What’s On

An open mic event for local writers and poets Join us to hear local poets and writers read and perform their work. To sign up to participate please contact us ... Poetry Slam with Angie Porter

How do you welcome someone new into your home and heart? A week before Christmas 2022, former BBC journalist and award-nominated podcaster Rory Cellan-Jones received a special delivery that changed the course of his life. This is the story of #SophieFromRomania, told in full for the first time.In January 2022, the Cellan-Jones-Coyle family said goodbye ... Rory Cellan-Jones – Sophie From Romania

John Suchet, previously well-known TV news reporter and newscaster and now regular presenter on Classic FM, is an acknowledged authority on Ludwig van Beethoven. He has written seven books on the subject and sold over 23,000 copies of Beethoven: The Man Revealed. His latest release, In Search of Beethoven, stands apart as a deeply personal ... John Suchet – In Search of Beethoven: A Personal Journey

The legendary ‘Red Devils’ were among the finest combat troops of the Second World War. Created at Churchill’s instigation in June 1940, they began as a single parachute battalion of 500 men and grew into three 10,000-strong airborne divisions: the 1st, 6th and 44th Indian, each composed of parachutists and glider-borne troops. Wearing their distinctive ... Saul David – Sky Warriors

12 Midday Sunday 13 October 2024 During this walk the Chairman and Academic Director of the Thomas Hardy Society, Mark Damon Chutter, will guide you through Dorchester and Fordington to explore the world of architect, writer and poet Thomas Hardy (1840–1928), the  Dorset dialect poet and philologist, William Barnes (1801–1886), and the LGBT pioneer Sylvia ... Wessex Writers – A Literary Walk

In the words of the late Gillian Ayres, this is a book about “what can be done with painting.” Drawing on decades of conversations with practicing painters, acclaimed author Martin Gayford offers intimate insight into the practice, meaning, and potential of this timeless medium. As a way of making images, pigment applied to any surface ... Martin Gayford – How Painting Happens (and why it matters)

An introduction to the wondrous world of clouds, by the internationally bestselling founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society and a prize-winning children's book author and illustrator.Have you ever watched a cloud being born?Clouds come in all manner of shapes and sizes, from low-lying Stratus to high-flying Cirrus via roll clouds, banner clouds and tornados. This ... Gavin Pretor-Pinney – Cloud Spotting For Beginners

Those who understand how AI thinks are about to win big. Leading British AI entrepreneur Nigel Toon explains why it’s so exciting and how it can be controlled. How AI Thinks shows us how we can harness the electrifying intelligence of machines. Unlike other books on AI which often scare us, through storytelling that shows ... Nigel Toon – How AI Thinks

A Doctor’s Stories of Intensive Care Dr Jim Down brings us to the very heart of the intensive care unit – the section of the hospital where the sickest patients are brought to be cared for until their condition improves. With honesty, humility and a streak of dark humour, Dr Down describes the quietly heroic ... Jim Down – Life in the Balance

The compelling first biography of Wilfred ‘Biffy’ Dunderdale – a ruthless and effective spymaster whose career spanned the Russian Revolution to the Cold War and beyond. A Suspicion of Spies is filled with stories of adventure, bravery,and glamour, revealing the complicated intrigues of the world of British intelligence. A lifelong friend of Ian Fleming,Biffy is ... Tim Spicer – A Suspicion of Spies

Drawing on writers, storytellers and poets through the centuries, botanical illustrator Christina Hart-Davies examines the long history of herbal remedies, how plants have been used for healing and the beliefs that surround them, including simple recipes for use at home, in an enchanting, illustrated guide to the seasonal plants used as herbal remedies over the ... Christina Hart Davies and Vanessa Berridge – A Herbal Year and Garden Heaven

Anne Somerset masterfully traces Victoria’s political evolution, from headstrong teenager to seasoned octogenarian. This book demonstrates her passionate involvement in state affairs, and casts fresh light on her relationships with her ten prime ministers. Victoria herself acknowledged that when it came to ‘likes and dislikes’ of her prime ministers, ‘she had them very strongly’. She ... Anne Somerset – Queen Victoria and her Prime Ministers

Former Royal Marine, Major Scotty Mills, blends personal experiences from his remarkable life with inspirational advice and insights to provide his 12 Commando Rules for Life that could help anyone to do better and reach their targets. A sudden downpour while Scotty Mills was walking down a street in South London sent him diving for ... Scotty Mills – Never Give In

It should have an easy victory. After triumph in Tunisia, the sweeping success of the Sicilian invasion, and with Italy finally knocked out of the war, the Allies were confident that they would be in Rome before Christmas 1943. And yet it didn't happen. Hitler ordered his forces to dig in, thus setting the stage ... James Holland – Cassino ’44

In her irresistible new novel, Sunday Times No 1 bestselling author Victoria Hislop shines a light on the questionable acquisition of cultural treasures and the price people – and countries – will pay to cling on to them. Of all the ancient art that captures the imagination, none is more appealing than the Cycladic figurine. An air ... Victoria Hislop – The Figurine

What is the nature of things? Must I think my own way through the world? What is justice? How can I be me? How should we treat each other? Prize-winning and bestselling writer Adam Nicolson travels through the transforming world of ancient Greece and asks what light its thinkers can throw on our deepest preconceptions. ... Adam Nicolson – How to Be

Political change is coming. But the new Westminster government’s inheritance looks grim. We’re all in it together, the Tories used to say. But they look set to bequeath sharp social divisions, vastly increased inequality, a stagnant economy and unfulfilled commitments on climate change – and all this at a time of unprecedented international tension. The ... Polly Toynbee and David Walker – The Only Way is Up

We need land for so many of humanity’s growing needs, such as food, renewable energy, carbon storage and housing. Traditionally, we’ve stolen it from nature, but this has led to a mounting toll of extinction and pollution that is now punishing us. So, as there’s no land left to take, how do we get more ... Tom Heap – Land Smart

A funny, touching, challenging and campaigning book about our prisons' crisis by the Sunday Times bestselling author of A Bit of a Stretch. British prisoners have to endure the most inhumane and barbaric conditions imaginable, so why do so many of them keep going back? 80% of criminals who receive cautions or convictions are reoffenders.46% ... Chris Atkins – Time After Time

On 6 June 1924, George Mallory donned an oxygen set and set off for the summit of Everest with his young partner Andrew Irvine. Two days later they were glimpsed through clouds heading upwards, but after that, they were never seen again. Whether they died on the way up or on the way down no ... Mick Conefrey – Fallen

This authoritative biography by Tom Baldwin provides answers by drawing deeply on many hours of interviews with the Labour leader himself, as well as unprecedented access to members of his family, his oldest friends and closest colleagues. Together, they tell an unexpectedly intimate story filled with feelings of grief and love that has driven him ... Tom Baldwin – Keir Starmer, The Biography