Photo: Alan Murray-Rust / Hansom Hall, Belvoir Street / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Annual Members' Meeting, is open to all members of the Lit&Phil. The meeting will start at 6:40 PM. The Annual Members Meeting will be followed by a concert by the Bardi Trio: Robert Calow - Clarinet, David Calow - Flute and Marguerite Beatson - Piano.

The Annual Members' Meeting is an opportunity to hear about, and discuss, the Society’s business and plans for the 2025/26 season, as well as any other matters which members wish to raise.

Corinne seated by Wordsworth Museum - copyright Gary Calton

Professor Corinne Fowler MA PhD Professor of Colonialism and Heritage, Museum Studies, University of Leicester.

Lecture outline

In this talk, Professor Fowler entwines local and global stories in illustrated journeys to show how Empire profoundly shaped the British countryside.

Biographical note

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in Hansom Hall - how to find Hansom Hall.

Please note that tea and coffee drinks will be available between 7.00pm and 7.15pm before the formal start of the event at 7.30pm.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.

Lecture outline

Biographical note

Chair of Medicine | University College London and Chief Scientific Officer & Chief Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation. He was formerly Director of the NIHR University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Biomedical Research Centre, and Director of Research at UCLH (2012-2023). He worked in Leicester as a Physician from 1984 and succeeded John Swales as Professor of Medicine in Leicester in 1996. He left Leicester to join UCL as Chair of Medicine in 2012. With 40 yrs experience as a front-line NHS Physician, he continues to work in the NHS as a Consultant Physician at UCLH, with a specialist clinical interest in hypertension in which he is one of the world’s leading authorities. He was previously Chairman of the European Council on Hypertension (2016-18) President of the British Hypertension Society (2001-2003) and President of the International Society of Hypertension (2022 - 2024). His selection as Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences is recognition that he is one of the UK’s leading clinical scientists. The Clarivate listings have consistently recognised him as one of the worlds' most influential clinical scientists based on citations of his work.

He has published extensively in major medical and scientific journals and has led,, or contributed to, many pivotal clinical trials in hypertension and cardiovascular medicine that have changed clinical practice. He serves on the Board of the British Heart Foundation and as a Trustee for two UK Charities; including In2Science, a charity supporting mentoring for talented young people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, akin to his own, to increase their chances of studying science at UK’s leading Universities. In 2023, he was awarded the President's Medal by the Royal College of Physicians London for outstanding service to the NHS. In the King's New Years Honours 2024, he was awarded an OBE for services to medicine.

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in Hansom Hall - how to find Hansom Hall.

Please note that tea and coffee drinks will be available between 7.00pm and 7.15pm before the formal start of the event at 7.30pm.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.

Details to follow.

Lecture outline

Jane Austen’s novels are famous for their depiction of human character as revealed through the practice of conversation. From the verbal sparring of Pride and Prejudice to the dangerous wit of Emma, from the dramatic disclosures of Sense and Sensibility to the ‘dead silence’ of Mansfield Park, or in the gradual intimations of Persuasion, Austen’s novels depict a world in which speech matters.

By making some comparisons with the with her sister authors in late eighteenth-century, revolutionary Europe, I will aim to illuminate Austen’s investment in the moral force of conversation and her lasting contribution to the history of the novel as a critical tool in defining modern notions of culture, education and freedom of speech.

Biographical note

Elizabeth Eger is Reader Emerita, King’s College London. She has published widely on various eighteenth- century topics, including Luxury, Bluestockings and the history of collecting. She is currently completing a biography of Elizabeth Montagu, Queen of the Bluestockings.

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in Hansom Hall - how to find Hansom Hall.

Please note that tea and coffee drinks will be available between 7.00pm and 7.15pm before the formal start of the event at 7.30pm.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.

Image courtesy of the speaker

Lecture sponsored by Loughborough University Nanu Badu BEM, DUniv Loughborough CEO & Founder of BADU

Lecture outline

This talk explores "The Badu Way"—a values-led approach that uses sport and community empowerment as tools for meaningful behaviour change and positive life outcomes. Centered on the principles of unlearning harmful beliefs and adopting new, constructive mindsets, the session will highlight how individuals can break cycles of disadvantage through purpose-driven engagement. Drawing from real experiences and practices within the Badu community, the talk will show how sport, mentorship, and community support can create environments where growth, self worth, and leadership thrive.

Biographical note

Nana Badu is the founder and CEO of BADU. BADU is a social impact organisation that uses Sports, Education and Health to achieve positive outcomes for the underserved groups. 

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in Hansom Hall - how to find Hansom Hall.

Please note that tea and coffee drinks will be available between 7.00pm and 7.15pm before the formal start of the event at 7.30pm.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.

Lecture outline

Plastic is vilified as the environmental baddie with many advocating for banning it altogether. This talk will look at the environmental impact of polymers and the consider whether they have any redeeming features. Should they be banned – or at least severely limited? Or should we embrace them as saviours of the planet?

Biographical note

Averil Macdonald is Emeritus Professor at the University of Reading, was formerly Professor of Inclusion and Equality at University of Birmingham and has now joined Cornerstone, University of Southampton, as EDI Lead.

Averil was awarded the international Bragg Medal and Prize (1999) by the Institute of Physics, London, the accolade of Woman of Outstanding Achievement in Science (2007) in recognition of her work in Science Communication, the prestigious Plastics Industry Award for Personal Contribution to the Industry (2007), Honorary Doctorates by the University of York (2010) and Kingston University (2015) and an OBE in the Birthday Honours list 2015 for services to women in science. Most recently she was elected Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Physics in recognition of lifetime achievement encouraging diversity in Physics.

From 2019-2021 Averil was Master of the Worshipful Company of Fuellers in the City of London working alongside HRH Prince Edward the Earl of Wessex as Royal Master. Throughout her time as she championed future energy solutions to decarbonise the UK, with a particular emphasis on using hydrogen. Averil was Chair of the Board of UKOOG, the professional association for UK Onshore Oil and Gas industry, advocating decarbonising natural gas to generate blue hydrogen.

Averil’s other focus is supporting underrepresented groups in STEM careers. She was a member of the Women’s Business Council, advising the UK Government, sat on the board of Directors of WISE, (the Campaign for Women in Science and Engineering), and has served as a Trustee of the Science Museum Group, a Director of the Cheltenham Festivals and sat on the Court of Imperial College.

At international Level Averil represented the UK at the 2016 G7 Summit in Japan on Women in Business, has chaired Forum for Physics in Society in the European Physical Society and sat on the EU Helsinki Group for Gender in Research and Innovation advising the EU Commission on gender issues.

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in Hansom Hall - how to find Hansom Hall.

Please note that tea and coffee drinks will be available between 7.00pm and 7.15pm before the formal start of the event at 7.30pm.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.

Image courtesy of the speaker

Professor Raghavendra Rau MBA MSc PhD Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance, Cambridge Judge Business School University of Cambridge and former Mercer’s School Memorial Professor of Business Gresham College.

Lecture outline

AI is very much in the news today. But what is AI? How do large language models work? What are the data and energy requirements for AI? And what can be the dark side of AI? This lecture will attempt to address all these topics.

Biographical note

Professor Rau is the Sir Evelyn de Rothschild Professor of Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School. He has also held the Gresham Chair in business at Gresham College and the Ambank Chair of Financial Services at the Universiti Malaya. He is the incoming President of the Financial Management Association, a past president of the European Finance Association, and a past editor of Financial Management. He is a founder and director of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) and a research member of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI). He also serves on the editorial boards of several journals including Management Science, the Journal of Corporate Finance, and the Journal of Banking and Finance,  among others. His research has frequently been covered by the popular press including the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Economist.

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in Hansom Hall - how to find Hansom Hall.

Please note that tea and coffee drinks will be available between 7.00pm and 7.15pm before the formal start of the event at 7.30pm.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.

Details to follow.

Image courtesy of the speaker  (credit Lois Wendon)

Natural History Section Joint Lecture Dr George McGavin PhD FLS Hon FRES Hon FBNA Hon FRSB Hon RSGS Zoologist, Author, Broadcaster

Lecture outline

Insects are the most diverse and successful group of animals on Earth. They are an essential component of every terrestrial and aquatic food chain- without them the world would be a very different place. But insects have a dark side - they have changed the short course of human history by killing hundreds of millions of people and destroying their crops.

Biographical note

George McGavin studied Zoology at Edinburgh University, followed by a PhD in entomology at Imperial College and the Natural History Museum in London. After 30 years as an academic, mostly at Oxford University, he became an award-winning broadcaster. George is an Honorary Research Associate of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and an Honorary Principal Research Fellow at Imperial College. In 2019 George became the President of the Dorset Wildlife Trust. 

Recent books

The Hidden World (2024) Welbeck Hachette

The Good Bug (2024) Michael O'Mara Books

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in Hansom Hall - how to find Hansom Hall.

Please note that tea and coffee drinks will be available between 7.00pm and 7.15pm before the formal start of the event at 7.30pm.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.

Images courtesy of the speaker

The Geology Section Joint Lecture Professor Mike Searle PhD  Emeritus Professor of Earth Sciences Worcester College University of Oxford

Lecture outline

The talk will discuss how we can unravel tectonic processes of mountain building by looking at the geology of the Himalaya (mainly in Ladakh, Zanskar, and Nepal) and the Karakoram (north Pakistan).

Biographical note

Professor Searle is Emeritus Professor of Earth Sciences and a Fellow of Worcester College at the University of Oxford.

Over the past 30 years he has undertaken field-based geological research in the Himalaya, carrying out numerous treks and climbs in the Annapurna region, as well as the Manaslu, Ganesh, Langtang, Everest and Makalu regions of Nepal and Tibet. He has published numerous books and scientific papers on the geology of the Himalaya, Karakoram and Tibet.

Awarded the Murchison Medal of the Geological Society of London (2008), he was elected as a Foreign Fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences (2014) and in to the Academia Europea (2018). In 2025 he was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Nepal Geological Society.

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in Hansom Hall - how to find Hansom Hall.

Please note that tea and coffee drinks will be available between 7.00pm and 7.15pm before the formal start of the event at 7.30pm.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.

Lecture outline

The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, is approaching its 150th anniversary. Now part of the National Museums Liverpool group, it first opened in 1877. Often called the National Gallery of the North, the Walker has a long history of acquiring art for the city, supporting contemporary practice while at the same time building an outstanding historic collection of fine and decorative arts. This lecture will explore some of the key moments in this significant history, considering how the Gallery has developed its collection while remembering its role as the local art gallery. It will also consider how a Gallery founded 150 years ago can remain relevant, young and vital for today’s visitors.

Biographical note

Sandra has been Director of Collections and Research at National Museums Liverpool (NML) since 2024. She has oversight of NML’s seven public venues, their collections and curatorial teams, and the Collections Care and Research departments. She has been a member of NML’s Executive Leadership Team since 2018, responsible for the strategic management of the organisation with 650 staff and over 4 million collection items. Sandra has been involved in several major collection redisplays, capital schemes and over 30 exhibition projects, including three international tours. Sandra joined NML in 1989 as an assistant curator in fine art at the Walker Art Gallery before moving on to work in art galleries education, capital project management and venue management. All at NML.

Sandra studied History of Art at the Sainsbury Centre, University of East Anglia, has a Masters Degree in Medieval Studies from the University of Liverpool and a postgraduate diploma in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester.

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in Hansom Hall - how to find Hansom Hall.

Please note that tea and coffee drinks will be available between 7.00pm and 7.15pm before the formal start of the event at 7.30pm.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.

Lecture outline

In this lavishly illustrated lecture, Alastair Fothergill recalls nearly forty years of close collaboration with Sir David that took them both from the North Pole to the South Pole, and many other global locations

Biographical note

Alastair Fothergill, WWF Ambassador, is a director and co-founder of Silverback Films . Recent productions include Sir David Attenborough’s “Wild Isles’ and ‘Our Planet” for Netflix. Alastair is behind 5 of the top 10 grossing natural history cinema films ever. Alastair joined the BBC Natural History Unit in 1983 and was appointed Head of the Unit in November 1992, aged 32. Alastair’s collaborations with Sir David include ‘The Trials of Life’, ‘Life in the Freezer’, ‘The Blue Planet’, ‘Frozen Planet’, ‘Planet Earth’ and its companion feature film ‘Earth’ In November 2012 Alastair left the BBC to set up his own production company Silverback Films. Alastair is a fellow of the Royal Television Society and of the Royal Geographic Society, who awarded him their gold medal in 2012. He has honorary doctorates from the University of Durham, Bristol, Hull and York St. John.

Attending the lecture

The lecture is open both to members of the Society and to guests.

The lecture will take place in Hansom Hall - how to find Hansom Hall.

Please note that tea and coffee drinks will be available between 7.00pm and 7.15pm before the formal start of the event at 7.30pm.

The lecture will also be streamed on Zoom. A recording of the lecture may be available to members only.