Talk
Surviving the Blitz
(London in WW2)
In WW2, Londoners were subjected night after night to heavy bombing during the Blitz. How did they handle this experience and deal with the grief of losing homes and loved ones? With a specific focus on the East End of London, Danny Wells will explore the impact of the bombing on these communities.
SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER 2026 (2pm sharp)
St Matthias Community Centre
113 Poplar High Street. E14 OAE
(Tel: 020 7987 0459. email: st.matthias@hotmail.co.uk)
A talk by Danny Wells ‘Breathing Life into History’
(www.history-talks.co.uk)
This is a free event with no need to book
(but charitable donations for the Centre most welcome).
Historic Venue-ex East India Chapel.
Getting there-
TUBE: Poplar or All Saints
BUS: 15, 115, D6, D7, D8
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Residential Course
THE LOVE OF
GARDENING & GARDENS
WEDNESDAY 21 – FRIDAY 23 OCTOBER 2026
Young Lady in a Conservatory’. Jane Maria Bowkett,1870-80 (Wikimedia commons)
This course offers a series of talks exploring the social history and art associated with gardens and gardening in Britain. The primary focus will be on the extraordinary developments experienced in Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian Britain and will finish with the love of nature and gardening in the First World War.
Higham Hall, Bassenthwaite Lake, Cumbria CA13 9SH
For further details, contact Higham Hall (017687 76276)
www.highamhall.com
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Course Content:
1. The English and Gardening
(A social history of an English obsession)
Gardening continues to be hugely popular in modern day Britain. This talk explores the development of gardening and the meanings and symbolism invested in gardens. The focus is Georgian and Victorian England and the first half of the 20th century.
2. Art of the Garden
One Hundred Years of Gardens in British Art (c. 1850-1950)
British gardens have proved to be a rich source of inspiration for artists. This is a celebration and appreciation of paintings of gardens in the Victorian age and first half of the 20th century. The symbolism explored within the paintings shines a light on society, culture and style.
3. Art of Flowers
Flowers accompany us in every major event in life–birth, marriage, holidays, graduations, illness, and finally death. Since antiquity, flowers have had symbolic meaning. This illustrated talk is an appreciation of the representation of flowers in art, exploring symbolism, meanings and the language of flowers.
4. ‘A Garden within Doores’
Houseplants and arranged cut flowers have historically played an important role in homemaking both aesthetically and symbolically. This talk explores the history of the changing fashions and tastes of plants and flowers in the home in Georgian and Victorian Britain and the first half of the 20th century.
5. Allotments
A brief social history of allotments. They somehow combine function and practicalities with romanticism, with an air of times past yet perfectly in tune with modern day.
6. Nature & Gardening in World War 1
Reflections on the relationship between nature, gardening and remembrance in the First World War.
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