A truly remarkable man who built much of Victorian Windsor including work on Windsor castle as well as remaining on intimate terms with the royal family for over 60 years.

Steve is a magician and specialises in mentalism/mind reading called Defying Logic. His objective is to bring fun, laughter and amazement to the occasion.

Is it really mother’s ruin? Was a martini really James Bond’s favourite tipple?

Herdsmen have used wooden horns in the Alps since before records began. Frances will bring a selection of Alphorns to illustrate their history, their uses and how they are made.

Caroline is an inveterate traveller, often organising her own trips. She will share memories of the trips she made during her 60th birthday year, including a visit to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.

Imagine a Woolly Mammoth feeding along the Tilehurst Road and a Bronze Age village by the M4. Mike's talk looks at the evidence for human settlement in and around Reading from the first hunter-gatherers to Roman Britain.

Joy Pibworth has been a Janeite since reading the first paragraph of Pride and Prejudice in the Third Year at school; she has been a member of the Jane Austen Society almost as long. The talk will reveal the many and varied links which connected Jane Austen and her family to people and places in the Thames Valley; links between Jane’s life in her beloved Hampshire and what Mrs Austen referred to as 'the broad river, the rich valleys and the noble hills (of the Thames Valley)… at her native home near Henley on Thames'.

Richard's talk describes the 200 years of the growth of the Sutton Seeds Company. Discover how the local company, Suttons, built up a reputation for reliability and quality that became fundamental to its success.

A talk on fire safety in the home.

Jane is an experienced archaeologist and a member of national and local archaeology groups, whose studies focus on stone circles and henges. Recent scientific discoveries have explained who were the builders of Avebury, how it was built and its context in the Neolithic works. Why it was built remains a topic for discussion.

The Settle to Carlisle Railway is the story of England's most spectacular main line railway. The line is a superb example of Victorian engineering. Threatened at one time with closure, it now serves both commuters and tourists and is a strategic freight route.

Jackie is a retired police officer who worked for the Hampshire Constabulary for almost 30 years (1982 – 2012). This is the second of her three talks, following on from the first, with more entertaining stories from her career.

Liz looks at the impact of Oxford's population doubling and its footprint almost quadrupled during the Victorian period. The talk examines some of the characters involved in this enormous expansion of the city. Fortunes were made, reputations were lost, regulations were ignored and political careers were boosted. Many of the houses are still in Oxford and change hands at prices which would make the average Victorian artisan faint.