Once upon a time: a look inside the stories I have grown up with

As part of the Portsmouth 60 Plus Festival, I am at the Portsmouth Central Library on Wednesday 9 October presenting the above talk.  'Once Upon a Time' is very much an adult look at some of the stories I have grown up with and that established my love of reading and books.  Long after the novels and romances of adult life have faded, the simple stories and tales we read as children live on in our hearts.  This talk explores the stories behind just some of the books that bought me more innocent happiness than probably anything I have read since.

Why was Anna Sewell so drawn to the poor treatment of horses in writing ‘Black Beauty’?  In ‘Gulliver's Travels’, just how did Gulliver really put out the fire in the Queen's Palace?  Who was the real ‘Robinson Crusoe’?  What colour was ‘Winnie the Pooh’?  Why did the first editions of ‘Where's Wally? ‘ have to be reprinted?  Find the answers to these and many more questions in this revealing illustrated talk.

Tickets are free, but you will need to book.

Time: 1.30pm – 2.30pm 

Venue: Central Library, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, PO1 2DX 

Cost: Free to attend 

Booking: Call 023 9268 8046

The Rise and Fall of the Portsmouth to Arundel Navigation

Here are details of a new talk that was launched over the Heritage Open Days celebrations in Havant.  The talk is 60 minutes and is fully illustrated with PowerePoint.

In the early 1800s ambitious plans to link the Thames in London to the sea at Portsmouth using a network of canals were begun.  This is the story of how the planned Portsmouth to Arundel Navigation impacted on Portsmouth with the building of the Portsea Ship Canal and the Portscreek route, formerly the Cosham Canal.  The presentation identifies just some of the people who invested in the project and explores reasons why and what, may have ultimately, led to its failure.