TALKS PROGRAMME – JANUARY – APRIL 2017
January 4th Todd Gray - “Royal Clarence Fire and St Martin’s Island”
As many will have seen on the television reports of the Royal Clarence fire, Todd was very involved in advising the Fire Service on the priorities in protecting adjoining buildings which form part of the historic area in the centre of Exeter known as St. Martin's Island.
Todd is a leading historian of Devon, and was awarded an MBE in 2014 for his voluntary services to Devon heritage. He has written over 45 books about Devon, some of which he will have available for purchase.
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January 11th Maggie Jameson - “Needlework in the Life and Novels of Jane Austen”
Under her professional name, Maggie Lane, Maggie has published a dozen books and many articles. Signed copies of her latest book "On the Sofa with Jane Austen" will be available for purchase.
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January 18th Forum Seasonal Lunch – Devon Hotel
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January 25th Andrew Boundy - “The Policing of Exeter”
Andrew is a member of the police force, currently working on the Exeter City Centre Neighborhood Team and the Pro-active Team. In over 11 years with the police he has worked with teams all over Mid and East Devon, tackling community issues and providing additional support for local officers. In his talk Andrew will be giving an overview of policing in Exeter, and how the different departments and resources are used in dealing with the issues and challenges.
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February 1st Geoff Arney and Basil Strickland - “Busy Bees in Honey Lane”
Geoff is the manager of the Exeter Bee Keepers apiary in the aptly named Honey Lane, Woodbury Salterton and Basil Strickland is his assistant and Webmaster of the Exeter Bee Keepers. They will be talking about the process of beekeeping and will be bringing a hive ( empty ! ) and exhibits of bee products.
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February 8th Simon Dell - “Policing the Peninsula”
Simon was a member of the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary for 32 years, serving in stations throughout Devon and Cornwall as well as working on the Isles of Scilly. He spent 17 years at Tavistock Police Station as Community Constable, where, in 1997 he was awarded the MBE for services to the community as well as Mountain Rescue. In his last post he was involved in supporting the work of the Wildlife Crime Officers, having for many years been the Wildlife Liaison Officer in the Police Service. Since his retirement he has been in great demand as a public speaker and a guided walks leader, and as a freelance writer has had 14 books published on police history, Dartmoor and Lundy Island. Simon has a very informative web site which can be accessed at the following address : http://simondell.co.uk/ .
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February 15th Peter Burden - “Some Talks from TED.com”
The presentation will include talks by adman Rory Sutherland on fixing problems with smaller cheaper solutions; by Canadian forest ecologist Suzanne Simard on communication between forest trees; and by broadcaster Sandi Toksvig on her life and womens' equality.
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February 22nd Geoffrey Harding -“Eleanor Coade, Exeter-born Entrepreneur”
Geoffrey will be describing the life of a remarkable British business woman of the 18th Century, her family in Exeter, her move to London, her development and production of Coade stone and her house in Lyme Regis.
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March 1st David Oates - “Fen Edge Archaelogy - How to DIG BIG”
Last February David described his involvement in discovering hitherto unsuspected factors determining the development of settlements in the rather featureless landscape of the fen edge. These needed to be substantiated by actual excavation. David will describe the organisation of the very successful village-wide BIG DIG project which found evidence going back to the Bronze Age and settled many important questions.
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March 8th Linda Findlay and David Marshall - “Upton Pyne Church Restoration”
Linda Findlay and David Marshall will be giving a presentation titled "'Our Lady at Upton Pyne - a medieval gem in search of a future".
The Church of Our Lady , Upton Pyne, was consecrated in 1328, the existing tower dating from about 1380. The church is built primarily of local volcanic rock and extensive alterations were made in the 15th and 19th centuries. As with all buildings, maintenance is a continual process; you repair one part and another bit needs attention. David has project managed the restoration of Upton Pyne church since 2001 and will be describing the work undertaken during this period, and Linda will be explaining how the money was raised, how it has brought their small community together, and how their experience may help the many other rural churches in a similar predicament.
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March 15th Social Event
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March 22nd Richard Scrivener - “The Geological Survey of Exeter”
Richard spent almost all of his career working as a Survey Geologist with the British Geological Survey, a world-leading organisation providing objective and authoritative geoscientific data for science, government and industry. When he retired in 2007 Richard was the Regional Geologist and Head of the Exeter Station of the BGS. He has been the author of numerous articles and, in 2006 contributed the SW Granites and Mineralisation chapter of 'The Geology of England and Wales', published by the Geological Society of London. The talk will look at the early geological work carried out in South-west England and subsequent mapping in the region, with particular emphasis on the district around Exeter.
To find out more about The British Geological Survey they have a very informative web page at http://www.bgs.ac.uk/home.html?src=topNav .
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March 29th Sue Viccars - "Confessions of a Guidebook Writer - from the editor of Dartmoor Magazine"
After gaining a degree in geography and archaeology at Exeter University Sue worked briefly for a London map publisher and then for 20 years commissioned walking, equestrian and countryside books for David & Charles Publishers in Newton Abbot. After going freelance in 2000 she has written or contributed to around 20 books (and edited dozens more), and written many magazine features, specialising in her home territory of southwest England, with particular reference to Dartmoor and Exmoor. Further afield Sue has walked in many parts of the world, most recently exploring the high-plateau landscapes of the remote Nepalese region of Upper Mustang.
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April 5th Dennis Dyson - “The Development of Natural History”
Dennis will be identifying outstanding Naturalists and their contributions to the understanding of the natural world.
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April 12th No Meeting
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April 19th No Meeting
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