Completed events 2021

Here are some events you may have missed in 2021.

 – This colour indicates a child & family event! 

 –  This colour indicates an event outside the main Festival weekend. 

  – This colour indicates an event during the main Festival weekend.

 

  • Tues 23rd February

    The Perils of Writing Historical Fiction with Christopher Joll

  • Thurs 25th March (Zoom)

    'Surviving the House that Sat Down' with Alice May

    Surviving The House That Sat Down was a positive and uplifting talk based on the events of 2014 when Alice’s house partially collapsed.  She and her husband and 4 children were forced to move into a tent in the garden.  They were on the verge of losing everything.  And yet it was not the end of the world.  Alice used that homeless scenario as the inspiration for her award-winning trilogy ‘The House that Sat Down’.  Using her own personal artwork as illustration Alice’s signature talk gave a flavour of her inspiring journey from the ruins of her home to her life now as an author, artist and speaker.  Packed with humorous anecdotes about family life and full of positivity, this is a tale about life, love and the true meaning of family values.

    Alice is a multi-tasking mother of four children and married to (probably) the most patient man on the planet.  A former GP practice manager she decided that 2016 would be the year she would start writing.  Alice has become a very popular speaker.

     

  • Weds 14th April

    Delving into the Past: Family History Unveiled with Sue Ablett

    In a departure from her usual travel talks, Festival Chair, Sue Ablett, took her audience on a journey unearthing the secrets of family history research.  In this new talk, ‘Delving into the Past’, Sue talked about how she got the family history bug; how she has found out some of the information; some of the gems she has unearthed; and how she put it all together in a book.  An interesting and very enjoyable talk, full of fascinating characters and their social history, with lots of useful information of how anyone can start to ‘delve’ into their own family’s past.

    Great talk this afternoon Sue, thank you! I really need to ‘write up’ some of the family stories from the reams of info that I have. Thank you for the tips, I think it’s inspired an idea for a starting point.

     Best wishes,  

    Claire (Costello)

    Dear Sue, thank you for letting me join the zoom meeting this afternoon. You always have a thorough knowledge and such enthusiasm for your subject. You explained the different ways to make a start and also where information could be available, also things to be aware of, such as repetitive family names! 
    Researching our own family history can tell us so much and give us a better understanding of the social history of times past. 

    Thank you, Best wishes, Chris