First of all I'd like to wish all my readers, and those kind enough to book me to speak at their functions, a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

My news for the New Year is that my Tutankhamun talk, 'Wonderful Things', is finished and had its first outing to Harrogate and District Probus on 7th November. This is a wonderful talk (if I do say so myself) lavishly illustrated with 55 PowerPoint slides it tells the full story of the discovery of the tomb of the 'boy king' in the Valley of the Kings.

I've decided to try to add one new talk each year to my repertoire and for 2019 it will be 'The Gunpowder Plot',

the story of how and why dissident factions sought to assassinate King James I and the entire British establishment by blowing up Parliament during the State Opening in 1605, who the conspirators were, why the plot failed, how the plotters were caught and what their ultimate fate was.
The talk also examines a modern-day re-construction of the planned explosion and what the result might have been.

The summer break that most societies and groups take is almost over so it;s time to look at what September holds.
It should be an interesting month as I've three talks booked to three new venues, the Family History Section of the Yorkshire Archaeological Soc., The Ladies Circle at Overton near Wakefield and the Boothferry Local & Family History Group at Goole.
The last two both want my 'Canals' talk whilst for the Family History Section it's the 1939 Register.

It being the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice at the end of WWI it's perhaps not surprising that October and November are dominated by my talks on both War Memorials and the Armistice itself.

My big news is my new talk, on the discovery in 1922, of the tomb of the 'boy king' Tutankhamun by Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.

Provisionally entitled 'Wonderful Things'  it's a huge subject and the main problem, as with so many talks, is pruning it down to essential elements so as to fit  the one hour slot that most organisations look for in a talk.

More news as this project progresses.

If I've spoken to your group already then thank you for your past support, and if not why not browse my talks and see if there's something there to interest you.

I've added another new talk to my repertoire - 'Crime and Punishment, from the Anglo Saxons to the Present Day'.
Like all my talks it's illustrated with Power Point slides, 35 in this case, and takes about 50 minutes to deliver.

I now have a total of 14 talks, truly there is something there for everyone.

Unlike some speakers I provide all my own equipment, computer, projector, screen and extension lead - and I've had all my equipment PAT tested for safety.
All you would need to provide is a table and a convenient power outlet.

On Saturday the 17th March I gave a PowerPoint presentation to the Federation of Family History Societies, as a prelude to their AGM, on the forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation (the GDPR).
This follows a similar one I gave to the Yorkshire Group of Family History Societies in February.

I've now decided to offer this to any society or group who are struggling with this new and complex piece of legislation. If you're interested and would like to know how the GDPR will affect your organisation please let me know.
The talk and visual aid covers all the essential elements of compliance with the GDPR and comes with a comprehensive information pack for each attender.
Fees are dependent on number of attenders and distance travelled, contact me for more details.

Had a very pleasant visit to Selby on Tuesday the 20th March to talk to the Selby and District Family History Group.
They had chosen the Pontefract Murder talk, even though it has no Selby connection but they seemed to enjoy it just the same. I think this illustrates the fact that although this murder was committed in Pontefract, it could have occurred anywhere, and the circumstances surrounding the case, the detection of the culprits, their trial and eventual execution, can be of interest to any group anywhere.

New Talk

My talk on the history of England's canals is now finished along with a PowerPoint presentation of over 30 slides.

It covers the period from the building of the Bridgewater canal in the 1760s up to the present day and the transformation of the canals from privately-owned commercial waterways into a state-owned leisure and tourist facility.

A New Almshouse Talk

I've made some changes to the Kingdom of Alms, making it not just about Pontefract.

It now includes details of those almshouses built on the great estates, such as the Gascoigne Estate at Aberford

 
and those constructed by the Victorian industrialists during the 19th century, such as these at Saltaire

 and I hope it will now appeal to groups outside Pontefract.

More About WWI

For anyone out there with an interest in WWI, especially as 2018 is the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice on November the 11th, I have two talks which may be of interest: 
'Armistice' - the factors both political and military leading up to its signing, and;
'Remembrance' - the instigation of war memorials and the bringing home of the Unknown Warrior after WWI. 

Both fully illustrated with many rare photographs.

I also have a video version of the Remembrance talk which includes a black and white film made at the time detailing the return of the Unknown Warrior. 

This takes slightly longer than the still image version and you should allow about one and a quarter hours for the entire presentation.