Club Events
Whether it’s a dining in or ball, a notable speaker or garden party, there’s a whole host of events organised by, and for, Strangers’ Club members – all being a great excuse for members to enjoy themselves with likeminded people.
The Societies and Groups at the Strangers’ Club organise a range of events, including external speakers, competitions and a variety of visits.
Strangers’ Club events provide an excellent way of making the most of membership. Enjoy time with other members, often with their partners. Come to the Summer Dinner Parties and Barbeques, Formal Dining-In and lunches such as the Beaujolais lunch.
Speaker Meeting - Claire Mackintosh MBE - Norfolk Community Foundation
The Norfolk Community Foundation has unrivalled knowledge of community issues, experience of working with philanthropists from all walks of life and a track record of effective and efficient governance, finance and management.
Anyone involved in voluntary charitable work knows that it can be difficult to raise money. It is a skill to apply it well. The Norfolk Community Foundation has achieved a significant milestone in raising £40 million worth of giving, and becoming the well informed and creative hub which helps others to enrich our community.
Come and join us to hear all about the work of this important Community organisation, its origins and its successes in delivering for the Norfolk community.
Tickets are £28 and include a two course lunch and coffee.
Please advise the Club Steward of any dietary requirements for you or your guests.
Norwich Castle Speaker Lunch
Our speaker is Hannah Jackson from the Norfolk Museum Service. She is the Project Manager for a “Royal Palace Reborn”. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, the Normans came to Anglo Saxon Norwich and in its centre, tore down about 100 houses to create a site for a new fortified Norman Palace, fit for its kings.
Hannah' s project has been underway for some time and has encountered some delays, but it is hoped that it will be completed by the Spring of 2025.
The project is to recreate within what we know as the Castle Keep, the palace of the Norman Kings. This has included reinstating the original floors and rooms within the Keep, so that for the first time in over 900 years everyone will be able to explore all five levels of the Keep, from basement to battlement.
The project has been budgeted to cost at least £13 million, much of which is being paid by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This promises to be an excellent opportunity to find out more about the project in our midst and you are invited bring along guests to what is a fascinanting moment in history for our City.
Two course lunch and coffee £28.
Please advise the Club Steward of any dietary requirements for you or your guests.
Tombland To Jerusalem Speaker Supper
Mr John Drake will give us a talk about the impact Norfolk has had on the Middle East.
John will explore British and Norfolk's historical impact on the Holy Land expanding this into the possibility of peace and whether we are part of the solution or problem. Personal stories of cross-tribal, cultural, and religious cooperation will be shared with an up-to-date report on the author's recent January visit, current UK Government initiatives, and his thoughts on President Trump's recent involvement.
Are there reasons for hope?
John fell in love with Jerusalem when, in 1969, he was asked by the then Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem to undertake “street work” in the Old City. On his return to the UK, John enjoyed an active Christian ministry serving at Bournemouth, Carlisle and London Central YMCAs before moving to YMCA Norfolk and serving as CEO until his retirement in 2009. He served as Sheriff of Norwich in 2006 and was honoured by the Queen with an MBE, for services to young people in 2009. John is as active as ever creating educational experiences in the Holy Land, working with a range of different agencies, supporting their programmes in both Israel and Palestine and visits the Holy Land three or four times a year.
The talk will be followed by a two course supper and coffee £30.
Please book online or via the Club Steward, letting us know of any dietary requirements.
Meet in the Bar from 6:30pm with Speaker starts at 7pm in the Augustine Hall.
1982 Falklands War - Speaker Lunch
The South Atlantic campaign of 1982 was an extraordinary chapter of British military history. Much has been written about this unexpected conflict with Argentina, with an inevitable focus - particularly by British authors - on celebrating what was undoubtedly a remarkable British victory.
However, little attention has been paid to the intelligence effort, and particularly to ‘tactical’ intelligence at unit level. This was one aspect of the British operation that was less successful.
Battlefield realities exposed significant gaps between the tactical intelligence that officers and soldiers had expected, as a result of their peacetime training, and the limited capabilities and lack of coordination of the intelligence assets that were available to satisfy those expectations.
In this insightful talk, Colonel Giles Orpen-Smellie will describe, warts and all, his own experiences and perspective of the conflict, in which he served as an intelligence officer with 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment.
Fireside Chat with Deputy President Stephen Thomson
This is another in a series of fireside chats hosted by Stuart Anderson, Chair of the Events Committee. Stuart will lead the questions with Deputy President, Stephen Thomson.
This is a chance for you to get to know the incoming President, his background, his interests and what he has planned as he prepares for his year in the “Chair”
The chat will be followed by a two course lunch and coffee in the President’s Dining Room at 1pm.
Please book online or via the Club Steward and please advise any special dietary requirements.
The Art of Documentary Making - Dick Meadows - Speakers Lunch
The art of documentary filmmaking is as old as film itself. But why do some films fly and others fail? Award-warning producer Dick Meadows draws aside the curtain to reveal some of the secrets from more than twenty five years of documentary filmmaking around the world for the BBC from their base in Norwich.
During that time the programme-making landscape has changed irrevocably. A digital revolution has swept through the industry. The familiar terrestrial channels face being brushed aside in a tsunami of programmes, podcasts and digital platforms.
In this over-heated media landscape there are winners and losers. More choice for some, but older audiences sacrificed, current affairs and factual programmes diluted, regional programmes and local radio starved of funds.
Dick reflects on a life in journalism and television with some stories of the films and all the intricacies and anxieties of how they reached the screen.
The talk will be followed by a two course lunch and coffee. £28
Please book online and advise of any dietary requirements.
Speakers Lunch - From Mud to Media (Building a World View) - Sally-Ann Wilson
Sally-Ann Wilson began her working life as a conservationist in the mangrove swamps of Indonesia. Driven by an intense curiosity about the world, her career led her to broadcasting and in 2010 she was appointed as Secretary General of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association. Part diplomat, part troubleshooter, she was fascinated by the world of international broadcasting becoming long-time CEO of the Public Media Alliance, the umbrella group for the national broadcasters of the world.
It all began with a degree in Ecology and Development at UEA. While studying for her PhD she started reporting for BBC Radio Norfolk. After training in news and production she migrated to the BBC’s Natural History Unit in Bristol. Filming wildlife took her to many remote and exciting places for the BBC, Discovery and Survival Anglia, including, time spent with chimpanzees in West Africa for David Attenborough’s series, The Trials of Life. The series was aptly named and left her fighting for her own life.
She’ll share the tales and challenges of wildlife and documentary film making and provide an insight into the world of broadcasting from the BBC to TV Tonga.
Now, at last, she is back in the mud, as Chair of the Ted Ellis Trust, that manages Wheatfen Nature Reserve in Surlingham.
The talk will be followed by a two course lunch and coffee. £28
Please book online and advise of any dietary requirements.
Jenny Lind Speaker Supper
Mr Richard England, Consultant Paediatric Surgeon from the Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital will give us a talk on the life and work of Jenny Lind.
Jenny Lind’s early childhood in Stockholm was harsh, but once her beautiful singing voice was discovered she quickly rose to stardom across Europe as the, ‘Swedish Nightingale’. Her operatic career eventually brought her to England. An invite to perform in Norwich by Bishop Stanley in 1847 was the beginning of a friendship with not only his family but the whole city and helped establish the Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital. This is now one of the oldest such institutions in the country and still provides care to children from across East Anglia today.
Richard England grew up in West Norfolk and escaped to South Yorkshire to study Medicine. He trained in paediatric surgery in Sheffield, Leeds and Cape Town before accepting the lure of a consultant post back here in Norwich. He now specialises in paediatric colorectal surgery and incontinence disorders of childhood. Over the last 5 years he has been fascinated by the treasure trove of documents in the Norfolk archives relating to Jenny Lind’s link with the city, as well as some of the other illustrious characters who walked the wards of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. He is honorary secretary of the Norwich Medico-Chirurgical Society and a member of the Swedish Jenny Lind Society.
The talk will be followed by a two course supper and coffee. £30
Please book online and advise of any dietary requirements.
