Monthly Meetings
We meet on the second Tuesday of the month at 10.30am at Dagnall Street Baptist Church, Cross Street, St Albans AL3 5EE.
The doors open at 10.00am when members can get together, enjoy refreshments, visit the book swap table, see details of the latest planned trips and holidays, and discuss joining activity/interest groups, before the meeting starts.
2025
8th April 2025
Peter Burley – Defence St Albans
Peter is a historian and Vice-President of the St Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society. He is co-author of a book on the "Battles of St Albans" (in the Wars of the Roses) and have written and lectured extensively on local history in St Albans.
Peter’s talk will be on "The Defences of St Albans from the Viking Wars to the Cold War". Most people assume that St Albans has always been a peaceful place devoted to its patron saint and with no military history. In fact it has been on the front line in several wars and remains of its defences are still visible today. In the Middle Ages the Abbey was legally a castle with a garrison of professional soldiers. The town was attacked several times by the Vikings, saw fighting in the civil war between Stephen and Matilda, in the Second Barons War and the Wars of the Roses. In the 17th century Civil Wars it was the main garrison town for Cromwell's "Eastern Association" and the medieval defences were up-graded and
redoubts constructed in them. The story ends in the Cold War, and the location of its nuclear bunker may come as a surprise - to be revealed in the talk.
13th May 2025
Martin Humphries – The Cinema Museum
Martin is a published poet and author. He co-founded The Cinema Museum with his partner, Ronald Grant, in 1984.
London’s Cinema Museum is devoted to keeping alive the spirit of cinema from the days before the multiplex. Set in historic surroundings in Kennington, close to the Elephant & Castle, The Cinema Museum houses a unique collection of artefacts, memorabilia and equipment that preserves the history and grandeur of cinema from the 1890s to the present day.
10th June 2025
Richard Stark – The West End Coming to:
Richard is a Singer and Entertainer based in Leighton Buzzard and has a wide repertoire of themed shows or bespoke events. Previous engagements include Rhine/Douro River Cruises, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Rugby Stadiums, Opera Holland Park, Festivals and hundreds of Corporate and Private Events.
Richard’s talk will provide a tour of West End shows including info, anecdotes, costumes and chorus singalongs. Songs from Les Misérables, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Kismet, My Fair Lady, Jersey Boys, Grease and others.
8th July 2025
Howard Slater - Richard Rogers (Rogers and Hammerstein)
Howard is a retired qualified lecturer and teacher and has been giving talks for over 30 years, They are fully researched by himself and shown on slides and include original photographs, videos and recordings were relevant, that have been acquired from around the world.
His talk will cover the story of Richards Rodgers who was one of the most well-known American composers of the 20th century. Known for his song writing partnerships, first with lyricist Lorenz Hart and then with Oscar Hammerstein.
12th August 2025 – no talk Summer Break
9th September
Martin Attridge – The Great Fire of London
Martin has lived for over 40 years in Harpenden. For the last dozen years he has given short History and Art talks locally to many groups including Redbourn, Wheathampstead, Luton and Bishop's Stortford U3As. These include The Development of English Silver Hallmarks; The Development of London before 1600; The Great Fire of London; William Hogarth; James Gillray; The Supreme Etcher of London - Wenceslaus Hollar.
At this meeting Martin will …relate the story of the Great Fire of London in 1666: reviewing the conditions that created the fire; how the fire started; the impact on the buildings and the population; the mostly futile attempts to halt its progress; when and why the fire eventually died down; some facts and figures about the fire; the changes in building and public protection arising from the fire. This information has been mainly gathered from many sources including contemporary reports by Samuel Pepys, John Evelyn , The London Gazette and Proclamations following the Great Fire.
14th October 2025
Keith Baldwin - All the King's Horses and all the King's Men
Keith is a former soldier and senior police officer who has been a speaker and voice-over artist since retirement. With several talks in his portfolio, he realised early on that although audiences like to learn and to be informed, they also like to laugh - which goes someway to explain the presence of humour in his talks!'
Keith’s talk will centre on his time as a soldier in the Household Cavalry (many years ago) but has plenty of facts and interest about the Brigade of Guards in general.
11th November 2025
A Journey in Northern India – Alison Mess
Alison had a passion for wildlife and photography from an early age. Over 16 years ago she arrived in South Luangwa, Zambia undertaking various jobs including reservations, marketing and hosting and having the opportunity to follow her passion in wildlife photography and working with the local people.
Alison’s talk will take us through the streets of Old Delhi, the Taj Mahal, Jaipur - the pink city and Wildlife of India including the tigers.
9th December 2025
Jester – Graham and Towse – A Christmas Entertainment
Graham and Towse of Sun Jester have given us two fascinating talks - March 2022 about Poisons for Medicine – Victorian Pharmacists and Quack Doctors and in September 2024 – Tales from the Elizabethan Underworld.
For this Christmas season meeting they will provide us with A Christmas Entertainment comprising a feast of anecdotes and music on a seasonal theme. Live performances of classic Christmas songs from the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals combine with humorous stories about the artistes. They will also look at the origins of some of our Christmas traditions and how one of them was (and still could be) illegal.
2026
13th January 2026
Tony Harris – Winston Churchill
Tony joined us at our December 2024 meeting as a Pantomime Dame which was both a hilarious and memorable. This month he returns as Winston Churchill where he will take us through Winston’s triumphs and disasters during two world wars.
This will include the catastrophe of Gallipoli, his feeling of being a lone voice fearing the rise of Nazism in Germany, the pride of being on the balcony with the King and Queen with 400,000 people chanting his name and then the disappointment of losing his parliamentary seat 8 weeks later. At 75 Winston rose from the opposition back into government and became the first Prime Minister to work with the young Queen Elizabeth II – and much more…
2nd February 2026
Richard Cohen - Jack Cohen – The TESCO Legacy
Richard qualified as a lawyer and has worked for many major solicitors. His hobbies include amateur dramatics and being a part time historian. He is the chair of the Jewish Historical Society of Essex and great nephew of Jack Cohen - the founder of Tesco.
His talk will explore Jack Cohen’s early life in the army during WW1 through to his death and how his great uncle developed Tesco into an economic powerhouse.
10th March 2026
Deborah Moggach - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – Growing Old Disgracefully
Deborah grew up in Bushey and is an English novelist and screenwriter. She has written 20 novels many of which have been adapted into movies and TV dramas. Her latest novel is The Black Dress.
Most of her novels are contemporary, tackling family life, divorce, children and the confusions and disappointments of relationships. She has an ear for comedy but has also written a dark thriller set in America, The Stand-In; a bleak story of incest set near London Heathrow Airport, Porky; and a novel pitting Muslim versus English family values, Stolen.
These Foolish Things, her comic novel about elderly people moving to India to obtain affordable care, was made into the successful film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Her other screenplays include Anne Frank's Diary, for the BBC, and the movie Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley, which was nominated for a BAFTA.
14th April 2026
Andy Smith – Wartime and Romance
Andy is an author and former business communicator and previously spoke to us in January 2025 on ‘Love and Laughter’. This month he returns to speak about ‘Wartime and Romance. Albeit war is a grim business, romance does not come to a grinding halt … and neither does British humour. In both wartime and peace love soldiers on!
He will share real-life perspectives of two world wars gleaned from family and friends over several decades; he weaves romance and humour into entertaining, yet poignant presentations that stimulate response from audiences who inevitably have their own family stories to tell.
12th May 2026
Bob Sinfield - The Gag Trade - Misadventures in TV and Radio Comedy
Bob is an actor, broadcaster and scriptwriter, specialising in comedy. He has written for many famous comedians including Bob Monkhouse and Jasper Carrott - and likes talking about them.
He spent 25 years scripting every star on the box, from Lenny Henry and Maureen Lipman to Tracey Ullman and Rory Bremner. At this talk he will tell us all about the life of a jobbing jokesmith and the celebs he tried to ‘gag’. Come and listen to this comedy talk and let's all have a laugh together!
9th June 2026
Howard Slater - Glen Miller - His Life and Music
Howard is a retired qualified lecturer and teacher and has spoken to us twice previously. Firstly on Ira and George Gershwin and more recently on more recently on Richard Rogers (Rogers and Hammerstein).
Howard returns this time to speak about Glen Miller. He will cover his life and a story and musical interlude of his most famous music and the mystery solved on how and where he died. Howard will support his talk with slides, music and videos.
14th July 2026
Paul Barwick - 'The Novichok Affair’ the story of The Salisbury Poisonings
Paul was a Police Officer now retired (34 years’ service) with a career background in the national intelligence and security arena. He worked with partner agencies in the field of national security and counter terrorism. He spoke to us in 2022 about The 2006 Murder of Alexander Litvinenko, gave us a guided spy tour in London in 2023 and spoke to us in February 2025 about PC Yvonne Fletcher and the Libyan Embassy.
This month Paul returns to talk to us about the Salisbury Poisonings. This was an assassination attempt in March 2018 to poison Sergei Skirpal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the British intelligence agencies. We examine the lethal nerve agent Novichok and why Russias Vladimir Putin wanted Sergei Skripal dead. We also recount the operation to kill him and the devastating consequences for the innocent victims including Dawn Sturgess, Charlie Rowley and Detective Sergt Nick Bailey.
11th August 2026 – no talk Summer Break
8th September 2026
Jon Mein – Room at the Inn
Jon is a semi-retired IT specialist and a local historian based in Hertfordshire with a general interest in changing attitudes to alcohol over the last 500 years. He has co-authored several books on this subject.
At this meeting Jon will give his talk titled ‘Room at the inn: travelling through Georgian Hertfordshire’. Drawing on original research, he will look at some of the many inns in the county in the century before the development of the railway network. What services did they provide to the many thousands of people who headed to and from London every day? Who stayed at these inns? Did any offer the equivalent of 5* accommodation?
13th October 2026
Robert Brewer – Being a TV/Film Extra in Retirement
Robert is an ex-Soldier and a retired Policeman. He fell into the TV/Film industry as an Extra after a visit to his local library. Over the past 6 years has been on over 40 different features, from Hollywood Blockbusters (Batman, Bond, Wonder Woman) low budget films (Blinded by the Light) to TV dramas, soaps and comedies and even a couple of adverts.
His talk will cover some the productions that he has been in and he will explain how he became involved in the industry and how anyone can do it.