All our talks begin promptly at 2.30pm except where shown. After the talk we hold a raffle and we serve tea, coffee and biscuits. We'll usually finish by 4.00pm.

We make a small charge to cover our costs. This is £3.00 for members and £4.00 for non-members. We can take contactless payments, so that you have more small change to buy your raffle tickets.

There is no need to book for our talks - just turn up (and feel free to bring your friends).

The talks usually take place at one of two venues:

Swanage -We meet in the hall of All Saints Church, Ulwell Road BH19 1LL. There is a lay-by in front of the church and a small car park at the side. There is also usually plenty of space to park on-street nearby. Buses stop outside. Click here for a map.

 

Wareham - We meet in Carey Hall, in Mistover Road, BH20 4BY, where there is ample FREE parking. Nearest bus stop is Wareham Station, about 300 yards away. On foot or by car, leave the station roundabout on Bere Road, turn immediately left onto Carey Road. Mistover Road is first right after 200 yards. The entrance to the Hall is between houses about 70 yards on the right hand side

Click here for a map.

We sometimes leave some past talks on this page to give an idea of the range of topics that we cover.

Details

Tuesday 17 September

Swanage

Up in Arms - Bonny Sartin, founder member of The Yetties, talks about songs of servicemen at the sharp end of conflict. They wrote, adapted and sang songs to celebrate, distract, satirise and ridicule; from centuries of war – Redcoats to WW2 - a mix of the funny, witty, poignant and sarcastic.
All told and sung with Bonny’s easy manner and infectious humour.

Thursday 17 October

Wareham 

The Chess Club Murder - In 1931 Julia Wallace was found bludgeoned to death. This seemed to have happened while her husband was out, lured away by a hoax phone call. Retired detective Paul Stickler takes us through the case as it was investigated by Liverpool Police at the time. At the end he will leave it to us decide who was and wasn’t guilty of murder in this most perplexing of cases.

Tuesday 19 November

Swanage

Arte-facts - A Layperson's Guide to Metal detecting - Join accomplished Metal Detectorists Karen Brown and Keith Brown (no relation) for an intriguing and informative talk about this fascinating hobby. They will tell you all you need to know and much more; they’ll talk about treasure finds, the law, what you might find and where, and about detectors and the hobby in general

They will have a large selection of artefacts for you to see and enjoy.

Thursday 16 January

Wareham 

From Cows to Carats - Amy Brenan takes us on her journey from being an agricultural auctioneer to an established jeweller, now at Heirlooms in Wareham. Her story is a very interesting, unusual and amusing one. She will bring various examples of jewellery from different centuries and countries, and containing stones and metals that illustrate their value. She will brighten up a January day with tales and sparkles, what could be better?

This isn’t a valuation day, but if you have an interesting (not necessarily valuable) item of jewellery, bring it along, and if there’s time, Amy will tell us all about it.

Tuesday 18 February

Swanage

World War II in Studland - Pam White is known to many of us for her long service working with the National Trust in Purbeck. Now retired, her new talk is about Studland which is loved today for its sandy beaches and as part of a National Nature Reserve. In WWII however, it became one of the most important Battle Training areas for thousands of troops, many destined for D-Day. Pam has taken a fresh look at the Bankes Archive and Canadian & British War Diaries revealing hitherto unknown stories from that time.

Thursday 20 March

Wareham 

Details to be announced

Brent Shore, our planned speaker, now has a commitment that wasn't foreseeable at the time we planned his talk. H'e'll now talk to us later in 2025.

Details of his replacement will be here soon.