An illustrated talk Archives - Bridport Literary Festival

Friends Event 1 | Lachlan Goudie | The Story of Scottish Art

£12.00

THE STORY OF SCOTTISH ART journeys through 5,000 years of Scottish Art. Since the Neolithic era, creativity has played a vital role in shaping the course of Scotland’s history. The first tribal leaders, chieftains and Kings of the emerging nation used art to cement their authority. Over the turbulent centuries that followed, artists were always at the heart of action – holding a mirror to the faces, places and events that defined Scotland’s story. Its a tale of radicals and visionaries , artists with an international mind-set and a bold sense of their heritage who resolved to create work on the frontline of Western Art and Culture.

Each event is £12 OR £30 for all three.

Tickets can be purchased through the Bridport Information Centre 01308 424901
Become a friend.

When: Monday 20th September 2021 @ 11.00am

Where: Bridport Arts Centre

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Friends Event 2 | Tom Fort | Casting Shadows

£12.00

CASTING SHADOWS is the history of freshwater fishing since time began. It was initially discovered as a bountiful source of sustenance. Since prehistoric times man has exploited the rich food source available in lakes, rivers, estuaries, lochs, ponds and brooks. Man has trapped, netted, speared, noosed, stunned, tickled and lured every special of fish to be found. Thereafter, the need to fish became big business and the fish, a trading commodity. This business soon gave birth to the desire to pursue, outwit and catch fish for pleasure – angling was born. TOM FORT explores the secret, silent world of the freshwater fish to be found in Britain and the art and industry of fishing which spans thousands of years. He also assesses the dangers facing many species and water environments with an appeal to protect the underwater world from industrial fishing and farming.

Each event is £12 OR £30 for all three.

Tickets can be purchased through the Bridport Information Centre 01308 424901
Become a Friend

When: Monday 20th September 2021 @ 2.30pm

Where: Bridport Arts Centre

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Friends Event 3 | Andrew Ziminski | The Stonemason

£12.00

THE STONEMASON’s story of the building of Britain is part archaeological history and yet a deeply personal insight into an ancient craft. In his thirty-five year career ANDREW ZIMINSKI has worked on many of our greatest monuments. From Neolithic monoliths to Roman baths and temples; from the tower of Salisbury Cathedral to the engine houses, mills and aqueducts of the Industrial Revolution up to the present day. This is a personal history of how Britain was built – from the inside out and takes us on an unforgettable journey by river, road and sea with a new vision of our island history.

Each event is £12 OR £30 for all three.

Tickets can be purchased through the Bridport Information Centre 01308 424901
Become a friend.

When: Monday 20th September 2021 @ 4.30pm

Where: Bridport Arts Centre

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Event 1 | Tim Bouverie | Perfect Pitch

£12.00

Tim Bouverie - Perfect Pitch - 100 pieces of classical music to know and love

Nearly all of us have the capacity to enjoy classical music but too often we are put off by not knowing where to look, or what we are actually looking for. We need a guide to help us navigate this artistic terrain. Historian Tim Bouverie, drawing upon his lifelong passion for music, has selected 100 favourite classical pieces from which he will introduce an eclectic selection – audibly – to inspire and comfort; some are well known, some are idiosyncratic, others just secret gems that need to be brought out into the light.
An Illustrated Talk with Music

When: Sunday 7th November 2021 @ 10.30am

Where: Electric Palace

Sponsored by: Johnnie and Sophie Boden

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Event 4 | Stephen Moss | Biographies of Birds

£12.00

Stephen Moss - Biographies of Birds - A family event with Stephen Moss

Over recent years, best selling nature writer and broadcaster, Stephen Moss has published biographies of some of our best loved birds – The Robin, The Wren, The Swallow and that most majestic of birds, The Swan. He traces the life cycle of the swan from its arrival in the UK in Spring to its extraordinary migration to warmer climates, and its place in popular culture, myth and literature across the centuries. Moss will also touch on his timely works: The Accidental Countryside and Skylarks with Rosie which has been nominated for the Wainwright Prize and will also reveal his Twelve Birds of Christmas.

Tickets: £12 per adult and £2 for accompanied children 16 yrs and under
A Illustrated Talk

When: Sunday 7th November 2021 @ 3.00 pm

Where: Electric Palace

Sponsored by: Emma Farquharson Interior Design

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Event 8 | A. C. Grayling | Frontiers of Knowledge

£12.00

All ticket holders
Due to health matters, Professor Grayling is unable to be with us ‘live’ on Monday 8th November. He is, however, delighted to give his talk on Zoom and respond to our audience with interactive Q/A. We hope you will all be able to attend the event at the Ballroom of the Bull at 2.00 pm but may wish to. take up a nominal refund of £2 which can be obtained from the Bridport TIC office: 01308 424 901 A. C. Grayling - Frontiers of Knowledge -What we know about Science, History and the Mind
In recent times, humanity has learnt a vast amount about the universe. But through remarkable successes in acquiring knowledge we have learned how much we have yet to learn: the science we have, for example, addresses just 5% of the universe; pre-history is still being revealed and the neurosciences of mind and brain are just beginning. The celebrated polymath and philosopher A.C. Grayling seeks to answer three crucial areas: science, history and psychology.
An Illustrated Talk - This is a special event where we welcome staff and students from Sir John Colfox School

When: Monday 8th November 2021 @ 2.00 pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

Sponsored by: Siobhan and Charles Blundell

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Event 18 | James Crowden | Cider Country

£12.00

James Crowden - Cider Country - How an Ancient Craft Became a Way Of Life

Cidermaking has been at the heart of country life for hundreds of years. James Crowden traces an elusive history of how this drink came into existence and why it became so deeply rooted in the nation’s psyche. From the ancient myth infused civilisations of Central Asia and the Mediterranean, to Britain where it was warmly embraced by monastic communities; from the nation's love-affair with cider after the Reformation to the present day, and to the next generation of cider makers. Full of subtle flavours and fascinating characters, Cider Country is the unusual and enthralling story of cider and the remarkable people who make it.

An illustrated talk followed by Cider Tasting

When: Wednesday 10th November 2021 @ 11.30 am

Where: Electric Palace

Sponsored by: Morrish and Banham

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Event 19 | Dame Marina Warner | Inventory of a Life Mislaid

£12.00

Dame Marina Warner - Inventory of a Life Mislaid - An Unreliable Memoir

Marina Warner charts her childhood in the tumultuous Egypt of the 1950s. Her beautiful, penniless young mother, Ilia, leaves Italy in 1945 to travel to London alone. Her husband, Esmond, is still away at war in the East. Upon his return, and without prospect, they move to Cairo and open an English bookshop, a branch of WH Smith’s. But growing resistance to foreign interests, especially British, erupts in the 1952 uprising in which the bookshop burns. Both historical and speculative, Marina’s memoir powerfully resurrects the fraught union and unrequited hopes of her parents where memory intertwines with myth.

An illustrated talk, in conversation with Prue Keely

When: Wednesday 10th November 2021 @ 2.30 pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

Sponsored by: Jim Bartos

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Event 20 | Patrick Barkham | Wild Child

£12.00

Patrick Barkham - Wild Child - Coming Home to Nature

In Wild Child, part memoir, part polemic, Barkham argues for greater access to nature for all children. He considers the lives his own children are leading : whether there was more diversity of nature in urban Norwich than in rural Norfolk. He spends a year volunteering in his local Forest School, run by two pioneering teachers, watching children learn and play in a wilder environment. His book is an inspiration for all parents, grandparents and teachers. Barkham has also edited an Anthology of British and Irish Nature Writing – The Wild Isles - from which he will also select entrancing and irresistible stories of the Wild to delight everyone.

An illustrated talk

When: Wednesday 10th November 2021 @ 4.30 pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

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Event 24 | Anne Sebba | Ethel Rosenberg

£12.00

Anne Sebba - Ethel Rosenberg - A Cold War Tragedy

Anne Sebba is one of Britain’s most distinguished biographers and has been critically acclaimed for books about iconic women. Her latest is the tragic and gripping story of Ethel Rosenberg, loving mother of two small children and an idealist, whose life was barbarically cut short for a crime she almost certainly did not commit. Sebba shines a spotlight on a woman who was victim of a catastrophic failure of humanity and justice in the US and which continues to haunt the national conscience.

An illustrated talk

When: Thursday 11th November 2021 @ 2.00 pm

Where: Electric Palace

Sponsored by: Angela and David Neuberger

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Event 25 | Andrew Lownie | Traitor King

£12.00

Andrew Lownie - Traitor King - The Duke and Duchess of Windsor in Exile

Andrew Lownie examines the years following the abdication of Edward VIII when the former king was kept in exile, feuding with his family over status for his wife, Wallis Simpson, and denied any real job. Traitor King reveals the true story behind the German attempts to recruit the Duke as a British Pétain; the Duke and Duchess were not the naïve dupes of the Germans but actively intrigued against Britain in both war and peace. Lownie also shines a light on the assumed love story of the Windsors with extraordinary revelations.
An illustrated talk

When: Thursday 11th November 2021 @ 3.30 pm

Where: Electric Palace

Sponsored by: Diana and Robert Clarke, Barry Mawhinney

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Event 26 | Tim Marshall | The Power of Geography

£12.00

Tim Marshall - The Power of Geography - Ten Maps that Reveal the Future of Our World

If you don’t know what’s happening in the world, look at a map. Tim Marshall’s global bestseller: Prisoners of Geography shows how every nation’s choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas and concrete. Geography hasn’t changed but the world has. Marshall explores ten regions that are set to shape global politics in a new age of power rivalry. The refugee crisis is critical; trouble brews in the Sahel; the Middle East must look beyond oil to secure a future and the eastern Mediterranean is a flashpoint of the 21st century. The Earth’s atmosphere is to become the next battleground.
An illustrated talk

When: Thursday 11th November 2021 @ 5.00 pm

Where: Electric Palace

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Event 31 | Saul David | SBS – Silent Warriors

£12.00

Saul David - SBS – Silent Warriors - The Authorised Wartime History
Britain’s SBS – or Special Boat Section – was the world’s first maritime special operations unit. Founded in the dark days of 1940, it started as a small inexperienced outfit that leaned heavily on volunteers’ raw courage and enthusiasm. It would become one of the most effective fighting forces of WWII and has served as a model for Special Forces ever since. Award winning historian, Saul David, has written the first authorized history of the SBS and he gives and enthralling narrative about some of the most audacious and legendary missions of the war.
An illustrated talk

When: Friday 12th November 2021 @ 2.30 pm

Where: Electric Palace

Sponsored by: Antony Hichens

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Event 32 | Dave Goulson | Silent Earth

£12.00

Dave Goulson - Silent Earth - Averting the Insect Apocalypse
Insects are essential for life as we know it. As their numbers decline at a shocking rate, our world will slowly grind to a halt. Both revealing and alarming, Silent Earth is a rousing manifesto for a greener planet. It is a call to arms for change – in agriculture, government policy, industry and ourselves. Goulson will also talk about his previous book, Gardening for Bumblebees, which shows how to provide a refuge for a pollinator friendly haven.
An illustrated talk

When: Friday 12th November 2021 @4.30 pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

Sponsored by: Sue and David Orr

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Event 34 | Jonathan Drori | Around the World in 80 Plants

£12.00

Jonathan Drori - Around the World in 80 Plants
Drori takes readers on a trip across the globe, bringing to life the science of plants by revealing how their worlds are intricately entwined with our own history, culture and folklore. From the seemingly familiar tomato and dandelion to the eerie mandrake and Spanish ‘moss’ of Louisiana, via the early histories of beer and the contraceptive pill, each of these stories is full of surprise. Drori wears his scientific knowledge lightly and writes with passion and humour. Lucille Clerc’s illustrations are utterly spellbinding. An illustrated talk

When: Saturday 13th November 2021 @ 10.00 am

Where: The Bull Ballroom

Sponsored by: Georgia Langton

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Event 37 | Polly Toynbee and David Walker | The Lost Decade

£12.00

Polly Toynbee and David Walker - The Lost Decade - 2010 – 2020 and What Lies Ahead for Britain
From two critically acclaimed authors and journalists, we have an authoritative survey of the last decade including this tumultuous year of change. From austerity to Brexit, food banks to Grenfell and ending with Covid 19 – the worst global pandemic in recent history, the decade has been gloomy and life-changing. Progress in renewable energy, legalisation in same-sex marriage and an awareness of environmental issues might be considered progress, but how can we gain optimism for the future. What went wrong? What went right? And where do we go from here? Both Toynbee and Walker want to share their views with the audience. An illustrated talk

When: Saturday 13th November 2021 @ 3.00 pm

Where: Electric Palace

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Event 38 | Horatio Clare | Heavy Light

£12.00

Horatio Clare - Heavy Light - A Journey through Madness, Mania and Healing
This is Horatio Clare’s very personal journey through mania, psychosis and treatment in a psychiatric hospital, and onwards to release, recovery and healing. This is a story of the intensity of manic experience as well as its peril and strangeness. It is also a story of love, kindness, humour and care of those who deal with someone who becomes so dangerously ill. At a critical time, when society is at last facing the issues of mental health that can affect each and every one of us, this is a timely memoir which can give compassion to those who suffer and support to those who care. In conversation with Jon Woolcott

When: Saturday 13th November 2021 @ 4.30 pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

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