KATHLEEN BURK – on Britain and America, from the beginning to now!

What’s been going on these past four hundred years between Britain and America? What is the story, from both sides? What are the similarities and differences? Why does religion thrive on one side of the Atlantic as it withers on the other? What is shared in terms of economics, culture, and even romance? What part is played by each in terms of progress and civilization?

In her latest book, Old World, New World, Professor Kathleen Burk, born in California but educated, in part, in Oxford, is an established historian, author, and expert on bad and good wines.

NIGEL LAWSON – Lord Lawson of Blaby appeals to reason.

Are we being misled by sensational news-mongering on matters of population, food supplies, natural resources, and climate change? Did Al Gore get it right, or wrong? Are we being confused by environmentalists? What part can economic factors play in halting global warming? What is the most cost-effective way of tackling climate change? What should we do next?

In his latest book, An Appeal to Reason – a Cool Look at Global Warming, writer, journalist, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, ex-editor of The Spectator, and past president of the British Institute of Energy Economics, Nigel Lawson has answers to these and other related questions.

DICK MATTICK – on Swindon Town Football Club.

What part does football play in your life and the life of Swindonians? What do you know about the history of football, at professional level, in Swindon? Football is reckoned to be ‘the national sport’; is it the local one too? Is football part of your culture and your life?

Author of five books, historian, football fan, and former director of STFC, Dick Mattick, has recalled the Town’s glory days in his latest book, The Robins Return.

SIMON GANDOLFI – Old Man on a Bike!

Presented in association with the Swindon Moonraker Section of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club

Motorbikes may not make the world go round but they can go round the world. And to travel on two motorised wheels gives a sense of freedom that travel on four wheels does not.

These may be two of the reasons why a septuagenarian with a heart condition chose to ride his bike 22,000 kilometres from North through South America. There are other reasons too, which author and biker Simon Gandolfi will tell tonight.

FILM: AGE OF STUPID (89 mins) – a look at climate change, with hindsight.

Presented in association with Swindon Film Society and Swindon Climate Action Network

What will people in the future think about how we responded to climate change? In this film, Pete Postlethwaite features as a man living in the imagined devastated world of 2055, looking back at the evidence and asking: why didn’t we stop it when we had the chance?

For further information on SCAN see www.swindonclimate.org.uk or call 01793 335817 or email contact@swindonclimate.org.uk

For info on SFS, see www.swindonfilm.org.uk – or phone 01793 330639.