Tuesday September 15th 2026. 'Rachmaninov' by John Malpass
"My exploration of Rachmaninoff’s fascinating personal and musical life will take us from Novgorod in Russia via St. Petersburg and Moscow to his final years in the United States.

My talk will include many photographs and a wide range of recorded music ranging from his piano repertoire (some with the composer at the piano) to his songs, orchestral, liturgical, choral, operatic, and chamber works."

Tuesday October 20th 2026. 'Red kites' by Mike Pienkowski

My husband, Dr Mike Pienkowski, has recently been asked to give talks to various bird, wildlife, nature conservation groups, u3a groups and others on the restoration of Red Kites across Britain – the project which he initiated in the 1980-1990s as Chairman of the Nature Conservancy Council/RSPB project on The Experimental Reintroduction of Red Kites. This was described by RSPB as "the biggest species success story in UK conservation history!" We have realised that we ought to make information more systematically available to other potential audiences. Hence this note.

Tuesday November 17th 2026. 'Game shows' by Stephanie & Trevor Mee

Do you remember the game show Bob’s Full House hosted by Bob Monkhouse? This was the first game show in which Stephanie appeared. A very nervous Stephanie went to the studio where she greeted by a very charming Bob Monkhouse. Whilst the other contestants were tucking into a delicious spread in the Greenroom, Stephanie was pacing, with butterflies in her stomach. The TV crew were worried even if she would be able to take part. Impressively, she managed to pull herself round and appeared on the show, winning a line.

After that show, others followed in quick succession. Winner Takes All, the Big Break (a snooker game with Jim Davidson), Tipping Point and The Chase. Stephanie was a single mum of two and the money, along with the goods she won, helped her enormously. It was doing these shows she met Trevor. She teamed up with him as a partner for other game shows as well as a partner in life.

Together they went on Pointless and won. Thanks to Trevor, who listened to the Shipping Forecasts on the radio each morning, they managed to take home £1,500. Over the time they won enough money to pay for the wedding dress and the wedding!

Tuesday December 15th 2026. Christmas