PROGRAMME OF LECTURES 1st APRIL 2024 – 31st MARCH 2025 April 24th 2024 – 1.30 – 3.00 pm – Old Windsor Memorial Hall Aubrey Dawson – Fakes and Forgeries Can we tell the difference / How does an Auctioneer? Aubrey will talk to us about his career as an auctioneer and working in his Auction Rooms in Maidenhead. May 22nd 2024 – 1.30 – 3.00 pm – Old Windsor Memorial Hall Susan Kay Williams – The History of The Royal School of Needlework This lecture goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the last 150 years and the School’s changing fortunes including: being part of the ‘Kensington set’; the links with the Arts and Crafts and Aestheticism movements; the connection with the SAS; the move to Hampton Court Palace and the variety of commissions the RSN has undertaken from wedding dresses to Oscar gowns and from runway garments to ecclesiastical vestments. June 26th 2024 – 1.30 – 3.00 pm – Old Windsor Memorial Hall Annual General Meeting, followed by Sandy Burnett - The Age of Jazz Jazz is one of music’s most important genres: a fascinating blend of rigorous structure, free-wheeling creativity and imaginative improvisation. Drawing on his experience as a gigging musician, Sandy can shed light on jazz from the inside. His talk covers the early years of jazz up to WW2, and his illustrations range from the blues, ragtime and early recordings through to classics by Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and the dawn of the Swing Era. September 25th 2024 – 1.30 – 3.00 pm – Old Windsor Memorial Hall Ralph Hoyle – Mid 18C English Rococo Silver and the Adventures of its Makers and Owners The lecture covers mid 18C English Rococo silver and the Huguenot influence on new silversmithing designs and methods of manufacture. Ralph makes the talk entertaining by uncovering his collection’s original owners and revealing some of the life stories associated with them. Knowing the exploits of these original owners adds considerably to the pieces’ interest and brings another dimension to their handling. October 23rd 2024 – 1.30 – 3.00 pm – Old Windsor Memorial Hall Rosamund Bartlett – The Culture of Ukraine This lecture tells Ukraine’s story through the shared culture which binds its proud people together. We will explore the sacred art and architecture of Kyiv and its links to Byzantium, and the distinctive characters of Odesa and Lviv. Tracing Ukraine’s complicated multi-ethnic history also means looking at its rich folk culture traditions. These range from native song to Cossack dancing and the secret codes embedded in ancient embroidery, which have exerted a surprising impact on modern painting and contemporary haute couture. November 27th 2024 – 1.30 – 3.00 pm – Old Windsor Memorial Hall Alexandra Epps – The City of Angels From Seraphin and Cherubim to Archangels and fallen Angels, these celestial heralds have long captured hearts and imaginations. We will discover Angels as public art, monumental and memorial, all hidden within the historic churches, beautiful gardens and secret corners of the unique square mile of the City of London. Angels are simply all around us – we just need to know where to look. December 18h 2024 – 1.30 – 3.00 pm – Old Windsor Memorial Hall Bertie Pearce – We are Amused - Victorian Pleasures, Pastimes and Magic. Even though “work” was the bedrock of Victorian progress and improvement, Queen Victoria’s reign saw the greatest upsurge in leisure pursuits ever witnessed. People earned more money and worked shorter hours than ever before and with the birth of the railways and a desire to be health conscious it was a golden age for the art of entertaining. This talk celebrates a pre-television age when the ability to amuse and entertain was paramount. January 22nd 2025 – 1.30 – 3.00 pm – Old Windsor Memorial Hall Jo Walton – The Art and Craft of John Piper An abstract painter in the 1930s, John Piper was also a writer, critic and typographer and his love of architecture – especially medieval churches and stained glass – made him a highly sensitive observer of his surroundings. During the Second World War he became one of the best-known Official War Artists, creating powerful images of the destruction of Coventry Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament and of the city of Bath, as well as recording a wide range of buildings, from derelict Welsh cottages to the grandeur of Windsor Castle. February 26th 2025 – 1.30 – 3.00 pm – Old Windsor Memorial Hall Imogen Corrigan – The Politeness of Princes – The Reality of Medieval Etiquette and Table Manners! This lecture examines the reality of manners and etiquette in the later Medieval period. A far cry from the popular image of appalling table manners, Medieval dining was a minefield of ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts ‘. We explore the structure of formal banquets, the type of food eaten and who might be at these great occasions and learn how young noblemen were trained to be gentlemen and more everyday advice to women about how to conduct themselves! March 26th 2025 – 1.30 – 3.00 pm – Old Windsor Memorial Hall Mark Ovenden – The Woman who Told us Where to Go! You may not have heard of her but from the early 1960s a young student called Margaret Calvert began working with designer Jock Kinneir and their work utterly transformed the entire face of modern Britain. They designed the road sign system from the typeface to the colours and shapes. They created the look of British Rail and NHS hospitals. Celebrate Calvert & Kinneir in this revealing lecture and you’ll never look at the UK the same again. |