Events 2018

Sunday 4th November

On Sunday 4th November we’ll be visiting West Norwood Feast – the monthly community-run street market festival that takes place in nearby West Norwood on the first Sunday of every month from April to November.

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Sunday 4th November, 15.00 – 16.00

With Tim Bird
Local place names such as Forest Hill, Honor Oak and, of course, Norwood remind us that this area was once covered in woodland. The Great North Wood, of which only small patches now remain, has a past rich in legend and folklore.

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Thursday 8th November, 20:30 - 21:30

With Nick Hewer
Join us for an enjoyable evening in the company of the marvellous Nick Hewer, star of Countdown and fan favourite from his ten seasons on The Apprentice.

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Thursday 8th November, 19.00 – 20.30

With Giles Milton
D-Day, 6th June 1944. An epic battle that involved 156,000 men, 7,000 ships and 20,000 armoured vehicles. Almost 75 years have passed since this day when the outcome of the Second World War hung in the balance.

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Friday 9th November,
18.30 – 19.30 

Melissa Harrison in conversation with Alex Preston
‘What a brilliant and timely novel All Among The Barley is. Deeply evocative of a historical moment – rural England between the wars, before mechanisation – it is also, unmistakably, about questions that press hard on us now…. This is an important book by a writer of great gifts.’ Robert Macfarlane

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Friday 9th November,
20.30 – 21.30

Jo Brand in conversation with Brenda Gilhooly
In this centenary year of partial women’s suffrage, we are thrilled and honoured to have the inimitable Jo Brand with us to talk about what it means to be female today. One of the UK’s best and best-loved comics, Jo is renowned for her sharp wit, self-deprecation and feminist values.

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Saturday 10th November,
13.30 – 14.30

John Suchet
The music of Tchaikovsky, one of the greatest composers, has brought joy to many, yet the story of his life is one tinged with sadness and has long been mythologised and misunderstood.

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Saturday 10th November,
14.00 – 15.00

Kamal Ahmed in conversation with Anita Sethi
Britain has found it hard to have the conversation about what it has become, now it has arrived in the 21st century. Our very Britishness has stopped us talking about our very Britishness.                                    

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Saturday 10th November,
19.00 – 20.30

Louis de Bernières
Poetry was Louis de Bernières’ first literary love. He returns to the form with his new work, The Cat in the Treble Clef, in which he reflects on family and the connections we make, and break, with other people. This beautiful collection contains moving poems to and about his family, about places near and far, the passing of time, music and about love in its various forms.

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Sunday 11th November,
14.30 – 15.30

Sulaiman Addonia and Michael Hughes with Stephanie Cross
Silence is my Mother Tongue tells the story of Saba, who arrives in an East African refugee camp as a young girl. Challenging our expectations of the refugee experience, Sulaiman Addonia lyrically depicts love in a time of conflict and reflects on the stories we must tell to survive. The story of The Iliad moves to Northern Ireland in 1996, a time of uneasy ceasefire, in Michael Hughes’ Country. A visceral and gripping tour-de-force, Country explores the brutal glory of armed conflict and the bitter tragedy of those on both sides who offer their lives to defend the honour o...

Sunday 11th November,
14.30 – 16.00 

Jane Glover in conversation with Elizabeth Nicholson
Enter the world of music-making, theatrical rivalries and high society in eighteenth-century London, as celebrated conductor Jane Glover talks to Elizabeth Nicholson, the Director of the Handel House Trust, about the story of Handel’s life in the capital. Jane’s profound understanding of music and of musicians and her experience of conducting Handel’s work in opera houses and concert halls throughout the world makes her the perfect chronicler of his life and his music.

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Sunday 11th November,
19.00 – 20.00 

Ben Macintyre
July 1985, Moscow. A middle-aged man stands on a busy pavement, holding a plastic carrier bag. In his grey suit and tie, he looks like any other Soviet citizen. The bag alone is somewhat conspicuous, printed with the red logo of Safeway, the British supermarket….

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