History In the Pub

Learn about the history of London over a pint after work!
Wednesday, 21 September 2011, 7pm – 9pm. Doors open, 6:30pm
The Bell, 50 Middlesex Street, Spitalfields.

London Historians presents… the inaugural History in the Pub
Featuring Jerry White, Lucy Inglis, Ruairidh Anderson, Matt Brown (MC).

• Presentations by these august historians
• Music by Ruairidh Anderson
• Speed Quiz
• Open mic
• Prize Draw
• Q&A

Prof. Jerry White teaches modern London history at Birkbeck, University of London. His London in the Twentieth Century won the Wolfson History Prize for 2001 and London in the Nineteenth Century was published to critical acclaim in 2007. The final volume in his modern London trilogy, London in the Eighteenth Century: A Great and Monstrous Thing, will be published by Bodley Head in early 2012. Jerry’s web site

Lucy Inglis is one of our leading authorities on Georgian London whose book on the period is due for publication early next year by Penguin. Lucy runs a phenomenally successful blog, Georgian London and has appeared on History Channel’s Mud Men and Londonist Out Loud podcasts. Lucy’s blog, Georgian London

Ruairidh Anderson is an expert in the ordinary and extraordinary life of London’s old East End. Ruairidh runs the web site Songs from the Howling Sea where he recently completed a project which delivered a historical song and a video every week for a year. 52 of each (obviously) – a stunning achievement. He has recently appeared on Londonist Out Loud podcast and the Robert Elms show on BBC Radio London. Ruairidh’s blog, Songs from the Howling Sea

Matt Brown is Editor of Londonist.com, a website about London and everything in it. His love of exploring the capital’s history has put him in a number of unusual scrapes: wading through the noisome Fleet sewer, catching a lung infection while dicking about in a church steeple, and spending the night with a selection of 17th Century corpses beneath London Bridge. Matt also created the only (known) large-scale map of Anglo-Saxon London, plotted the locations of over 300 V2 rocket strikes from WWII, and curated the Museum of London’s recent Hand-Drawn London exhibition.

Entry: London Historians members: FREE, Non-members: £3
Spaces are limited. Please email admin@londonhistorians.org to express interest (no obligation) so that we can estimate numbers, thanks!

A London Historians Event

1/4 The Curious Case of the Curs’d Quayside. Two warships are sunk in the Thames.
2/4 The Turbulent Tale of the Troubl’d Tragedy. Why did someone fund possibly the worst play ever written?
3/4The Perplex’d Plot of the Perilous Plague. The pair investigate double dealings during an epidemic.
4/4 The Murky Mystery of Murder at St Mark’s. A Cambridge college is beset by the deaths of some of its professors.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00cjg3n/episodes/upcoming for the schedule.

Robinson Crusoe and His Farther Adventures
In this sequel to Daniel Defoe’s castaway adventure, there’s conflict, danger, isolation and companionship as Robinson travels the world in search of happiness and fulfilment. It stars Tim McInnerny, Jonathan Tafler, Adrian Grove and Stephen Critchlow, and was dramatised by Andy Barrett and directed by Peter Leslie Wilde. First broadcast in October 2008.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nfmqs/episodes/upcoming for the schedule.

Thanks to Robin Rowles for these!

The Historical Association are starting a special fund in Barry Coward’s name to support the Great Debate and, hopefully, to raise money to support adults returning to education.

Barry was President of the HA from 2005 to 2008 seeing us through our Centenary Celebrations in 2006 and the first Great Debate. He was very supportive of education and was an A-level examiner for over 30 years.

Barry’s working life was at Birkbeck College, University of London. Birkbeck students are all mature students doing their degree part-time in the evening; to support adults returning to education at Birkbeck would be a cause close to Barry’s personal philosophy.

Many Birkbeck Early Modern Society members had the good fortune to be taught by Barry and to benefit from his generosity of spirit and kindness. This HA initiative is a welcome chance to both remember Barry and to help others experience a Birkbeck education.

Donations should be directed to The Historical Association. You can download a Gift Aid friendly form here: Barry Coward Memorial Fund.

In conjunction with this event the Institute is also holding a photo competition and will exhibit the entries. These should be your own photos that contribute in some way to the topic (this includes photos of your own, collages, paintings, drawings, sculptures etc.) and should be submitted by 10 September 2011 (postmark)

The prize is an invitation to the exhibition opening in London for 2 people including flights (economy class) and 2 nights in a good hotel.

Conditions of Entry
Entries must be printed photos – A4 or A3 – appropriate to the topic of Frederick the Great.

Only photos related to the above topic can be accepted and are eligible for the prize. Each participant may submit up to 3 photos (max.) A brief statement should describe/explain the photo. Please put your name on the back of each photo. We regret that we cannot accept entries from anyone under the age of 18.

Copyright notes on the photo will not be accepted for the competition. By submitting the photo you confirm that you own all rights to it and that it is free of third-party rights. The winners agree that the GHI London may exhibit and publish the photos. Any recognisable, living people in the photos must likewise agree to publication of the photos. The photos will be judged by a jury appointed by the Institute. The jury will decide on the winner and will also select 30-40 runners-up from all the entries. These will also be shown at the exhibition. The winner and the runners-up will be notified by the Director of the Institute by the end of September at the latest.

By participating you confirm your acceptance of the conditions of the photo competition. No recourse to legal action is possible.

Members of the GHIL staff may not take part in the competition, but may submit photos for the exhibition.

Please submit your entries to
Prof. Andreas Gestrich
GHIL
17 Bloomsbury Square
London WC1A 2NJ, UK
T: +44 207 309 2050

Visit the website at http://www.ghil.ac.uk/prizes.html
Information from H-Net Online.

One of the more celebrated quips of the 20th century has turned out to be less sagacious than it once seemed.

During Richard Nixon’s visit to Beijing in 1972, the Chinese premier, Zhou Enlai, was asked about the impact of the French Revolution. Speaking of an event that took place nearly two centuries previously, Zhou famously commented that it was “too early to say”. The witticism quickly became a standard way of emphasising the Chinese ability to take the long view in history.

Yet it seems that Zhou may not have correctly understood the question. Rather than referring to the 1789 revolution, his interlocuter was speaking of the events of May 1968, and the Chinese leader’s comment was directed toward those far more recent developments. As reported in the Financial Times, a diplomat present at the time called it a misunderstanding that was “too delicious to invite correction”. The story became legendary, and a rather lazy cliche about the difference between Chinese and Western mentalities entered the public discourse.

Though the quip may have been debunked, will it disappear from use? As Zhou might have appreciated: it’s simply too early to say.

http://www.historytoday.com/blog/news-blog/dean-nicholas/zhou-enlais-famous-saying-debunked

See the poster below for details…

I am writing to invite you to a memorial and celebration in honour of Professor Barry Coward, who died in March. As you will know, Barry was a much admired figure amongst his colleagues, students and the wider historical profession and the event will be an opportunity to pay tribute to his remarkable achievements over more than forty years at Birkbeck.

The event will be held on 28 June at 5 pm in the Malet Street Lecture theatre 421, and will be followed by a reception on the 5th Floor.

If you would like to attend, could you please confirm with either Alison Watson or myself.

Best wishes,
Professor Julian Swann

Monday 9 May, 18:00, The Chancellor’s Hall, Senate House, First Floor: ‘Our Words and Theirs. A Reflection on the Historian’s Craft Today‘.

Contact: katia.pizzi@sas.ac.uk 

Tues 10 May, 17.30, Lecture Theatre, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Charles Clore House, 17 Russell Square: ‘Duplication as Distance – Erasmus Alber’s Alcoranus Franciscanorum (1542-3) and its Reception: A Case Study in Sixteenth-Century Comparative Religion’.

The London Maze is a free local history fair devoted to London and its past and is probably the biggest history fair in the capital and takes place roughly every two years.

For one day the City of London open ups the whole of the Guildhall complex to host displays by community history groups, local societies, museums, archives and libraries; talks; guided walks; tours of the Guildhall Art Gallery and the Roman Amphitheatre; film shows from the City’s archives and performances from youth and adult groups.

With dozens of stalls from libraries, archives, museums and local history societies, specialist talks, guided walks and a wide range of activities this fun and educational free event had something for everyone.

Events and activities are constantly being added so check the website for more information.

(Text from the City of London website.)

Thanks to Robin for this one!

Includes mention of the royal touch and Valentine Greatrakes, and a nice plug for Birkbeck at the end!