Mirthy Talks

What a roller-coaster life Vince Eager has enjoyed. The story starts with Vince singing in the church choir as a six year old and takes us to his early teen years when he discovered skiffle. By his late teens Vince is beginning to mix with BIG NAMES - but he still has to go home to Grantham and ask his parents before he can move to London to take up the contract that would help put him on the map. Spangled with name dropping – a great talk. Talk length - 44 minutes.

In Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, stands the ruins of Bradgate Manor, the birthplace & home of Lady Jane Grey, born into the Tudor family and dubbed the Nine Day Queen. This is a story of a girl with outstanding natural ability, whose strength of character & remarkable faith shine out, despite the darkness that often surrounded her. She paid the ultimate price for a throne she didn’t seek. By Sandy Leong. Talk length - 38 minutes.

Straight, wavy, long, natural or dyed! Wigs, extensions, beards and eye brows. Smuggling, politics, religion, and fashion collide in a billion dollar trade. Discover the secretive and lucrative international world of Hair with Alan Jones that is guaranteed to grip you by the long, short or curly. Talk length - 53 minutes.

For centuries horses were vital for any kind of travel or transport, either by carriage or on horseback. Andrew Warde tells us how these wonderful animals have served Londoners over past centuries. Hear about the ‘Quicksilver’ mail coach, how to climb onto an early omnibus and discover where, even today, you can find horses in London. Talk length 23 minutes.

A celebration of a unique landscape and its place in our national consciousness from William Wordsworth to Alfred Wainwright. It is also a warning of challenges ahead, from climate change to Brexit. It concludes with a ‘year’ in the Lake District in pictures taken over fifty years!

The true story of eight Worcestershire women sentenced to death or transportation in the 1780s who all ended up on the first fleet of convicts to Australia. One came back a rich woman, another became the progenitor of the largest living family of descendants living in Australia today. By David Clark. Talk length - 46 minutes.

“We are descended from royalty, you know!” “Our family came over with the Conqueror!”
Merely wild rumours passed on by a rambling old relative? Or a true claim of blue blood?
Join me as I share with you how I got to the bottom of some of these claims, even discovering that some were true! Talk length - 50 minutes.

Joe Mendell looks at some interesting and amazing facts about America's 44 presidents. This is not a biographical study of these men, but you might be fascinated to learn something special about these leaders of the world. Talk length - 49 minutes.

Sally shares her secret for writing the perfect crime thriller! Discover how writers get their ideas, the best way of writing a novel and what it's like working with a publisher. Hear extracts from Sally's psychological thriller, The Promise, and be privy to Sally's favourite murder weapons. Talk length - 50 minutes.

Former long-time Hong Kong resident Chris Forse has travelled widely in China since 1978 when only one city was open to foreigners. His travels have taken him beyond the standard tourist itineraries, to the country’s remote regions of Yunnan, Xinjiang and Tibet and across distant borders, accumulating a bank of memories and impressions and spectacular photographs. In the process he witnessed the astonishing transformation of China from an insular peasant society to global economic super-power in just one generation.  Talk length - 55 minutes.

Exploring the story of the British heroine who died in Brussels in 1915. Presenting the experience of regular visits to Brussels to research the hospitals and homes where Edith would have worked as well as the place of her execution - a humbling experience. The Life and Times of Edith Cavell talk tells her story supported by photographs of existing artifacts of her life. By Melanie Gibson-Barton. Talk length - 48 minutes.

Jim Whelan is showcasing and talking about some of the most iconic programmes in the history of TV. The problem is, in many cases, his performance was cut, hence the title. However, in this internet age, many of the pieces have been recovered and are shown here for the first time ever. Home Fires, The Royal Family, Brookside and Coronation Street are just some of the shows featured in this glorious romp. Talk length - 42 minutes.

In this witty and very humorous talk Geoff Harris takes a sideways look at some of the laws, old sayings, tales and people that make our country the often madly wonderful place it is today. Just what end of a boiled egg was it illegal to break in the reign of Edward VI? What do you use a cow, a pair of breeches and a stout cudgel for on a Friday? How did Chesterfield church get its crooked spire? The answers to these and many other vital questions are answered in this fast-paced, engaging talk. Your life will be changed!

Neil Sadler spent 30 years as a police officer. Starting “on the beat” in the exotic holiday resort of Bognor Regis in the 1970s, he retired from a post in national and international police training. You may be amazed to hear who he met on his first solo night shift at 3am. Changes in police uniform and equipment and why not to be squirted with pepper spray. Also, where not to try and escape the traffic cops in one European country and a novel use for a policeman’s helmet. Talk length - 40 minutes.