Poetry in the Bookshop – Stamford
Saturday 14th September, 12th October and 9th November
Come along to our bookshop in Stamford from 10.30 on Saturday morning, to join in the fun with the Stamford poets.
Feel free to ask for a favourite
poem, read one yourself or just listen and soak in the atmosphere.
These are always very friendly and relaxed mornings and they are completely free of charge too.
If you are in town in Saturday don’t forget to pop in and say
hello.
Sex, Spies and Scandal: The John Vassall Affair – Alex Grant Author Event
Stamford Arts Centre
Thursday 26th September @ 19:30
We are delighted to be selling books for Alex Grant and the Stamford Arts Centre at their exciting event.
“Local author Alex Grant talks about his new book which sheds new light on a Soviet spy scandal that rocked early 1960s Britain. John Vassall, an Admiralty clerk, was photographed in compromising positions while working at the British embassy in Moscow in 1954, and then blackmailed into handing over defence secrets to his Soviet handlers for more than seven years.
Despite having been drugged and then raped by the KGB in Moscow, as a gay man John Vassall was shown no mercy by the British press, or the courts after his arrest in 1962. Sentenced to eighteen years in jail, he served ten years despite telling MI5 everything about his spying.
With access to newly released MI5 files, this is an explosive tale of sexual violence, betrayal, conspiracy, snobbery, homophobia and hypocrisy that blows open some of the British establishment’s darkest secrets. The Vassall affair also has an intriguing connection to the Stamford area….”
For more information and to book tickets, please visit their website: https://www.stamfordartscentre.com/…/sex-spies…/13475
Stamford Lecture – Will Gompertz
Stamford School
Thursday 3rd October @ 19:00
We are delighted to be continuing in our role as bookseller for the fantastic Stamford Lectures Series…
Their next talk is from the very fascinating Will Gompertz, do visit their website to get your tickets now: https://stamfordschools.org.uk/news-events/lecture-series
Will Gompertz is the author of a layman’s guide to 150 years of modern art, What Are You Looking At?, See What You’re Missing: 31 Ways Artists Notice the World: and How You Can Too, and Think Like an Artist, a manual to help anyone think creatively, be productive and be fulfilled by work. He has also written on the arts for The Times and The Guardian and even wrote and performed a show at the Edinburgh Fringe called Double Art History. He is the Director of Arts and Learning at The Barbican. Prior to this role, he served as the Director of Tate Media, where he was instrumental in developing the institution’s award-winning online presence and Tate Etc., the UK’s highest-circulation art magazine.
Before joining Tate, Will had a diverse career, including roles in stage management, television production, and short film distribution. He founded the DVD-magazine Shots, covering international short films and commercial promo films, and established a dedicated arts TV production company creating programmes for Channel 4 and ITV.
Will is set to deliver a thought-provoking and informative talk on the world of art and creativity. Including, tales from his time in broadcasting, whether it’s mispronouncing the subject’s name in an obituary, or interviewing superstars from Mick Jagger to Damian Hurst and Meryl Streep.
Henry Normal and Nigel Planer
Stamford Corn Exchange Theatre
Wednesday 16th October @ 19:30
We are delighted to have been asked to sell books for the Corn Exchange’s event with Henry Normal and Nigel Planer. We can’t wait to see you there…
“Nigel Planer is a comedy legend, an actor, writer and more importantly for this show he’s a great poet. He joins Henry Normal, BBC Radio 4’s ‘poet in reticence’ to reunite a team that entertains, educates and informs (but mostly entertains it must be said). Expect poetry, stories, jokes, Q & A, fun, knitwear and a few surprises.”
For more information and to book your ticket, please visit: https://www.stamfordcornexchange.co.uk/henry-normal-and-nigel-planer/
An Evening With Jerry Brotton
Burghley House
Wednesday 16th October, starting at 18:00
We are really excited to be selling books for Jerry Brotton at his event at Burghley House, in conjunction with Handheld Events.
To get your tickets please visit Burghley House’s website: https://burghley.co.uk/events/jerry-brotton
Jerry Brotton is a British historian, professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary University of London, a television and radio presenter and a curator. His many books include This Orient Isle: Elizabethan England and the Islamic World, winner of the Historical Writer’s Association non-fiction crown, a Waterstone’s book of the year, and serialised on Radio 4; the bestselling and award winning A History of the World in 12 Maps; and The Sale of the Late King’s Goods: Charles I and His Art Collection, which was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize. He has written and presented numerous TV and radio programmes for BBC4, Radio 3, Radio 4 and the BBC World Service.
Set in Burghley House, one of the grandest houses of the Tudor period, Jerry will take us on a journey of exploration and discovery. Jerry and the Burghley head curator Jon Culverhouse will explore the Treasures from the East exhibition, including rarely seen priceless treasures collected over the centuries, to exploration of fascinating journeys of history, material culture, trade, and east-west relations through time.
Here’s a little taster of his recent Books:
This Orient Isle
In 1570, after plots and assassination attempts against her, Elizabeth I was excommunicated by the Pope. It was the beginning of cultural, economic and political exchanges with the Islamic world of a depth not again experienced until the modern age.
The Four Points of the Compass (published 4 September 2024)
Takes the reader on a journey of directional discovery. Jerry Brotton reveals why Hebrew culture privileges east; why Renaissance Europeans began drawing north at the top of their maps; why the early Islam revered the south; why the Aztecs used five colour-coded cardinal directions; and why no societies, primitive or modern, have ever orientated themselves westwards.
Takes the reader on a journey of directional discovery. Jerry Brotton reveals why Hebrew culture privileges east; why Renaissance Europeans began drawing north at the top of their maps; why the early Islam revered the south; why the Aztecs used five colour-coded cardinal directions; and why no societies, primitive or modern, have ever orientated themselves westwards.
Draw With Rob Biddulph: I Follow the Fox
Curve Theatre – Leicester
Thursday 24th October @ 14:15
We are so excited to announce that we will be hosting Rob Biddulph for one of his world famous ‘Draw with Rob’ sessions at Curve Theatre Leicester on 24th October.
We can’t wait to see you there!!
Tickets are available at https://www.curveonline.co.uk/…/draw-with-rob-biddulph…/
For more information, please visit the dedicated event page on our website: https://walkersbookshops.co.uk/draw-with-rob-biddulph-i…/