Getting Plastered - The Art and Conservation of Decorative Plasterwork 1570 - 1700
David Bostwick
David Bostwick, lecturer at the University of Glasgow, leader of a range of study tours
and a consultant to The National Trust and English Heritage, has spoken to us
before. This time he will be describing the composition of various kinds of
plaster, the complicated processes involved in its production using wooden
lathes, cow and goat hair – even a glass of white wine! Patterns were drawn on
the ceiling and then ornaments such as flowers, leaves and animals were added. The
skills of master plasterers and woodworkers who were hired from one establishment
to another, produced the beautiful patterns and motifs which we so admire today.
Was to be held on 10th October 2011, but had to be cancelled - apologies to our members. We hope to rearrange in the future
Red
Plenty: The Soviet Dream and Why it Faded
Francis Spufford
Since graduating in
English Literature from Cambridge University, Francis Spufford has spent his professional life in academia as
writer and lecturer, currently leading general workshops on Creative Writing at
Goldsmith’s College, London. When Westerners think of the Soviet Union they think
of Stalin, the labour camps, parades, queues. Part fiction, part history, his
book, Red Plenty, is set in the USSR in the heady years of the 1950’s when a
bright future of rich communists (and envious capitalists) seemed altogether
possible, but the greater part of Red Plenty is given over to why and how the
Soviet communist project failed.
Held on 14th November 2011
Studying the Changing Universe: Things that go Bang in the Night
Dr. Andrew Newsam
Dr Andrew Newsam is a Reader in Astronomy Education at the Astrophysics Research
Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, where he specialises in turning
sets of astronomical data into a collection of useful numbers that can be used
to do science with. He is also Director of the National Schools Observatory, a
project aimed at giving school children the opportunity to make their own
observations alongside professional astronomers on top-quality telescopes. The
universe is a dynamic, ever-changing place full of extremes. From Black Holes
to asteroids, massive stars to elusive distant planets, every part of the
universe poses its own questions. But how are astronomers trying to answer
those questions?
Held on 12th December 2011
Abyssinia - 3,000 Years of Ethiopian Art and History from Solomon and Sheba to Haile Selassie.
Chris Bradley
A joint lecture
with the Royal Geographical Society.
.It is just three years since Chris Bradley spoke to us about the three Magi. This time he talks about “The Hidden
Land” of Ethiopia which retains many of its ancient traditions, such as gold
and silver work, with crowns and regalia kept in small treasuries close to the
12 000 churches. Frescoes and murals bring even the smallest highland church to
brilliant life. There are an estimated 3 000 varieties of metalwork Coptic
crosses paraded each year at the Ethiopian Epiphany. From the traditional art
forms found in manuscripts and church murals has grown a body of more recent
art work. Our speaker is a writer, lecturer, photographer, film maker and tour leader
in the Middle East.
Held on 16th January 2012
Chocolate, Tea and Coffee in the Augustan Age
Ann Gore
Ann Gore trained as an architect, worked on Harper’s Bazaar and ran an antique
shop for fifteen years. She has also lectured in the United States, Australia
and England and has published three books. This evening she examines how the
importation of chocolate and coffee into Europe during the 17th
century changed social life in a remarkable fashion. London coffee houses
became very influential. Dryden, the great poet, playwright and wit frequented Wills
coffee house, Buttons was presided over by Addison and Sir Richard Steele wrote
the first number of the Tatler in 1709 in the Grecian.
20th February 2012
The English Parish Church - an Architectural and Social History
Andrew Davies
Each of the several thousand
English parish churches in existence is unique and has its own history to tell.
Of all our local buildings, churches have probably been the ones to enjoy the
longest continuous periods of use. This talk will explore their development,
both inside and out, to see when and why they were built where they are, and
how they have been affected by subsequent events. Stories of stained glass, “Doom
“paintings and errant clergymen all feature in this story! Andrew Davies spoke to us in 2001 and 2003. He read Law at Oxford
but his passion is History. He is an established author and broadcaster and has
also made many television appearances.
19th March 2012
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
David Edwards
A joint lecture with the Royal Geographic Society
It is now almost four years since David Edwards, fellow of the
Royal Geographical Society last spoke to us. He combines his work as university
lecturer with freelance speaking. BUT he also has some amazing adventures! He
recently went on an ocean research trip in the Pacific on a ship that has
sailed the world for over 20 years doing cutting edge research on climate
change, earthquakes etc. But this is not a travel talk per se but a story of
international co-operation in one of the most challenging research environments
16th April 2012
Gypsies. Tramps and Thieves; The Representation of the Working Classes in Art
Linda Smith
In this talk Linda Smith looks at the ordinary
people in western art: skilled and unskilled workers in both urban
and agricultural environments, craftsmen, artisans, domestic servants,
prostitutes, shopkeepers, beggars. They have always been there in the
background as mute observers or comic relief. This evening our speaker, who lectures
at the Tate, Tate Modern and Dulwich Picture Gallery, discusses the move of
low-life subject matter from the despised and vulgar fringes of popular taste
into the respectable mainstream and out again into political radicalism and
avant-garde edginess.
21st May 2012
Energy Needs for the UK over the Next 100 Years
Professor Tim Greenshaw
Tim
Greenshaw is a member of the Physics
department at Liverpool University which is involved in energy and climate
change studies: tapping the tidal power of the eastern Irish Sea, for example.
The department runs “Energy Days”. This evening Professor Greenshaw
analyses current UK energy use, its source and availability over the next
generation or so and the fact that the future may well bring the problem of
dwindling resources. He includes current research in the North West. With
rising fuel bills often being the topic of conversation these days his chosen subject would seem very apposite.
18th June 2012
Annual General Meeting (7.15pm) followed by;
Saltney - Railway Gateway to North Wales
Geoff Pickard
This
is our local history lecture for this season and Geoff
Pickard is well placed to give
it. He was born and educated in Chester and has a fund of knowledge of the past
in this area. Up until the early 19th century coastal shipping and
canals provided the only effective means of bulk transportation. In the 1840s
no fewer than three independent railway companies built lines through
Saltney. Saltney grew up with the coming
of the railways. Local businesses set up there because of its extensive railway
infrastructure. But these railways also took holidaymakers to and from the popular
coastal resorts of North Wales.
David Bostwick, lecturer at the University of Glasgow, leader of a range of study tours
and a consultant to The National Trust and English Heritage, has spoken to us
before. This time he will be describing the composition of various kinds of
plaster, the complicated processes involved in its production using wooden
lathes, cow and goat hair – even a glass of white wine! Patterns were drawn on
the ceiling and then ornaments such as flowers, leaves and animals were added. The
skills of master plasterers and woodworkers who were hired from one establishment
to another, produced the beautiful patterns and motifs which we so admire today.
Since graduating in
English Literature from Cambridge University, Francis Spufford has spent his professional life in academia as
writer and lecturer, currently leading general workshops on Creative Writing at
Goldsmith’s College, London. When Westerners think of the Soviet Union they think
of Stalin, the labour camps, parades, queues. Part fiction, part history, his
book, Red Plenty, is set in the USSR in the heady years of the 1950’s when a
bright future of rich communists (and envious capitalists) seemed altogether
possible, but the greater part of Red Plenty is given over to why and how the
Soviet communist project failed.
Dr Andrew Newsam is a Reader in Astronomy Education at the Astrophysics Research
Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, where he specialises in turning
sets of astronomical data into a collection of useful numbers that can be used
to do science with. He is also Director of the National Schools Observatory, a
project aimed at giving school children the opportunity to make their own
observations alongside professional astronomers on top-quality telescopes. The
universe is a dynamic, ever-changing place full of extremes. From Black Holes
to asteroids, massive stars to elusive distant planets, every part of the
universe poses its own questions. But how are astronomers trying to answer
those questions?
A joint lecture
with the Royal Geographical Society.
Ann Gore trained as an architect, worked on Harper’s Bazaar and ran an antique
shop for fifteen years. She has also lectured in the United States, Australia
and England and has published three books. This evening she examines how the
importation of chocolate and coffee into Europe during the 17th
century changed social life in a remarkable fashion. London coffee houses
became very influential. Dryden, the great poet, playwright and wit frequented Wills
coffee house, Buttons was presided over by Addison and Sir Richard Steele wrote
the first number of the Tatler in 1709 in the Grecian.
Each of the several thousand
English parish churches in existence is unique and has its own history to tell.
Of all our local buildings, churches have probably been the ones to enjoy the
longest continuous periods of use. This talk will explore their development,
both inside and out, to see when and why they were built where they are, and
how they have been affected by subsequent events. Stories of stained glass, “Doom
“paintings and errant clergymen all feature in this story! Andrew Davies spoke to us in 2001 and 2003. He read Law at Oxford
but his passion is History. He is an established author and broadcaster and has
also made many television appearances.
It is now almost four years since David Edwards, fellow of the
Royal Geographical Society last spoke to us. He combines his work as university
lecturer with freelance speaking. BUT he also has some amazing adventures! He
recently went on an ocean research trip in the Pacific on a ship that has
sailed the world for over 20 years doing cutting edge research on climate
change, earthquakes etc. But this is not a travel talk per se but a story of
international co-operation in one of the most challenging research environments
In this talk Linda Smith looks at the ordinary
people in western art: skilled and unskilled workers in both urban
and agricultural environments, craftsmen, artisans, domestic servants,
prostitutes, shopkeepers, beggars. They have always been there in the
background as mute observers or comic relief. This evening our speaker, who lectures
at the Tate, Tate Modern and Dulwich Picture Gallery, discusses the move of
low-life subject matter from the despised and vulgar fringes of popular taste
into the respectable mainstream and out again into political radicalism and
avant-garde edginess.
Tim
Greenshaw is a member of the Physics
department at Liverpool University which is involved in energy and climate
change studies: tapping the tidal power of the eastern Irish Sea, for example.
The department runs “Energy Days”. This evening Professor Greenshaw
analyses current UK energy use, its source and availability over the next
generation or so and the fact that the future may well bring the problem of
dwindling resources. He includes current research in the North West. With
rising fuel bills often being the topic of conversation these days his chosen subject would seem very apposite.
This
is our local history lecture for this season and Geoff
Pickard is well placed to give
it. He was born and educated in Chester and has a fund of knowledge of the past
in this area. Up until the early 19th century coastal shipping and
canals provided the only effective means of bulk transportation. In the 1840s
no fewer than three independent railway companies built lines through
Saltney. Saltney grew up with the coming
of the railways. Local businesses set up there because of its extensive railway
infrastructure. But these railways also took holidaymakers to and from the popular
coastal resorts of North Wales.