On Wednesday 21st November at 7.30 pm, David Llewelyn will be giving a talk on The First World War: Challenging Popular Perceptions. This forms part of our season of events to commemorate the centenary of the ending of WWI and offers an insight into the personal perspectives of individuals involved.

‘As a nation and society we view the war through the prism of art, literature, television, film etc. In this talk we look at it through the prism of history instead. The results may surprise.

We follow the progress of the war looking at each year and how it differs from the others. As part of this we look at names of places and events that we may be familiar with like the Somme, Ypres, etc. and put them in context to see how they all relate together, why they happened and what were their consequences.

As it was a World War we also expand considerably on the events in France and Flanders to look at what was happening in other areas such as the Eastern Front, the Balkans, the Middle East and the war at sea. Again we see how they relate together to give us an on overview of the whole conflict.

We look at the reasons for why the casualties were in fact so high and why the war played out the way it did.

At the end we cover some points of note that may give us some new things to consider or even view the conflict in a new light. We consider just what it was all about.’.

Tickets are £5 and refreshments will be available

On Thursday 27th September at 7pm, we will be hosting an evening of poetry with special guest Alison Brackenbury.

Alison is a widely published, award winning writer, whose family tree has strong roots in Wales. She appears regularly on BBC Radio 3 and 4. She will be reading from her latest book, Aunt Margaret’s Pudding, is inspired by recipes collected by her grandmother. She explains:

‘This is my latest, very special book. Its ingredients come from another book: a small, black oilskin notebook written by my grandmother, Dorothy Eliza Barnes – Dot. I knew Dot as a shepherd’s wife, but in her Edwardian youth she had worked as a professional cook. Here were her recipes, begun a century ago: ‘Puzzle Pudding’, ‘Feather Cake’…

I closed Dot’s book and began to write poems. They are not nostalgic. In the 1930s, she fed the unemployed men who tramped round the Lincolnshire farms. The poems of ‘Aunt Margaret’s Pudding’ have been widely published in journals (including ‘The Spectator’ and ‘The New Statesman’). Few things reach deeper into our lives than food!

‘Aunt Margaret’s Pudding’ also offers, in prose, Dot’s eventful life, with its sorrows, its humour, (and chimneys, cleaned with gunpowder!). Readers who do not care for poetry have pored over this. They have also appreciated an ingredient which is unusual for a poetry book: recipes!

A selection of Dot’s original recipes appear as illustrations, in her own meticulous handwriting. There are also carefully updated and tested versions, which can be used successfully even by cooks as erratic as me, who do not immediately know the equivalent of Dot’s ‘sharp oven’ in Centigrade. I particularly recommend ‘Flamberries Pudding’, veined with luscious jam… Please do not burn your mouth!’

Praise for Alison Brackenbury:

‘Brackenbury’s empathetic poetry reflects this unique and very tasty slice of social history’. Jane Anderson, The Radio Times.

‘What Sweetness – ’ as ‘a mouth-watering programme’. John Waite on ‘What Sweetness Touched Your Tongue?’ Radio 4’s ‘Pick of the Week’.

‘A beautiful and evocative account of a life told through the language of food’. Kim Salmons in ‘The Observer’

Alison’s reading corresponds with Narberth Museum’s Women of West Wales (WOWW) project; a 3-year celebration of women’s history funded by Arwain Sir Benfro’s LEADER programme and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The evening will conclude with an opportunity for local poets and enthusiasts to share their own poetry on the theme of ‘my Grandmother’.

Five minute slots can be reserved by emailing [email protected] or calling 01834 860 500.

Tickets for the evening can be purchased below at a cost of £5 per person. Refreshments will also be available on the night.