We explore the careers of some seriously funny women who carved a path through a man’s world and gave us some of the very best in British comedy. From Joyce Grenfell to Victoria Wood, from Thora Hird to Penelope Keith – and all the stops in between!

The former director of Music of the Coldstream Guards takes a light-hearted look at the ceremonial events that take place at Christmas time. From carol services to concerts, to the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was high society’s leading portraitist. Flaunting a consummate technique, his luxurious canvasses mirrored his subjects’ wealth.          

What is the Bayeux Tapestry really all about?  And, how important is this fragile stitched document when it comes to fostering ‘entente cordiale’ and linking nations in our history today.

The designs created by this father and daughter team flourish with greenery and growing things. Orchards, hedgerows, kitchen gardens and wild woods provided inspiration for their work. Their creativity was bound up with a recognition of the fragility of the natural world.

You may not have heard of her but from the early 1960s a young student called Margaret Calvert began working with designer Jack Kinneir and their work utterly transformed the entire design of our signage. And all of their ideas were copied by the rest of the world.

This talk introduces the secret world of our 2000-mile inland waterway network and looks at all aspects of their exceptional artistic, architectural and engineering vernacular. Some of these hidden gems are in our own back yard!

We go to the highest mountain range in the world which was once the spiritual domain of Tibetan culture and religion. Here the towns on the ancient trading routes connecting India with Central Asia became important centres of Buddhist art and culture.

Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797)    

Wright’s  accomplished paintings on the birth of scientific experimentation were often the result of the  meetings  of the Lunar Society of Birmingham – a group of scientists and industrialists whose radical thinking led to the Age of Enlightenment.

Our Speaker, is a man with the theatre running through his veins. He is an actor, a theatre director having directed at Shakespeare’s Globe. Has lectured world-wide on Shakespeare.  This lively, interactive talk discusses how Shakespeare’s company produced the plays in the 16/17th century.

An illustrated romp through the performative nature of science and showmanship is presented by renowned performer Dr Tony Lidington.  This talk explores the ways in which popular culture and science have been fused over the years: how the definitions of what is real, unreal, imaginary, fake or hallucinatory, are all woven together.

The first Christmas grotto with a real life Santa opened its doors at JR Roberts of Stratford in 1888; 17,000 children visited and so started a British institution that grew more lavish and inventive each decade. Seasonal razzle-dazzle was invented by the department store where there was furious competition, top secrecy with dramatic countdowns to the big day.