The Literature Group
2018-11-07 14:00 - 15:30 (Europe/London) | The Athenaeum Liverpool, Church Alley, Liverpool, L1 3DD, United Kingdom
Poetry of the Great War. To celebrate the centenary of the Armistice, proprietors are asked to bring along a favourite poem from the First World War. It could be by a well-known writer such as Owen, Sassoon, Brooke or Rosenberg or something more obscure. It doesn’t matter if several people bring the same poem or if you don’t want to bring one at all. We will read the poems and have a short discussion of each, led by the person who has brought it. It would be very helpful if those bringing poems could provide some photocopies of the chosen piece.
2:00pm in the Library.

Architectur Group: Liverpool As You've Never Seen Before
2018-11-07 16:30 - 18:00
Liverpool As You’ve Never Seen It Before

To all architecture enthusiasts, building buffs, development devotees and those with virtuosity in vistas, you are cordially invited to a visual extravaganza.
Come along on Wednesday, 7 November at 16.30 hours for a virtual tour of your city region – Liverpool and its environs as you’ve never seen it before. Travel documents are not required, no visas or vaccinations either, and you don’t even need to bring sandwiches, Christine will be on standby!
Our city region is in transition; new buildings are springing up; old ones are changing shape; architectural gems are emerging in surprising places, and familiar sights you’ve taken for granted, are being reborn for a new age. Schemes and concepts are shaking up old districts you’d forgotten about and places you’ve never heard of are becoming hotspots for a new generation.
From the comfort of our newly refurbished library, Jim Bellew will provide a panoply of city sights and sounds (he talks a lot) via the astounding miracle of a modern version of an epidiascope. Also, in attendance will be Al Disley, a creator of pictures. (No, it’s not a spelling mistake, that’s a different one). Al is one of those people that not only sees the shapes, shades and colours that astound us, but can capture them in a moment in time to enrich our perception.
So, come along and expose yourself to the risk of a good time. And, maybe one or two of those “I didn’t know that!” moments.

Restaurant Dining Evening
2018-11-09 18:30 - 23:30
Restaurant Dining Evening
Friday 9 November, service between 7:00 & 8:30pm, please specify your desired time to sit down for dinner, time slots will be filled on a first come first serve basis.
Our next ‘Restaurant’ evening of fine dining will be held on Friday 9 November. There will be options at every course, priced individually in a la carte style. As well as our standard wine list, there will be specially selected fine wines on offer, at least one white and one red, priced in line with the Club’s competitive rate. Why not bring a guest or two to sample the delights of the Athenaeum?
The dress code for the evening will be smart casual.

Remembrance Sunday Lunch
2018-11-11 11:30 - 16:00
Remembrance Sunday Lunch
Sunday 11 November, 12:30 for 1:00pm
Traditional Sunday lunch following the Civic Remembrance Service at St George’s Plateau. The Club will be open from 11:30am for anyone who wishes to use the facilities before lunch.

The History Group
2018-11-14 14:00 - 15:30
‘A Burden upon the Public or Fighters for Liberty: the reception of Hungarian and Polish Refugees in Liverpool in 1851’. by John Pinfold.
2:00pm in the Wine Servery

The Athenaeum Film Nights - The Dam Busters
2018-11-14 18:15 - 22:00
The Dam Buster (1955)
The story of how the British attacked German dams in WWII by using an ingenious technique to drop bombs where they would be most effective.
We begin about 6.45pm with a one course supper and go into the ‘cinema’ by about quarter to eight. All our films have a suitable intermission and we empty out no later than ten o’clock.
1 Course Supper Menu TBC
Tea, coffee & mints
Sweeties During Film

Athenaeum Debates
2018-11-15 18:45 - 21:00
‘Is Free Speech Alive in Universities?’
With the Cambridge Society of Liverpool

The Athenaeum debating society and Cambridge Society of Liverpool are holding a debate on the evening of Thursday 15th November in the Athenaeum Library. We are searching for two lively and well informed speakers from the Athenaeum membership to speak against the motion and argue that free speech is no longer alive in Universities. Speakers generally put their argument to the audience in no longer than ten minutes.
The usual format for Athenaeum debates is:
” Speakers both for and against 7 minutes each.
” 25 minutes open to the floor.
” Summary from Proposer and Opposer 5 minutes each.
” Summary from Judges and declaration of winner.

Tickets cost £10.00 and include canapes and a welcome drink.
Booking for this event is now open to Athenaeum members and Cambridge alumni, please contact the Club directly on 0151 709 7770 to book a place. Non-Members are asked to pay their ticket fee in advance to confirm their booking.
If you would like to volunteer on behalf of the Athenaeum debating society to argue that free speech in universities is no longer alive, please contact Paul McCarthy: pauldmccarthy@outlook.com

If you are an alumnus of the University of Cambridge and would like to volunteer to speak for the motion, please contact Georgina Ritson: camsocliverpool@gmail.com
With our thanks and best wishes
Paul and Georgina

Event Schedule;
6:45-7:45pm reception in the Newsroom
7:45-8:45 Debates in the Library

'Climbing Kili', Supper with Jack Birley
2018-11-16 18:30 - 22:00
Our Club Secretary successfully ascended Mt Kilimanjaro in early this year in August, raising over £4,600.00 in the process. Join us in November and hear about Jack’s adventure to the roof of Africa, as he presents an illustrated talk of “the most difficult challenge he has ever face”.

Younger Members' Quarterly Dinner
2018-11-17 19:00 - 2018-11-18 01:00

Vincent Roper - Retirement Lunch
2018-11-19 12:30 - 16:00
Join us on Monday 19 November for a special lunch to both celebrate Vincent Roper’s 87th birthday and commemorate his retirement as Librarian of the Athenaeum.
Further details on the event will follow, however as this will likely be a very popular lunch with many Proprietors wishing to thank ‘Vin’ for all the work he has put into the Club over the years, booking early is strongly recommended.
Event Schedule
Reception Drink in the Newsroom: 12:30-1:00pm
Lunch Served: 1:00-2:30pm
The Newsroom will be serving until 4:00pm on this day, with the Club closing at 4:30pm.

The Film Group
2018-11-20 14:00 - 16:00
Tuesday 20th November, 2018: Libel (1959) This British Film was directed by Anthony Asquith and stars Olivia de Havilland, Dirk Bogarde, Paul Massie, Wilfred Hyde-White and Robert Morley. A Canadian World War II pilot (Massie) in London sees Sir Mark Lodden (Bogarde) on TV giving a tour of his ancestral home. The pilot recalls that he was in a POW camp with a Major Lodden and believes that the baronet is actually an actor called Wellney (also played by Bogarde), who shared their POW hut. De Havilland plays the baronet’s wife and the pilot’s belief results in a libel trial.
The film is recognised by the American Film Institute as one of its top 10 court films.
(Running time: 100 mins)

(Originally scheduled for 21 November)

Music Group: 'Love Songs: English, French & Russian'
2018-11-21 17:30 - 18:30
Russian Singer Irina Ektova in the Newsroom
21 November 2018 at 5.30 p.m.
I am delighted to announce a short concert in the Newsroom on Wednesday, 21 November 2018 at 5.30 p.m. The event will feature my friend Irina Ektova, who will sing a selection of love songs in English, French and her native Russian, with myself on piano. Between 2005 and 2010 Irina and I were colleagues at the British International School Moscow, where Irina taught French and I taught Music. Songs in English will include classics by Gershwin, Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hart; in French ‘Les feuilles mortes’ (better known to English audiences as ‘Autumn leaves’) and ‘Champs Elysees’; and in Russian some celebrated romances, including ‘Yah vass lyubill’ (‘I loved you’) – words by Alexander Pushkin. The concert will be very informal, with the bar open and food and drink available as normal.

Glyn Williams
Co-Music Group Facilitator

'Suffrage', Dinner with Janet Dugdale
2018-11-22 18:30 - 22:00
In November we will be taking part in Liverpool City Council’s Vote 100 week, which will celebrate the centenary of votes for women and the first female MPs. During that week there will be a Presidential dinner during that week with Janet Dugdale, Director of National Museums Liverpool, speaking to us about the history of female suffrage in Liverpool. Janet is an expert on this topic, and this talk promises to be an interesting event.

Event Schedule
Arrivals: 6:30 for 7:00pm
Talk in the Newsroom: 7:00 for 7:30pm
Dinner served: 7:45-21:30pm
Newsroom bar open following dinner, last orders between 10:15 and 10:30pm.
Club Closed: 11:00pm

Dress Code: Lounge Suits

Library And Archive Group
2018-11-23 11:30 - 14:30
“Maps, and how to interpret them”. 11:30am in the Library.
The intention is to examine where the many maps in the Athenaeum collection are stored and how to find what is here. Illustrative examples will be available to view.
At 12.30 pm following the talk an informal lunch will be available (£12.50 per person -reservation required)

Arts Group
2018-11-28 14:00 - 15:30
Jutta Hesketh NDD ceramics, Oxford School of Arts, will be talking about Diego de Velasquez, Court Painter to Philip IV of Spain in the C17th.
The presentation will concentrate on Velasquez’s clear and undistorted depiction of court life in his painting ‘Las Meninas’ and its influence on C20th artist Pablo Picasso.

Christmas Saturday Openings
2018-12-01 10:00 - 17:00, 2018-12-08 10:00 - 17:00
The first two Saturday’s in December the Club will be open for Members to enjoy. The Newsroom will be opening and fully serviced with last orders for food taken at 5:00pm.
No dress code will be in enforced during these two special openings, ideal for having lunch in between Christmas shopping!

Athenaeum Christmas Lunch
2018-12-03 12:30 - 14:00
We begin the festive period early in December with our Annual Christmas Lunch, always a popular addition to the calendar. Please book early to avoid disappointment.

The Literature Group
2018-12-05 14:00 - 15:30
Euripides by Brian Gill.
THE BACCHAE:
An Ancient Play With Timely Warnings For Today.
The Ancient Greeks had an astonishing understanding of human psychology. Their literature was frequently tasked with demonstrating the disastrous consequences of pursuing our ‘blind’ and unconscious motives in the service of egoic ambition
Taking the plays, The Bacchae and Oedipus Rex as a starting point we can use them to assess the formidable extent of their psychological understanding and gain invaluable insight into the potential disaster that awaits us today, both collectively and individually, should we continue to act in ignorance of basic human psychology. Our flagrant disregard for a wisdom and foresight that became the foundation of western civilization cannot continue with impunity.
Should anyone feel drawn to read these plays, perhaps it would be better to wait until after this presentation.

The Film Group
2018-12-11 14:00 - 15:30
11th December, 2018: Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) A musical which could only be on film, it was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and choreographed by Busby Berkley. The gold diggers in question are four aspiring actresses: Polly (Ruby Keeler), Carol, an ingenue (Joan Blondel), Trixie, a torch singer (Aline MacMahon) and a glamour puss, (Ginger Rogers). Made during the Great Depression, the film is about a production which is ready to be shown, but is closed for non-ppayment of bills. The producer Barney Hopkins (Ned Sparks) despairs, because he has everything except the money to put on the show, but Plly’s boyfriend, Brad, (Dick Powell) comes to his rescue.
The film was selected in 2003 by the Library of Congress for preservation in the US National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”.
(Running time: 96 mins)

The Athenaeum Film Nights - Meet Me in St Louis
2018-12-12 18:15 - 22:00
Meet Me in St Louis (1944)
In the year leading up to the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, the four Smith daughters learn lessons of life and love, even as they prepare for a reluctant move to New York.
We begin about 6.45pm with a one course supper and go into the ‘cinema’ by about quarter to eight. All our films have a suitable intermission and we empty out no later than ten o’clock.
1 Course Supper Menu TBC
Tea, coffee & mints
Sweeties During Film

Christmas Carol Concert
2018-12-13 18:30 - 22:00
Our Annual Carol Concert this year will feature the Formby Silver Band who will be performing some festive hits following a supper in the dining room. Mince pies and mulled wine will be available during the evening.
Further details to follow.

Christmas Informal Dining
2018-12-20 19:00 - 22:00
We finish 2018 in relaxing fashion with an ever popular informal dining occasion. There are no speakers – just good food, company and wine. You may wish to bring along family and friends with you or join one of our larger club tables. Please specify this on booking.

The Film Group
2019-01-09 14:00 - 16:00
9th January, 2019 Song of Summer (1968) This is a joint presentation with the Music Club (and we hope that it will not be the last.)
Written and directed by Ken Russell for BBC’s Omnibus, this black and white TV film covers the last six years of the life of composer Frederick Delius, when he had become blind and paralysed. Based on the memoir “Delius As I Knew Him” by Eric Fenby, it describes Fenby’s life with the composer and his wife, transcribing music from the composer’s dictation. Russell said that this was the best film he ever made and that he would not have done a single shot differently.
Delius is played by Max Adrian, Fenby by Christopher Gable and Jelka by Maureen Pryor.
(Running time: 72 mins)

The Athenaeum Film Night -The Count of Monte Cristo
2019-01-10 18:15 - 22:00
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
A young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous “friend”, escapes and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge.
We begin about 6.45pm with a one course supper and go into the ‘cinema’ by about quarter to eight. All our films have a suitable intermission and we empty out no later than ten o’clock.
1 Course Supper Menu TBC
Tea, coffee & mints
Sweeties During Film

Restaurant Dining Evening
2019-01-11 19:00 - 22:00
Restaurant Dining Evening
Friday 11th January, service between 7:00 & 8:30pm, please specify your desired time to sit down for dinner, time slots will be filled on a first come first serve basis.
Our next ‘Restaurant’ evening of fine dining will be held on Friday 11th January. There will be options at every course, priced individually in a la carte style. As well as our standard wine list, there will be specially selected fine wines on offer, at least one white and one red, priced in line with the Club’s competitive rate. Why not bring a guest or two to sample the delights of the Athenaeum?
The dress code for the evening will be smart casual.

Music Evening
2019-01-18 18:30 - 23:00
Details TBC

Burns Night
2019-01-25 19:00 - 22:00

History Group Meeting
2019-01-30 14:00 - 15:30

Literature Group Meeting
2019-02-06 14:00 - 15:30
Of Human Bondage’: Diana Lane on Somerset Maugham’s semi-autobiographical novel. When ‘Of Human Bondage’ was published in 1915, Somerset Maugham was at the height of his popularity and fame as a writer of plays, short stories and novels. Since then he has rather fallen out of fashion. Diana’s talk will give us an insight into the writer and his work, reminding some of an old favourite and introducing others to him for the first time.
