Stratford sub Castle Guild 2025-2026 Programme

The Guild meets in the Reading Room, Stratford Road SP1 3LL

Wednesday evenings, doors open at 7.15 pm with meetings starting at 7.30 pm except in January & February when doors open at 1.45 pm for 2 pm start for Thursday afternoon meetings. Details in the programme below.

2025

Wednesday 10 September

Speaker - Colin Van Geffen - 'Lucy Houston, the woman who saved the Nation'.

The fascinating story of Lady Lucy Houston DBE, a wealthy, powerful socialite, political activist and philanthropist and one of the most forward-thinking women of her time. There is a Review of this talk further down the page.

Wednesday 8 October

Speaker - John Jameson-Davis - 'Forged Signatures and How to Detect Them'.

A fascinating and entertaining talk from an acknowledged expert who illustrates the trail of clues that lie within pen strokes.

There is a Review of this talk further down the page.

Wednesday 12 November

Speaker - Juliet ten Doeschate - 'Brilliant mini beasts'

Illustrated with stunning photos, Juliet introduces us to the bug world - including wasps, ladybirds, hover flies and more.

There is a Review of this talk further down the page.

Wednesday 10 December

Christmas Social. Members only.

Details have been circulated by email.

2026

Thursday 15 January - note change of day and 2 pm start

A speaker from Wiltshire and Swindon Prepared – 'Responding to Disasters'

This multi-agency service will give us an insight into how they identify potential risks, produce the emergency plans and training to prevent or mitigate the impact of any incident or disaster in our local communities.

More details in the newspost.

Thursday 12 February - note change of day and 2 pm start

Speaker John Handby – 'Artificial Intelligence - the future is now'

Leading Information Technologist, John Handby, explains this new and exciting technology, how it affects us and the major implications for human society and our way of life. There is a Review of this talk further down the page.

Wednesday 11 March

Speaker Val Greathead – 'From Script to Screen'

Retired leading costume designer Val describes and illustrates the journey of the process, challenges and pitfalls that accompany costume design for the silver screen. There is a Review of this talk further down the page.

Wednesday 8 April

Speaker Dr John Sinclair Robson – 'Travels of a Forensic Dentist'

Dr Robson, one of the world’s leading forensic dentists, talks about the many strange, bizarre and amusing situations he has encountered in his worldwide travels. There is a Review of this talk further down the page.

Wednesday 13 May

AGM followed by a short talk by Terry Ereira (last minute change from the

published programme. There is a Review of this talk further down the page.

Wednesday 10 June

Summer Social - contact Terry Ereira for tickets 01722 501480 or email: tandc.ereira@ntlworld.com

Enquiries: Jenny Stone

Tel: 07511 226828 Email jstraceystone@hotmail.com

View Membership Details for the Guild here

guild June 2024

Guild News & Reviews for 2025-2026 season, filtered from the News Page

Stratford Guild's 13 May meeting REVIEW

The Pearly Kings and Queens – The other London Royal Family A presentation by Terry Ereira I had planned to write up Ian Budniak’s talk on the Spanish succession, but a last-minute health issue prevented Ian from attending. As always (and being a Londoner) Terry rose to the occasion and presented an interesting history of the Pearly Kings and Queens of London, and he didn’t need a microphone. Henry Croft, an orphan born and raised in St Pancras workhouse in 1861, left at 13

1 day ago

Stratford Guild - AGM - Wednesday 13 May followed by talk

UPDATE - Unfortunately Ian Budniak could not attend the meeting. At short notice Terry Ereira gave a talk - The Pearly Kings & Queens - the other Royal Family. See a later Guild newspost to read the review. The next Guild meeting will be on Wednesday 13 May. It will begin with a short AGM which will be followed by a talk from the Chairman, Ian Budniak, about Britain’s involvement in the Spanish War of Succession during the 18th Century. The meeting will start at 7.30 pm in

Apr 27

Stratford Guild's 8 April talk - 'Travels of a Forensic Dentist' - REVIEW

Speaker: Dr John Sinclair Robson Warning - This review contains references to disasters and death, which some may find distressing. Forensic dentistry is not an occupation with which many people are familiar. Forensic pathology is better known as a result of programmes such as Silent Witness and, for those with longer memories, Quincy ME. Forensic dentistry is most often important in establishing the identity of victims of large-scale disasters where the nature of the injuri

Apr 8

Stratford Guild Talk 11 March REVIEW - a Costume Design Journey

March 11th 2026 “Script to Screen: A Costume Design Journey”, Speaker: Val Greathead We were given an entertaining introduction to the life of a costume designer, mainly in the TV industry, by our speaker this month. Val Greathead’s interest in costume design started at a young age. While in the Brownies she was given the lead role as Winnie the Pooh and decided to make her own outfit using the stuffing from the family’s cushions. She was not flavour of the month at home afte

Mar 11

Stratford Guild Talk 12 February - REVIEW - Artificial Intelligence: the future is now!

John Handby Our speaker John Handby, has spent his whole career in computing and AI occupying a number of very senior executive and advisory posts. He opened his talk with a brief indication of the potential benefits of AI but spent most of his talk opening our eyes to the dangers inherent in the technology. We started with the good news: AI will revolutionise health care, allow drugs to be designed and manufactured faster, enable early diagnosis of diseases like cancer and h

Feb 12

Stratford Guild talk Thurs 15 January - REVIEW

Stratford sub Castle Guild 15 January 2026 “Local Disaster Management and Recovery” Speaker - Chris Manuel Thirty-four members and guests ignored the heavy rain outside and settled down for a 2 o’clock start to the first talk of the New Year. What a fascinating and informative talk it turned out to be on an organisation that many of us have never heard of before. Chris Manuel, the Community Resilience Lead Officer for Wiltshire and Swindon Prepared, a multi-agency local d

Jan 15

Stratford Guild TALK Wed 12 November REVIEW

Brilliant Mini Beasts - Speaker Juliet ten Doeschate A fascinating introduction to the amazing and intriguing world of invertebrates including wasps, butterflies, ladybirds, flies and many more. Some are very familiar and common visitors to our gardens, but others are so tiny (a mere 3mm) and so well hidden that we are not aware of them. Juliet concentrated principally upon those which inhabit her garden of 2 acres which is half woodland and half garden. Many are parasitic fe

Nov 12, 2025

Stratford Guild's Wednesday 8 October talk - REVIEW

Forged signatures and how to detect them - John Jameson-Davis John stepped in when our booked speaker became ill and cancelled all speaking engagements. He answered our call while on holiday in Crete! John is a Questioned Handwriting and Document Examiner. His work mainly entails the examination of questioned signatures (those which have been challenged or doubted for some reason, perhaps on a Will, a passport, a bank or credit card or other document). He is also asked to l

Oct 8, 2025

Stratford Guild's talk - Wednesday 10 September REVIEW

The Guild's 2025-26 season began on Wednesday 10 September at 7.30 pm in the Reading Room, with a talk by Colin van Geffen entitled 'The Lady who saved the Nation'. Review follows: When Mr van Geffen began his presentation by asking the audience who had heard of Lucy, no one had. This did not surprise him. By the end of his presentation, however, it seemed amazing that the life and achievements of this remarkable woman seem to have disappeared from our history. Lucy was

Sep 10, 2025

Look back to the Guild's 2024-2025 season