December 2023
The final Speaker Meeting of the year took place on Thursday 14th December, when Carol Rogers MBE, Director, House of Memories, National Museums Liverpool spoke about the multi-award-winning House of Memories, a flagship dementia awareness programme for National Museums Liverpool.
In her inspiring and well-illustrated talk, Carol showed how House of Memories is making a difference to people living with dementia, their carers, families and communities. More than 60,000 people have benefited from the programme, which continues to expand across the UK and globally in USA and South East Asia. The programme includes workshops, memory walks, mobile museums, memory suitcases, mobile immersive experiences and the My House of Memories app.
In January 2015, Carol was acknowledged by HRH Queen Elizabeth II and awarded an MBE (Member of The British Empire), for her role leading House of Memories. She has developed a notable career at National Museums Liverpool. Her profile is well known across the North West of England and she maintains an extensive national and international network of education, museum, health and social care partnerships. Her work is recognised for its creativity, innovation and enterprise; successfully connecting cross-sector organisations and resources.
House of Memories programme achievements to date include the following national and international awards:
- Winner, Liverpool City Region Culture & Creativity Awards 2024 Innovation category
- Winner, Liverpool City Region Culture & Creativity Awards 2020, Impact Award – International Reach
- Winner, Exceptional Achievement Award at the Museums Association Museums Change Lives Awards 2018
- Runner up in the Outstanding Person initiative category at the Liverpool Older People’s Awards 2017
- Commendation Winner, Jodi Awards 2017
- Winner, North West NHS Clinical Improvement Awards 2017
- Runner up, North West Adult Learners Awards Health and Care 2016
- Winner, Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia-Friendly Awards 2015
- Winner, Excellent Smart Health Innovation Award 2015 (Think Dementia Conference)
- Winner, Innovate Dementia European Award (The World Health and Design Forum 2014)
- Winner, National Institute of Adult Continuing Education 2014
- Winner, Museums and Heritage Awards 2014 – national educational initiative
- Highly Commended, Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Friendly Awards 2011
November 2023
On Thursday 2nd November a large audience welcomed Stuart Elliott, who spoke on the subject of English Village Life in the Middle Ages.
This well illustrated talk covered English village history from roughly 550 to 1450 A.D. In particular, Stuart highlighted stages of medieval village development: the English village in pre-Conquest times, the consequences of the Norman Conquest, the English village in about 1250 to 1300 and the impact of the Black Death on English village society between 1350 and 1450. The social structure of the medieval village was outlined together with the role of the church, the nature of village governance, leisure pastimes, changes in agricultural practice, the decline of personal servitude and, towards the close of the middle ages, the emergence of a village cloth industry with international dimensions.
Thank you Stuart!
September 2023
The first of our Autumn talks took place on Thursday 7th September, when author Fran Sandham spoke about his Solo Walk across Africa.
In a most entertaining and fascinating illustrated talk, Fran told us how, as a 6 year old child in hospital in Birkenhead, he was enthralled by a Tarzan comic featuring Africa. This developed into an interest in Victorian explorers such as David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley, then a New Year’s Eve decision to spend a year walking solo across Africa in 1997. Carrying a rucksack weighing 100 lb and walking an average of 26 miles a day, he managed to cover 3,500 miles in a year; at the outset he weighed 12.5 stone, and by the end of the journey 8.5 stone. Despite illness, blisters and a very uncooperative donkey, what Fran remembers most vividly is the friendship, kindness and hospitality of the people he met along the way. Thank you for sharing your unique experience with us Fran.
July 2023
A large audience gathered on Thursday 6th July to hear Dave Carlos (Cyber Volunteer for Lancashire Police) speak on the subject of Cyber Crime. In a highly informative and well illustrated talk, Dave offered detailed advice on passwords, scams and online security, and emphasised the importance of vigilance when responding to emails and texts. Since the talk, Dave has sent over some links which may be of interest:
| Stolen Logins and Password Checker: | www.haveibeenpwned.com |
| Scams video link: | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R12_y2BhKbE |
| Phishing reports: | report@phishing.gov.uk |
| Suspicious text reporting: | Forward to 7726 |
| Support & Advice – National Cyber Security Centre: | www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware |
| Cyber Crime reporting – Action Fraud: | www.actionfraud.police.uk |
| Victim Support: | 24/7 Support line 08 08 16 89 111 and www.victimsupport.org.uk |
| Take Five, Stop Fraud: | www.takefive-stopfraud.org.uk |
| Get Safe Online: | www.getsafeonline.org |
June 2023
On Thursday 1st June Sid Calderbank returned to entertain us with songs, stories and poems in Lancashire dialect, expertly accompanied this time by violinist Joy Hunter. Sid’s theme was the life and career of Edwin (Ned) Waugh, born in Rochdale in 1817 to a very poor family who ran a cobblers’ market stall. He was apprenticed to a printer, and through the trade became acquainted with literary men who inspired him to write songs and stories. He eventually settled in Manchester and in 1856 wrote a poem about a young wife pleading for her husband to come home from the pub. The poem was published and made him famous, he made a lot of money and travelled widely giving readings and singing songs. He died of cancer of the tongue after a lifetime addiction to snuff, and 2000 people came to his funeral. We love hearing your stories Sid, thank you!
May 2023
On Thursday 4th May we welcomed Dave Joy, who vividly described how his own family had moved from Wharfdale in Yorkshire to set up in business in Liverpool supplying fresh milk from their own cows. Using many photographs to illustrate his talk, Dave explained how, in the early nineteenth century, many farmers were moving from the Pennine Dales with the intention of taking advantage of the mass migration of workers into cities like Liverpool, as the industrial revolution took hold.
We heard how such farmers would typically set up in end of terrace properties, housing their cattle in the back yard. The cows would be fed on grass cuttings from local parks, spent grain from breweries, molasses and oil seed cake. Waste products would be exchanged for hay at the city’s haymarket. The businesses did a roaring trade selling fresh milk, until competition began to emerge from corporate dairies, who brought milk into the city by train. Nevertheless, Dave’s ancestors traded successfully as A Joy & Sons between 1863 and 1963.
Thank you Dave for an exceptionally interesting and well presented talk.
April 2023
The Real War Horses
On Thursday 6th April Dot Hawkes, Secretary and Trustee of Lathom Park Trust, gave a detailed and moving account of how Lathom Park became a Remount Depot during the First World War. Opened in 1915, Lathom Park was just one of 12 such depots around the coast, where horses were imported from Australia, the USA and Canada in specially adapted ships, then trained and cared for until they were ready to be taken onward to battle sites. A ship could accommodate 500-700 horses, and many were lost when the ships were attacked at sea. The Horse Mobilisation Scheme was a major undertaking and the horses played a vital role in warfare, to the extent that it was said that the loss of one horse was the equivalent to the loss of 100 men. Upon arrival in Liverpool, horses were checked by vets, before being brought by train to Ormskirk then walked to Lathom. The Warhorse Route is a popular walk today, and in 2019 a memorial was erected at the entrance to Lathom Park.
An inspiring story, thank you Dot!
March 2023
A large audience gathered on 2nd March to hear Graham Stirrup’s talk on Women in World War I. In a superbly well illustrated talk, Graham took us back to 1773, when records show that a man sold his wife at a cattle auction for one shilling. By 1914 women could still expect a life of drudgery in the home, the mills and in service, unless they were very rich. Things began to change with the outbreak of war, when thousands of men were called up and women were called upon to work in transport, munitions factories, in mines and on the land, often working in dangerous conditions and with toxic substances.
After the war ended in 1918 and men returned from fighting, women were obliged to return to the same occupations they had before. However, this era also saw the beginning of the Suffragette movement and the Women’s Land Army, heralding the start of momentous changes which we benefit from today. A most entertaining informative and thought-provoking talk, superbly well presented. Thank you Graham!
February 2023
The first Speaker Meeting of 2023 took place on Thursday 2nd February, when Angela Danby gave a very entertaining talk about her 20 year career as a journalist with the Southport Visiter. We were shown a first edition copy of the paper from 1844, which included the announcement of the birth of a baby to a lady with 24 children! Angela also gave us a vivid description of a fire at Huntapac in Tarleton, the famous visit of Diana, Princess of Wales, to Queenscourt Hospice in 1992 and the attempted murder which took place at Pineapple Park restaurant, also in 1992. Angela has met and interviewed many famous people during her career, including Jason Donovan, Ken Dodd and Roy Castle. A thoroughly enjoyable talk – thank you Angela!