Page 18 - Oundle Life April 2022

THE ARTS
Lectures in Barnwell Hall
Following a well-received first article for Oundle Life we are pleased to be able to contribute another this spring, with thanks to the editors.
I reported last time our intention to have a ‘hybrid’ lecture in January, Lucy Hughes-Hallett’s “George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham: the handsomest man in 17th century Europe”, but instead, as Lucy couldn’t travel, we did a hybrid hybrid! Stay with me as I explain: Lucy streamed her lecture as normal via Zoom but, whilst most members watched at home, some were able to come to Barnwell Village Hall where the lecture was shown simultaneously on the screen. As well as being an excellent lecture, it showed it was technically possible to do the hybrids.
And so to February for a fascinating lecture by Louise Schofield “Rescuing Zeugma from the flood waters of the Euphrates” – planned to be a hybrid lecture with Louise lecturing in the Hall. Some of the finest mosaics and wall paintings ever discovered were about to be submerged under the flood waters of the Berecik Dam, and this was the story of the rescue of some of them, led by Louise. Unfortunately, we had to revert
to a Zoom only lecture because of Storm Eunice that day! Best laid plans.
Our next lecture will also be via Zoom:
• Tony Faber in April “Faber & Faber: 90 years
The May and June lectures, live from the hall, no Zoom, will be:
• Chantal Brotherton-Ratcliffe in May “The
Overshadowed” – the story of why some amazingly talented artists do not find lasting fame while others go on to superstardom.
• Susan Owens in June “The golden age of British Landscape painting: 1750 to 1850” from Gainsborough, Constable, and Turner to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
For those who have not been, the Barnwell Village Hall is an excellent venue, it comfortably accommodates 200 for a lecture, its sound loop is very effective, and WiFi has been upgraded recently. Coffee and biscuits are available before lectures and we are very lucky to have a loyal team of volunteers who handle refreshments.
Membership of the Society is £40 per year, which includes ten lectures and, when we are fully operational again, access to other activities such as trips and visits and the full range of information, events, and activities which The Arts Society provides nationally.
Nigel Harper, Chairman
Please visit our website for further information, particularly if you are interested in joining or volunteering: www.theartssocietyoundle.org.uk
of excellence”
18