THE GREENING OF LONDON
The City of London Bio-Diversity plan is responsible for restoring churchyards, creating vertical gardens, pocket parks and encouraging displays in window boxes. This has brought more colour and greenery to a city dominated by high-rise buildings but the story begins over 400 years ago when horticulturalists and botanists began to take a deeper interest in nature.
GOODBYE TO THE HIGH STREET?
High Streets, once so prominent throughout the country, are losing their traditional character as technology play a greater part in the way we shop. In Medieval times, markets in towns and villages were places where people bought and sold what they needed. Then High Streets were established and shopping became a new experience. This talk features the rise from small shops to department stores and then retail parks. But now the High Street is in crisis so why and how has this happened?
POUNDS, SHILLINGS AND POVERTY
Why did the Victorians believe there were ‘deserving poor’ and ‘undeserving poor’? This presentation highlights why those enjoying wealth and status while ignoring the poor who were locked into the poverty of the 19th century. Changes were necessary when writers like Charles Dickens, Henry Mayhew, Charles Booth and reformers including, Angela Burdett-Coutts, Lord Salisbury, Octavia Hill and Annie Besant exposed the inequalities of London life.
MIND THE GAP
The world’s first Underground railway line went from Paddington to Farringdon. For passengers it was a dirty, smelly and uncomfortable experience yet thousands of Londoners wanted to see what it was like right from the start. This is the story of how ‘The Tube’ went on to become one of the great transport advances of the 19th century.
THE CHURCHES OF SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN
The Great Fire of 1666 destroyed 87 churches across the City of London. This talk features the work of Wren and how his team of craftsmen set about designing the great cathedral and restoring the other churches. Sadly, many were later destroyed in World War II although others managed to survive the Blitz and have become iconic historical sites.
CITY OF LONDON LIVERY COMPANIES
There are 111 Livery Companies and several have traditions and ceremonials stretching back over 700 years. These may seem archaic or strange in the 21st century but this talk reveals the importance of their charitable work and how they still give valuable support and contribute to the social, financial and commercial structure of the City of London.
THE FLOW OF HISTORY
The River Thames was once one of the busiest commercial rivers in the world but it remains popular for leisure-seekers and tens of thousands of tourists. The theme of this talk is about the changing character of the river over 2,000 years and why it has been so vital to the history of the City. But pollution and climate change are still the main threat. It is also a health risk and flooding is an issue which is likely to get worse.
MYSTERIES OF THE ESTUARY
Most people are familiar with the stretch of the River Thames that runs through Central London. Until the 19th century, little was known about the Estuary and the tidal dangers, shipwrecks, the wartime activities and atomic research programmes which happened further downstream. Today the flat marshland areas of Essex and Kent keep many secrets although advanced technology is now able to tell us more about the Estuary’s past.
SLAVERY AND THE CITY
Britain has been slow to acknowledge that slavery was making London rich and influential between the 16th and 19th centuries. Slave trading was not limited to unscrupulous ship owners. Industrialists and landowners, notable politicians and aristocratic families were among the thousands who made fortunes. So how and why did this happen? And why has this stain on British Colonial history never been examined and revealed in more detail?
SQUARE ROOTS
London is blessed with so much greenery, parks big and small and many squares But changing social conditions, two World Wars, building development and neglect threatened the existence of many grand squares across London. Not all have survived to this day but more would have been lost without the protection of Government legislation in the 19th and 20th centuries
NEWSREELS AND REAL NEWS
This is a personal reflection on why newsreels were so important and popular in the first half of the 20th century before losing out to TV news. I was a scriptwriter working for the Pathe company in the 1960s. This was the start of a 40-year career in the film industry and my experiences provide the background for a talk about the impact and growth of media technology in the 20th and 21st centuries and how we now receive news and opinion.
PLAGUE, FIRE AND PANIC
There was fear and hysteria following the Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of September 1666 when two-thirds of London burnt to the ground. An estimated 100,000 Londoners died from the terrible disease yet remarkably less than 20 perished in the Fire. It was a turbulent period yet some of the most prominent and talented surveyors, architects and developers in British history came forward to inspire the revival of London.
SPITALFIELDS
Beyond the Roman City Walls, Spitalfields earned a reputation for crime and poverty. It has always attracted thousands of migrants believing that London would offer a better life. Hopes remained unfulfilled as Spitalfields became a notorious slum but now it is a vibrant part of London and home to flourishing industries in the media, fashion and computing industries.
FROM THOMAS COOK TO BILLY BUTLIN
These are just two names of those who have transformed the whole meaning of holidays and the mass travel market. It started back in the mid-19th century when Thomas Cook, a Baptist Minister and Temperance supporter, realised that rail travel was changing social habits. He went on to organise rail tours and the idea of ‘going on holiday’ soon attracted the middle and working classes. Find out why and how it has become the world’s biggest industry.
DARK TOURISM
Visiting countries where events and stories of death and destruction, warfare and natural disasters are destinations that attract hundreds of thousands. Dark Tourism has become popular among many looking for alternative travel experiences? Is it the persuasive power of the internet, a rejection of traditional tourism or just curiosity?
TIME FOR TEA
The Chinese discovered the tea plant centuries ago and introduced tea many varieties of green and black tea. They jealously guarded this knowledge until the British East India Company found out the secret and were then able to create tea plantations in India, Ceylon, Africa and Asia. It’s another example of British Colonial influence and how fortunes were made by many companies, ship owners and traders.
All talks are supported by PowerPoint presentations.