LECTURE PROGRAMME VENUE: The Theatre of the Guildhall Arts Centre, St Peter’s Hill, Grantham 09.50 – 10.25 Coffee/Tea (complimentary to members) 10.50 Please be seated for Chairman’s welcome and notices 11.00 Lecture begins promptly 12.00 noon Approximate end of lecture GUESTS Please notify the Membership Secretary at least 7 days before the Lecture. A Guest will have free entry on their first visit, after which they can attend one additional lecture which will be charged at a fee of £5. Please ensure your mobile phone is switched off. 21st May 2024 Sophie Matthews MUSIC IN ART So many of our historical references for musical instruments can be found in works of art. Not only can these windows into the past show us what the instruments looked like but also the social context in which they would have been played. Music and different instruments also play a strong role within symbolism in art. Sophie explores the instruments in selected works and then gives live demonstrations on replicas of the instruments depicted. Musicerende_engelen,_Hans_Memling,_(1483- 1494) 18th June 2024 Andy McConnell Bottoms Up! A History of Wine, its Rituals and its Vessels This light-hearted talk examines the history of wine, an elixir that has sustained much of humanity for almost 10,000 years. Essentially little more than fermented grape juice, this extraordinary and contradictory liquid has caused wars and riots, has helped broker peace and more commonly, served as an aphrodisiac. It has been personified in the form of Gods and been the principal catalyst in civilised entertaining and dining rituals. Bottom’s Up! traces the story of wine: from its humble beginnings in rotting grapes before the Bronze Age to the present . It examines the extraordinary diversity of paintings and artefacts, including drinking vessels, created by some of history’s greatest artists and craftsmen to enhance the pleasure of wine, and to impress guests. The talk visits the ancient societies of Egypt, Greece and Rome, travels through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and 18th century Britain. It culminates in the present day, when more wine is being consumed than ever before, with its world market now worth over £100 billion. The acknowledgement for the attached illustration is Wikipedia Commons/b/b9/carafe_iran.jpeg The new membership year begins in September 2024 17th September 2024 Paula Nuttall BEAUTIFUL, BEASTLY, BIZARRE: the Art of Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch’s (c.1455-1516) nightmarish monsters and demons, his bizarre allegories, and the amorous exploits in his Garden of Earthly Delights have intrigued viewers for centuries. Little is known about this remarkable painter, although it has been claimed that he was a member of a heretical sect, a dabbler in alchemy and even a drug-user! This lecture unravels the meanings of Bosch’s enigmatic paintings in the context of his own time, explaining them in terms of social satire, mediæval folklore and pre-Reformation spirituality, while also revealing the beauty and inventiveness of his images. 15th October 2024 Harry Venning THE ART OF THE CARTOONIST In The Art of The Cartoonist, Harry will be tracing the history of his profession through the work of artists who have made an impact upon language, culture, history, and most importantly, upon him. These include James Gillray, Charles Schulz, Hergé ( Georges Remi), Posy Simmonds and Ronald Searle. Harry will also be drawing live. Prepare to hear some tricks of his trade, learn where to put eyebrows for maximum effect, find out what a plewd is and when you should use it, and discover exactly what the Eskimo brothers said in The Funniest Joke Ever (possibly). 5th November 2024 Tyler Butterworth HOW WE LAUGHED: The “Golden Age” of British Comedy It is said in theatrical history that there was a Golden Age in British comedy, from the 1970s to the 1980s. This was in the branch of theatre known as Variety – it was a world of comedians and impressionists, of TV shows, and end-of-the-pier shows, of unusual acts and eccentric dances, of much loved people like Morecambe and Wise, and Bruce Forsyth. In this unashamedly nostalgic lecture, and sharing my personal connection with this world, I will go back and explore the acts, the places and the people that made us laugh. And I will also ask, “What’s happened to comedy today?” 19th November 2024 Bertie Pearce A DICKENS OF A CHRISTMAS AND GOD BLESS EVERYONE Charles Dickens has often been proclaimed as “The Man Who Invented Christmas” and indeed on hearing that Dickens had died, a cockney barrow-girl said: “Dickens dead? Then will Father Christmas die too?” Dickens revived the Christmas traditions with his warm portrayal of Christmas in the domestic setting; with plum pudding, piping hot turkey, games, dancing and family cheer by the hearth. Although he celebrated Christmas in numerous works it is his enduring master piece, ‘A Christmas Carol’ published on 19th December 1843 which immortalises the spirit of Christmas Cheer. Dickens was a man of extraordinary energy and talent: literary genius, reformer, public speaker, actor and amateur magician. In his lecture Bertie Pearce reveals a Dickensian Christmas with readings, biographical details and conjuring tricks. 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