It wouldn't be Christmas without a bit of Charles Dickens now would it? The Christmas Carol is a firm staple when it comes to festive classics! This season you can learn all about Dickens and his connection to Manchester in a free online talk this December.
If the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future don't scare you then maybe these haunted talks will! You can join a online haunted ghost walk through Coventry on December 9th and Peter Lawrence's talk on the Ghostly and Unexplained takes place 10th of December.
So get into the festive spirit - no pun intended! - as Corinne Jones shares with us a fantastic selection of fascinating talks this Christmas.
1st December at 6.15pm Prague’s Jewish Town
Prague City Adventures are proud to present Prague’s Jewish Town with a rich history going back to the 13th century. Prague City Adventures will talk about its secrets and the people who lived there and were buried at the world-famous Old Jewish Cemetery. They will see the oldest active synagogue in the world. In additon they will also talk about other synagogues that had vanished during historical events and we'll also see those that were changed to museums or memorials.
1st December at 2.00 pm Charles Dickens in Manchester
Learn all about Charles Dickens, Britain’s most celebrated novelist, who came to Manchester 19 times, taking the platform at a fund-raiser in October 1843 for the Athenaeum alongside such reformers and notables as Benjamin Disraeli and Richard Cobden.
Did you know he based the character of Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol on the son of a friend who owned an Ardwick mill.
8th December at 2pm Divine proportion in art
For thousands of years the mystery of the Golden Section has inspired thinkers from all disciplines - from artists to architects, from mathematicians to musicians and many more.
Join Alexandra Epps, Arts Society Lecturer to discover the secrets of its sacred geometry and perfect beauty within creations from the classical to the contemporary.
9th December 10.30am online haunted ghost walk through Coventry
Join Morbid & Macabre Walking Tours for a gory online talk about tales featuring hauntings, ghosts, hangings and executions in Coventry.
10th December 2.15pm. Ghostly and Unexplained talk
Join Peter Lawrence's final talk of 2022 about a selection of unexplained feelings, sightings and experiences, featuring locations in London and the surrounding countryside. This will include an episode that Peter once experiences in an abandoned country house, close to the M25.
11th December at 4.00 pm Christmas with the Tudors
Our Christmas traditions are very different from those in the past. How did it look like in Tudors' times? Did they have Christmas tree, presents turkey? Join a very special tour and find out.
12th December 6 pm Red Sky at Night
Talking about the weather is a national obsession here in the UK. Come wind or snow, rain or shine, we've got something to say about it. With the growing climate crisis, the change in conditions also shows how much we're at the mercy of the weather, much like our forebears. Yet they had a plethora of sayings, superstitions, and practices to both predict and try to influence the weather to help provide a degree of control over the uncontrollable. This talk will explore the fascinating world of weather folklore, including a famous charm intended to make it rain...and stop again!
December 12th at 6.30pm Chinese singing workshop
Singer, storyteller and teacher Fong Liu invites you to join our special singing session - in Chinese! You'll learn how to sing a well-known and easy song in Chinese Mandarin.
The participants will learn:
- Christmas themed phrases and songs in Mandarin
Learn new words, explore a different culture and express yourself through music
December 16th at 7.30pm Exploring the invisible cosmos
Did you know that just a century ago, the Milky Way was the entire Universe? Astonishing really, when today there are likely more galaxies in the observable Universe than stars in our home galaxy. In this talk, astronomer and science communicator Dr Jenifer Millard will take us through the fascinating history of galactic discovery, before exploring these “Island Universes” through the lens of infrared light and cosmic dust. By the end, you’ll be just as obsessed with the invisible universe as Dr Jen.
16th December at 6.30pm Lovers Rock 50 Sounds, Words and Sing along
Hear the sounds from 50 years of UK Lovers Rock, spun by DJ Lady Juicy, interspersed with short contributions by artists and producers talking about the history and their contributions, followed by windows for sing-alongs led by you, from the comfort of your home!
fascinating love all the great stuff on here Corinne.Online ghost walk sounds amazing