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The Arts Society Woking Talks
Programme 2025
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All Speakers are carefully chosen based
on their reputation for attractive and
well-presented talks with good pictures. |
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Our talks are held on the second Tuesday
of the month except July and August
(when many members are on vacation). |
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They start promptly at 10.30 am but
doors open 9.45 am for tea and coffee |
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Our new venue is Normandy Village Hall. |
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Address: Manor Fruit Farm, Glaziers
Lane, Normandy, Guildford Surrey GU3 2DT |
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Members may bring a visitor, but
the same person may not be a guest more
than twice a year. While we do not
charge a Visitors fee, Visitors may want
to make a donation to the Society of
(say) £5. |
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For more information please
click on the title for any talk |
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Tuesday January
14th 2025 |
Speaker: Siobhan Clarke |
Talk: King and Collector.
Henry VIII and the Art of
Kingship
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No English king is as well-known
to us as Henry VIII. He is
famous for six marriages,
breaking with the Pope,
dissolving the monasteries and
creating the Church of England;
and for his ruthless elimination
of those who stood in his way.
But he was also an enthusiastic
patron of the arts whose
palaces, tapestries and
paintings enriched the Tudor
court and began the Royal
Collection.
The forces that influenced
Henry’s life can be seen in the
works he commissioned, by
artists such as Pietro
Torrigiano, Hans Holbein and
Giralomo da Treviso. They tell
us much about his kingship and
(unintentionally) his
insecurities. Ultimately, each
of the works contained some
aspect of one central story: the
glorification of Henry and his
England. |
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Siobhan Clarke BA Hons has
worked for Historic Royal
Palaces for 20 years delivering
tours and lectures on Hampton
Court, Kensington, the Tower of
London and the Banqueting House,
Whitehall Palace.
Her experience includes
education sessions and tours for
schools, universities, corporate
and private clients. She has
lectured for the British Museum,
National Trust, National
Archives and the Smithsonian and
featured on BBC Radio 'Woman's
Hour' and Television's 'Secrets
of Henry VIII's Palace'.
Her published work includes: 'A
Tudor Christmas', in
collaboration with Alison Weir,
(2018), 'The Tudors: The Crown,
The Dynasty, The Golden Age'
with Linda Collins (2019), 'King
and Collector: Henry VIII and
the Art of Kingship' (2021) and
'Gloriana: Elizabeth I and the
Art of Queenship' (2022).
Photo supplied by Siobhan
Clarke |
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Tuesday
February 11th 2025 |
Talk: New Dawn. A Memorial
for Women’s Suffrage, Houses of
Parliament
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Photo:
Houses of Parliament: Emma Brown
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This talk informs people about
my artist process and what was
involved in making this public
work of art
Speaker: Mary Branson |
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Mary
Branson is best known for her
large scale conceptual light
installations, particularly the
iconic New Dawn 2016 sculpture
in the Houses of Parliament,
which celebrates the centenary
of the Suffrage movement and is
the first permanent piece of
contemporary abstract art in the
Palace of Westminster.
She has created works for the
London 2012 Olympics, The Magna
Carta Memorial at Runnymede,
Royal Holloway University and
more recently Harvest a huge
sitespecific installation at Box
Hill Surrey in collaboration
with the National Trust.
Her latest work is Ladders of
Light, a piece for Sky Arts 50,
that fills Salisbury Cathedral.
She is an award-winning print
maker, a choreographer for
performance and dance events,
and a mentor and public speaker,
having lately returned from a
lecture tour to New York and
Washington DC.
Mary has held a number of
artistic residencies, including
for Parliament, the British
Council, Crisis, the National
Trust and HM Prison service,
where she led an art group for
women prisoners. Currently she
is artist in residence at Watts
Gallery in Compton, Surrey. |
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Tuesday March
11th 2025 |
Talk: A Personal Heaven. The
Paintings of Stanley Spencer
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Photo: Wikimedia
Commons:
Stanley Spenser’s Pram
One of the most original British
artists of his generation,
Spencer’s art was dominated by
his personal life and his
profound religious faith.
Cookham, his birthplace, was for
him an earthly paradise whose
people and surroundings
possessed a mystical quality.
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This was the setting for many of
his great religious works and he
spoke of “the rich religious
significance of the place I live
in”. Despite the failure of his
two marriages, he continued to
believe in the power of love and
some of his most important works
were inspired by his feelings
for the two women whom he
married.
The paintings inspired by his
military service in World War I,
concentrating on hope and
redemption rather than on
suffering, reveal a similar
basic optimism. This lecture
will examine the eccentric and
visionary world of one of the
most creative and imaginative
British painters of the 20th
century.
About Val Woodgate
Currently Lecturer and Guide at
Tate Britain and Tate Modern,
for the Art Fund, the National
Trust, U3A, City of London
libraries (Barbican and
Guildhall), and other
organisations. Lectures on Zoom
for arts organisations. Formerly
Tate Guide for 39 years; member
of Teaching Team at Dulwich
Picture Gallery, where as well
as lectures I gave 50 Study
Days; evening courses for DPG;
lectures and courses at Pallant
House Gallery, Chichester; on
P&O cruises representing the
Tate; lectures at University of
Cape Town; script-writer for The
Living Paintings Trust. |
Speaker: Val Woodgate |
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Tuesday April
8th 2025 |
Talk: More Than Just Buns.
Eating out in Georgian London
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Georgians of all classes
dined out in pubs,
coaching inns, French
ordinaries and
confectioners. They also
ate all kinds of street
food and had an almost
insatiable appetite for
buns.
On a journey through
London we will discover
the early morning drinks
consumed on the street
before dawn, ‘nunchions’
served at coaching inns,
Billingsgate dinners,
confectioners’ cakes,
syllabubs and ices, the
proverbially thin ham
dished up to diners at
Vauxhall Pleasure
Gardens, as well as the
Jewish takeaway foods of
the East End and even
London’s first ‘Indian’
restaurant.
Our journey will be
illustrated from prints,
paintings and broadsides
of the period, some long
neglected as a source
for a forgotten but
fascinating part of our
Georgian ancestors’ way
of life. |
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Peter has a BA in the History of Art, Design and Film, a MA in London history, a PhD in the cultural history of an English criminal, and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Until recently Principal Librarian at Guildhall Library, he has for 20 years lectured on a broad range of topics including the history of English books, portraiture, and London history.
Peter has appeared on TV and radio as a consultant on the 18th century criminal Jack Sheppard, on the history of English food, and on Shakespeare’s First Folio. His most recent publication, The Curious Cookbook, was published by the British Library. Peter is currently writing a book on Eating out in Georgian London. |
Speaker: Peter Ross |
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Tuesday May
13th 2025 |
Talk: London Bridged. 3,500
Years of Crossing the Thames
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Photo supplied by Charlie Forman |
Bridge the Thames as people have
been doing since the Bronze Age
- 1,500 years before the Romans
built London Bridge. In the
1,700 year wait for the next
bridge, other crossings relied
on watermen and horse ferries,
as traffic jammed on London
Bridge.
The last 200 years have seen
over 50 new crossings over and
under the river. Some are great
feats of engineering, some are
architecturally elegant. Every
crossover changes the city’s
genetic code. Even now a newly
designed bridge awaits a start
on site.
This lecture explores the way we
have connected up across the
Thames and what that tells us
about the culture of the capital
through time. |
Speaker: Charlie Forman |
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As a London walking tour guide
and lecturer, I highlight the
social, architectural and
artistic history of my home
city. It is a city I am
passionate about, not least
because it has a historic core
larger and richer than any other
world city.
A member of the City of
Westminster Guide Lecturers
Association, my talks focus on
the forces that have shaped and
changed this multi-faceted
metropolis and the artistic and
cultural heritage that this has
given us. After many hundreds of
walks and a four-decade long
career in housing and
regeneration I have absorbed a
deep understanding and
appreciation of the capital.
I’ve had some fascinating vantage points like the seven years build-up to
the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games where I played a role in
channelling potential long-term
benefits into surrounding East
London communities.
My publications include
Spitalfields: A battle for land. |
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Tuesday
June
10th 2025 |
Talk: Inn Signia Pub Signs.
The Artwork and the Stories
behind their Names
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‘There is nothing which
has been yet contrived
by man, by which so much
happiness is produced as
by a good tavern or inn’
Samuel Johnson
Pubs and their signs are
a fundamental part of
our history and cultural
heritage. However, we
must all be aware of the
alarming rate of pub
closure, but there are
many reasons for this.
In June 2023 there were
39,970 pubs in the UK
down by more than 7,000
since 2012.
There are some 17,000
different pub names but
why are there so many
pubs called the ‘Red
Lion’, the ‘Crown’ or
‘White Hart’?
In this colourful and
entertaining lecture
John shows some of the
most interesting and
distinctive signs before
exploring the
fascinating stories
behind the origin of
some of their peculiar
names. Who could fail to
be intrigued by ‘The
Bucket of Blood’, the
‘Cow and Snuffers’ or
even the ‘Eager Poet’ –
and who on earth was
‘Blind Jack’? |
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Formerly a lecturer at the
University of Bath where he was
Director of Studies in the
School of Education with
responsibility for the
professional development of
teachers. He has worked
extensively overseas as an
educational consultant and this
has given him the opportunity to
give lectures and presentations
at conferences all over the
world. Over the last decade he
has been a popular speaker on
the Arts Society circuit in the
UK and Europe as well as a
frequent visitor to the
societies in Australia and New
Zealand.
In his professional life he has
developed a particular interest
in presentation skills including
the role of pictures in learning
and the appropriate use of
PowerPoint. This coupled with
his ability to relate well to
people of all ages and
backgrounds makes him an
impressive and confident public
speaker.
As well as the talks he has
developed from his professional
background, he offers
presentations on an eclectic
range of topics that are derived
from his diverse interests and
enthusiasms such as, Art
Inspired by Wine, Visual
Illusions in Art and The Shakers
of North America. All his talks
are entertaining, highly
informative, very well
illustrated and presented with
warmth and humour. |
Speaker: John Ericson |
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July
2025 |
No Talk (Summer
break)
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August 2025 |
No Talk (Summer
break)
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September
9th 2025 |
Talk: Puccini. From Opera to
Popular
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The music of
Puccini is
instantly recognisable,
even to those who don’t
know his name or
anything about opera.
How has this happened?
This lecture traces how
Puccini’s music has
spread from the opera
house into global
culture. The technology
of record and film has
played a part – from
Enrico Caruso to Deanna
Durbin to James Bond –
as too have game shows
and advertising.
The sound of
Puccini and
what it conveys has also
changed via high notes,
romance, New York and
penguins. Music and film
examples are essential
for this presentation; a
piano for demonstration
is useful but not
essential.
Photo: Wikimedia
Commons Lucca 0057 |
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John Snelson has been fascinated
by musicals all his life and is
a leading expert in British
musical theatre (the subject of
his PhD).
His publications include
Reviewing the Situation: The
British Musical from Noël Coward
to Lionel Bart (Bloomsbury), How
to Enjoy Opera
(Oberon/Bloomsbury), Andrew
Lloyd Webber (Yale University
Press) and chapters in many
authoritative reference works.
He is especially known for
exploring musicals – British and
American – in the light of not
just the music and the stage,
but society and culture to
reveal what makes them so
appealing, enduring and
important.
He is well known as a writer and
speaker on all aspects of the
lyric stage – musicals, opera,
ballet – and has written many
programme articles for leading
companies in the UK and abroad.
John has given talks for, among
others, the Royal Opera House,
English National Opera, the
Garsington and Glyndebourne
festivals and for BBC radio.
For twenty years he worked for
the Royal Opera House. He
currently lectures at
Goldsmiths, University of
London. |
Speaker: John Snelson |
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Tuesday
October
14th 2025 |
Talk: After Miss Jekyll.
English Gardens of the late 20th
and early 21st Centuries
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Photo supplied by Christine
Wiskin |
The
long shadow of the Arts and
Crafts Movement has hung over
English gardening for most of
the twentieth century.
The dominance of Miss Jekyll and
the enduring popularity of
gardens at Hidcote and
Sissinghurst have proved to be
an enduring legacy.
There were always subversive
undercurrents of alternative
styles and influences which, as
the new century gets into its
stride, have gained a greater
importance and momentum. |
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Post-Modernism, rich in
symbolism, has, in gardens like
Portrack, Little Sparta and
Througham Court, explored the
worlds of literature and
science; while plants, for
centuries an abiding passion of
English gardeners, have
continued to cast their spells,
with newly-discovered plants
enriching gardens across the
country.
The New Perennial movement,
originating in Europe, has
allied itself to our increasing
desire to go organic and the
interest in woodland and
wild-flower meadows to produce a
freer, gentler style of
painting, spearheaded by Tom
Stuart-Smith, perhaps more in
tune with the Twenty-First
Century.
About the speaker, James
Bolton:
Inchbald School of Design 1990
(Dip ISD). Head Gardener, Old
Rectory Farnborough 1990-92.
Faculty Director, Design
History, Inchbald School of
Design. Garden Designer 1992-. A
lecturer for The Arts Society
since 1995. Organiser of The
Arts Society's garden study days
and tours in UK and Europe.
Organises tours to the best
private gardens in the UK,
Italy, France and South Africa.
Garden Mania, a book on garden
ornaments, published in 2000. |
Speaker: James Bolton |
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Tuesday November
11th 2025
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Talk: Wonder Workers and the
Art of Illusion (The History of
Magic through Art and
Pictures)
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From the beginning of
time the fascination
with magic and the
impossible has been
widespread. Egypt was
the cradle of magic.
Sorcerer Priests used
scientific principles to
create illusions for the
edification of worship
and to hold power over
the people.
Where there was power
there was magic. Then
there is the age-old
skill of sleight of
hand, which proves that
‘the hand is quicker
than the eye’. Magicians
were known as
‘Jongleurs’ lest they be
sentenced to death for
‘witchraft and
conjuration’ under the
edicts of Henry VIII. |
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With the emergence of the Music
Hall, Magic gained a new
respectability and audiences
flocked in their thousands to
watch the extraordinary feats of
The Great Illusionists. This
gave birth to legendary tricks
such as pulling a rabbit from a
hat and sawing a lady in half.
And if magicians guarded their
secrets with their lives, how
was the Magic Circle formed ? –
Home to 10,000 secrets. Even
Today in our super technical age
of ipods and broadband, the
wonder and surprise of magic are
as popular as ever, not
forgetting the Harry Potter
craze. 'Wonder Workers and the
Art of Illusion' is a whistle
stop tour of the history of
mystery from 3000 BC to the 21st
century and be careful! – you
might be amazed and bewitched.
About Bertie Pearce
He has a BA (Hons) in Drama from
Manchester University, and a
Diploma Internationale from the
École Internationale du Théatre,
Jacques Lecoq. A member of the
Inner Magic Circle, with Gold
Star.
Past experience includes
lecturing and performing on
cruise ships, and to U3A,
historical societies, festivals,
schools and colleges. In
addition, has toured the world
with a magic cabaret show and a
one man show entitled All
Aboard. Has written articles for
newspapers and magazines on
entertainment and theatre. |
Speaker: Bertie Pearce |
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Talk: In the Frosty Season. How the
Romantics Invented Winter
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Photo supplied by Annalie Talent |
But when first the ice fell on
the lake, and the whole lake was
frozen…O my God!
What sublime scenery have I
beheld.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1799
During the Romantic period,
there was a surge of artistic
interest in the season of
winter.
The coldest months of the year
inspired a number of writers and
artists; the poet William Cowper
wrote pleasurably about the
season from the warmth of his
fireside; Samuel Taylor
Coleridge and Caspar David
Friedrich were both inspired by
the sublimity of the winter
landscape; while William
Wordsworth and Henry Raeburn
created iconic ice-skating
scenes in verse and painting.
This seasonal lecture will
explore why Romantic writers and
artists were so keen on ‘the
frosty season’.
We will learn how their
depiction of winter departed
from that of earlier times, and
how their legacy lives on today
in our own ideas about this time
of year. |
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Following a career in teaching,
Annalie spent several years
working on education programmes
at museums and literary houses
across the UK, including the
Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere;
Wordsworth House in Cockermouth;
Jane Austen’s House in
Hampshire; and the Ashmolean
Museum in Oxford.
At Jane Austen’s House, Annalie
won 2 Sandford Awards for
Excellence in Heritage
Education; she also worked with
the British Library, the
Bodleian Library, and Chawton
House Library in promoting
Austen’s work to young people.
Annalie’s lectures focus on
aspects of Romantic and
Victorian literature. She uses
her knowledge and personal
experience of literary houses -
and their collections - to offer
a unique perspective on writers
and their works. |
Annalie Talent |
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Prior Year's Talks |
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To see the activities in
previous years, click on the
year;
2024
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2023
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2022
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2021
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2020
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2019 /
2018 /
2017 /
2016 /
2015 /
2014 /
2013 /
2012 /
2011 /
2010 |
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Disclaimer |
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The Arts Society Woking cannot be held responsible for any personal accident, loss, damage or theft of members' personal property. Members are covered against proven liability of third parties. |
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