Like A Rolling Stone (The Music of The Sixties 1965-69)

28 January 2025

A return visit from Steve King to complete his lecture on the 60s. In 1965 British music dominated the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and the Beatles were blazing a trail across the world. However, in America, the civil rights and anti-war movements were gaining momentum influencing a new breed of writers and musicians; electric folk was born, and album sales started to increase exponentially. This is the story of the second half of the sixties featuring the music of the Beatles, The Rollings Stones and Bob Dylan. 

For copyright reasons we are not able to Zoom this lecture

Steve King

Shaken by an Earthquake – Igor Stravinsky, the Ballets Russes, and the astonishing 1913 premiere of The Rite of Spring

25 February 2025

The story of one of the greatest creative collaborations of all:  Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, whose team of dancers, choreographers, and costume and set designers transformed expectations of what a night in the theatre could be, and the circumstances behind its most notorious stage work of all. Sandy examines the build-up to the Rite of Spring’s premiere in Paris, takes a look at the original costumes, plays excerpts from this fascinatingly inventive score, and explores what divided opinions of that first-night audience quite so dramatically.  No, nothing could top the riot at the Rite in 1913…

Sandy Burnett

The Brilliance of Brunel
The Man Who Built The Modern World

25 March 2025

We are still living amongst the infrastructure created by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the 19 th century. He changed the face of the English landscape with his ground-breaking projects including railways, bridges, tunnels, ships, and grand buildings such as the magnificent Paddington Station. He merged art with engineering and science and was a pioneer and a revolutionary. And he was brilliant. We’ll look at the man, his background, his work and his legacy.

Ian Swankie

Legend and Lustre:
Jim Thompson and Thai Silk

29 April 2025

Jim Thompson arrived in Bangkok as a US army officer in 1945, fell in love with it and stayed. Captivated by the beauty of Thai silk, an ancient craft in decline, he resuscitated it and made it famous, creating costumes for films and embellishing his house, which today is a museum. An aesthete and art collector, he created an exquisite home from six hand carved teakwood houses brought from the countryside and filled it with Asian art. Here he became a legendary host. This lecture tells the story of his achievements, showing the intricate process of silk production and its illustrious heritage, including royal robes and temple murals. It touches on films featuring his silks, reveals his house and its art and reflects on a life that ended with his mysterious disappearance.

For copyright reasons we are not able to Zoom this lecture.

Denise Heywood

Britain as Workshop of the World
The Great Exhibition of 1851 and the Establishment of the Victoria & Albert Museum

20 May 2025

This lecture focuses on the design impact of the Great Exhibition and the need for a ‘legacy institution’ in the form of the South Kensington Museum. We look at the building as a work of art and explore the work of William Morris, Fredrick Lord Leighton and other influential designers of the Victorian Age.

Anna Warrillow

This lecture will be followed by our AGM.