2011/12 Programme
PROGRAMME 2011
 6th October Thursday 7.30 pm
David Eveleigh
'Smoke, Grime & Little Sooties': Boy chimney sweeps in 19th century Britain
David Eveleigh is Director of Collections, Learning and Research at the Black Country Living Museum, Dudley, West Midlands. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Museums Association and has published over twenty articles and books on aspects of social and domestic history.
In the first half of the nineteenth century young boys were forced to climb chimneys to clean them. Using contemporary accounts an extraordinary story unfolds of the harsh conditions under which these young sweeps worked. Eventually there was a national campaign to outlaw the practice and the lecture concludes with an account of the rapid decline in the use of the 'little sooties'.
 3rd November Thursday 7.30 pm
Dr Anne Anderson
A Victorian Idyll: 'Cottage gardens' from Allingham to Lutyens
Dr Anne Anderson is a member of the Society of Antiquaries. She researches into Fine Arts Valuation and lectures all over the world on various aspects of the history of art and design.
As the 19th century drew to a close, many Victorians were nostalgic for a pre-industrial countryside and rural way of life. City dwellers looked on the countryside through 'rose- tinted glasses' and saw thatched cottages with roses round the door, chickens in the yard and bonny children playing with kittens. However, this was a somewhat idealistic view of country life because the impact of the industrial revolution was enormous with a decline in agriculture and depopulation through migration to the cities. Anne Anderson will tell us how in different ways three generations of Victorian painters captured the disappearing rural cottage and its garden.
 1st December Thursday 7.30 pm
Jane Tapley
‘All the World's a Stage’ -- The history of theatre from Greek and Roman Times to the present day
Jane Tapley is Theatre Events Organiser at the Theatre Royal, Bath and lectures in theatre history.
The talk looks at theatre building and the ways in which the actors and audiences behaved, how the plays were received and how this country became the most renowned nation in the world for its theatres. The first recorded evidence of theatre goes back to performances of the the Myth of Osiris in the Egypt of 2500 BC. From then, it extends though ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, with archaeological evidence of amphitheatres, through to the Rose and Globe theatres in late 16th century London and on to the present day. Among the many influences in its development can be included religion, politics, plagues, the emergence of patronage and ever changing fashion.
2012
 5th January Thursday 7.30 pm
Bertie Pierce
'Wonder Workers and the Art of Illusion' A history of magic and illusion
Bertie Pierce is a highly versatile performer and creator of illusions who has appeared all over the world and is at home in front of all types of audience.
The talk describes the progression from ancient Egypt, the cradle of magic, to the middle ages, when magicians were known as Jongleurs, lest they be sentenced to death for witchcraft; and continues to 19thcentury Music Hall and today's Magic Circle. In short, a 'whistle stop' tour through the history of mystery from 3000 BC to the 21st century.
 2nd February Thursday 7.30 pm
Sally Pollitzer
‘A Living Tradition’ – the art of stained glass-work
Sally Pollitzer is an artist working in the field of architectural glass - traditionally known as stained glass - from her studio in Somerset. Her work covers commercial and domestic pieces as well as glass for religious buildings. Commissioned pieces include glass for the House of Lords and screens for Lloyds TSB Headquarters.
With a history extending from about 1000 years ago, there continues to be a use for this beautiful yet complex medium. Sally will describe how her love of colour and interest in architecture has brought her some interesting and wide ranging commissions.
 1st March Thursday 7.30 pm
Louise Schofield
‘An Ethiopian Journey through landscape and time’
Louise Schofield was Curator of Greek Bronze Age and geometric Antiquities at the British Museum from 1987 to 2000. She now writes books and runs archaeological projects in Turkey, Greece and Ethiopia. Her latest book, 'Myceneans', was published by the BM in 2007.
In autumn 2006 she set off into the wilds of Ethiopia in search of the perfect place to set up an archaeological, conservation and development project in that extraordinary country. Eventually, she finally decided upon a remote prehistoric river valley in Tigray - its precipitous walls home to rock-hewn churches carved by early Christians. She spent three years living in a small tent setting up and implementing an ambitious project that aimed at making life sustainable in the valley for a population perpetually on the verge of starvation. Louise, a small team of British, Irish and Ethiopian archaeologists and all of the 2,800 people in the local village worked together to transform the valley into an archaeological and environmental park. Her lecture will take us through these rich experiences.
 29th March Thursday 7.30 pm
Dr Kristian Harder
The Large Hadron Collider: Big science, big bangs and black holes'
Kristian Harder is a particle physicist working for the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, one of the institutions that built and is now operating the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland. He has spent the last 15 years participating in experiments at CERN, DESY in Hamburg and Fermilab near Chicago, trying to find answers to some of the most fundamental questions about the universe.
The Large Hadron Collider helps physicists understand the nature of matter by exposing it to extreme conditions, similar to those that existed fractions of a second after the Big Bang that created our universe. This lecture will include an overview of the current state of science, and what impact we can expect from the Large Hadron Collider. You might even get to see a (simulated) black hole!
19th April Thursday 7.30 pm
Dr Frank Dick
'Winning Matters' – Winning is being better today than yesterday – every day
Frank Dick is, among other roles, current Chair of Scottish Athletics, President of the European Athletics Coaches and Member of the IAAF Coaches Commission. He is renowned as an inspiring motivational speaker.
By recognising the synergy between effective coaching techniques on the sports field and in the commercial environment, Frank will share his thoughts on how to get the best from yourself and others around you. These will range widely over ways in which talent and aptitude as well as attitudes can be developed so as to enhance performance. In this psychology as well as physical preparation are interdependent. Anecdotes and footage from athletics and other sports will illustrate his thesis in an energetic and highly inspirational manner. The lecture will be of particular interest as we prepare ourselves for the Olympic Games this summer.
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