Book Launch and Talks in September

This month, I am delivering talks on three subjects in Hampshire and Sussex. Two old favourites are A Christmas Card From Siberia and Churchill’s Second Darkest Hour. The former describes what life was like for the intrepid people, who served in the British Campaign in Russia towards the end of the First World War. The latter explains how the Former Naval Person (as the Prime Minister referred to himself when corresponding with President Roosevelt) turned around the war in 1942 after the humiliations of Hong Kong, Singapore and Tobruk, which led to a vote of censure in Parliament on 1 July.

The third talk is about a pivotal decade of English History (1830-1840). Much was happening at the beginning of this period, which is replicated today: climate change; a cost of living crisis; civil disturbances; the death of the monarch; violence in Europe; a disastrous harvest; and societal schisms over slavery, child labour and feudal taxes. However, by the end of the decade, England had turned a corner with a new sense of optimism and a growing economy based on innovation and production.

This talk is based on the research for my new publication, Where East Meets West, which will be launched on 8 September. It has Forewords by the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire and the BBC Series Producer of Planet Earth and Blue Planet, as well as an Afterword by an award-winning Times journalist. The book will be available from P&G Wells in Winchester, or by messaging me on this website.