5TH JUNE – DR JOHN FLORANCE
JOHN BETJEMAN: THE POET WHO SAVED ST PANCRAS
 

POET, BROADCASTER AND PASSIONATE CHAMPION OF BRITAIN’S ARCHITECTURAL
HERITAGE, SIR JOHN BETJEMAN BECAME ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S MOST
RECOGNISABLE LITERARY FIGURES. IN THIS FASCINATING TALK, DR JOHN FLORANCE
EXPLORES BETJEMAN’S LIFE, POETRY AND ENDURING LEGACY, WITH PARTICULAR
FOCUS ON HIS FAMOUS CAMPAIGN TO SAVE ST PANCRAS STATION FROM
DEMOLITION. BLENDING LITERATURE, HISTORY AND SOCIAL COMMENTARY, THIS
SESSION CELEBRATES A MAN WHOSE LOVE OF BRITAIN’S PAST HELPED SHAPE ITS
FUTURE.
 

 

12TH JUNE – DR MARK BARNARD
VALMY 1792 – THE FRENCH REVOLUTION IS SAVED
 

THE BATTLE OF VALMY MARKED A TURNING POINT IN EUROPEAN HISTORY. FOUGHT IN
1792 DURING THE TURBULENT EARLY YEARS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, THIS
UNEXPECTED FRENCH VICTORY HALTED INVADING FORCES AND GAVE NEW
CONFIDENCE TO THE REVOLUTIONARY CAUSE. IN THIS ENGAGING TALK, DR MARK
BARNARD EXAMINES THE EVENTS LEADING TO THE BATTLE, THE KEY PERSONALITIES
INVOLVED, AND WHY VALMY BECAME SUCH A DEFINING MOMENT IN THE STRUGGLE
THAT WOULD RESHAPE FRANCE — AND EUROPE ITSELF.
 

 

19TH JUNE – PETER AMOUR
“EASTERN YORKSHIRE BY’T BIKE, BY’T TANDEM, BY’T CAR & BY’T TRAIN”
 

JOIN PETER AMOUR FOR AN ENTERTAINING JOURNEY THROUGH THE LANDSCAPES,
TOWNS AND CHARACTER OF EASTERN YORKSHIRE USING A VARIETY OF FORMS OF
TRANSPORT ALONG THE WAY. FILLED WITH LOCAL COLOUR, HUMOUR AND PERSONAL
OBSERVATIONS, THIS TALK EXPLORES THE REGION FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVES — WHETHER BY BICYCLE, TANDEM, CAR OR TRAIN. A LIGHT-HEARTED
AND ENGAGING LOOK AT TRAVEL, PLACE AND THE CHARM OF YORKSHIRE LIFE.
 

 

26TH JUNE – IAIN WALTON
ANTARCTICA TO ALASKA – PART 6: ALASKA
 

IN THE LATEST INSTALMENT OF HIS POPULAR TRAVEL SERIES, IAIN WALTON TAKES US
TO THE VAST WILDERNESS OF ALASKA — A LAND OF DRAMATIC MOUNTAINS,
GLACIERS, WILDLIFE AND FRONTIER HISTORY. FROM BREATHTAKING LANDSCAPES TO
STORIES OF EXPLORATION AND SURVIVAL, THIS FASCINATING TALK EXPLORES ONE
OF THE WORLD’S MOST REMOTE AND AWE-INSPIRING REGIONS. JOIN US FOR A
VISUALLY RICH AND ENGAGING JOURNEY THROUGH THE NATURAL BEAUTY AND
UNIQUE CHARACTER OF AMERICA’S LAST FRONTIER.