Events

Sunday 23rd  April 6.30pm . Film - Nobody Loves You and You Don’t Deserve to Exist (99 minutes, Brett Gregory, 2022)   This film is a semi-autobiographical exploration of masculinity, morality, identity, social class and storytelling in the North of England.   This multi award-winning British feature film follows a grieving ex-English teacher as he takes us on a personal journey through Broken Britain under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, John Major in the 1990s and Boris Johnson in the 2020s. All welcome - admission free . Light refreshments before the start. Donations welcome. Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Sunday 16th April  6.30 pm UOCEAN   Chris Desai   UOCEAN® 2050 works with volunteers, individuals, communities, governments, schools, universities and corporate businesses in over 33 countries. It aims to forge a circular economy of sustainable behaviours with the removal of marine plastics from canals, rivers, beaches and the open ocean. To this end it deploys educational toolkits and academic institutions to address the gaps that are leading to climate change. They also petition for stricter laws on plastics, disposal of these plastics and global protection of our oceans, whilst empowering underprivileged and isolated ethnic minority communities to thrive in a conserved environment.   Chris Desai is the son of an Indian immigrant father (whom ...

Phil Cooper The Silk Road in Western China, obviously many associate with its most famous trading route, but it is also how religion spread in the region.   Phil Cooper is a former teacher, cricket professional and avid traveller. He visited Western China, some 8 years ago, starting in Xian, home of the Terracotta army. What struck him was that the Silk Road was not only used for transport of goods, but it was the means by which religion was spread along its branches. All welcome - admission free . Tea & biscuits. Donations welcome.   Image by DEZALB from Pixabay

Sunday 26th  March 6.30pm   Woman, Life, Freedom Maryam Namazie   Iranian-born activist Maryam Namazie talks about the historic uprising in Iran. "You have weapons of war, state machinery of suppression,  executions. Killing and fear are your weapons." Courage & 'Woman, Life, Freedom' are the weapons of the women & men of Iran.   Maryam Namazie was born in Tehran but left with her family in 1980 after the 1979 revolution in Iran. She has subsequently lived in India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Most of her early work focused on refugee rights, especially in Sudan, Turkey, and Iran, and she has actively campaigned against sharia law. Maryam became well known in the mid-2000s for her pro-secularism positions an...

Buddhika Samarasinghe   This talk is about the tension between the standardisation and individualisation of care. Why are there so many undesired outcomes in NHS”? Buddhika raises a vital question, “despite the enormous efforts of healthcare professionals, researchers and policymakers, plus technological innovations, why are there so many undesired outcomes (i.e., medical errors, prescription errors, surgery cancellations, hospital-acquired infections) in healthcare, even in the developed world”?   Drawing from a wide range of evidence that embraces complexity and “reality” in healthcare systems, Buddhika shares the findings of a six-phase funded study investigating On-The-Day Surgery-Cancellations(OTDSCs) completed using a large amount of literature, qualitative and quantitative data. Based on the findings, he questioned whether the NHS policymakers rely on to...

Sunday 12th  March 6.30pm . Jesus of Nazareth Bill Leigh   Bill will talk about the Secularists’ view of this religious figure and how his bust came to be on the front of the Secular Hall.   Bill Leigh was formerly an academic in Britain, West Africa and the Caribbean, then a secondary school teacher for the European Union in the Netherlands, Italy, Britain and Brussels. Having published research in theoretical physics and fiction for children, after retirement from the British School in Warsaw he took a degree in History, writing a dissertation on Truth in History and High-Energy Physics. All welcome - admission free . Tea & biscuits. Donations welcome.  

Sunday 5th  March 6.30pm   Fascism in Leicester 1934-1939 Ned Newitt   How much support did Fascism have in Leicester during the 1930s? Ned will look at Leicester's Blackshirts and the opposition they met from local anti-Fascists. He will also explore the role of the police and the influence of events in Europe, and the resonance with today’s debates on free speech and ‘cancel culture.   Ned was born in Southend-on-Sea in 1946. He studied at Cardiff College of Art and came to Leicester in 1971. From 1984-2003, he was a Leicester City Councillor. He is a long standing member of the Society and is the current President.   Ned has written several books, most relating to the history of Leicester, including - ...