Tea & Talks 

The speaker –

Andy Dyks

The speaker –

Nicky Perfect

Nicky spent 31 years as a Metropolitan police officer and the last 10 of those years as an international hostage and crisis negotiator with the elite New Scotland Yard Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Unit.

Nicky was the first female to be posted as the Director of UK Training of the National Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Course to this role and became responsible for designing and training police officers across the UK to deal with life and death situations from suicide intervention to crime in action (kidnaps.)In the 2022 Queen’s New Year’s Honours List, she was awarded the British Empire Medal for “meritorious service to the community during the pandemic”.

The speaker –

Jon-Paul Carr

The speaker –

Andy Tennet

The talk

What Makes a Good Story? – Sand Monsters, War Brides, Abandoned Babes and Amazing Journeys.

The date & time

Tuesday 6th February – 2pm

An overview

How do writers capture your interest, surprise and delight you and bring stories to a satisfying ending? Illustrating with readings of her award-winning short stories and flash fiction, author Judith Allnatt will reveal some of the ways writers craft their stories to fire readers’ imaginations. Whether you’re a keen reader or an aspiring writer, come and hear stories of to find out more about how the writer and reader together create magic from the page.

The speaker –

Judith Allnatt

Judith Allnatt is an author whose novels have been featured as a Radio 5 ‘Book of the Month’ and shortlisted for the East Midlands Book Award and the Portico Prize for Literature. Her short fiction has been listed for many awards including the Commonwealth Short Story Award, Bridport Prize, Radio 4 Showcase and the Manchester Prize for Fiction. She has worked widely as a lecturer and Writer in Residence and has most recently served as a Royal Literary Fund Fellow.

The talk

‘The Language of Flowers’

The date & time

Tuesday 13th February – 2pm

An overview

– A Victorian Gentleman’s amorous adventures described through the now mostly forgotten language of flowers. Flowers, social history and romance; what more could you ask for?

The speaker –

Michael Brown

Michael has been interested in history and gardening for as long as he can remember. He became a qualified gardener and worked his way up to become Head Gardener at the Menagerie at Horton and later Cosgrove Hall. Later he researched medieval gardens and the uses of the plants, which was very useful when he created the medieval gardens at the Prebendal Manor at Nassington, Northamptonshire.

Michael studied for his MA in Garden History at Birkbeck, London whilst he was a full-time college lecturer in Horticulture.

The talk

“Wartime Tragedy”

The date & time

Tuesday 27th February – 2pm

An overview

On 22nd February 1944 two American wartime bombers collided in the skies close to Irthlingborough. One of the doomed plane crash landed in the position of what is now “Bright Water Lake” close to the visitor centre. A memorial service will be held in February next year to commemorate exactly 80 years to the day when the disaster occurred with the loss of 17 brave aircrew. This service will be the start of fund raising to pay for the construction of a permanent memorial to the men.

The talk will cover the events of the day, using eyewitness accounts, photographs, and relics from the crash site. It will also coincide with a weeklong exhibition being staged, covering the involvement that the US airmen had locally.

The speaker –

Andy Dyks

Andy Dyks was born and raised in Irthlingborough and has lived locally all his life. He worked at Unilever Research Laboratory in Sharnbrook for over 42 years and was lucky enough to take early retirement at the end of 2022; this has allowed him to focus his attention on his passion for local history.

The talk

“Glennis Hooper: She’s One Crazy Lady!”

The date & time

Tuesday 5th^th March – 3pm

An overview

A strange topic for a talk! Listen to Glennis as she talks of her personal journey through having had breast cancer and how she founded a local charity that, in its twenty-year history, raised an incredible £3.4 million and made such a significant difference to breast cancer care in Northamptonshire. It really is an inspiring and uplifting story that is honest, often humorous, sometimes sad but written from the heart – all written in her recently published book.

The speaker –

Glennis Hooper

Glennis was born and bred in Kettering and taught in Rushden, Wellingborough and Kettering Primary Schools. She also played tennis and table tennis at county level and loves to be creative. Just three months after having secured her first Headship at Highfields Primary School in Kettering she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Unable to return to teaching, her career was brought to an abrupt end, but Glennis did not sit back …. she used her experience and skills to set up a very -unique kind of charity that was loved by everyone.

The speaker – Kerry Love

The talk

Call of the Kingfisher – a year by the River Nene

The date & time

Tuesday 19^th March – 2pm

An overview

Call of the Kingfisher is the enchanting nature-writing debut from musician and wildlife recordist Nick Penny. He’ll be talking about his book, which he describes as a “love letter to a short stretch of Northamptonshire’s River Nene”, and celebrating a year taking in the glorious sights and sounds of the riverbank.

The speaker –

Nick Penny

Nick Penny grew up in many different parts of the world before doing an arts degree at Oxford University. He then set up his own workshop making musical instruments, as well as writing music and playing the Paraguayan harp. After moving to Oundle four decades ago, he became fascinated by the birdsong in his local woods, starting to record it and use the sounds in his own music. He also began to watch and photograph the kingfishers on the River Nene close to his home – experiences captured in his nature-writing debut, Bradt’s Call of the Kingfisher.