The Athenaeum Liverpool

Joint Afternoon Tea - Blue Coat Display
2017-04-05 13:00 - 15:30 (Europe/London) | The Athenaeum Liverpool, Church Alley, Liverpool, L1 3DD, United Kingdom
Tuesday 25th April, 13:00-13:30
Joint Afternoon Tea—Blue Coat Display. £12.50 per person
Tickets : £12.50 each (includes tea, sandwiches & cakes at The Athenaeum). As part of Bluecoat Display Centre’s ongoing programme of exciting artist’s talks, the next event will feature furniture maker Hugh Miller. Hugh will speak about his artistic career. Hugh divides his time between producing his own wooden furniture designs for sale and exhibition and creating bespoke commissions for clients. His original training as an architect is intrinsic to both areas of his work. He combines his understanding of architecture with his love of wood in the design and manufacture of fine furniture. Each piece is designed and handmade in his studio, using beautiful hardwood timbers. This event is open to current and new subscribing Members of Bluecoat Display Centre and The Athenaeum. Please note this event is open to adults and children over the age of 14.

Potions and Pills: A Brief History of Poisoning
2017-03-08 18:00 - 21:00
There has always been a fascination with poisons; a toadstool that can kill, or Shakespearian potions for murder and suicide. Prof Francesco Falciani from the University of Liverpool will take us on a journey from man’s earliest “experiments” with poisons (usually on their enemies or less favoured relatives!), through how industrial and social revolutions required a scientific approach to ensure better human health, to the possibilities of a future of safe, tailor-made drugs and products. The Universities in Liverpool are at the forefront of radical new research that is improving safety and removing the need for animal experimentation in these areas. Our speaker, Prof Falciani, is in high demand across the world for his expertise applying modern molecular biological approaches to the ancient study of toxicology. This talk will start in the past, but certainly end up with a glimpse of the future.
Please note: We intend to start the talk at 6.30pm and have the supper after the talk. This is in response to Proprietors wanting earlier events and, of course, those needing to get back to Wirral by train…

Literature Group Meeting
2017-03-01 14:00 - 15:30
Details to be confirmed

Joint Afternoon Tea, Bluecoat Display
2017-02-28 13:00 - 15:00
Joint Afternoon Tea, Bluecoat Display. £12.50 per person includes tea, sandwiches & cakes.
As part of Bluecoat Display Centre’s ongoing programme of exciting artist’s talks, the next event will feature ceramicist Mari-Ruth Oda. Mari will speak about his artistic career. Mari’s ceramic works are influenced by the traditional Japanese concept of worshiping nature. She tries to recreate her experiences of nature through her work. Through observational drawings and photographs, she explores the anthropomorphic quality of natural forms. From her studio in Manchester, her ceramics are hand-built through building up layers of coils, manipulating and sculpting the forms.

Library Dinner
2017-02-23 18:30 - 22:00
6th Annual Library Dinner – Dress code: Black Tie.
The Library Dinner has developed into one of the most popular events of the year, helped by informal formality, good food and an opportunity to learn something more about the wealth of our Library collections. The last twelve months have been a year of unprecedented activity in the Library. It has seen us spending large amounts of money from the Heritage Lottery Fund, new faces on the team, new treasures discovered over a thousand visitors over the threshold and the development of new links with academic institutions throughout Merseyside. This is your opportunity to discover what we have achieved. Please note the start time is earlier than customary for a dinner event. This is to help to accommodate Wirral travel difficulties. Book early as places are restricted!
Menu
STARTER
Crab & Scallion paupiette, avocado puree,
mango & tomato concasse
MAIN
Breast of roast chicken with fois gras, buttered spinach& creamed morel sauce
served with broccoli & pommes noisette
DESSERT
Orange pannacotta with roasted peaches
Chantilly cream
Tea & coffee

History Group Meeting
2017-02-22 14:00 - 15:30
“The history of Jewish Southport – researching and writing it” by John Cowell.

Arts Group Meeting
2017-02-21 10:45 - 12:00
Visit to Tate Liverpool. Albert Dock.
Meet in Foyer at 10.45am
Constellations: Highlights from the Nation’s Collection of Modern Art.
“What links an L.S.Lowry painting to a Seurat or a Picasso? A Grayson Perry ceramic to a Cindy Sherman Photograph?
Visitors are encouraged to discover similarities between works of art that at first glance may seem very different.
This is a curator led visit.
PLEASE BOOK AT RECEPTION.

Film Group Meeting
2017-02-15 14:00 - 15:30
Wednesday 15th February, 2017 – “Roman Holiday”
A crown princess (Audrey Hepburn) visits Rome and is frustrated by the strict protocol surrounding her visit. She is given a sedative by her doctor, but leaves her hotel and falls asleep on a bench, where she is found by an American reporter, Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck). The princess is persuaded to see Rome as an ordinary tourist and relishes her freedom. Released in 1953 and directed by William Wilder, it won a Best Actress Oscar for Audrey Hepburn.

New Members Informal Dining
2017-02-10 18:15 - 22:00
New Member’s Informal Dining evenings are what they say – informal! A perfect opportunity to sign the share register. 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 with Caitlin at reception.

Athenaeum Film Night - The Day of the Triffids
2017-02-09 18:00 - 21:30
After an unusual meteor shower leaves most of the human population blind, a merchant navy officer must find a way to conquer tall, aggressive plants which are feeding on people and animals.

£10.00 per person, includes a one course supper and refreshments served during the interval.

Literature Group Meeting
2017-02-01 02:00 - 15:30
Details to be confirmed.

Burns Night Supper
2017-01-27 19:00 - 23:00
Friday 27th January, 7:00-7:30pm
Burns Night Supper
We will celebrate the life of Robbie Burns, with all his associations to the Athenaeum, at our Black-Tie Event. A piper, the haggis, the Immortal Memory and whisky galore! Further details to follow…

Athenaeum Film Night - The Happiest Days of Your Life
2017-01-18 18:00 - 21:30
With a memorable cast of great comedy actors, this preposterously silly farce is elevated even beyond the realms of Dighton’s play, skilfully adapted by him and Launder to the screen. No messages here, just a battle of infuriated sexes as Sim, headmaster of a boys’ school, learns that thanks to Civil Service ineptitude (could that be Richard Wattis?!) his sanctuary is to be invaded by a London girls’ school. It’s wartime, the Blitz is on, and headmistress Rutherford marches her girls into the fortress like an invading regiment.
£10.00 per person, includes a one course supper and refreshments served during the interval.

Cheap and Cheerful Supper
2017-01-13 18:30 - 21:30

Film Group Meeting
2017-01-11 14:00 - 15:30
Wednesday 11th January, 2017 – “Tokyo Story”
Made in 1953, this film is considered to be one of the greatest ever made. Elderly parents come to visit their children and grandchildren in Tokyo, but the children are busy and the old people upset their routine. The visit goes badly and a few days after the old people return home, the grandmother dies and it is now the turn of the children to make the journey. Directed by Ozu Tasojiro, prepare to have your emotions torn by a simple but very familiar theme.

Christmas Informal Dining
2016-12-22 19:00 - 23:00
We finish 2016 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 your or join one of our larger club tables. Please specify this on booking with Caitlin at Reception.

Athenaeum Film Night - Christmas Films
2016-12-21 18:00 - 21:30
With festivities in full swing, the audience will be given the choice between two classic Christmas films: It’s a Wonderful Life, James Stewart’s Everyman character finally realises that – yes – life is wonderful and worth living in this inspired, inspiring Christmas cracker, or The Shop Around the Corner. Stewart is the man working in a gift shop conducting a love affair by letter with a woman he has never met, while taking an instant dislike to Clerk Sullivan who starts to work there.
£10.00 per person, includes a one course supper and refreshments served during the interval.

The Athenaeum Carol Evening
2016-12-15 18:30 - 21:00
Thursday 15th December, 6:30-7:00pm
The Athenaeum Carol Evening with the Liverpool Chamber Choir, £25.00 per person.
After rave reviews at July’s Summer Concert, the Liverpool Chamber Choir return to perform some festive hits following a supper in the dining room. Mince pies and mulled wine will be available during the evening.
Menu to be confirmed.

History Group Meeting
2016-12-14 14:00 - 15:30
John Tiernan, ‘”Modernise Everything”: Thomas Shelmerdine, Liverpool Architect.’

Film Group Meeting
2016-12-13 14:00 - 15:30
Tuesday 13th December, 2015 – “The Wizard of Oz”: Nobody sings “Over the Rainbow” like Judy Garland. Made in 1939, it narrowly lost out to “Gone with the Wind” for best picture. Made in early telecolor, over seventy years later the film is still a delight to adults and children alike. Dorothy from Kansas (Garland) is scooped up by a tornado with her dog Toto and set down in a strange new world. To get home again, she embarks on a journey with three companions to the emerald City of Oz to ask the wizard who rules the City for his help. (And for those who have read “Wicked”, the Witch of the West takes on a different aspect.)

Athenaeum Christmas Ball
2016-12-10 18:30 - 23:00
Saturday 10th December, 6:30-7:00pm
Athenaeum Christmas Ball.
Come and join our festive extravaganza! Arrival Drinks, Christmas Carvery buffet, table wine, live entertainment and a raffle on the evening with special prizes – all proceeds to the upkeep of the Library. Dress code; Black Tie (Full festive finery also an option!) Maximum of 10 attendees per booking. Bookings to be made via main reception or the Proprietor’s Area of the Website.

The Athenaeum Christmas Debates
2016-12-09 17:30 - 19:30
The Athenaeum Christmas Debate is taking place on the 9th December 2016 at 5:30pm in the Athenaeum Library. The event is a collaboration between the Athenaeum and The University of Liverpool.
The motion is “The UK’s choice to leave the European Union causes a detriment to Higher Education” and is being proposed by Dr Louise Reynolds of the University of Liverpool.
The motion will be opposed by His Honour Nigel Gilmour. The structure follows the traditional competition debate format, comprising two teams of two members. The debate opens with four speeches alternating between proposition and opposition, each of seven minutes’ duration. The floor will be opened for 25 minutes of moderated questions. The debate will draw to a close with a five-minute summary speech on each side. The event is an opportunity to enjoy good debate and rhetoric in an atmosphere of mutual respect, intellectual curiosity, and warm, cordial hospitality. We will of course be ‘de-briefing’ in the Newsroom bar afterward! The event is open to proprietors and guests and is bookable through the Athenaeum on-line booking system. We look forward to seeing and hearing you, on the 9th December.

Literature Group Meeting
2016-12-07 14:00 - 15:30
The December Literature Group Meeting will consist of Christmas Readings.

Athenaeum Christmas Lunch
2016-12-01 12:30 - 15:00
Thursday 1st December, 12:30-1:00pm
Athenaeum Christmas Lunch, £25.00 per person
We begin the festive period early at the Club with our Annual Christmas Lunch, always a popular addition to the calendar. Please book early to avoid disappointment.

'Joseph Banks - Australia's First Botanist'
2016-11-25 19:00 - 23:00
Andrew Sankey will tell us the fascinating story of Sir Joseph Banks, a Lincolnshire man, has become known as the Father of Australia for his connections with the country. After travelling around the world with Captain Cook he set up a scientific garden at Kew that became the greatest botanical garden in the world and introduced some 7,000 new plants to Britain. He transferred bread fruit to the West Indies, became President of the Royal Society, was a founder member of the Horticultural Society, and even sent plant hunters to China. Joseph Banks was an explorer, botanist and a great man of science who has the Australia family of plants Banksia named after him. It is a remarkable tale of ingenuity, fortitude and new plants, and not without links to our own library collection.
Andrew Sankey went into secondary school teaching and became Head of Graphics before starting a garden design and landscaping business in Lincolnshire. He created a cottage garden open under the NGS and became Chairman of the Lincolnshire branch of the Cottage Garden Society. He also ran a small nursery specialising in plants for dry sun/shade positions. He was asked to give a talk on the history of the cottage garden and since then has lectured widely on a range of gardening subjects, both throughout Britain and the USA

Menu
Main Course
Steamed fillet of Plaice, salmon and tomato mousse, courgette flowers and tarragon cream
Dessert
Tiramisu

History Group Meeting
2016-11-23 14:00 - 15:30
John Pinfold on the founder of Aintree racecourse.

Remembrance Sunday Lunch
2016-11-13 12:30 - 13:00
Sunday 13th November, 12:30-1:00pm
Remembrance Sunday Lunch. £25.00.
Traditional Sunday lunch following the Civic Remembrance Service at St George’s Plateau.

Menu
Starter
Cream of Vegetable Soup (v) served with a warm bread roll
Main
Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding. Seasonal Vegetables & Roast Potatoes
Dessert
Apple Pie & Custard
Tea & Coffee

Winter Wine Tasting - Call my Bluff
2016-11-11 19:00 - 22:30
Friday 11th November, 7:00-7:30pm
Winter Wine Tasting – Call my Bluff £39.00 per person.
If you have yet to attend one of the Club’s ‘Call My Bluff’ evenings, they come highly recommended! A top class 4 course menu accompanied by 4 wines and a barrel of laughs. A most enjoyable evening.

Athenaeum Film Night - Great Expectations
2016-11-09 18:00 - 21:30
Wednesday 9th November, 6:00-6:30pm
Athenaeum Film Night Presents – Great Expectations. £10.00 per person, includes a one course supper and refreshments served during the interval.
John Mills is the orphan who enters high society in David Lean’s Oscar-winning 1946 adaptation of the great Dickens novel.

Film Group Meeting
2016-11-09 14:00 - 15:30
9th November, 2016 – “Bad Day at Black Rock”: A “modern” western, with an exceptional cast, director John Sturges received his only Oscar nomination for this film. At the end of World War II a disabled soldier (Spencer Tracy) visits a small western town to give a medal to the parents of the man who was killed saving his life, but does not expect the hostile reception he receives. The cast includes Robert Ryan, Dean Jagger and Walter Brennan, but look out for a young Lee Marvin and a youngish Ernest Borgnine.
