haphazard trek around the edge of our Sceptred Isle’ when he walked the entire coast of England and Wales.

Image Credit: Suicasmo

Speaker: Jim Cooper

Jim Cooper’s talk called ‘The Art of Persuasion’ will look at the many famous artists behind the iconic travel posters which came to define travel in the 1920s and 30s. Born of an earlier form of printing, the artists created eyecatching designs in a unique style. The message each conveyed had to be enticing, vivid and often read at speed.

Speaker:  Peter Petrie

Peter Petrie’s talk to us in September is entitled ‘Death of a King’. He is a guide at Gloucester Cathedral, which is the generally accepted location of the tomb of Edward 11, following his supposed murder at Berkeley Castle. Peter is interested in modern evidence that suggests he was not murdered but lived out his natural life as a recluse in Northern Italy. It remains a fascinating mediaeval ‘whodunnit’ which will get us all thinking.

Image Credt:  Michael D Beckwith

Speaker:  Philip Collins

Champagne, Spend-a-Penny Slot-Machines, the Lawnmower and Horlick’s Malted Milk - these are just some of the inventions accredited to Gloucestershire. Philip Collins will tell us about his trail to track down just what can be attributed to our county in his talk called ‘Gloucestershire Inventions’.

Image Credit:  Ronald Saunders

Speaker:  Tony Conder

We welcome back Tony Conder whose illustrated talk called ‘A well-trained eye’ is about how we travelled in the earliest days of steam railways and how they developed over the Victorian era. A guidebook was produced for early travellers pointing out the things you must do to successfully travel by train. Tony will share these and other fascinating details with us during his talk.

Image Credit:  August Egg (1816-1863)

Speaker:  Steve Rowley

Steve Rowley comes to inform and entertain us in December with a talk called ‘In Comes I..’.  Appearing in costume, Steve will tell us the story of the Christmas Mummers Play in Gloucestershire from high society to farm labourers cadging a handout. This should prove a fascinating look at a very different kind of Christmas.

Image Credit: Gloucester Mummers