Monthly Meetings

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Last Updated: Friday, 05 June 2026 09:19

4th June 2026

Annual General Meeting will take place at this meeting. The meeting will begin 30 minutes earlier at 1.30pm

Eddie Asquith. " Good Old London Town "

An interesting talk about little known facts of our capital city.

2nd July 2026

Gilly Halcrow. "Whatever Happened to Christopher Robin "?

 Back by popular demand a new talk from Gilly. The talk will give us a glimpse of English life from the 1920s through the eyes of A.A. Milne and his son and, of course, Winnie-the-Pooh. Gilly will tell us about the life and times of Christopher Robin as he grew up in London and then in Hartfield on the Ashdown Forest. Was he a happy child and adult or did that small English teddy bear overshadow his life? Did Christopher Robin feel that his father had climbed upon his infant shoulders leaving him with nothing but the empty fame of being his son and did he ever find happiness?

6th August 2026

Sarah Quill "The Changing Faces of Venice".

In our imagination Venice is unchanging, but the modern world is leaving its mark. This talk will illustrate some of the many changes that have taken place in the lagoon city over the last century. Certain developments, such as the restoration of damaged buildings, are to the city’s benefit; but a massive increase in tourism has caused many problems. The coronavirus lockdown, resulting in clean canal water and a resurgence of marine life in the lagoon, has been a timely reminder of the importance of protecting Venice’s fragile environment.

3rd September 2026

Dr Kathryn Harkup "The Chemistry of the Body"

There are 92 naturally occurring elements in the Periodic Table but how many of them would you need to make a human? The chemical formula for a human has some surprising inclusions and the recipe to make a fully functioning person is carefully balanced. This talk looks at some interesting facts about the elements that make us what we are.

1st October 2026.

Eddie Prescott " The RAF at West Malling." "Airmen of West Malling".  

Eddie will tell the story of RAF West Malling and its Airmen during the second world war.  The airfield was not fully operational during the Battle of Britain but did play an active part in the later stage of the air campaign, becoming a premier fighter base.

5th November 2026

John Griffiths-Colby " How Far Can Retro Go "?

Out of date, outmoded, out of here – fashion is only predictable in as much as it is fickle and perhaps in knowing that what goes around, will come around. Is Retro really a style or just recycling – how much of it can we digest when we remember it from the first time around? Was it even new then?

3rd December 2026

Relax to the music of SLEEPWALK

We finish 2026 with a musical afternoon listening to Popular music of the 60s with some very talented musicians with familiar faces.

7th January 2027

Tony Harris as Donald Trump "A White House Satire"

We have seen Tony Harris as Henry VIII, Churchill and Mrs Thatcher.
Now this popular speaker brings us his latest character – Donald Trump.
The President will tell us his solution to all the World’s problems and how he is the best leader of the free world. Ever. Really. The best. Not fake news.

Tony’s unique blend of history and humour will give us another excellent afternoon. Not to be missed

4th February 2027

Ed Adams - " Kentish Clerical Errors"

We look to the clergy as exemplars of Christian behaviour, but historically this has not always been the case. Ed Adams will guide you through local stories of ministerial misbehaviour and priestly peccadilloes from the Victorian and Edwardian eras with a talk that promises to be amusing, shocking and thought-provoking.

 4th March 2027

Margaret Hall -  "Saint or Sinner"?

Margaret’s talk features a 20th century person and asks whether they deserve a halo or horns.

1st April 2027 

Chris Levett " Riding the Rails"

A marvellous illlustrated talk by Chris Levett, in which he describes how he and his wife Sheena spent 3 weeks backpacking, (yes! backpacking - really) round Europe, travelling entirely by train. They took in some of the great scenic rail journeys of Europe, including he Golden Pass train, Glacier Express and the Bernina Panorama Express.

6th May 2027

Bobbie Darbyshire "A Beginning a Muddle and an End"

Where do novelists get their ideas from? 

In an entertaining, informative talk, Bobbie Darbyshire will explain how the complex world of character, location, plot and
subplot arrives in a writer's mind. Winner of the 2008 fiction prize at the National Academy of Writing and the New Delta
Review Creative Non-Fiction Prize 2010.

Bobbie has worked as a barmaid, mushroom picker, film extra, maths coach, cabinet minister's private secretary, care assistant
and volunteer adult-literacy teacher as well as in social research and government policy.

 3rd June 2027

Malcom Jones - NOT IN FRONT OF THE AUDIENCE: CENSORSHIP ON THE BRITISH STAGE

On September 26 1968, after 231 years of official censorship, Britain ended the power of the Lord Chamberlain to decide what the British public should and shouldn’t see. Official vetting and censoring of plays was established by the Theatres Licensing Act of 1737 and led to years of controversy, absurdity and fascinating battles between the theatre makers and the authority of the Theatre Censor.