Daytime sessions in the Red Room 7th March
A whole day of readings, talks, presentations, discussions and opportunities to get involved with creative writing at all levels.
Tickets options are
– £30 for an all day ticket (all 5 sessions throughout the day)
– £8 per session
All tickets subject to availability. We will try not to allow changes to the programme to occur, but things happen, and your understanding in that circumstance is appreciated 🙂
In the Red Room
11:00 – 12:00
Oliver Hawkins
Against The Flight Of Time
Reflections on the treatment of time in the poems and essays of Alice Meynell (1847 – 1922).
Before cinema had taught us to expect narrative to move backwards and forwards in time, with flashbacks and fast-forwards, Alice Meynell’s use of such devices was exceptional. My presentation looks at examples from her work, and the associated themes of childhood and heredity.
Oliver Hawkins is a long-term Arundel resident, lecturer and exhibitor. A great-grandson of the Victorian writers Wilfrid and Alice Meynell, he takes care of the literary archive at the family home at Greatham. He has been intrigued and delighted by the growing appreciation of Alice Meynell in academic circles, particularly in the United States.
12:30 – 1:30
Naomi Foyle & Wendy Pye
Poems and Film Poems: Vessels for Grief
Join poet Naomi Foyle and filmmaker Wendy Pye for a screening and discussion of their current collaboration: two film poems from Naomi Foyle’s new collection Salt & Snow (Waterloo Press, 2025). Salt & Snow is a triptych of personal and collective elegies, and the film poems form part of a larger project conceived by Brighton-based visual arts organisation Luna Arts, aiming to use creativity to encourage healthy conversations about death and dying – from the loss of loved ones to the deaths of people unknown to us, yet brought close by the daily news.
2:00 – 3:00
Joanna Arman
The Forgotten Queen, Matilda II and the Sussex connection
At the turn of the 12th century a young English Princess married the son of William the Conqueror, uniting the English and Norman royal line. Her name was Edith, but she was renamed Matilda by her Norman husband.
Her achievements have fallen into obscurity, but I’m bringing her back into the light of history. Edith/Matilda was a patron of learning and more educated than her husband. She also had a special connection with Sussex with spanned the generations.
3:30 – 4:30
Roger Morgan-Grenville
Fed up with headlines on biodiversity loss, Roger Morgan-Grenville set out on a 1000 mile walk through a British Spring to see for himself if there is cause for hope for the natural world. His aim was to walk 20 miles a day, as oak leaves emerge – what unfolds on his journey is both life-affirming and life-changing.
Roger spent nine years in the British army, during which he served in five continents and led the first expedition that successfully retraced Sir Ernest Shackleton’s escape across the South Georgia ice in 1917. After running a small family trading business, he became a full-time writer in 2017. In 2007, he was one of the founder members and first head fund raiser of the charity Help for Heroes, and from 2020 he has been chair of the conservation charity, Curlew Action.
His books include Liquid Gold (2020), Shearwater (2021), Across a Waking Land (2023) and The Return of the Grey Partridge (2024). The account of his journey around the edge of Britain, The Restless Coast, is published in June 2025.
5:00 – 6:00
Mike Read
Writing On The Wall
With my Chairman of the British Plaque Trust hat on, I’ll be chatting about blue plaques in general. Having written and presented Writing On The Wall, a successful series on blue plaques for Talking Pictures TV, we’ve filmed a second series.
A Knight of Malta, Mike has written over 40 books, several stage musicals and songs for 45 major artists.
He is an Ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, Chairman of the British Plaque Trust, a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats & the Society of Distinguished Songwriters. He’s won ten National Broadcasting awards and fronts the Heritage Chart and several programmes for Talking Pictures TV.
See also…
Thursday daytime sessions 11am – 6pm in the Red Room – click here for full details
Saturday daytime sessions 11am – 6pm in the Red Room – click here for full details
Evening concerts 7:30pm – 10pm
Thursday evening film 7:30pm in the Red Room – The Importance Of Being Earnest
Friday evening concert 7:30pm in the Red Room – click here for full details
Saturday evening concert 7:30pm in the Red Room – click here for full details
In The Green Room
Orientation desk explaining what’s available and when.
Ticket office taking cash and card payments.
Book stall selling signed copies of each contributor’s books. Cash and cards accepted.
Breakout area serving tea and coffee. Bring your own buns!
Volunteers
If you’d like to be involved in any way with the day as a volunteer please email events@thevictoriainstitute.com.