I offer a range of talks which can be offered at your venue if is within 50 miles of Colchester.

 

I can bring my own equipment which includes projector, projector stand, screen laptop, sound, leads etc. Alternatively, I can use your equipment if you have it, or mix and our equipment as required.

 

I can also give talks at a venue which I can arrange in or near Colchester or via Zoom or another online video conference platform if you prefer.

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Subject to my availability I can usually do talks at short notice.

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Colchester and History Talks
My Colchester Talks include:
Virtually Colchester

Colchester in Essex is Britain's oldest and newest city. Come with me on a tour of the historic city centre without the need to actually go there!

I will tell you stories that include tales of Celts, Romans, Saxons, Vikings, Normans, the Wool trade, the Civil War, the Georgians, the Victorians, the last century and right up to the present. I will show you the places where they lived, were entertained, fought and worshiped over the last 2000 years.

(Approximately 60 minutes in length.)
A History of Place Names

Place names. We see and use them every day, but how often do we stop and wonder what they mean?

When we do , we normally find that they largely make no sense.

This talk goes through their origins and meanings as well as the fascinating history behind them.

(Approximately 90 minutes in length for the full version, 60 minutes for a partly abridged one.)

A Short History of Place Names

A short version of my A History of Place Names talk.

(Approximately 45 minutes in length.)

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Astronomy Talks

My other interest is Astronomy and I offer talks to Astronomy Clubs or any other audience on the following:
The Astronomers' Guide to Strange Things in the Sky/A Guide to Strange Things in the Sky

(The talk can have either title depending on the audience.)

Have you ever seen something odd in the sky that you can't identify?

Has someone else described such a thing to you and asked if you can workout what it was?

This talk is designed to help people answer these questions by discussing many strange phenomena that can appear in the sky, both natural and artificial, and explaining how they may be mistaken for something apparently inexplicable.

Please note this talk is NOT about flying saucers, plates, soup bowls or any other form of airborne crockery!

(This talk has a lot of audience participation so can be from 45 to 60 minutes in length depending how much discussion there is and how many questions there are.)

Earth - Mostly Harmless

A complete guide to our nearest planet. By looking at how it works, we can also see how we can use this knowledge to understand how other planets work.

(Approximately 90 minutes in length.)

Did they go? - Moon Landing Hoax "evidence" debunked

In an age of rampant conspiracy theories, this talk discusses the "evidence" that is often put forward that the Moon landings were fake and how they can be debunked.

(Approximately 60 minutes in length and includes audience interaction.)
Titan Travel Guide

Titan would be considered a planet if it orbited the Sun. Instead it is a giant moon that goes around the planet Saturn. In some ways it is very Earth like, in others, very alien. In the style of a travel guide, this talk explores one of my favourite objects in the solar system.

(Approximately 45 minutes in length.)
How long is a day?

This talk uses astronomy, history and a bit of physics to show that the answer to this question is nowhere near as straightforward as it may appear!

(Approximately 60 minutes in length.)
Radio Waves

What are radio waves? How do they behave on Earth and in space? This talk will help you to understand this fascinating subject.

(Approximately 60 minutes in length)
Quick tour of the Solar System

Aimed at anyone as an audience, this talk does exactly what it says on the tin!

(Approximately 30 minutes in length.)
Astronomy Basics

An introduction to the fascinating topic of astronomy for those that know nothing about it, but would like to!

(Approximately 60 minutes in length.)

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Contact me to book a talk or to ask for further information