Past topics 1971-86

 

Year Date Topic Title Firstname Surname Honorifics JobTitle Notes
1971 October 9th Hibernation Dr M J Jameson
1971 October 23rd Museums and Exhibitions Mr M W L Kitson Reader in the History of Art at the Courtauld Institute
1971 November 6th Disabilities of Women Mrs Himkins Halliman
1971 November 19th Half-Centenary Dinner Batchwood Hall (Friday)
1971 December 4th One law for the rich, and one for the poor? Mr R E Stagg
1971 December 18th A touch of magic Mr J B Findlay Preceded by the Christmas Party
1972 January 15th Phylloxera Mr F G Ordish
1972 January 29th The Rt Rev R A C Runcie Lord Bishop of St Albans
1972 February 12th Mental Pictures Dr Malcolm Schofield
1972 February 26th The Social Odds Mr A B Saunders Formerly Secretary to the Gaming Board
1972 March 11th The price of progress in the arts of construction Mr R J Mainstone
1972 March 25th Some aspects of Industrial Relations Mr O Jayne OBE
1972 October 14th Romans and Goths: the great divide in buildings in Europe Mr G A Atkinson
1972 October 28th The subjectivity of value judgements Dr Cyril Barrett SJ
1972 November 11th Some problems of a Research Director Professor Robert Macmillan
1972 November 25th Near-eastern travels in search of Mediaeval Armenia Mrs Yo lande Crowe
1972 December 9th The Influence of J. M. Keynes Mr B Quinn
1972 December 15th Flying machines: early myths, toys, and realities Mr C H Gibbs-Smith Christmas Party. St Albans School, Old Gateway Rooms, 7 p.m.
1973 January 13th Rousseau, the neglected prophet? Mr Gerald Bevan
1973 January 27th America: a dangerous model? Professor Reyner Banham
1973 February 10th Angkor, and some Eastern Civilisations Dr Mary Glynne
1973 February 24th Some problems of the Environment Mr Anthony Tucker
1973 March 10th The British Economy and its problems Professor Alan Day
1973 March 24th Education for what? Mr F I Kilvington
1973 October 6th Conflict in Southern Africa Mr D H Joss
1973 October 20th Protest and Identity Mr Peter Evans
1973 November 3rd Europe in 1980 Mr Richard Mayne
1973 November 17th A Scientist in Russia Dr D A Senior OBE MA PhD FRCS
1973 December 1st The Violin: 400 years of perfection Professor E S Perkins MD PhD FRCS
1973 December 15th Popular Arts of the First World War Professor W G, Howell DFC MA RIBA The Christmas Party—St Albans School
1974 January 12th Local Government: some thoughts on the past present and future Mr E N Wheeler MBE
1974 January 26th tba Mr T G J Pratt
1974 February 9th Leningrad re-visited Mr B H Cox
1974 February 23rd Documentary Television: where do we go from here? Mr Richard Cawston CVO
1974 March 9th Turkish Delights! Mr E Clive Rouse MBE FSA
1974 March 23rd The life of a playwright Mr John Mortimer QC
1974 October 5th Facts, Fossils and Fantasies Professor J S, Weiner MSc MA PhD
1974 October 19th Dance and Society Mr D S Ellis MA BM BCH
1974 November 2nd Planning the Environment Mr P J Trevelyan MA MSc
1974 November 16th Offshore Engineering Mr Geoffrey Parsons
1974 November 30th Barristers and the Courts Mr Peter Hunt
1974 December 14th The Christmas Social
1975 January 11th J. M. W. Turner Mr Tudor Morgan-Jones SDFA
1975 January 25th Diagnosis and treatment in medicine over 500 years Dr M A Salmon MRCP DCH
1975 February 8th Agriculture in England—the Changing Scene Mr John Cumber JP; DL
1975 February 22nd The End of Empire Mr J R Smith MA (Oxon)
1975 March 8th Stained Glass in Churches The Very Revd P C Moore Dean of St Albans
1975 March 22nd An apology for Anthropology Mr Paul Spencer
1975 October 4th Crime and Punishment Mr Nicholas Hinton
1975 October 18th The Changing Nature of Work and Leisure Mr Peter Burger
1975 November 1st Save our privileges for the privileged Canon Eric James
1975 November 15th The Social effects of Inflation Mr Lionel Price
1975 November 29th Prejudice Professor H  J Eysenck
1975 December 13th The Christmas Social
1976 January 10th Experience of Modern China Mr Christopher Howe
1976 January 24th Confidentiality in Government Dame Evelyn Sharpe
1976 February 7th To be arranged
1976 February 21st On Appreciating the Arts Mrs Madeleine Mainstone
1976 March 6th The Rule of Law Professor Bradley
1976 March 20th Ecology and Progress Dr L R Taylor
1976 October 2nd Mongolia Mr David Lascelles
1976 October 16th St. Albans Abbey Dr Eileen Roberts
1976 October 30th Time and the Fourth Dimension Dr L Essen
1976 November 13th Chivalry Dr Harold Palmer
1976 November 27th Nature and the Artist Mr Gordon Beningfield
1976 December 11th The Christmas Social
1977 January 8th The Nature of the Novel Mr Terry Prichard
1977 January 22nd The National Press—Better or Worse Lord Jacobson
1977 February 5th Devolution in the U.K. A Debate
1977 February 19th Behind the Speaker’s Chair Sir Barnett Cocks
1977 March 5th World Trade. What is Happening in Geneva? Mr Gareth Davies
1977 March 19th Amnesty International Mr David Simpson
1977 October 8th Privacy and the Press Mr James Evans
1977 October 22nd My life as a blacksmith Mr William Peck
1977 November 5th Babel updated—review of modern linguistics Dr George Pazzi-Axworthy
1977 November 19th English law in Commonwealth Africa —past and present Dr Henry Morris
1977 December 3rd Influence of the visual arts on contemporary life Mr Colin Hunt
1977 December 17th The Christmas Social
1978 January 14th Facts of life—a recent reappraisal Dr David Hughes
1978 January 28th The energy puzzle Mr Peter Roberts
1978 February 11th Conservation—is it worthwhile? Mr John Weaver
1978 February 25th Traditional Chinese acupuncture—today’s medicine? Mr William Wright
1978 March 11th New games for old—a systems approach Dr Michael Jameson
1978 March 25th Prison, punishment and the public Mr Duncan Fairn
1978 October 7th Antarctica Mr Charles Swithinbank
1978 October 21st The Shroud of Turin Professor George Wells
1978 November 4th The role of the State Dr Malcolm Yapp
1978 November 18th Piranesi Dr John Wilton-Ely
1978 December 2nd Sculpture Mr Geoffrey Teychenne
1978 December 16th The Christmas Social
1979 January 13th Shakespearean characters Dr Michael Rymer
1979 January 27th St. Albans chapter-house excavation Dr Martin Biddle
1979 February 10th Chess and civilisation Mr Harry Golombek
1979 February 24th Form as enabler Mr Jim Hunter
1979 March 10th The European Community with a human face Mr Douglas Saunders
1979 March 24th The dilemma of the modern composer Mr Tim Salter
1979 October 6th The English through Tartan Spectacles Mr Alastair Bonar
1979 October 20th Witchcraft Mr George Engle
1979 November 3rd The two German states—30 years on Professor Roger Morgan
1979 November 17th Modern Architecture Professor Robert Maxwell
1979 December 1st Evolution of ideas in the 17th Century Mr Beverley Southgate
1979 December 15th The Christmas Social
1980 January 12th Collecting monuments of wit and learning Mr Ben Weinreb
1980 January 26th National events at local levels—illustrated from the history of an Essex village Mr Tim Pratt
1980 February 9th 20th Century American Painting Mr William Lane
1980 February 23rd Roman satire Mr Michael Coffey
1980 March 8th Rev. Philip Hunt and Bedford Prison Judge Eric Stockdale
1980 March 22nd From a Parisian viewpoint Professor Andre Cocatre-Zilgien
1980 October 4th Siena and the Palio Mr Anthony Harris
1980 October 18th Francis Bacon — some additional thoughts Mr George Ordish
1980 November 1st Crime—a young man’s game Mr Louis Blom-Cooper
1980 November 15th Our secret economy Mr Graeme Shankland
1980 November 15th Our secret economy Mr George Atkinson
1980 November 29th Letters to the Editor Mr Leon Pilpel
1980 December 13th Good evening, Mr. Dickens The Christmas Social
1981 January 10th Contrasts in Seventeenth Century art Mr Rowland Mainstone
1981 January 24th The Vikings and ourselves—the cultural link survives Miss Be ryl Foster
1981 February 7th Aspects of the E.E.C. Mr Frank Hall
1981 February 21st The City of London—a melting pot of the 16th and 17th centuries Professor Valerie Pearl
1981 March 7th The revival of Islam Dr Malcolm Yapp
1981 March 21st The House of Lords Lord Hunt of Llanfair Waterdine
1981 October 3rd Penetrating Whitehall: when it’s done and how it’s done Mr Peter Hennessy
1981 October 17th St. Michael’s Parish Mr John Everett
1981 October 31st Have the jobs gone for ever? Ms Frances Cairncross
1981 November 14th The International Economic System Mr N Madey
1981 November 28th Governing a Prison Mr Mike Selby
1981 December 12th The Christmas Social
1982 January 9th Realities of Power Mr D H Joss
1982 January 23rd The Physics of Hot Air Ballooning Dr Arelene Wolinski
1982 February 6th The Atom: Friend or Foe? Mr C Lewis-Barclay
1982 February 20th The Way They Lived Then Mr George Pazzi-Axworthy
1982 March 6th Education in the Eighties Mr Donald Fisher
1982 March 20th The City of London Professor Valerie Pearl
1982 January 8th Classical Values and the Modern World Mr Frank Kilvington
1982 January 22nd Language and Religious Thought The Rt Rev  John Taylor
1982 February 5th The Place of Art in Education Mr Harman Sumray
1982 February 19th Would the U.K’s. withdrawal be a loss to the E.E.C.? Mr Derek Prag MEP
1982 March 5th Policing Britain Today Mr John Alderson
1982 March 19th Goethe’s contribution to Literature and Science Professor George Wells
1982 October 2nd Was there an Energy Crisis? Mr George Atkinson
1982 October 16th The Monasteries and Frescoes of Southern Yugoslavia Mr Bernard Cox
1982 October 30th John Bunyan Canon Eric James
1982 November 13th Charles Darwin Professor Peter Bell
1982 November 27th The Bedfordshire Militia Riots Judge Eric Stockdale
1982 December 11th The Christmas Social
1983 January 8th Classical Values and the Modern World Mr Frank Kilvington
1983 January 22nd Language and Religious Thought The Rt Rev John Taylor
1983 February 5th The Place of Art in Education Mr Harman Sumray
1983 February 19th Would the U.K’s. withdrawal be a loss to the E.E.C.? Mr Derek Prag MEP
1983 March 5th Policing Britain Today Mr John Alderson
1983 March 19th Goethe’s contribution to Literature and Science Professor George Wells
1983 October 1st What’s New in Old St. Albans? Mr David Dean
1983 October 15th George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four Professor Bernard Crick
1983 October 29th The Interpretation of Song Mr Peter Evans
1983 November 12th Crime, Forgery and Detection Dr Julius Grant
1983 November 26th The Influence of Mussolini on Fascism Dr Renzo Cianfanelli
1983 December 10th Pepys’ Diaries Mr Jack Edwards The Christmas Social. Topic presented by with performance of music of the period
1984 January 7th The Ethics of Penal Reform Mr Conrad Ascher
1984 January 21st The Supply of Military and Police Technology to Repressive Regimes Mrs Antonia Hunt
1984 February 4th Environmental Conservation and the Quality of Human Life Mr Jim Roberton
1984 February 18th Cosmic Religion Mr William Genge
1984 March 3rd The Art of Ceramics Mr Tudor Morgan-Jones
1984 March 17th The Contribution of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to the Practice of Medicine Dr Douglas Whittet
1984 October 6th Complaining about the State Dr Carol Harlow
1984 October 20th The U.S. Presidential Election: Age before Beauty? Mr Brian Quinn
1984 November 3rd Film Production: a Personal View Mr Jan Harlan
1984 November 17th The Understanding of Conflict Mr Christopher Lee
1984 December 1st The Quest for Curie Dr Robert Reid
1984 December 15th The Christmas Social Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Thrale with Miss Elizabeth Morgan as Hester Thrale
1985 October 5th Icons—Tradition and Symbol in Sacred Art Mr Dick Temple
1985 October 19th The Role of the Lay Magistrate in the 20th Century Mr Geoffrey Norman
1985 November 2nd The Poems of John Clare Dr David Trevan
1985 November 2nd The Poems of John Clare Mrs Audrey Trevan
1985 November 16th It wasn’t what we intended Mr George Wilde
1985 November 30th Architects and Engineers Dr Rowland Mainstone
1985 December 14th Baroque Christmas Music The Christmas Social Members of the Fayrfax Consort
1985 January 5th The Art of Netsuke Dr Derrick Bradshaw
1985 January 19th The Home of the Future Dr David Fisk
1985 February 2nd Confessions of an Advertising Man Mr Peter Warren
1985 February 16th Work and Leisure: Mr Peter Burger conversation introduced by Peter Burger and Baconian friends
1985 March 2nd Towns—for whom? Mr Chris Wilshere
1985 March 16th Halley’s Comet Mr N C Thomas
1986 January 4th The Proper Study of Personkind Mr James Nursaw
1986 January 18th The Freemen of Berwick-upon-Tweed Mr David Moor
1986 February 1st The Organ Works of J. S. Bach Dr Peter Hurford
1986 February 15th Hunting and Gathering Societies Dr James Woodburn
1986 March 1st The Severn Barrage Mr Donald Jones
1986 March 15th John Queckett, 19th Century Microscopist, Scientist and Apothecary Dr David Hughes