PROGRAMME OF TALKS AND MEETINGS
FELIXSTOWE.
All Felixstowe meetings are held at
the Salvation Army Hall, at the junction of Ranelagh Road and Cobbold Road IP11 7EL
All talks start at 10.30 am the first Thursday of the month. Refreshments served from 10.00am before the meeting
Watch this space for changes in Speaker Meetings
Meetings from October 2023 - June 2024
OPEN DAY 2024
Friday 6th September 2024 Kesgrave 10.30am – 12.30pm
Your opportunity to see what our groups will be offering for the coming year
Meetings From October 2024-June 2025
Meetings are Returning to Salvation Army Hall
Thursday, 2nd January 2025 – PENspiration and Mid-Life Metamorphoses- Virginia Betts
Virginia’s talks about her creative journey towards becoming a published author, her relatively late- in-life career as a writer, her return to acting and directing, and also how she left her teaching career to run a tutoring business as well. A mid-life metamorphosis to inspire. Virginia was diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Condition and Irlens syndrome (visual processing) aged 45, and she works with many students who have ‘different’ learning needs. She loves to advocate for the neurodivergent and prove that a disability can become an ability with the right support. She writes a monthly column for Felixstowe Magazine App called PENspiration! which Virginia hopes inspires others that they can achieve their goals whatever their age or circumstance. Virginia is a tutor, writer and actor from Ipswich. She has had two books published: The Camera Obscure, a collection of supernatural and gothic noir tales, and Tourist to the Sun, a full collection of poetry. She has also had numerous stories and poems published in journals and magazines and performed on stage and BBC Radio. She now owns Results Tutoring, where she helps students to achieve 11 plus, GCSE and A level potential, specialising in neurodiverse learning.
Thursday, 6th February 2025- The Challenges of Working for UK Law Enforcement Overseas – Jim Jarvie
Liaising with overseas agencies to investigate international drug smuggling and securing evidence for the UK court cases. The challenges of living and working in Portugal and Brazil as a drug liaison officer seconded to the British Embassy Jim Jarvie has spent the majority of his forty- year career investigating and prosecuting organised crime groups involved in drug trafficking, money laundering and border crime. He worked on and managed front- line, surveillance, operational and intelligence teams for HM Customs and Excise and the UK Border Force. He was the first UK Drug Liaison Officer to be posted to the British Embassy, Lisbon covering mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores. In 1997 he was appointed on a four- year posting to Brazil as a Law Enforcement Liaison Officer. Based in the British Embassy he worked with Brazilian law enforcement agencies to identify drug shipments destined for the UK and Europe.
Thursday, 6th March 2025 – Writing With A Needle – Sara Impey
Sara Impey is an award –winning quilt artist from Essex, who specilaises in making quilted wall hangings featuring free motion machine- stitched text, which enables her to write with a needle on the textile surface. Sara writes her own content and subjects which include contemporary issues, sometimes with a dash of humour. Samples of her recent work will be shown, as Sara describes her sources of inspiration and explains the techniques she likes to use. She has exhibited her work in the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia and many European countries. Sara’s work has also been included in several museum collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum and she will talk about how this commisssion and others came about
Thursday, 3rd April 2025 Not an Octopus - Laura Locke
Thursday, 1st May 2025 – Felixstowe Coast Patrol and Rescue – Speaker Name TBC
This is an independent lifeboat charity that was formed in 1987, based in Felixstowe and are a founding member of the National Independent Lifeboat Association (NILA). They have been saving lives and perfoming rescues amongst one of the busiest seaways in the UK, working closely with HM Coastguard, Suffolk Constabulary, East of England Ambulance Service, Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service and the RNLI
Thursday, 5th June 2025 – The Trinity House Story – Karl Lumbers
Captain Karl Lumbers with his very extensive and varied Marine career, shares the fascinating history of Trinity House, of which the safety of shipping and the well-being of seafarers have been the prime concerns, since being incorporated by Royal Charter in 1514. Trinity House is a charity dedicated to safeguarding shipping and seafarers, providing education, support and welfare to the seafaring community with a statutory duty as a General Lighthouse Authority to deliver reliable, efficient and cost-effective aids to navigation service, for the benefit and safety of all mariners
AGM at Kesgrave War Memorial Community Centre
(Provisional Date ) 9th June 2025 2pm All welcome
Volunteers needed for Committee
Advanced Notice of Open day 2025 at Kesgrave War Memorial Community Centre
(Provisional Date) 5th September 2025 10.30am - 12.30pm
