Monthly Speaker Meetings
Monthly Speaker Meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at:-
Burton Joyce and Bulcote Village Hall
Burton Joyce
Nottingham
NG14 5EY
They are followed by refreshments, tea/coffee and cakes. Many of the Group coordinators are also present so if you’re thinking about joining a group can take the opportunity to find more about it from the coordinator in person and you can also able to speak to any member of the Committee as our Chairman and other Committee members always attend.
The meetings start at 1.45 p.m. and members are asked to be seated in good time as late arrivals make it difficult for those sitting near the entrance to hear the announcements.
TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY 2026 – NEIL HALLAM – “FROM POLICEMAN TO CRIME AUTHOR”
An accomplished mountaineer and adventure cyclist, Neil has travelled to some of the world’s most fascinating places, including the Himalayas and the Mongolian Steppe. His police career, in both uniform and as a detective, took some unusual turns. A specialism in CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear) terrorism, involved him in cases like the Alexander Litvinenko assassination and the Salisbury Novichok poisonings. Neil also spent five years leading an anti-corruption team (the real Line of Duty). Already a qualified photo-journalist, Neil’s police and travel experiences led to writing his series of crime thrillers. The subject matter, all adapted from real-world experience, cover diverse subjects, including; people trafficking, nuclear terrorism and the smuggling of rare animals.
Neil’s policing experience, and his ability to turn it into drama, led to commissions as a Police Advisor on TV shows, including Coronation Street and Waterloo Road. His enquiring mind also turned itself to historical research, and a historical novel, based around the iron and coal industries of the Derbyshire village he calls home.
Neil’s talk From Policeman to Crime Writer weaves his real-life experiences through the creation of his 10 books. Explaining the creative process, and where fact meets fiction.
TUESDAY 10TH FEBRUARY 2026 – JOHN TODD – “OUR NHS TODAY”
John studied Physics at university and went on to study applications of physics in medicine, which covers radiation safety, nuclear medicine, calibration of equipment, IT, electronics and imaging. He was appointed head of department at Nottingham City Hospital in 1978 and by the late 1980s had taken on wider management responsibilities including large IT projects. In 1991 he was appointed a Director at Leicester Royal Infirmary, responsible for information, medical records and hitting all the targets aimed at reducing waiting times for patients, and for one year he managed the Glenfield Hospital. He also served on the NHS/BMA committee developing rules for accessing data held in NHS. When he was trained at BBC Nottingham to cope with the media, he was told he had the face, voice and demeanour to deal well with bad news!
The NHS has always been under pressure to meet the demand and needs of patients but over the past 15 years waiting times, and other major issues have increased. This talk explores the reasons, including; population growth, patient expectations, clinical developments and pressures on services in the community, including GP practices. These pressures have been apparent and known for many years, but correcting them is difficult to put into practice. John explains the issues, his big concerns, looks at actions being considered to bring about improvements, and shows how we compare with other comparable countries in terms of facilities and survival from cancer.
TUESDAY 10TH MARCH 2026 – AMANDA HARRIS – “SHE WILL NEVER”
Amanda was born with a sight loss condition but went on to gain a degree and create a successful career
TUESDAY 14TH APRIL 2026 – DAVE ANDREWS – “100 YEARS OF AUNTIE”
Dave, a radio and TV journalist, will give a humorous talk about the BBC.
TUESDAY 12TH MAY 2026 – TIM O’BRIEN – “THE LAST POST AT RAF NEWTON”
Tim is an artist (contestant for 2026 Sky Arts Artist of the Year) Author and Tutor.
TUESDAY 9TH JUNE 2026 – SARA DELLER – “THE SLEEPER TRAIN TO HARIDWAR”
An illustrated talk on Anglo – Indian history.
TUESDAY 14TH JULY 2026 – STEPHEN BOOTH – “THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MURDER”
Steve is a locally based author whose novels based on the detective pairing of Cooper & Fry were screened on Channel 5 in November 2025.
TUESDAY 11TH AUGUST 2026 – PETER SLATER – “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?”
Peter has previously visited us. He is a Radio Sports commentator who was adopted at birth. This is his story about tracing his birth parents.
Social Events
FRIDAY 3rd OCTOBER 2025 – SOCIAL EVENT – KELLYS HEROES – BURTON JOYCE VILLAGE HALL 7:30pm.
A great night with one of the most sought after bands on the circuit. Their repertoire encompassed fast and furious Celtic tunes and songs, gentle ballads, quality contemporary numbers as well as some original material. The band will performed a 2 x 45-minute sets between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
FRIDAY 23RD MAY 2025 AT 7:30 p.m. – BURTON JOYCE VILLAGE HALL
72 members and guests attended our annual quiz on Friday 23rd May, making up 12 teams. Quizmaster Rupert Williams devised 8 rounds of 10 questions, plus a TABLE ROUND worth 20 points,
to be played at the midpoint. Teams were also asked to play a JOKER round, worth double points. The 8 rounds were (loosely) based on our Interest Groups, comprising:-
- Round 1 – HISTORY
- Round 2 – CRAFT & PATCHWORK
- Round 3 – BOARD GAMES
- Round 4 – INTERNATIONAL DINING
- Round 5 – BOOK CLUB
- Round 6 – INFORMATION EXCHANGE
- Round 7 – ARMCHAIR TRAVEL
- Round 8 – DISCUSSION
Teams had to select which round their JOKER would be played on before the quiz began. The TABLE ROUND took inspiration from the TV programme Countdown, being 20 x 9-letter anagrams, which had a lot of us baffled, although one team managed to get a very creditable 14 correct.
The Winners were (team name) “POINTLESS”, who scored 84 points, joint Second place went to “THE WEDNESDAY MURDER CLUB” and “WE’RE RIGHT BEHIND YOU”, both with 82 points, and 4th place on a tie break went to “MISSING MARY” (who was ill and couldn’t make the team unfortunately). Perhaps a little unkindly, the name of the team that won the Wooden Spoons was “BRAINLESS”.
*** “REVIVAL”60s NIGHT – FRIDAY 4TH OCTOBER 2024 ***
Based in Nottingham, Revival have been performing now for over 34 years, entertaining audiences across the country. The group specialise in recreating the sounds of the 1960’s, 70’s and 80s. They are not a tribute band although their aim is to recreate the sound and excitement of the original artistes from that era. Much more info on the band’s website at – http://www.revival-web.com/default.htm
This very successful event was attended by almost 80 members. The comments in our Facebook group the day after included these:-
“What a fabulous, fun evening yesterday, bopping to the music of Revival. A wonderful pick-me-up. Thank you everyone.”
“I had the best time ever, thank you to all those who arranged it.”
“Fantastic evening. We had a great time. Thank you to Rob and all the Committee.”
“It was a great evening. Thank you to all the organisers.”
“Great evening was had by all, really good night – Thanks to Rob Johnson for organising.”