Member’s Lunches are held at Banstead Downs Golf Club from 12 noon.
Website – http://www.bansteaddowns.co.uk
The Two Ladies Lunches are held at the Kingswood Golf Club, Kingswood on the first Wednesday in May and December.
Web site – https://www.kingswood-golf.co.uk
Details of forthcoming speakers are listed below. Information on previous speakers can be found under Member’s lunches on the Recent Activities page.
2018
5th December 2018 Ladies Lunch at Kingswood Golf Club – Musical entertainment by Nick Mann instead of a Speaker.
2019
2nd January 2019. John Field – The Amazing World of Magic
John was admitted as a solicitor in 1976 and has practised law ever since. However his main passion in life is magic and he has been performing as a magician for almost 50 years. He is a member of the world famous Magic Circle and within that club has been elevated to the rank of Associate Member of The Inner Magic Circle with Silver Star. This accreditation is only held by about 350 magicians worldwide. John has eight talks on magic and magicians but his most popular talk is the outstanding Amazing World of Magic.
This talk has been honed to perfection over 40 years. You will hear about the oldest magician known to mankind, the oldest trick in magic, scams based on that trick and how to avoid being caught out, the first book written about magic, the dawning of respectability, two famous magicians and the current magic scene. You will also be shown some different styles of magic which will entertain and amuse.
6th February 2019. Peter Durrant – The History and Humour of Fleet Street
Peter has been associated with Fleet Street since 1945. He is a Honorary life member of the The London Press Club and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Journalists. He is also an Honorary member of the Association of British Cartoonists, a Freeman of the City of London and an active member of the Concert Artistes Association in Covent Garden.
5th March 2019 Annual General Meeting – No Speaker
3rd April 2019 Jonathan Fryer – The humorous side of being an actor – An Entertainment.
Although now working exclusively as a humorous raconteur, Jonathan started his solo entertaining over 30 years ago, while continuing to act in theatre and TV. Amongst others he worked with June Whitfield, Patricia Routledge, Ken Dodd, Donald Sinden and Jimmy Edwards.
He tells of the times things go wrong on stage and recalls some very funny comments from audiences. He reminds us of the joy of listening to The Glums, Rob Wilton, Old Mother Riley and Round the Horne. He also touches on the use of humour in advertising.
There is some delightful light verse and recollection of great comedic moments in cinema; also wit from Judi Dench, Noel Coward, Mikhail Gorbachev(!) and a hungover thespian.
There are a few stories about politicians, tourists and Royalty, and magical examples of the humour of children.
AND – “No laughs, no fee.”
May 2019 – Ladies Lunch at Kingswood Golf Club
5th June 2019 – Stephen Robson – The Battle of Britain
After completing an engineering apprenticeship Stephen Robson joined the RAF in 1969 and left in 1988. Since then he has worked for British Aerospace at Kingston, followed by over five years in a construction consultancy. A return to aviation was in the monitoring of jet engines for the BAe146 / Avro RJ regional jets and business jets. He is active in aviation related organisations and Chairman of the Registered Charity, Charles Rolls Memorial Trust, which promotes the role of Charles Rolls, Britain’s first International Aviation Meeting and the proposed heritage patio.
The talk covers the aviation scene from 1909 until 1939; the emergence of the Royal Air Force when politics and economies had reduced our military to dangerously low levels and how a wealthy lady financed the Rolls-Royce engine that led to the Merlin used in the Spitfire and Hurricane. While Britain slumbered, the rise of the Luftwaffe and Nazi Germany reached a critical stage in 1935. The talk explains how Britain was able to prevent Nazi Germany from gaining the air supremacy required for the success of Operation Sea Lion – the proposed invasion of Britain.
