Where I’ll be speaking over the next few months

NEXT WEEK:

28 February – I am speaking (brought forward from 27 March) about Passenger Pigeons (and I expect other things too). Venue: The Free Church, Market Hill, St. Ives PE27 5AL. Start:7.30 pm (door opens at 7.15 pm). Entrance: Free to local group members. Non-group members:
£5 adult, £2 student, £1 under 18s.

 

Coming later:

10 April – Frieth Village Hall, starts 7pm A talk on what wildlife needs. Tickets £8 in advance https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/markavery

13 April – Welshpool, all day event, Improving Habitats for Wildlife, where I believe I’m kicking things off with a talk about what wildlife needs https://www.montwt.co.uk/events/2024-04-13-improving-habitats-wildlife

 

Recent talks:

25 January 2024 Calstock Arts, Cornwall. This is a great venue even if it is quite a long way from almost everywhere. But the organisers are friendly, the audience of nearly 90 folk was friendly too. For a speaker, the share of the gate receipts is more generous than most and that’s important if you are travelling a long way (and fair too – if a speaker attracts a big crowd then it’s fair to get a bigger remuneration than if nobody turns up).  I sold some books. The people I met were lovely and the drive, taking a pretty and slow route, was a pleasure too.

24 January 2024, Taunton, Brendon Books. A good crowd of 40+ people including some I knew and some Wild Justice supporters I was meeting for the first time. The bookshop sold quite a few books and so, in the fullness of time, those sales will feed back through to me through royalty payments. A thoroughly enjoyable evening. And I got to do some birdwatching on the Somerset Levels which now, unlike my youth, are bursting with three species of white egret.

18 January 2024  Wensum Valley Birdwatching Society, Great Witchingham village hall. 50 attendees and worth missing Winterwatch! Norfolk is surprisingly far away – over 2.5hrs to get there and just over 2 hrs to get home after midnight but I’d do it again tomorrow. A really friendly, lovely crowd of people who laughed (or at least smiled) at my jokes, asked very thoughtful questions and told me about local issues. And I sold a dozen books. But I stood in the car park, in the cold for ages talking to a young man with an interesting name about his thoughts and hopes for a career in nature conservation before heading home.

13 January 2024, Wellingborough Independent Socialists at Earls Barton Bowls and Tennis Club – a really enjoyable event for me. c70 attendees,  including a range of local campaigners (Save Weekley Hall Woods in the  week of their successful campaign, Wellingborough Walks Action Group, 1000 voices).

21 November Bedfordshire Natural History Society. A good crowd of c60 people who bought a lot of  copies of Reflections and had a series of great questions.

19 November Derby Book Festival  A very enjoyable event being quizzed by Jo Smith, CEO of Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. A very friendly set-up with great staff and volunteers. Very well organised before the event, on the day, and rounding things off afterwards. If you are an author and get the chance to attend – do!

18 November Northern England Raptor Forum Conference – I wasn’t speaking, but there were great talks by speakers and great chats to be had with attendees.

4 November Butterfly Conservation  – link to video of my talk

4 November Taunton Literary Festival my talk postponed due to illness

25 October Peterborough Bird Club  Close to home, c20 folk and very friendly they were too.

11 October In Conservation with David Lindo – watch on YouTube

 

 

 

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