Ben England BEM is an award-winning musician and educator, whose innovative work with online choirs is setting new directions for choral music globally.

He started both Choir of the Earth and Homechoir during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since led choirs of thousands in performances of the great classical works, as well as developing techniques to bring music and a sense of community to those in isolation around the world.

He is demand around the world to lead choirs and orchestras, and has worked with some of the industry’s finest musicians and ensembles, recently as a chorus master for the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Mark Elder, and alongside great composers such as John Rutter CBE and Patrick Hawes.

His contribution to choral music and the community was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II in her birthday Honours 2020, when he was awarded the British Empire Medal as one of 400 ‘COVID heroes’ nationally. He has since been commended by the Royal Philharmonic Society for an outstanding contribution to music, nominated for the ‘Inspiration’ award at the Music and Drama Education awards 2022 and was awarded the 2022 Alumni Award for Community Impact and Engagement by the University of Bristol (his alma mater).

Ben lives and works in South Gloucestershire, is married and has two wonderful (musical) children.

Karen Zold is 65, a speaker and lecturer and lives in Portishead near Bristol. She has a degree from Bristol University in Archaeology as well as a Teaching Degree from The University of the West of England. She is an experienced Presentation Speaker and currently an Adult Education Teacher in Art.  

Over the last 10 years (since retirement) she has spoken at many small and large formal/informal groups (including events at the National Trust) on a wide range of topics Including: Art, Art History, Anthropology, Archaeology, Biographies, Crime, Ghosts, History/Social History, Folklore, Literature, Sci-Fi, Technology just to name a few!

​

In her spare time, she likes to paint and draw and works as a Volunteer at her local National Trust property (Tyntesfield, Wraxall).  Her main interests however, are keeping abreast of all things Anthropological and Archaeological.

Prof. Anne Anderson FSA was a senior lecturer at Southampton Solent University for fourteen years. She went on to curate four national exhibitions, most recently Beyond the Brotherhood: the Pre-Raphaelite Legacy (2020).

Her most recent book, published in 2020, is Art Nouveau Architecture (Crowood).  Anne has also published over a hundred academic papers in internationally recognised journals.

Laurie Peter is an Emeritus Professor from the University of Bath, where he has been Head of Department. He has a lifelong interest in how light can make interesting chemistry happen, and his research group has worked on different kinds of solar cells.

Although retired, he is still scientifically active, combining a continuing interest in science with baking sourdough bread, growing vegetables on an allotment, tutoring GCSE students and learning foreign languages.

Megan has an MA in Soviet Studies and has taught at various universities in Russia and Ukraine. Most of her working life has been spent on social inclusion projects for those on the periphery of society and community cohesion for those living close to borders.

Megan has worked on projects such as access to healthcare and social welfare, women’s rights, trades unions, elections, agriculture and civil society in the remote Tajik/Afghan borders and the convoluted multi-ethnic Ferghana Valley.

Andrew Bazeley and his skill at conveying the sound and the spirit of the old acoustic blues have drawn gasps of admiration wherever he plays: whether it’s the Son House/Charley Patton slide style (played on an authentic 1929 National) or the melodic fingerpicking style of players like Willie McTell and Robert Johnson (on his 1918 Gibson).

But his range is broader: the hokum songs from Bill Broonzy and Memphis Jug Band can be heard alongside the likes of Hoagy Carmichael and even the soul classics of Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson. He’ s even been known to include The Who and some reggae in his set!

​

He’s shared his passion for and knowledge of the blues with hundreds of eager students over the years: from forty-minute talks for school groups to a full 8-session lecture series for WEA students. While normally focusing on aspects of blues history and music, he has also covered The History of the Guitar, using his own collection as illustrations.

He has also been in great demand from intermediate players, who want to develop their basic skills and learn more about acoustic blues and bottleneck styles, fingerpicking, slide and blues techniques

www.andrewbazeley.com

Scientist turned sewist because never having had the opportunity to sew at school and having no family members who were interested, I first took up sewing out of necessity in my 20’s, after moving to Texas and finding that I did not like the quality of clothing available there.

Dressmaking eventually morphed into quilt making but after running out of things to do with all the quilts I was making, I discovered the world of bag making; you can never have too many bags!

Mark Cottle was born on the Isles of Scilly and educated at Truro School in Cornwall and Birmingham University.  He has spent his career, at home and abroad, in teaching, training and lecturing.

Paul Chapman is an Art Historian and a National Gallery trained guide with many years of experience working in education.

​

As a freelance Paul delivers courses and lectures for a wide range of educational organisations including NADFAS, WEA and U3A.

Paul has also given talks and tours for art associations/societies and is a guest speaker in local schools giving talks and assisting pupils with their art history projects.

​

Paul has a long standing commitment, in conjunction with the National Gallery as a tour guide at the Longford Castle art collection and he is also tutor at MCSS.

Joanna is an independent art historian, retired history teacher, and member of the Association for Art History. She holds a B.Ed. degree, an MA with distinction in History of Art from Birkbeck College, University of London, and will be resuming work on her PhD thesis in 2019 at Exeter University.

​

Since moving to Somerset in early 2015 she has been invited to present lectures, talks and study days at Dillington House, the Wells Film Centre, Wells Cathedral School, and for the U3A, the WEA, and the Western Front Association. Central to Joanna’s approach to art history is an understanding of the context in which works of art were produced and experienced. This includes an awareness of social, political, cultural and economic factors.

Her lectures and day courses are accompanied by extracts from music and literature of the periods in question. This interdisciplinary approach is not only in line with much of recent art historical scholarship but also aims to open up the ‘bigger picture’ for those attending.

​

Between 2017 and 2018 Joanna also ran the U3A film club in Glastonbury and, now a keen gardener, she opens her garden in support of the National Gardens Scheme and St. Margaret’s Hospice.

Dr Jan D. Cox was awarded a PhD in History of Art from the University of Leeds in 2014, where he specialised in 19th century Nordic art. He shares his interests between this topic and British art of the early 20th century.

At Oxford Brookes University, Jan was awarded the Jeanne Sheehy Memorial Prize for work on Christopher Wood, an MA at Bristol followed, where his studies focused on John Minton, Keith Vaughan and British Neo-Romanticism. Subsequently, at the University of Plymouth, he placed online Wyndham Lewis’s art criticism in ‘The Listener’ magazine (1946-51). He has contributed chapters and articles to a number of books and journals.

Dr Jane Crozier holds several degrees in English and American Literature. She spent much of her career teaching adults in Further Education, also working as a visiting Tutor at the Institute of Education and as a Research Fellow at Queen Mary, University of London.

When she moved to Somerset fifteen years ago, she had the time to create courses for adults that follow her particular interests, including the literature of landscape, pioneer women writers and the campaigns for women’s suffrage. She now teaches freelance.

Dr Greta Depledge has a BA (Hons) in English Literature, an MA in Victorian Studies and a PhD (Female maladies, medical practice and literary culture 1860-1900), awarded by Birkbeck College, University of London.

​

Greta has many years experience in teaching, tutoring and lecturing roles in a wide range of HE and FE establishments.   She delivers meticulously prepared courses with enthusiasm in an atmosphere that is relaxed and cheerful whilst intellectually challenging.  She presents her research at public lectures and at academic conferences.

​

Greta has worked as a Visiting Lecturer and Teaching Fellow in the Department of English at Royal Holloway, University of London, as an Associate Tutor for the Open University, as a Visiting Tutor for the Centre for Continuing Education at Reading University and at the Faculty for Lifelong Learning at Birkbeck College, University of London and as a Tutor for the WEA.​

Further publications and details of conference presentations and public lectures can be found at www.drgretadepledge.weebly.com

Dr Jo Edwards is an independent Historian currently researching the life and work of Hannah More.  She also teaches History and leads the Education team at Nailsea Tithe Barn.  Jo is a senior examiner for national and international qualifications.

Following academic qualifications in biological and physical sciences at Degree and Higher Degree level, and spending several years on an isolated Antarctic Research Station, my appetite for asking: “How does that work?” and “How do we know what is true”, has taken me on a marvellous journey of lifelong learning.

​

On retirement from enlightening students, I organised international conferences on astrophysics and co-authored books on the most fundamental states of physical matter; translated and published Ukrainian archaeology on the world’s first known civilisation; convened science and medicine programmes at Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution, and have given presentations on the microcosm and macrocosm to U3A students of all ages.

​

My present research interests centre on microcurrent electro-therapy and the environmental hazards of electromagnetic radiation. Only through understanding how electric charge is the source of all vitality can we begin to understand the chemical origin of Life itself ... and what comes next!

​

Tim presently lives in Wells, following decades of living in Clevedon and Wraxall.

 Heidi runs a small business called Heartfelt by Heidi, based in Weston-super-Mare.  She runs Needle Felting Workshops and make and sell bespoke felt characters, gifts, kits and felting items.

​

She started Needle Felting in 2014 and fell in love with this simple but mesmerising craft form.  Heidi was keen to share my passion and pass on my knowledge, so began teaching in 2016.  She now has a regular following of lovely folk, who too have been enchanted by this fun, relaxing and rewarding craft form.

​

Whether running a workshop or making a special gift, she always throws her heart and soul into it, the aim of giving  a positive, fun rewarding experience and ultimately putting a smile on people's faces!

​

To find out more about Heidi and see some other examples of her work visit heartfeltbyheidi

Although interested in old buildings from an early age, it was not until doing a BA in Fine Art Valuation that I became more aware of medieval art and architecture.

​

After retirement from the NHS, sufficient time became available to study architectural history in more depth. So the last six years have been spent sitting at the feet of numerous experts in the field and hopefully some knowledge will have rubbed off.

​

Recently completed a year-long Post-Graduate Certificate in Architectural History at Oxford, which gave further insights into the subject. However continue to attend courses, seminars and study days on a regular basis and membership of The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain provides further opportunities to do this.

​

Have worked for Cardiff University Lifelong Learning and an organisation called Classical Education Forum (also in Cardiff) over last few years. However I am increasingly involved in the study of Natural History and have developed an unfortunate habit of foraging for wild food.

Kathryn Ferry has a PhD in architectural history from the University of Cambridge and now works as an independent historian, author and lecturer.

She has published widely on seaside subjects and is an expert on architecture and design from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

​

She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a past trustee of the National Piers Society and a founder member of the Seaside Heritage Network.

Kathryn’s books include titles on beach huts, bungalows and the official history of Butlin’s. Her latest publication is Twentieth Century Seaside Architecture (Batsford, 2025). Kathryn is a regular contributor to television, radio and podcasts.

Dr Christophe Fricker teaches German and Translation at the University of Bristol. His work is mainly about the role of language in the life of communities, from political to literary. He has a decade of experience as executive of a research and consultancy firm and has been teaching at universities in Canada, the US and the UK for twice that time.

​

Christophe studied Politics and German literature once on (nearly) every continent; including three years (marked by relentless drizzle) at Oxford.  Christophe is a prize-winning author, editor, and translator of nearly thirty books on a wide range of issues around language and communities. One of his own favourites is his book of 111 reasons to love England.

With an MA in medieval history and a PG diploma in Heritage Management and Interpretation, Ruth has worked in the heritage sector for thirty years, initially with the National Trust (Knole, Shaw’s Corner, Standen and Tyntesfield) before becoming self-employed in 2010. Most of her projects are in the south west and have included the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol Beacon, St George’s, Underfall Yard, Bishop’s Palace in Wells, Glastonbury Abbey, St Mary Magdalene church in Paddington, Tamar bridges and the Curzon. 

Having grown up in a house where there were no 'idle hands', Ann has always sewn. Over the years this has been dressmaking, (very limited) soft furnishings, cross stitch, tapestry, blackwork and she has finally found my sewing true love – patchwork and quilting. Having completed my P & Q City & Guilds Certificate  Ann started to teach P & Q classes to help with her mission of getting the world quilting.
Some of her  work can be seen on her website www.annspandq.co.uk

John is a chartered aerospace engineer educated in Bristol and Cranfield. His career included Concorde, the Beagle 2 Mars lander and several Airbus projects, on which he was a transnational manager of UK, French, German and Spanish staff, retiring in 2010.

​

He was closely involved in the early days of computer aided design, and obtained his doctorate in robotics from the Open University in 2007.

​

After retirement John ran his own aerospace consultancy business, during which time he was a Visiting Fellow and ‘Recognised Teacher’ at Cranfield University, supporting the teaching staff and graduate students in developing the design of satellites and satellite equipment.

​

John’s interest in genealogy is purely that of an enthusiastic amateur, his experience of the topic spanning over 30 years. During that time the subject has evolved hugely with far greater accessibility of data via the internet. John has also gained experience of dealing with the College of Arms in London.

John has experience of being on the receiving end of several CASA and WEA courses (in bead-work and early European history).

Frankie  has spent his professional life teaching, counselling and training. Drawing, painting and sewing have always been important to him as ways of relaxing from the tensions this work has entailed. He have long been attracted to mosaics, and on a chance visit to Briare – a sweet little town on the Loire – he found a ceramics factory which throws its unwanted tiles out into the land behind. With a little time and effort he picked up bags of these tiles and this is what he started with.

Frankie shows at art festivals and trails in France, and the UK mostly in Bristol. The West Bristol Arts Trail is an annual event every October. It’s encouraging to find that people like his work enough to buy pieces, and he loves to be asked to make a piece on commission.

He offers  introductory mosaic courses at Bristol Folk House and elsewhere, at his workshop in France and also at his home in Bristol.

Cath Humphris studied Literature, Life & Thought with Creative Writing at John Moore’s University, Liverpool, then ‘Writing’ at Sheffield Hallam University.  She has an eclectic taste in literature and literary studies, that she enjoys sharing.

​

She believes that fiction is the key to understanding life, the universe and everything, and hopes that we will never stop trying to find out what that key looks like, or where it is – or pointing each other in numerous new directions.

​

Her aim in classes is to open up a work of fiction to see how many ways we can find to understand what the writer may, or may-not, have been doing, and how meanings and ideas shift, over time.

After graduating from the University of Bristol with a Classics degree, Louise taught in Surrey for a few years before going abroad to work. She spent 20 years away, in Malawi, the Middle East and Spain, before returning to the UK in 2003 to study for a Masters in Applied Linguistics.

On completion of her degree, she decided to stay in the UK and work as a private tutor, mainly English GCSE and 'A' level with some very occasional Latin. Sadly, Covid killed her tutoring business, but in the interim she had become acquainted with CASA.
 

Louise has now tutored a number of 'Beginners' Latin' courses for CASA with some students continuing their studies with her up to GCSE and, in a couple of cases, 'A' level. In addition to Latin, she has also led courses on life in Ancient Rome, looking at topics such as women, slavery, entertainment and religion as well as an in-depth study of Virgil's 'Aeneid' in translation.

As well as Latin, poetry is another love of hers has led to courses on Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath and Seamus Heaney amongst others.
 

Although now drawing her pension, she is still teaching Latin to a few groups of enthusiasts and some courses for CASA. In her spare time she  attends quite a few  courses, reads a great deal, and loves to visit the theatre, art galleries and museums.

Philip Lyons is a poet and teacher. His first full-length collection, Like It Is, was published by Poetry Space in 2011. His poems have appeared in anthologies and magazines, and have also been broadcast on the radio. Poetry readings include the Wells Festival of Literature and Thornbury Arts Festival.

He was awarded a PhD for a thesis on Literary and Theological Responses to the Holocaust in 1989 at the University of Bristol and was commissioned to write a poem for the University’s centenary twenty years later. He is a passionate advocate of lifelong learning and has taught adults in universities, prisons and community venues, as well as running creative writing groups in a variety of settings.

Philip has recently taken on the role of co-editor of Raceme, a poetry magazine with a focus on writing in the South West. He lives in Bristol with his wife Penny and has a grown-up stepdaughter living in London.

Dr Alyce Merry holds several degrees in Mathematics, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and has published original research in academic journals. She has taught in schools, colleges and universities including the OU and helped to promote the take-up of Further Mathematics in the South West.

​

Retired now she enjoys (apart from keeping up to date with genetics research) vernacular building research, trying to be musical, wildlife watching (especially her cat), and, most of all, family visits.

Nick Meyer worked in Adult Education for twenty years, including a period of teaching in France.

​

“A Disreputable Scandal” is his second novel and he is currently writing a sequel.

​

His interests include travel, golf, which he plays with more enthusiasm than skill, and, his family would say, “Lounging about without doing very much”, whereas he would say, “Thinking about my next novel.”

​

Nick lives in North Somerset with his wife and their dog, Flora.

Greg is fascinated by origins whether in human history, evolution or cosmology. For the last ten years he has taught a variety of talks, courses and day schools – from cosmology, through the evolution of plants and the story of agriculture, to the shape and patterns of human history.

He runs ‘Walk the Story of the Universe’, weekends of gentle walking and fine food combined with an exploration of the story of everything. 

https://www.universewalk.co.uk/

Nick l​oves to bring insights from different disciplines together, to try to create a coherent and exhilarating overview of how everything connects together. He always assumes no previous knowledge and use a variety of teaching techniques to help to make the content accessible, fun and engaging.

​

Nick lives in Castle Cary and also work as a gardener.

Lotti Newstead sometimes feels that she eats, drinks and breathes classical music. Sharing that love with other people and making music accessible to wider audiences is an all-consuming passion that has seen her career branch into umpteen different avenues.

​

She has taught Music Appreciation to adults, both privately and for the University of Bristol for many years. The pandemic saw most of this work shift online which had the welcome effect of extending the reach to people across the UK and even abroad. She enjoys helping others to grow in confidence and loves the discussions that arise on a wide range of classical music of all genres.

​

She is also well-known as a concert soprano who performs regularly with orchestras and choirs in the south west, singing a lot of oratorio but also such works as Strauss’s Four Last Songs. She has sung in venues throughout the country from St John’s Smith Square to Snape Maltings.

​

She has a busy teaching practice in Bristol for students at all stages of the singing journey, from beginners onwards and is often called on to help with coaching sessions for choirs and choral societies.

​

She does also have a life beyond music! It mostly involves reading and inexpertly  gardening. She hopes soon to return to the long-distance walking that she used to enjoy in the days before Long Covid knocked the wind out of her sails…

www.charlottenewstead.co.uk

Born in Kent in 1958, much of Stephen's childhood was spent in the Loose Valley; it was there he developed a lifelong interest in all aspects of natural history.

​

As graduate of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a chartered chemist he spent fifteen years working in industry as a development chemist and a manufacturing manager. For ten years he  helped manage chalk grassland and woodlands reserves along the North Downs.

​

Following a career change In 1991 Stephen was recruited by English Nature to study effects on storm damaged woodlands.  He moved to Wellington Somerset in 1995 to take up a post with English Nature as a Conservation Officer in North Somerset.

​

Since 2000 Stephen has worked on the Somerset Levels & Moors and Bridgwater Bay. He is interested in the study of history of garden plants, garden history and archaeology.

Dave grew up in Lincolnshire, within sight and sound of the Dambusters airfield and near a village home to several conscientious objectors and a fine amateur theatre group. Those mixed early influences stayed with him through a degree in English Language and Literature, the second year of which started with the Cuban Missile Crisis demanding more anxiety and attention than Beowulf or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

​

Involvement with various peace groups has stayed with Dave through a teaching career in English, an attempt at the good life in Wales, and a second degree and teaching career in Mathematics. “Retirement” to Axbridge has drawn him into its Community Theatre group and more recently into writing and performing in substantial events around the Great War Centenary and its Armistice. The arithmetic of war and peace still bewilders Dave.

After four years at art college, Waveney's early career was spent in the wholesale fashion industry designing and pattern cutting and then lecturing in an art college.

Buying a second hand knitting machine started her love for creating individual garments for children and then working as a designer for a knitwear company. Some years later she developed a small business designing and printing specialist t-shirts and tracksuits which she sold at horse shows, as well as to shops in Kent.

Waveney's  life and career changed when she moved as a family to Somerset, however, her love of design and creating things never left her and after attending a beading course in Bristol it set her off on another path of making jewellery, learning silversmithing and exploring the Japanese craft of Temari.
Colour from the natural world is an inspiration for her work. She enjoys looking closely at the colours of animals, birds, plants, autumn leaves, the beach, seaweed, sand glass! She says "It’s amazing where it all takes me -usually to buying all sorts of threads, beads, fabric and wires that I don’t need immediately but which I believe will always come in handy!

It’s a lot of fun to see what can be created with very few materials and it can be addictive! I’m always searching out new ideas and ways of working which I love to share with others in a relaxed and informal way."

​

Chris was awarded an MA from the University of Oxford, where he read mathematics. After more than 30 years teaching in North Somerset schools he realised there were easier jobs and he became an adviser and consultant and also started writing mathematics textbooks. In connection with this he has worked with teachers and educators in various countries, including Qatar, Indonesia, China and Mongolia. He is still churning out textbooks and now has over 30 titles in print that are being inflicted on school children both in the UK and around the world. His ambition is to write a novel, but you cannot have everything.

Dr Allan Phillipson has studied in New Zealand and Canada, and has a PhD from the University of British Columbia. He wrote a dissertation on modern poetry and has many years of teaching experience. For the last 15 years, he has worked in adult education, combining WEA courses with a variety of freelance courses, lectures, and dayschools.

​

His areas of interest include literature, art history, social history, architecture and cinema. From 2004-7, he created a series of “Great Houses, Great Literature” courses in conjunction with the National Trust. After moving to Bath in 2007, he led courses on American literature and film for the American Museum in Britain. He also offers a 2-hour walking tour entitled “The Hidden Treasures of Bath”.

​

Every Thursday, he teaches a Shakespeare course in Bristol. For a number of years, he delivered the annual lecture to the Bath Shakespeare Society. This led to a lecture on Hamlet at the University of Bath (as part of their GULP series) and another on Shakespeare and his illustrators at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution.  He is delighted to be associated with CASA in Clevedon, and firmly believes in their principle of learning through enjoyment.

John’s passion has always been the cinema. After graduating from Leicester University with a degree in English (this was before HE courses in Film Studies existed!), he worked for the British Film Institute for four years. During this time, in addition to his full time work in the National Film Archive, as a member of the BFI’s Lecture Panel he delivered courses in Cinema to part time students. It was this experience that motivated him to pursue a full time career in teaching.

​

Over the next thirty years John worked in the Further Education sector where, in addition to Film Studies, he taught English, Communications and Theatre Studies. The A Level in Film Studies he taught to both full and part time students included such modules as the Hollywood and British Film Industries, genre study, auteur study and alternatives to mainstream cinema.

​

Since retiring, John has been a school governor and in Clevedon has returned to teaching with courses for CASA on Italian Cinema, Alfred Hitchcock, Film Noir, Ealing Studios and Hollywood and Politics.

Victoria has been teaching English Literature for the past twenty years, first in sixth form college and latterly in adult education. Prior to teaching, she was an editor with Heinemann and Longman in their educational departments.

​

She is a firm believer in the far-reaching benefits of lifelong learning and the special role that organisations such as CASA have to play. Her style is collaborative and in her classes you’ll have the opportunity to discuss and share your ideas and insights on the works studied.

Janet studied for her BA in English Literature, MA in Renaissance History and PhD in the art and culture of Habsburg Spain at Birkbeck College (University of London) alongside her job as a commissioning editor in the publishing industry. She has taught courses on aspects of Spanish and Northern Renaissance art and culture for organisations including the U3A, WEA and CASA. She has written and spoken widely on her PhD subject, which was the lives of the court dwarfs in the royal households of 16th- and 17th-century Europe. She also writes fiction, gives talks and teaches creative writing as Jan Ellis.

Dr Paul Redford is a psychologist, educator and a consultant. He is also a Principal Practitioner Business Psychologist, a Senior Fellow of Advance HE and a Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society. Paul is currently an Associate Professor at the University of the West of England, Bristol where he co-leads the MSc in Occupational Psychology. Paul has taught in universities for over 20 years, covering a range of topics including personality, engagement, motivation, positive psychology and research methods. Paul’s research interests focus on the enablers of positive psychological experiences, including creativity, growth, confidence, optimism and well-being. He is particularly interested in the factors that enable individuals to flourish, and help teams and organisations foster cultures that promote personal and professional growth.

Elizabeth has lived in Nailsea since 1991 after spending time in Manchester, Ashby de la Zouche and ten years in South Africa. She has four grown children and eight grandchildren dotted around the UK.

She ​trained as a teacher and has always worked in the education sector. For almost twenty years she worked as an education officer for Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, from 1992 until 2011.

​

Her specialist subjects were the Victorians and the Georgians, though her everyday work was varied and fascinating. At the museum she undertook a variety of roles: working with young people, adults and the elderly, in website development, writing and producing programs for the Port Cities website, designing accessible information for gallery redisplays, design and development for the under fives gallery, called ‘Curiosity’ and designing and delivering work programs, teaching materials and training.

​

She also worked in school, with young people of all ages, delivering learning packages/group learning/training, including researching artefacts, maps, photos and copies of historic documents.

​

The team's role as education officers frequently involved helping teachers cover thought provoking social issues such as the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the role of women etc.

​

Since ‘retiring’ from the museum she has  become a student again, studying NLP and Life Coaching as well as learning the clarinet. Three years ago she  volunteered for a month in Africa then set up two charities in Zambia. Elizabeth is a volunteer with the NT and at the Curzon Cinema, Clevedon.

She is passionate about lifelong learning, and believes we never have to give up looking for new experiences and new opportunities for learning.

Her main role now is as a freelance educationalist, exploring the world and delivering presentations and ‘after dinner talks’ around the West Country.

After studying graphic design and printmaking, Jane worked as art director of fashion magazines in the swinging 70s until she moved out of London to design BBC Wildlife magazine in Bristol. Then she moved into teaching art in schools.

​

Now retired, she practises a variety of art media, from stained glass to printing, always referring to the sketchbooks she has regularly filled since schooldays.

Fiona Slade – DipSFH, HPD, DipNCH, CNHC, enhanced DBS

​

A business consultant for over 20 years in management, communication, people and business development, the focus of Fiona’s work has always been on helping people achieve.  She believes it is important to emphasize the key roles performance and health play in our working and personal lives.  In past years she was joint MD of a successful business consultancy plc.  Work has taken her into many different environments: advertising and promotion, accounting, banking, property and construction, solicitors, charities, education and public services.  Fiona has also studied nutrition, anatomy and physiology, psychology and neuroscience for many years and now combines business skills and consultancy with health and performance.  She is a qualified clinical psychotherapist, and hypnotherapist enabling people, teams and organisations to optimise health, skills and potential.

Please see web site for more details and further workshops www.worklifeconsultants.com and www.healthandhypnotherapy.co.uk

Dr Angie Smith is a freelance art historian. She studied Art History at Leicester University and holds a PhD in cultural history from the Warburg Institute, London University. She spent more than a decade teaching at undergraduate level and also in adult education for Leicester University during which time she also worked as a researcher for the National Inventory of Continental European Paintings.

She is an accredited lecturer for the Arts Society, has written many articles and books, most recently a co-authored history of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and A Timeline for Family Historians published by Pen and Sword. She has led tours across Spain and lectures for cruise companies including Noble Caledonia. She is currently completing a Diploma in Genealogy with the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies. Her historical interests are many and varied.

Chris Sperring MBE may be known to some for his work in Wildlife Conservation for which he was awarded the M.B.E by the Queen in 2001.  Chris also presents on TV and Radio bringing his enthusiasm for the natural world to audiences. Chris also writes many articles, and lectures to many groups on natural history and astronomy.  In his spare time, he writes and records his own music.

​

Chris has had a lifelong passion for the night sky as well and has delivered his easy guide to the night sky for many years. Obviously as new information comes to light this is added into his course and these are indeed exciting times for new discoveries in Astronomy.

Born and bred in Bristol, and now living in Clevedon, Richard holds two degrees in Ancient History as well as a Diploma in History of Art. He was Head of History at Bristol Cathedral School for many years, and has also taught at the University of Bristol in the Department of Archaeology, as well as a number of specialist units for teenagers who do not fit in to mainstream education. He now runs adult education classes and local history guided walks. He is a long-standing Senior Examiner for OCR writing GCSE and A-level exams.

Ben obtained my first degree in Philosophy, Theology and Sociology, then completing a Masters in the Philosophy and Sociology of Culture at Exeter University. After training to be an RE teacher and several years in' the wilderness of' professional sales and consultancy work he returned to HE, completing my Ph.D. in early 2014. His thesis ‘‘Sloppy Thinking’: To What Extent Can Philosophy Contribute to the Public Understanding of Science?’ addresses the relationships between science, philosophy and how these are understood professionally and by the public. This has fed into his work on the philosophy of expertise as well as the philosophy of science.

Currently Ben works as a part-time lecturer at the University of Gloucester and as a course writer/developer/lecturer for the WEA.

Throughout her life, Carol has been keenly interested in people’s rights, particularly women’s rights. She graduated in Science, subsequently working in forensics, industry, teaching and finally as deputy head of a large comprehensive school. In retirement she has reverted to an early love of art, qualifying at Reading University in the History of Art and is an active artist. She has given lectures to adults on a wide range of subjects and has not been afraid to demonstrate for her beliefs, including supporting the Greenham women. Family, art, volunteering, nature and travelling mean that Carol’s life is full and interesting. Carol hopes that she has passed on her beliefs in a fair society to her two daughters and now takes a close interest in the development of her two grandchildren.