Dear members,
What a great audience we had last month for Keith Grimwade’s talk about the 1000 Years of History of the Thicket Path. Despite the grey drab of January, some 110 people left their warm homes to join us to celebrate the ancient woodland on our very doorstep, and for which we at the Society, and Keith himself, thank you heartily, especially since he had agreed to stand in at the eleventh hour. For those who missed it, or anyone wanting another viewing, you can find it at CambridgeshireWalks on FaceBook.
This month, we are pleased to welcome the original January speaker, Nick Lovell, now returned to health, who will revive memories of another significant piece of St Ives history, Scotney’s, so I hope you will join us so we can give him an equally enthusiastic welcome on Friday, February 17th, at the usual time of 7.30pm.
There are also two other, very different, historical lectures happening this month which might be of interest to you? Unusually, both celebrate the roles of women in history, which goes some way to redress the imbalance by sharing new insights.
Firstly, on the 6th February at 6pm, at the Cambridge Antiquarian Society’s Faculty of Law building, a talk by Dr Natasha Harlow “In Search of Boudica” when she will “explore the creation of modern mythologies about the past’. Discounted tickets are available to you (as a member of this Civic Society) and should be paid directly to them (at their full name, account number 50192406, sort code 20-17-19). Their annual conference also takes place this month on Saturday 25th February. Anyone interested should contact www.archeology.co.uk
Secondly, the Peterborough Civic Society is hosting a talk by Dr Janina Ramirez, on Monday 13th February: A New History of the Middle Ages Through the Women Written Out Of It”. You might know her from the many BBC 4’s Mediterranean history programmes she presents? This will take place at the Anglia Ruskin University, when she will update our thinking about the Middle Ages by revealing the stories of influential women not previously acknowledged. These tickets were selling fast for this one, and I am delighted to have one myself. If you were equally lucky I might see you there?
Enjoy the gradually lengthening days, and the emergence of new growth in the garden. Spring is not so far away.
Christine