MONDAY MAY 9th
********************************************
UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION, BATH BRANCH: 7.30pm
“The Role of Women in Peacemaking”
TUESDAY MAY 10th
***************
WORDS & MUSIC: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2.00, Visitors £4.00
“Folk song and British composers”
A ramble through bushes and briars…
Introduced by Richard Carder
Chairman, English Poetry & Song Society
Live songs from:
Paul Feldwick (baritone)
Robert Blackburn (piano)
& ‘Good Company’ Male Voice Choir of Bathford
Featuring music by Vaughan Williams, Arnold Bax, Jack Moeran & Delius
Folk songs arranged by Cecil Sharp
WEDNESDAY MAY 11th
******************
UNI-VERSE: 13.00
Members/Students £2.00, Visitors £4.00
“Contemporary Polish poetry – Wislawa Szymborska”
Ewa Marcinkowska
(MA in Polish Philology)
Ewa introduces Szymborska’s poetry and reads from her own work.
Wislawa Szymborska – poet, essayist and Nobel Prize winner for
Literature in 1996 – electrifies her readers despite being modest,
introverted and discreet.
She has created her own craft of writing and her own language that
keeps its distance from great historical events, the conditioning of
human existence and the social role of the poet; a simple language of
delight in human life with its beauty, illogicality and tragedy. She
is an artistic genius accessible to everyone.
THURSDAY MAY 12th
***********************************************
BATH SPA UNIVERSITY STAND UP POETRY: 7.30 FOR 8.00pm
Meeting
FRIDAY MAY 13th
*********************
HERSCHEL GROUP:7.30pm
Members/Students £2.00, Visitors £4.00
“The SKYLON Spaceplane”
Mark Hempsell
Future Programme Director
Reaction Engines Limited
SKYLON is a British spaceplane project that takes off from a runway like an
aircraft can fly into space with 15 tonnes cargo and then return for a
runway landing. With the major technology development programmes almost
completed it is now posed to start full development ready for service in 2020.
SATURDAY MAY 14th
*****************
COFFEE MORNING 11.00-12.30 visitors welcome
MONDAY MAY 16th
***************
WORLD AFFAIRS GROUP: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2.00, Visitors £4.00
“Europe & modern wars – from Bosnia to Benghazi”
Prof. Adrian Hyde-Price
Chair of International Politics, Department of European Studies & Modern
Languages, University of Bath.
With the end of the Cold War, many people expected Europe to enjoy a new age of
peace and disarmament.
But Europe’s democracies have found themselves in a wide range of wars and
armed conflict from the Balkans and Africa, to the Middle East and Central
Asia.
This talk examines how, when and why Europeans use military force, and
considers the implications for this military activism on European politics,
society and institutions.
COMING SOON:
************
Tu 17 Lit & Hum The Bauhaus in America: Laszlo Moholy-Nagy in Chicago,
1937-1946
Dr Harry Charrington University of Bath
We 18 IoP Heating & the safety of Medical Ultrasound, MRI & Mobile
Phones
Prof. Francis Duck
Sa 21 Cercle Fr. Paris romantique (et assemblée générale)
Thirza Valloi
Sa 21 An.Netwk Meeting
Please forward this Bulletin on to any of your colleages who might be
interested.
A Photographic Exhibition of the Dec 2004 Tsunami’s devastation of the
coastlines of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India.
Photographer: Sohrab Hura. Presented by Tourism Concern.
Open Mon-Sat, 10am-4pm.
“Are Evolutionary Biologists Essentialists After All?”
Dr Stephen Boulter
Oxford Brookes University
Since the 1950′s it has been commonplace in biological and philosophical
circles to assert that the metaphysical doctrines of essentialism is
incompatible with evolutionary biology. Since essentialism was out of fashion
for much of the twentieth century, few philosophers cared to challenge this
orthodoxy. Times have changed. Essentialism is now being expressed openly in
many quarters. For biologically informed essentialists it is now necessary to
revisit the incompatibility claim. In this talk the speaker will suggest that
evolutionay biology is notnonly compatible with essentialism, its ability to
discharge its self-imposed explanatory duties requires the truth of
essentialism.
Evolutionary Biologists are Essentialists after all.
WENESDAY MAY 4th
****************
Two events:
SPEAKING OF RESEARCH SERIES: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2, Visitors £4
“Illuminating the Future Could LEDs provide cheap & lasting light for all?”
Simon O’Kane
Physics Dept, University of Bath
Everywhere you look, LED lights can be found increasingly often. A research
student talks about the science behind the latest LED lighting technology and
discusses the benefits and challenges involved. Could LED’s soon make other
light sources obsolete?
“Destination Tsunami”
A lecture on this month’s photographic exhibition
Peter Bishop
India Project Manager
Tourism Concern
Tourism Concern fights exploitation in tourism. It is an independent,
non-industry based, UK charity. It has a membership of almost 900 and works
with partners in over 20 destination countries to ensure that tourism always
benefits local people.
It is the only organisation in Europe actively campaigning on tourism and human
rights issues. It works to to expose and challenge tourism’s exploitative
practices. Tourism Concern takes a solution driven approach and has played a
crucial role in promoting forms of tourism that provide meaningful benefits to
people in destination communities. Funds meant for rebuilding the lives and
livelihoods of tsunami-affected communities in the southern Indian state of
Kerala are being used to develop tourism, prompting angry protests by local
people. The tourism developments will bring them little benefit and will place
their land, livelihoods and traditional way of life under renewed threat.
THURSDAY MAY 5th, 7.30pm
***************************************
BATH GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY: Visitors welcome:£4
“OpenGeoscience – why you may never need to buy another geological
map”
Dr David Bailey
Head of Outreach, British Geological Survey
The British Geological Survey is opening up all sorts of geological materials
free-of-charge for non-commercial private study, research and educational
activities and encouraging users to combine BGS information with their own data
to create new and innovative products for the benefit of others. Find out why
BGS is doing this, what information is available, how to access it and how it
is being used.
FRIDAY MAY 6th, 7.30pm
***************************************************
INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS – VISITORS WELCOME – ADMISSION FREE!
“100 Years of Superconductivity”
Professor James Annett
University of Bristol
In 1911 one of the most remarkable physical properties of matter was
discovered: ‘superconductivity’. Since then many new superconducting materials
have been discovered, and more are still being found every year.
Some of these materials have been commercially very important and are now being
used in large scale projects, for example the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at
CERN, and in MRI scanners in hospitals. Other applications in wind turbines,
the electrical power grid and magentic levitating ( MAGLEV) trains are quite
possible for the future. Prof Annett will review the state of our understanding
of the fundamental physics of superconductros as well as the current and future
applications of superconducting technology.
Admission free, visitors welcome, coffee available from 7pm
ffi: v.adams@sky.com
SATURDAY MAY 7th
****************
Two events:
COFFEE MORNING: 11.00-12.30 Visitors welcome
CERCLE FRANCAIS: 2.15
Visitors Welcome
“Faits et Gestes”
An overview of typical French gestures and expressions (En Francais)
COMING SOON:
************
Mo 9 P O’Brian ‘The Commodore’ – Discussion
Mo 9 Bath UNA The Role of Women in Peacemaking
Tu 10 W & Music The Influence of Folksong on British Music
Richard Carder
We 11 Universe The Contemorary Polish Poetry of Wislawa Szymbarska
Eva Marcinkowska
Th 12 S/U Poetry Robert Minhinnick and Tony Williams
Fr 13 Herschel tba
Mo 16 WAG Europe & Modern Wars – from Bosnia to Benghazi
Prof. Adrian Hyde-Price
OTHER NEWS…
**************
As you editor is in a hotel room on the other side of the globe pertinent news
is a bit sparse here. He is also just recovering from a windy crossing on a
suspension bridge spanning the Yellow River, which gave a passable imitation of
the Tacomoa Narrows Bridge just before things all fell apart! You might be
reassured to know however, that coverage on the Royal Wedding has been frequent
on Chinese TV news in English.
Please forward This Bulletin on to any of your colleagues who might be
interested.
TUESDAY 26th APRIL, 7.30pm
***************************
Members/Students £2, Visitors £4
‘La Regle du jeu’ (rules of the game)
‘Jean Renoir’s 1939 masterpiece’
Dr Steve Wharton, of the University of Bath, introduces Jean Renoir’s 1939
masterpiece, arguably the best film ever made, explaining its importance and
impact.
A celebrated aviator in love with a marquise whose own husband is having an
affair with a poacher…
Misunderstandings and misconceptions abound when a weekend house party brings
them all together – with devastating results.
Film with sub-titles.
WEDNESDAY 27th APRIL, 7.30pm
***************************
Members/Students £2, Visitors £4
“William Pulteney – Greatest English Stockholder in America in the
Eighteenth Century”
Dr Michael Rowe
Chair, History of Bath Research Group
William Johnstone married the heiress Frances Pulteney. Known in Bath as ‘Mr
Pulteney’, he had an absolute right to his wife’s income and invested an
immense sum in America to become England’s largest US stockholder in the 18th
Century.
The talk will outline the sources of the money, the history of the American
purchase after the American Revolution, its development by Pulteney’s highly
adventurous agent and then the dispersal of the estates.
Michael Rowe has been researching the Pulteney family for nearly thirty years.
He organised the exhibtion ‘Beyond Mr Pulteney’s Bridge’.
EXHIBITION
**********
April 28th – May 14th
Destination Tsunami: Stories and Struggles from India’s southern coast
A Photographic Exhibition of the Dec 2004 Tsunami’s devastation of the
coastlines of
Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India.
Photographer: Sohrab Hura. Presented by Tourism Concern. Details
Open Mon-Sat, 10am-4pm.
Admission Free
THURSDAY 28th APRIL:1.00pm
**************************************
BATH SHAKESPEARE SOCIETY – Visitors welcome
Shakespeare’s birthday celebration 2011
“Holding the Mirror up to Theatre – Shakespeare and the play within a
play”
Stephen Curtis
Author & playwright
Advance tickets £12, to include buffet lunch, must be bought in advance by 19
April from:
Tony Ryan: 01225 319 554
e-mail: a.ryanl757@btinternet.com
For lecture only, pay at the door:
Students/Members £2, visitors £4
SATURDAY 30th APRIL
*****************
Two events:
COFFEE MORNING: 11.00-12.30pm
“The Special Relationhip”
Jacob Rees-Mogg MP
Recently elected MP for North-East Somerset
Ever since Winston Churchill coined the phrase in 1946 ‘The Special
Relationship’, the closeness of cooperation between the US and the UK has been
debated.
The speaker will address how this relationship may be working, primarily in the
area of economic activity, trade and commerce.
COMING SOON:
************
Tu 3 Phil Are Evolutionary Biologists Essentialists After All?
Dr Stepehn Boulter, Oxford Brookes
We 4 SoR Illuminating the Future. Could LED’s provide cheap and
lasting light for all?
Simon O’Kane, Physics, Bath University
Th 5 BGSoc Open GeoScience – why you may never need to buy another
geological map.
Dr David Bailey, British Geological Survey
Fr 6 IoP 100 Years of Superconductivity
Prof. James Annett, Physics Dept, Univ. Bristol
Sa7 C.Fran Faits et Gestes – an overview of typical French gestures and
expressions. ( talk in French)
OTHER NEWS:
***********
A bit of excitement for your editor when a crib sheet for the Bulletin didn’t
show up (he’s in Beijing at the moment) and he was faced with a computer
determindly coming up with Chinese characters. Thank heavens
for a recognisable Google search box! The rest was managable. One couldn’t help
noticing that the lucky Chinese don’t have to suffer the absurdities of the
“Auto complete function’ with Google when searching. Herschelites might like to
know that their chairman, Dr Peter Ford, also here, took full advantage and did
a tour of the ‘Ancient Observatory’. If you’re into astronomy here are a few
pics to show you what it was like:
Please forward this Bulletin on to any of your colleagues how might be
interested.
EXHIBITION: MARCH 5th – APRIL 25TH:
**************************************
DAILY: MON-SAT 10.00-16.00 ADMISSION FREE
“American Wilderness’ .
In this exhibition, through evocative objects and Audubon prints, BRLSI in
partnership with the American Museum in Britain, take a contemplative view of
the history of the American wilderness.
SUNDAY APRIL 17th
*********************************
HERBAL WALK: 1.00pm to 3.30pm approx.
“A Guided tour Through Nature’s Kitchen Garden”
Anna Gann Christensen & Friends
A walk through herbs we often see without noticing, to discover many
unsuspecting useful treasures in our towns, meadows and hedgerows.
Please assemble at 1pm at BRLSI, wear walking shoes and bring something to
drink.
MONDAY APRIL 18th
****************
Two events:
WORLD AFFAIRS GROUP: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2, visitors £4
“America’s Relationship with the United Nations”
Declan Walton
Former Deputy Director United Nations FAO
The US is the United Nations’ principal founder, host and paymaster. Despite
recurring tensions it continues to provide the basic support without which the
Organisation could not function. The very public ups and downs in the
relationship generally arise from conflicts between American objectives and
those of UN inter-governmental bodies. The speaker will address what the future
may hold…
BATH FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY: 7.30pm
A Plague of Blue Locusts? – The Police in Victorian Bath
Professor Graham Davis
“The Rationality in the belief in God – No Argument Needed”
Dr Oliver Crisp
University of Bristol
There has been much written in the last few years by the so-called ‘New
Atheists’ about the irrationality of religious faith and the notion that there
are no good reasons for believing in God (and some supposedly good reasons for
rejecting such belief).
In his lecture, Dr Crisp shall explore some of the recent work in the
philosophy of religion in order to show that belief in God can be perfectly
respectable even in the absence of sound reasoned arguments.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 20th
*******************
UNI-VERSE: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2, visitors £4
“Speaking with the stars and horses – Modern Native American Poetry”
Rose Flint
Poet & Art Therapist
The animate and shamanic vision of the Native American world view contains an
understanding of the connectedness of all life and the dangers of
dis-connection. The poetry award-winning speaker will address how the lyrical
or raw, modern native American poetry speaks of the tragedy of a disintegrating
nation, and a deep spiritual and ecological understanding of the Universe.
SATURDAY APRIL 23rd
******************
Please note NO coffee morning. We’re giving our Berristas a well-earned
Easter break
TUESDAY APRIL 26th
**********************************
FRENCH CIVILISATION & CULTURE: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2, visitors £4
Film:”La Regle du Jeu’ Jean Renoir’s Masterpiece
Introduced by Dr Steve Wharton from the University of Bath. Dr Wharton will be
giving an introduction to this famous film from 1939 and explaining it
importance and impact. As usual after the film you are very welcome to join us
for a glass of wine and a chat afterwards…
WEDNESDAY APRIL 27th
*********************
AMERICAN SERIES: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2, Visitors £4
“William Pulteney – Greatest English Stockholder in America”
Dr Michael Rowe
Chair, History of Bath Research Group
William Johnstone married the heiress Frances Pulteney. Known in Bath as ‘Mr
Pulteney’, he had an absolute right to his wife’s income and invested an
immense sum in America to become England’s largest US stockholder in the 18th
Century.
The talk will outline the sources of the money, the history of the American
purchase after the American Revolution, its development by Pulteney’s highly
adventurous agent and then the dispersal of the estates.
Michael Rowe has been researching the Pulteney family for nearly thirty years.
He organised the exhibition ‘Beyond Mr Pulteney’s Bridge’.
COMING SOON:
****************
Th 28 Shakespeare Soc. Holding the Mirror up to Theatre:
& Poetry Group Shakespeare & the play within the play
Sa 30 America The Special Relationship
Jacob Rees-Mogg MP
OTHER NEWS:
***********
Apologies to any of you whose time clocks may be disrupted by the early arrival
of this Bulletin. Your Editor is off to China and just needed to get it off his
check list. Hopefully, in his absence, & seamlessly, the Bulletin will appear
as normal but being produced by Gill Silversides and her able body of helpers
on the front desk. If it all goes wrong you can always check our website for
the Diary:
http://www.brlsi.org/diary.htm
Your Editor will be interesting to see, while over there, whether there are any
similar Institutions to ours, over in China.
From what we could ascertain the Holburne had a successful auction at BRLSI
this weekend, several items going for four figure sums.
Please forward this Bulletin on to any of your colleagues who might be
interested.
EXHIBITION: MARCH 5th – APRIL 25TH:
**************************************
DAILY: MON-SAT 10.00-16.00 ADMISSION FREE
“American Wilderness’ .
In this exhibition, through evocative objects and Audubon prints, BRLSI in
partnership with the American Museum in Britain, take a contemplative view of
the history of the American wilderness.
MONDAY APRIL 11th
*********************************************
BATH SPA UNIVERSITY STAND UP POETRY, 7.30 for 8.00pm
Entrance
£7.50 (£5 concs)
“Pascale Petit”
Pascale Petit was born in Paris, grew up in France and Wales and lives in
London. She has published five poetry collections. Her latest, ‘What the
Water Gave Me: Poems after Frida Kahlo’, published by Seren in May 2010, was
shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and was a Book of the Year in the
Observer. Two of her previous books, ‘The Zoo Father’ (Seren, 2001) and
‘The Huntress’ (Seren, 2005), were also shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot
Prize and were Books of the Year in the Times Literary Supplement and
Independent. In 2004 the Poetry Book Society selected her as one of the Next
Generation Poets.
She has received three major awards from Arts Council England. ‘The Zoo
Father’ was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. It won an Arts Council of
England Writers’ Award, a New London Writers’ Award and a poem from the
book, ‘The Strait-Jackets’, was shortlisted for a Forward Prize. A
Spanish/English edition is published in Mexico and Spain. A prizewinning
pamphlet ‘The Wounded Deer: Fourteen poems after Frida Kahlo’ (Smith
Doorstop) appeared in 2005. Her debut collection, ‘Heart of a Deer’, was
published by Enitharmon in 1998. In 2004 she was selected as one of the ten
best new women poets of the decade by Mslexia magazine.
TUESDAY APRIL 12th
****************
BRIDGE SCHOOL OF BATH: 2.00pm
SPEAKING OF RESEARCH: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2, Visitors £4
“Making Sense of the Financial Crisis”
The Evolution of Finance & Causes of the Crisis
James Beadle
Postgraduate Research, University of Bath
Since the invention of the computer, finance and economics have evolved into
near-esoteric mathematical disciplines. As a result the financial crisis is
poorly understood, but we all can and should understand the most important
economics event in generations.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 13th
*******************
BRIDGE SCHOOL OF BATH: 2.00 & 7.00pm
Helen Jagger, poet, reads from her first collection:
‘The Turned heart’
And introduces readings by:
Camelford Poetry Stanza and The Indian King Poets
Helen co-ordinates the Indian King Poets (a group that survived the closure of
The Indian King, North Cornwall’s only community arts centre) and the Camelford
Poetry Stanza. Published in Australia, the US and the UK, she runs regular
poetry-writing workshops in Cornwall, and is poet in residence at Pencarrow
House, Bodmin.
PERSPECTIVES ON AMERICA – VISUAL ARTS: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2, Visitors £4
“Arshile Gorky – Pathfinder to Abstract Expressionism”
Roger Whelan
Arshile Gorky was a pivotal painter in the development of American painting in
the mid 20th century, bridging the years between Surrealism and Abstract
Expressionism. He was the key figure in repositioning American painting at the
centre of world attention. This talk will examine his life and the influence he
had on 20th Century American painting.
THURSDAY APRIL 14th
*****************************
PUBLIC MEETING – ADMISSION FREE
Queen Square, Bath: Celebration and Commemoration in 2012
Public meeting chaired by Dr Alexander Sturgis, Director, Holburne Museum
Be part of a creative and interactive evening to help decide how we should
celebrate Queen Square and commemorate the Diamond Jubilee
Introduction to the workshop by Vaughan Thompson of Place Studio Ltd.
Here are some ideas:
1. Re-establish railing lanterns
2. Lighting up the Square
3. Recreating the Obelisk Pool
4. Inscribed Obelisk Stone Circle
5. Improved Accessible Crossings
6. Additional Entrance Gateways
7. Restored Internal Paths
FRIDAY APRIL 15th
*********************************************
HOLBURNE MUSEUM FRIENDS AUCTION AT BRLSI: 6.30pm
Auction of Antiques & Collectables Including Paintings & Decorative Objects
In aid of the Friends Appeal for the Museum’s Development Scheme
Silver, glassware, porcelain prints, paintings, needlework doll’s house,
curiosities and many other fascinating items, paintings from the 18th – 21st
Century.
DEBATE on the 5th May Referendum
The alternative vote: ‘Yes’ or ‘No’?
For a YES vote: Ken Ritchie (Electoral Reform Society)
For a NO vote: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Lecturer in Politics, St Edmund
Hall University of Oxford
A Referendum on the Alternative Vote was part of the compromise arrangement
agreed at the start of the Coalition. Whatever positions the politicians may
take, it is up to the public to understand the arguments and to make their own
choices in the referendum. This is a rare opportunity to have a say in how the
government is elected.
SUNDAY APRIL 17th
*********************************
HERBAL WALK: 1.00pm to 3.30pm approx.
“A Guided tour Through Nature’s Kitchen Garden”
Anna Gann Christensen & Friends
A walk through herbs we often see without noticing, to discover many
unsuspecting useful treasures in our towns, meadows and hedgerows.
Please assemble at 1pm at BRLSI, wear walking shoes and bring something to
drink.
MONDAY APRIL 18th
************************************************
PERSPECTIVES ON AMERICA/WORLD/AFFAIRS GROUP: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2, Visitors £4
“America’s Relationship with the United Nations”
Declan Walton
Former United Nations Official
The US is the United Nations’ principal founder, host and paymaster. Despite
recurring tensions it continues to provide the basic support without which the
Organisation could not function. The very public ups and downs in the
relationship generally arise from conflicts between American objectives and
those of UN inter-governmental bodies. The speaker will address what the future
may hold…
BATH FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY: 7.30pm
“A Plague of Blue Locusts? – The Police in Victorian Bath”
Professor Graham Davis
COMING SOON:
************
Tu 19 Philosophy The Rationality of the belief in God
No Argument Needed
Dr Oliver Crisp, Bristol University
We 20 America Speaking with Stars
Modern Native American Poetry
Rose Flint, Poet & Art Therapist
We 27 America William Pulteney –Greatest English Stockholder
in America in the 18th Century.
Dr Michael Rowe, Chair of History of Bath Research
Group
Th 28 Poetry Grp/ Holding the Mirror up to Theatre: Shakespeare and the
Bath play within the play.
Shakesp. S. Stephen Curtis, Author & Playwright
Sa 30 America The Special Relationship
Jacob Rees-Mogg MP
OTHER NEWS:
***********
Betty Suchar has just returned from a Health and Safety course and with great
topicality the subject was also brought up by Patrick Stokes on Sunday
afternoon at the Jane Austen event. He is a descendant of Jane Austen’s
brother and, having journeyed through life via being an Organic Chemist, an MBA
and on to management, as a finale to his talk showed he had picked up thespian
skills en route & gave a wonderfully spirited rendition of this:
We are seeking tenders for some work related to our website, internal computing
systems and data management. If it would be of interest contact Jonathan Taylor
in the office:
01225 312084 , e-mail: admin@brlsi.org
On Thursday there is the discussion evening about Queen Square and some
possible projects to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee. There is some background
here:
Please forward this Bulletin on to any of your colleagues who might be
interested.
Bob Draper
Tuesday April 12th, Poetry. Christopher Ricks, Boston University, recently
Professor of Poetry at Oxford. One of the most distinguished speakers to come
and talk to the
the Poetry Group:
“In T S Eliot’s Hearing”
The lecture will focus on Eliot’s evocation of the auditory imagination: the
feeling for syllable and rhythm, penetrating far below the conscious levels of
thought and feeling, invigorating every word; sinking tothe most primitive and
forgotten, returning to the origin and bringing something back, seeking the
beginning and the end.
“Ricks is the kind of critic every poet dreams of finding” W H Auden
EXHIBITION: MARCH 5th – APRIL 25TH:
**************************************
DAILY: MON-SAT 10.00-16.00 ADMISSION FREE
“American Wilderness’ .
In this exhibition, through evocative objects and Audubon prints, BRLSI in
partnership with the American Museum in Britain, take a contemplative view of
the history of the American wilderness.
“Wine in 18th Century England – and how it got here”
Simon Smallwood
Master of Wine
Correspondence between two brothers in the wine trade and the provisioning of
HMS Rattlesnake in 1782 are some of the fascinating sources that shed light on
the eighteenth century wine trade.
Taste some modern examples of the late eighteenth century wines that were
legally imported into England.
TUESDAY APRIL 5th
***************
Two events:
BRIDGE SCHOOLOF BATH: 2.30pm
BATH NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY: 7.30pm
Bath Nats Members £1, visitors welcome £3
“The Great Crane Project (RSPB) “
Damon Bridge
Cranes are wonderful, iconic birds that are sadly missing from many of their
former wetland haunts in the UK. They were lost as a breeding bird around 400
years ago as a result of the draining of their wetland nesting sites, and
hunting for food.
Over the next five years, the project will focus on the reintroduction of
cranes into the Somerset Levels and Moors – 60,000ha of floodplain in the South
West of the UK, dominated by extensive mixed pastures, meadows and wetlands.
To get these birds back, where they rightfully belong, requires the careful
hand-rearing of young birds from wild-sourced eggs – undertaken in a purpose
built ‘school’ at the WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre.
At around five months old the birds are then transported to Somerset and
released where they will be very closely monitored as they learn to adapt to
the rigours of life in the wild.
WEDNESDAY APRIL 6th
******************
Three events:
BRIDGE SCHOOLOF BATH:
Sessions: 2.00pm & 7.00pm
LITERATURE & HUMANITIES:7.30pm
Members/Students £2, visitors £4
“Frank Lloyd Wright”
One man’s view
Robert Marshall
The flamboyant individualist who drew inspiration from multiple sources and
whose influence continues to proclaim the relationship between architect and
the environment.
THURSDAY APRIL 7th
*****************
Three events:
LUNCHTIME TALK – AMERICAN SERIES:1.00pm
Members/Students £2, visitors £4
“Living with the 21st Century Shakers”
Janet & Allan Parrott
American Museum in Britain
For ten years the Parrotts have been making regular visits to the last
remaining Shaker Community in Sabbath Day Lake, Maine and became part of the
Shaker existence as these 21st century Shakers carried on the traditions going
back to the original migrations from England in 1774 under the Order’s
founder, Ann Lee.
”Viewing the dark side of the Universe with X-ray eyes”
Dr Ben Maughan
Bristol University
Dr Maughan’s work involves using the recently launched Chandra and XMM-Newton
satellites to study the X-rays emitted by high redshift (very distant) galaxy
clusters. A cluster of galaxies contains hundreds or thousands of galaxies
(many very much like our own) and a similar mass of hot, ionised gas which
emits strongly in the X-rays, but a cluster is dominated by invisible ‘dark
matter’, the nature of which is unknown, but the subject of intense study!
Galaxy clusters are the most massive gravitationally bound objects in the
universe, and as such their properties are predicted by cosmological models
(models describing the way the universe began and evolved). We can investigate
these properties by observing the galaxies and the hot gas in clusters, and
when compared with cosmological predictions, this gives us a very useful method
with which to test cosmological models – a method which is particularly
powerful when applied to high redshift clusters.
“Caves and Cannibals: A Mendip Perspective”
Professor Danielle Schreve, Royal Holloway, University of London,
Reader in Physical Geography, Director of Centre for Quaternary Science
The area of the Mendip Hills in Somerset contains some of the most important
Pleistocene cave sites in western Europe in terms of their vertebrate
assemblages, Palaeolithic archaeological finds and early human remains. These
sites span the period from c. 500 000 years ago until the end of the
Pleistocene, c.10 000 years ago and provide a unique insight into changing
climates and patterns of animal and human movement and behaviour. This lecture
reviews some of the classic localities, such as Westbury-sub-Mendip and
Gough’s Cave, focussing on the inferred age and palaeoenvironmental
signatures of the fossil faunas, the taphonomic origins of the deposits and the
significance of the archaeological assemblages. In addition, new research from
a previously unexplored cave containing a rich terminal Pleistocene fauna will
also be presented.
FRIDAY APRIL 8th
**************
Two events:
BATH FILM SOCIETY: 7.45pm
BFS Members & their guests only.
“I Am Love” (2009), Dir: Luca Guadagnino
(Io sono l’amore)
A tragic love story set at the turn of the millennium in Milan. The film
follows the fall of the haute bourgeoisie due to the forces of passion and
unconditional love.
ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE BATH: 7.30pm
Adm. £6.00 inc. glass of wine
Cineclub
SATURDAY APRIL 9th
*****************
Three events:
COFFEE MORNING: 11.00-12.30 Visitors welcome
Your host: Rosemary Marshall
“Elizabeth Gaskell in Germany”
‘We are so comfortable, and the place is so lovely’
Prof. Peter Skrine
President, Gaskell Society SW
LE CERCLE FRANCAIS DE BATH: 14.15
Visiteurs £4, BRLSI £2, Etudients £2
“La Vie des Artistes au Temps de Louis XIV”
Elisabeth Le Doze
Qu’ils soient musiciens, orfevres, tapissiers, jardiniers, cuisiniers et
organisateurs de grandes fetes, acteurs, ecrivains, les artistes de l’epoque
de Louis XIV
FFI: 07814 454520
SUNDAY APRIL 10th
****************
JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY: Talk, 3.00pm Tickets £10 including afternoon tea.
Optional walking tour led by a Mayor of Bath’s honorary Guide, 10.30am,
‘The Bath Jane Austen Knew’. Meet outside 4 Sydney Place, BA2 6NF (next to
Holburne Museum, Sydney Gardens).
Talk at BRLSI, 3.00pm
“Chapters in the Austen Family’s Life”
Patrick Stokes
Patrick is the ex-chairman of the Jane Austen Society, and a direct descendant
of Rear-Admiral Charles Austen, Jane Austen’s brother.
MONDAY APRIL 11th
****************
Three events:
BRIDGE SCHOOL OF BATH:
Sessions: 2.00pm & 7.00pm
BATH SPA UNIVERSITY – STAND UP POETRY: 8.00pm
“Pascale Petit”
Pascale Petit was born in Paris, grew up in France and Wales and lives in
London. She has published five poetry collections. Her latest, What the Water
Gave Me: Poems after Frida Kahlo, published by Seren in May 2010, was
shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and was a Book of the Year in the
Observer. Two of her previous books, The Zoo Father (Seren, 2001) and The
Huntress (Seren, 2005), were also shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize and
were Books of the Year in the Times Literary Supplement and Independent. In
2004 the Poetry Book Society selected her as one of the Next Generation Poets.
She has received three major awards from Arts Council England. The Zoo Father
was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. It won an Arts Council of England
Writers’ Award, a New London Writers’ Award and a poem from the book, ‘The
Strait-Jackets’, was shortlisted for a Forward Prize. A Spanish/English edition
is published in Mexico and Spain. A prizewinning pamphlet The Wounded Deer:
Fourteen poems after Frida Kahlo (Smith Doorstop) appeared in 2005. Her debut
collection, Heart of a Deer, was published by Enitharmon in 1998. In 2004 she
was selected as one of the ten best new women poets of the decade by Mslexia
magazine.
COMING SOON:
************
Tu 12 Poetry In T.S.Eliots Hearing
Christopher Ricks Boston, recent Prof. Poetry,
Oxford Univ.
Tu 12 Sp.of Research The Evolution of Finance & Causes of the Crisis
James Beadle, Postgraduate Research, Univ. of
Bath
We 13 America Arshile Gorky – Pathfinder to Abstract
Expressionism
Roger Whelan
We 13 Uni-verse Poets from Cornwall
Helen Jagger
Th 14 Public Meeting Jubilee in the Square
Planning for the Queens Diamond Jubilee in 2012
Dr Alexander Sturgis, Dir, Holburne Museum
Fr 15 Holburne Charity Auction
Sa 16 Economics Grp DEBATE: The alternative vote: Yes or No?
Su17 Walk Herbal Walk in Bath
Led by Anna Gann Christensen
Mo 18 America America’s Relationship with the United Nations
Declan Walton, Former UN Official.
Mo 18 Family History A Plague of Blue Locusts? – The Police in Victorian
Bath
Professor Graham Davis, Bath Spa University
OTHER NEWS:
***********
Guy Whitmarsh tells us he has updated the Antiquity section on our website and
this includes preliminary details of the John Coates memorial lecture later
this year:
http://www.brlsi.org/admin/group.cfm?group=an
This Monday’s talk by Simon Smallwood seems to be bringing all the oenophiles
out of the woodwork. In the basement of our original home in Terrace Walk, next
to the Parade Gardens, we gained some income by renting out cellars to a local
wine merchant. Something that could be worth re-visiting at Queen Square?.. We
have six cellars under the road here. We don’t have a hoard of fine wine
stashed away unfortunately! The nearest thing we have is a souvenir bottle of
liquor that Nelson’s body was pickled in after the Battle of Trafalgar.
(Though it is believed many more souvenir bottles were sold than could have
come from the original pickling!..)
EXHIBITION: MARCH 5th – APRIL 25TH:
**************************************
DAILY: MON-SAT 10.00-16.00 ADMISSION FREE
“American Wilderness’ .
In this exhibition, through evocative objects and Audubon prints, BRLSI in
partnership with the American Museum in Britain, take a contemplative view of
the history of the American wilderness.
MONDA Y MARCH 28th
*****************
Three events:
BRIDGE SCHOOL OF BATH:
“Helping Good Causes”
Cllr Lorraine Brinkhurst, recent chair B&NES Council, Chair Bath NSPCC,
an active fund raiser, Major Andrews, Salvation Army: Gerald Fitzgerald,
‘Facing Africa’.
* If local services are cut back which Bath Charities or voluntary groups
may be expected to fill the gap?
* How will they seek more support?
* Might BRLSI have an additional role?..
TUESDAY MARCH 29th
*****************
Three events:
BRIDGE SCHOOL OF BATH: 2.00pm
AMERICA SERIES/JOHN WOOD LECTURE: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2.00, visitors £4.00
“British & European Influences on American Architecture”
Chris Glass, Architect, Camden, Maine
Professor Glass will give the John Wood Architectural Lecture for the third
time, based on his recently published ‘Historic Maine Homes: 300 years of great
houses’ illustrating the cultural sources for changing design ideas.
After their success with the 2004 Down East book ‘At Home in Maine: Houses
Designed to Fit the Land’, architectural historian Christopher Glass and
renowned architectural photographer Brian Vanden Brink now bring their skills
and perspectives to bear on celebrating Historic Maine Homes.
Prof Glass focuses upon fascinating architectural history, Vanden Brink
demonstrates his eye for finding the perfectly lit moment and the most
enlightening angles to bring the homes alive, inside and out.
FRENCH CIVILISATION & CULTURE: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2.00, Visitors £4.00
“Fashioning La Parisienne”
Dr Agnes Rocamora
London College of Fashion
This talk interrogates the myth of ‘la Parisienne’ – the Parisian woman – by
way of an analysis of its representation in the contemporary French fashion
media. Drawing on a range of images and texts and moving across the fields of
art, literature and cinema, it discusses the way French glossy magazines
reproduce stereotypical visions of the French capital and its female
inhabitants.
WEDNESDAY MARCH 30th
********************
BRIDGE SCHOOL OF BATH
Sessions: 2.00pm & 7.00pm
SATURDAY APRIL 2nd
*****************
Two events:
COFFEE MORNING 11.00-12.30pm visitors welcome
THE JANE AUSTEN CENTRE – at BRLSI : 2.30pm
Tickets £7.00 at door or in advance from Jane Austen Centre, 40 Gay Street, or
online:
“Very little satin, very few lace veils…!”
Dressing for your wedding in Georgian England
Talk by: ‘Dressing History’
The climax of every Austen novel, weddings were important not just socially but
fashionably. In Georgian England getting married meant, not just buying a
wedding dress but a complete wardrobe for your new life as somebody’s wife.
Using reproduction items, this special talk from Dressing History will explore
the traditions of the wedding dress itself, from favoured colours to choosing a
style, as well as the effect that marriage would have on how a lady was
expected to dress. Tickets £7 online follow the link below, or from The Jane
Austen Centre,
MONDAY APRIL 4th
***************************
PATRICK O’’BRIAN GROUP: 7.30pm
Members/Students £4, Visitors £6
Advance tickets available from Bath Box Office: 01225 463362
“Wine in 18th Century England (and how it got here)”
Simon Smallwood
Master of Wine
Correspondence between two brothers in the wine trade and the provisioning of
HMS Rattlesnake in 1782 are some of the fascinating sources that shed light on
the late eighteenth century wine trade.
Taste some of the modern examples of the late 18th Century wines that were
legally imported into England..
COMING SOON:
************
Wed 6 America Frank Lloyd Wright – One Man’s View
Robert Marshall
Thu 7 Herschel Cosmology from Clusters of Galaxies
Dr Ben Maughan
University of Bristol
Thu 7 America Living with the 21st Century Shakers
(1pm) Janet & Allan Parrott
American Museum in Britain
Thu 7 B.Geol Soc Caves & Cannibals: A Mendip Perpective
Dr Danielle Schreve
University of London
Sat 9 BRLSI/Gask. “We are so comfortable and the place is so lovely”:
(2.30pm) Elizabeth Gaskell in Germany
Prof. Peter Skrine
Su 10 Jane Austen Chapters in the Austen Family’s Life
(3pm) Patrick Stokes
Patrick is a descendant of Jane Austen’s brother
Tue 12 Poetry In T.S.Eliots Hearing
Christopher Ricks Boston
recent Professor of Poetry, Oxford
Tue 12 Spk.of Res. The Evolution of Finance & Causes of the Crisis
James Beadle
Postgraduate Research, University of Bath
OTHER NEWS:
***********
It had to happen sooner or later. Having had a period when every other person
entering our portals seemed to be a relative of Darwin, your Editor notes that,
on Sunday the 10th April, we have the first (?) member of the Austen clan to
grace our premises….
We have remarked previously that our Web Editor, Paul Stephens, was pining
after the death of the late Captain Beefheart. Just in case his music was
unfamiliar we sought advice from Michael Godwin, of the Patrick O’Brian
Group, as to what might be appropriate. He came up with these:
“Loads of videos here, most of which I found at
http://www.beefheart.com/filtered/index.html
In chronological order
1968:
Electricity and Sure ?Nuff N Yes I Do
Cannes Beach: Jerry Handley ? bass, Alex St Clair Snouffer guitar, Jeff Cotton
guitar, John French drums
1971:
Capain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Detroit ’71
When Big Joan Sets Up; Woe Is A Me Bop; Bellerin Plain
Poor quality, but the only video I know from the immediate post-Trout Mask
period. Genuinely weird! John French on drums, Art Tripp on Marimba, Mark
Boston on double neck bass and 6-string gtr, Bill Harkleroad on guitar.
1972:
I’m Gonna Booglarize Ya Baby on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu9fOcIzYNQRecorded live for German TV’s Beat
Club.
1972 (possibly 1973): Click Clack from Paris Bataclan Club:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2ZMOKLsiuY ”
Unfortunately his own musical offerings with ‘Rocky Ricketts & the Jet Pilots
of Jive’ are pre- ‘You-Tube’ but there is an honourable mention here from
the days when Bath used to ‘swing’:
The Patrick O’Brian Group is up to its gunnels with talent and here is
probably the nearest the BRLSI Bulletin will get to ‘A Book at Bedtime’
with a short recitation by member Ric Jerrom flexing his vocal chords:
On Friday evening there is a convivial evening with a jazz flavour for those of
you who would like to come, just bring some food and wine to share. There will
be a small band also, we have a piano, can anyone out there do this as a party
piece?..
You should grasp every opportunity to make music:
Please forward this Bulletin on to any of your colleagues who might be
interested..
EXHIBITION: MARCH 5th – APRIL 25TH:
**************************************
DAILY: MON-SAT 10.00-16.00 ADMISSION FREE
“American Wilderness’ .
In this exhibition, through evocative objects and Audubon prints, BRLSI in
partnership with the American Museum in Britain, take a contemplative view of
the history of the American wilderness.
MONDA Y MARCH 21st
*****************
Four events:
BRIDGE SCHOOL OF BATH
Sessions: 2.00 & 7.00
WORLD AFFAIRS GROUP: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2, visitors £4
“Racism in Western Europe”
Prof Roger Eatwell
Professor of Comparative European Politics, Bath University
When did racism first appear in Europe? Why have different forms of racist
politics revived in recent years in countries such as France and Switzerland?
This talk will provide a framework to allow an interactive opportunity to
explore a wide set of historical and contemporary questions concerning the
centrality of race to European culture.
BATH FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY: 7.30pm
‘Wandering and Begging: vagrant children in Victorian times’
Shirley Hodgson, past chairman of Bristol & Avon FHSoc..
TUESDAY MARCH 22nd
*****************
Three events:
BRIDGE SCHOOL OF BATH:
Session: 2.00pm
PERSPECTIVES ON AMERICA SERIES: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2, Visitors £4
“Claire Mc Cardell and American Fashion”
Rosemary Harden
Bath Fashion Museum Manager
Claire McCardell, who worked in fashion in the mid-twentieth century, has been
described as the mother of American sportswear, and the precursor of designers
like Calvin Klein and Donna Karan.
However, her name is not that well known in this country; this lecture will aim
to redress that imbalance by showing how the easy wearable styles of this
American designer were so influential in forming the basis of much of modern
dressing.
CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH SOCIETY: 7.30pm
Adm: £7.00 (including a glass of wine or soft drink)
“Exploring Mackintosh’s Architecture”
Dr Nicky Imrie
Hunterian Gallery, Glasgow
Dr Imrie talks about a three year project to catalogue, for the first time
ever, all of Mackintosh’s architecture; there will be a sneak preview of a new
online catalogue of his work.
ffi: 01225 443356 or: crmbath@hotmail.com
WEDNESDAY MARCH 23rd
********************
Three events:
BRIDGE SCHOOL OF BATH:
Sessions: 2.00 & 7.00pm
Readings and discussion of Seamus Heaney’s latest collection of poetry,
‘Human Chain’.
led by Dr David Skidmore, University of Bath.
Explore and discuss Heaney’s latest collection, which has been very well
reviewed.
THURSDAY MARCH 24th
***************************
Members/Students £2, visitors £4
“Adelard of Bath – Translations from the Arabic”
Prof. Charles Burnett
Warburg Institute, University of London
Adelard of Bath, ‘England’s first scientist’, flourished in the early 12th
century. He was a mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, astrologer,
alchemist, musician and medic. He spent seven years in the Middle East, where
he translated important Arabic texts into Latin.
Prof Burnett, the leading expert on ‘England’s First Scientist’, has translated
Adelards works – including ‘Conversations with his nephew’ – from the Latin -
making Adelard accessible to us for the first time.
FRIDAY MARCH 25th
**********************
BATH FILM SOCIETY: 7.45pm
BFS Members & their guests only
“Mua he chieu thang dung”, Vietnam, Dir: Anh Hung Tran
(Vertical Ray of the Sun)
Starring Do Thi Hai Yen, Tran Nu Yên-Khê, Nhu Quynh Nguyen
SATURDAY MARCH 26th
******************
COFFEE MORNING – 11.00-12.30 – Visitors welcome
Your host: Janet Cunliffe-Jones
“Helping Good Causes”
Cllr. Loraine Brinkhurst MBE
Recent Chair BANES Council, Chair Bath Branch NSPCC and active fund-
raiser
If local services are cut back which Bath charities or voluntary groups may be
expected to fill the gap?
How will they seek more support? Might BRLSI have an additional role?..
COMING SOON:
************
Tue 29 America British and European Influences on American
Architecture
Chris Glass, Architect, Camden, Maine
Tue 29 French Fashioning La Parisienne
Dr Agnes Rocamora, London College of Fashion
Sat 2 Jane A Fest Very Little Satin – Wedding Attire
Dressing History
Mon 4 P O’Brian Wine in 18th Century England – And How it Got Here
Simon Smallwood, Master of Wine
OTHER NEWS:
***********
Can we thank all those people who helped with ‘Bath Taps into Science’ . We
had several thousand pass through over the two days, up at the University and
down at Green Park Station. The feedback has been very positive and it was very
gratifying to see kids, who might have been brought by schools on the Friday,
dragging their parents along for more on the Saturday! Our thanks also go to
our friends at Green Park Brasserie and Ethical Property in the vaults at Green
Park station. One aspect that did come up while preparing for the science fair
was that we have lost our contact which gave us access to a small workshop. So,
if in your garage you happen to have anything like these gathering dust, or you
are feeling particularly munificent, we could do with something like these for
helping with constructing science demonstrations (and which would also be
useful for small maintainance jobs, collections curation and exhibitions):
Your editor keeps getting asked to keep up the musical links in this end-piece.
Here is something Jonathan in the office bought to our attention which is up at
the University next Saturday. Tuvan overtone singing may not be something a lot
of you may have come across so there are four songs here:
http://www.alashensemble.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtone_singing
and ignoring all warnings for ‘Don’t do this at home’:
Please forward this Bulletin on to any of your colleagues who might be
interested..
EXHIBITION: MARCH 5th – APRIL 25TH:
**************************************
DAILY: MON-SAT 10.00-16.00 ADMISSION FREE
“American Wilderness’ .
In this exhibition, through evocative objects and Audubon prints, BRLSI in
partnership with the American Museum in Britain, take a contemplative view of
the history of the American wilderness.
MONDAY MARCH 14th
*****************
Bridge School of Bath: Sessions: 2.00pm & 7.00pm
TUESDAY MARCH 16th
************************
Bridge School of Bath: 2.00pm
WEDNESDAY MARCH 16th
********************
Four events:
BRIDGE SCHOOL OF BATH:~
Sessions; 2.00pm, 7.00pm
BATH POETRY CAFE: 7.00 for 7.30pm
All tickets £5.00
For the third year, Cafe Poets share their thoughts on the universally engaging
theme of Love.
Linda Snell, Michael Scott
Dawn Gorman, Katherine T Owen
Marie-Claire Oliver, Leanda Senior
Teresa Davey, Sarah Wheeler
Gillie Harries, Lesley Saunders
Rose Flint, Deborah Harvey
John Terry, Sue Boyle
Jill Sharp, John Richardson
Pameli Benham, Cathy Wilson
Pat Simmons, Shirley Wright
Nikki Bennett, Linda Saunders
June Hall, Frances-Anne King
David Skidmore
INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS /WEMMA/RSC Joint Meeting
VISITORS WELCOME – ADMISSION FREE: 7.30pm
Coffee from 7.00pm
“Watts New with Clean Energy Materials – Batteries Included”
Prof. Saiful Islam
Dept. of Chemistry
University of Bath
Cleaner energy conversion and storage technologies are essential to help kick
the fossil fuel habit and cut carbon emissions. For major advances in such
technologies (including fuel cells and lithium batteries) the development of
new materials is crucial. This talk will highlight (with the aid of 3D
spectacles for everyone!) the use of computer modelling and structural
techniques to help understand new crystalline materials for fuel cells and
lithium batteries on the atomic scale.
THURSDAY MARCH 17th
*****************************
PERSPECTIVES ON AMERICA: 7.30pm
“A Theory on the Creation of American Policy Agendas”
Bill Roesing
Political Strategist
American policy agendas are created by a process the speaker calls ‘The
American Spiral’. Bill Roesing, who worked in Washington DC for many years,
will elaborate on how this process works with particular emphasis on the
agendas led by Abraham Lincoln, Theodore & Franklin Roosevelt and Ronalld
Regan.
FRIDAY MARCH 18th
********************
SCIENCE GROUP: 7.30pm
Reception from 6.45pm
“Seeing Beneath the Waves – Mapping the Ocean Floor”
Dr Philippe Blondel
Physics Department, University of Bath
Oceans make up most of the Earth and can only be mapped using sound. The last
decades have seen tremendous improvements in both our knowledge of the ‘Blue
Planet’ and in our capabilities to explore it.
This talk will present the latest sensors and their main discoveries around the
world, in particular at underwater volcanoes, shipwrecks and fragile marine
habitats.
SATURDAY MARCH 19th
***************************
Two events:
COFFEE MORNING: 11.00-12.30pm
ANALYTIC NETWORK:10.30am
Tickets £8.00 on door, refreshments included
“Teaching mindfulness & mindfulness in the therapeutic process”
Nigel Wellings
Psychoanalytic Therapist
Mindfullness is flavour of the month with ‘Mindfullness Cognitive Therapy’
being recognised as a treatment of choice by NICE. However, in the speaker’s
experience of assisting on the widely taught ‘Eight Week Mindfulness Course’ it
has become clear that often some good therapy is first necessary to take full
advantage. When this is indicated and also the opposite – when therapy could do
with some mindfulness.
Nigel Wellings is a psychoanalytic therapist working within a contemplative
perspective. He is a founder member of the “Forum for Contemplative Studies” &
author (with Elizabeth Wilde McCormick) of ‘Nothing to Lose: Psychotherapy,
Buddhism & Living Life’
MONDAY MARCH 21st: 7.30pm
**************************************
World Affairs: Members/Students £2, visitors £4
“Racism in Western Europe”
Roger Eatwell
Professor of Comparative European Politics, Bath University
When did racism first appear in Europe? Why have different forms of racist
politics revived in recent years in countries such as France and Switzerland?
This talk will provide a framework to allow an interactive opportunity to
explore a wide set of historical and contemporary questions concerning the
centrlity of race to European culture.
OTHER NEWS:
***********
The havoc wreaked by the Japanese Tsunami is a reminder of the previous one in
2005. After that one we had a fundraising afternoon of talks which went very
well and was very informative. Should we do another in this case, if we can get
the speakers? Let us know your opinion… We didn’t have much success with
our event for the Pakistan floods, but there was not so much telegenic drama
and it was August and a lot of people were away. If we can, we like to be
topical and, purely coincidentally, Dr Philippe Blondel, one of our members
from the Physics Dept, Bath University, (who spoke at the first event) is
giving a talk on Friday 18th March on “Seeing beneath the waves – Mapping
the Ocean Floor”. His talk on Tsunami’s has obviously found its way into
the media press cuttings file as over the last few days he has done numerous
interviews with various BBC channels and ITV.
If you missed Simon Tyler’s “Fosse Way and Myth” lecture in last year’s
“Romans in Bath” series, you can catch it again at the Methodist Hall on the
A4 in Box on Tuesday 15th March. Simon will be speaking to the Box
Archaeological and Natural History Society. In tracing this Roman road from
Devon to Lincolnshire, there are many layers of story and history. As with so
much of history and archaeology, the story depends upon the teller, and upon
the simplifications in his account and the reasons for them. 7:30pm, £1 for
visitors. Parking on the Devizes road.
Your Editor has been slipping in a few musical items at the end of our Bulletin
but, before he gets his knuckles wrapped by our chairman, he thought he ought
to include a few items such as:
EXHIBITION: MARCH 5th – APRIL 25TH:
**************************************
DAILY: MON-SAT 10.00-16.00 ADMISSION FREE
“American Wilderness’ .
In this exhibition, through evocative objects and Audubon prints, BRLSI in
partnership with the American Museum in Britain, take a contemplative view of
the history of the American wilderness.
MONDAY MARCH 7th
****************
Five events:
THE SUFFRAGETTES’ TREE: CENTENNIAL EVENTS IN CELEBRATION OF INTERNATIONAL
WOMENS DAY
LUNCHTIME MEETING: 13.00
“Annie’s Arboretum: Suffrage Activism & a Memorial Landscape in
Edwardian Bath”
Dr Cynthia Hammond, Concordia University, Montreal
Annie’s Arboretum was the work of Col. Linley Blathwayt and his wife Emily at
Eagle House Batheaston. A three acre field was planted out with 300 trees, each
planted for a particular suffragette with a lead plaque for each of them. It
was planted in 1909 paying particular tribute to the women who had been
imprisoned and force fed for their activism.
The essence of the Buddhist message is very simple, but contradicts one of our
deepest intuitions but ourselves. Contemporary science and the dawning
understanding that all our thoughts and feelings derive from our material
brains, support that Buddhist assertion. In turn, we can find the same
essential message in the literature of our Christian tradition, if we translate
some of its words and phrases sympathetically.
PATRICK O’BRIAN ENTHUSIASTS: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2, Visitors £4
“Tying & Tatting”
A practical demonstration into the ancient art of creating with knots.
Europa Chang Dawson
Member of the Guild of Knot Tyers & Lacemakers
Man had been tying knots ever since he made his first arrow, fashioned his
clothing and set sail.
An Oxford graduate in mathematics, Europa’s interest in geometry and topology
led her into the world of knots and navigation. Europa will give us a practical
demonstration of this fascinating craft which ranges from nautical knots,
braidng and macrame and the more delicate art of lace-making.
BRIDGE SCHOOL OF BATH: Sessions 14.00 & 19.00
TUESDAY MARCH 8th
****************
Two events:
LITERATURE & HUMANITIES GROUP: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2, Visitors £4
“Elliot Carter – Eurocentric composer American Modernist?”
Prof Roger Heaton
School of Music & Performing Arts, Bath Spa University
Elliot Carter will be 103 in 2011, and is still active as a composer. He has
always considered himself an American composer writing American music, despite
recent criticism of what has been called Eurocentrism. Tonight’s talk will
discuss these two aspects of Carter’s music.
BRIDGE SCHOOL OF BATH: 14.00
WEDNESDAY MARCH 9th
*******************
Four events:
UNIVERSE: 13.00
Members/Students £2, visitors £4
“On Thin Ice”
Will Stone
Will reads from his award winning book ‘Glaciation’ & discusses the art
of
translating poetry.
Poet, essayist,& literary translator, Will Stone’s first poetry collection
‘Glaciation’ (2007) won the Internatiional Glen Dimplex Award for poetry in
2008. His collection ‘Drawing in Ash’ will appear from Salt Publishing in April
2011. His published translations include the poems of Georg Trakl and Belgian
symbolists Emile Verhaerer and Georges Rodenbach as well as essays by Stefan
Zweig.
SPEAKING OF RESEARCH: 7.30pm
Members/Students £2, Visitors £4
“The Protection of Palestinian Children”
Dr Jason Hart
Department of Social & Policy Sciences, University of Bath
For decades, and in many ways, the lives of Palestinian children have been
systematically violated. This has occurred in full view of the United Nations
and international relief organisations charged with their protection from
political violence. How might we account for such failure on the part of the
international community and what are the implications for efforts to bring
about long-term peace?
BRIDGE SCHOOL OF BATH: Sessions 14.00 & 19.00
THURSDAY MARCH 10th
******************
Two events:
BATH & CAMERTON ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY: 7.30pm
Visitors welcome £4, BACAS members £2
“Domustepe”
Neolithic site in Southern Turkey
Dr Alexander Fletcher
Curator, Middle East, British Museum
Domuztepe is the largest known example of a settlement from the late Neolithic
(around 6,500-5,500BC). It was a key period of change in the Middle East after
the development of farming and prior to the emergence of the earliest cities.
Alexandra‘s research interests encompass social information contained within
material culture assemblages, particularly pottery. She also has research
interests in the broader prehistory of the Near East and the social impact of
stylistic and technological change.
BATH SPA UNIVERSITY – STAND UP POETRY: 8.00pm
Tickets at the door:£7.50,concessionary rate for BSU students of £5.00,
Anne Marie Fyfe and Hilary Menos
Anne-Marie Fyfe, poet, creative-writing teacher, arts-organiser & former Chair
of the Poetry Society, (2006-2009), was born in Cushendall in the Glens of
Antrim and now lives in West London.
Anne-Marie Fyfe has: published four volumes of poetry, including Understudies:
New and Selected Poems (Seren Books, 2010); won the Academi Cardiff
International Poetry Competition (2004) with her poem Curaçao Dusk;been
Aldeburgh’s Poetry Trust Writer-in-Residence (2003); established Coffee-House
Poetry at the Troubadour in 1997.
Hilary Menos has won or been placed in numerous competitions including the
Mslexia Poetry Competition, BBC Wildlife Magazine Poet of the Year, the Buxton
Poetry Competition and the Envoi Poetry Competition. She was one of five first
stage winners of The Poetry Business Book and Pamphlet Competition 2004 and her
pamphlet, Extra Maths, is published by Smith/Doorstop Books. She was one of 17
poets featured in the Oxford Poets 2007 Anthology published by Carcanet.
Her first collection, Berg, was published by Seren Books in 2009 and has been
shortlisted for the Forward Poetry Best First Collection 2010 and the London
Festival Fringe New Poetry Prize 2010. Her pamphlet, Wheelbarrow Farm, was one
of four winners of the Templar Poetry Pamphlet and Collection Competition 2010.
Hilary lives in Devon renovating a Domesday Manor & runs Beenleigh Manor
Organics, a 100 acre organic farm near Totnes, with her husband, actor and
musician Andy Brodie.
FRIDAY MARCH 11th
****************
BATH FILM SOCIETY
Members & their guests only
“Broken Embraces”
Spain, 2009, Dir: Pedro Almodovar
SATURDAY MARCH 12th
******************
Three events:
COFFEE MORNING: 11.00-12.30pm
WILLIAM HERSCHEL SOCIETY:
2011 Annual Lecture of the William Herschel Society – At BRLSI
Students £4, Visitors £5
“Exploring the Dynamic Universe”
Dr Andrew Newsam
Liverpool John Moores University
Introduced by Dr Alan Chapman, Wadham College, Oxford
The Liverpool Telescope, or “LT”, is a fully robotic astronomical telescope
owned and operated by the Astrophysics Research Institute of Liverpool John
Moores University in north west England. It was designed and built by Telescope
Technologies Limited, a spin-off company of the University, as the prototype of
their production-line range of two-metre class telescopes
Optical Design:
The telescope itself is a two-metre Cassegrain reflector, with Ritchey-Cretien
hyperbolic optics, on an altazimuth mount. Up to nine different instruments can
be mounted at the Cassegrain focus, one in the “straight through” position and
eight more on side ports accessible by a rotating “science fold” tertiary
mirror.
Instrumentation:
Current instruments on the telescope are an optical camera, an optical
polarimeter, a dual-beam integral-field input spectrograph, a fast-readout
optical camera. A replacement for the decommissioned SupIRCam infra-red imager
is in development.
Also in use are the wide-field Skycams: 20° and 1° FOV optical cameras
parallel-pointing with the LT, and an all-sky 180° camera mounted in the
telescope enclosure.
(Advance tickets available from Wm Herschel Museum, 12 New King St, BA1 2BL -
enc SAE)
COMING SOON:
************
Wed 16 Poetry Caf Triumphant Return of the Famous Love Cafe
Thu 17 America A theory on the Creation of American Policy Agendas
Bill Roesing – Political Strategist
Fri 18 Science Seeing Beneath the Waves – Mapping the Ocean Floor
Philippe Blondel – University of Bath
Sat 19 Analyt Ntw Talking & Being Present
Nigel Willings
Mon 21 World Affrs Racism in Western Europe
Prof Roger Eatwell, University of Bath
Mon 21 Fam Hist Meeting
OTHER NEWS:
***********
Some of the musical clips in the latest Bulletins seem to have struck a chord
with you so here’re some more, moving to north Africa this time, to a place
currently in a state of turmoil Libya. So take yourself off to the desert for a
minute or two with these. Arabic speakers are scarce in the early hours on the
west side of Queen Square so your editor is hoping none of the lyrics are
offensive.
Words fail me for the last clip though!
