Quest Lecture Group

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Programme of public lectures on historical, local, cultural and general interest topics open to all in the South Lakes area of Cumbria (Milnthorpe, Arnside, Kendal, Grange), held twice monthly from September to March at the Athenaeum, Leasgill

01/10/2026

QUEST TALK: UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS
Thursday 22nd October, 10:00am
at the Athenaeum village hall, Leasgill, nr Milnthorpe LA7 7ET
Flying saucers? Little green men? Are there any images of UFOs that need an extraterrestrial explanation? This talk by Dr STEVE BARRETT from Liverpool University looks at some images that may have more down-to-earth origins.
This the third in our season of 12 talks on a wide variety of interesting topics. Annual subscription including refreshments is still just £18 - a bargain. Guest admission £3. No need to book, just pay on the door. Enquiries to [email protected] For the full programme of talks through to 2027, see our new website: questcumbria.co.uk

24/09/2026

QUEST TALK: THE RED SQUIRREL
Thursday 8th October, 10:00am
at the Athenaeum village hall, Leasgill, nr Milnthorpe LA7 7ET
Wildlife photographer RON BLACKBURN returns with videos he has a made in 10 years of studying this wonderful small animal - friendly, funny, quick but seriously endangered. In 1960 there were thought to be 4 million in Britain, now just 270,000, mostly in Scottish pine forests.
This the second in our season of 12 talks on a wide variety of interesting topics. Annual subscription including refreshments is still just £18 - a bargain. Guest admission £3. No need to book, just pay on the door. Enquiries to [email protected] For the full programme of talks through to 2027, see our new website: questcumbria.co.uk

30/08/2026

QUEST TALK: TROUBLEMAKER - THE LIFE AND ART OF CARAVAGGIO
Thursday 24th September, 10:00am
at the Athenaeum village hall, Leasgill, nr Milnthorpe LA7 7ET
ANNE-MARIE MICHEL returns to tell the story of the bad boy of 16th century art. Extremely talented, combining pioneering realism with dramatic lighting, he also had a fiery temper. He killed a man in a brawl, was condemned to death and spent much of the rest of his life fleeing from justice, dying in mysterious circumstances.
This the first in our season of 12 talks on a wide variety of interesting topics. Subscription covering all 12 including refreshments is still just £18 - a bargain. Guest admission £3. No need to book, just pay on the door. Enquiries to [email protected] For the full programme of talks through to 2027, see our new website: questcumbria.co.uk

09/08/2026

ONLY A FEW WEEKS TO GO ...
Quest's 2026-7 season of talks starts on Thursday 24th September with the return of excellent speaker Ann-Marie Michel, who will tell the story of Caravaggio, the bad boy of Italian art. To be followed with a wide variety of talks, from vikings to UFOs, and red squirrels to catastrophic bridge building. The subscription for 12 talks with refreshments is still only £18. Details at www.questcumbria.co.uk

21/03/2026

END OF THE SEASON
Thursday sees the last of the talks in our 2025-6 season with "The Life, Loves & Films of Errol Flynn followed by our annual lunch.
Next season is all set up and the annual subscriptions will remain at £18 for 12 talks, including refreshments - what a bargain! The next programme is ...
24 Sept: Ann-Marie Michel - “Troublemaker, life & art of Caravaggio”
8 Oct: Ron Blackburn - “The Red Squirrel”
22 Oct: Steve Barrett - “Unidentified Flying Objects”
12 Nov: Andy Lowe - “Lakeland Architecture”
26 Nov: Rob David - “Muncaster Castle’s Wartime Secret”
10 December: Martin Gittins - “Crazy Christmas Customs”
14 Jan: Julian Blatchley - “Norsemen in Lakeland”
28 Jan: Caroline James - “Celebrity Chefs - behind the apron”
11 Feb: Mark Hatton - “Murder on the Moors”
25 Feb: Alan & Julie Walker - “Wildlife Photography - Japan”
11 Mar: Gordon Emery - “Curious Cumbria - Oddities”
25 Mar: John Mather - “Sir Thomas Bouch, Victorian Engineer”

11/03/2026

QUEST TALK: LIFE, LOVES & FILMS OF ERROL FLYNN
Thursday 26th March, 10:00am
at the Athenaeum village hall, Leasgill, nr Milnthorpe LA7 7ET
COLIN PENNY tells the story of Errol Flynn, one of the most popular, charismatic and infamous film stars ever to have graced the silver screen. The quintessential swashbuckler, his films remain perennially entertaining.
Tasmanian-born Errol was one of the original hellraisers of Hollywood. A Don Juan both on and off the screen he is often viewed as a man more intent on pursuing his leading lady than he was in pursuing a career as a serious actor. There is no doubt that he was a director's nightmare - frequently turning up to shoots late and either hungover or still drunk from the night before. He was a scoundrel with women; a man who 'loved them and left them’.
This is the final talk of our season, followed by the meal at Crooklands for those who have booked.
Guest admission £3 including refreshments. No need to book, just pay on the door. Enquiries to [email protected] For the full programme of talks through to 2027, see our new website: questcumbria.co.uk

01/03/2026

CROOKLANDS MEAL
Quest members are invited to our usual end of season meal at the Crooklands Hotel after our last meeting on 26th March. £29 gets you two courses - starter and main or main and sweet. You can book, pay and make your menu choices at our next meeting on 12th March.

23/02/2026

QUEST TALK: MORE TV MEMORIES OF CUMBRIA
Thursday 12th March, 10:00am
at the Athenaeum village hall, Leasgill, nr Milnthorpe LA7 7ET
Former broadcast tv crew JIM BOWNASS & ANDREW LEITCH will be presenting more local television stories of yesteryear from their archive.
Guest admission at £3 for a single talk including refreshments. No need to book, just pay on the door. Enquiries to [email protected] For the full programme of talks, see our new website: questcumbria.co.uk

08/02/2026

We now have a website questcumbria.co.uk and the 2026-7 season of talks is now booked

06/02/2026

TALK: SAMUEL HASLAM of HEVERSHAM
Thursday 26th February, 10:00am
at the Athenaeum village hall, Leasgill, nr Milnthorpe LA7 7ET
Professor IAN HODKINSON will tell the story of Samuel Holker Haslam (1797–1856) an English naturalist whose plant and insect specimens are to be found in several museum collections. Born into a family of cotton manufacturers in Lancashire, Haslam used his inherited wealth to set himself up as a country gentleman in Heversham. He collected plants, insects and books, observed birds, gardened, farmed the land and was a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London.
Guest admission at £3 for a single talk including refreshments. No need to book, just pay on the door. Enquiries to [email protected]

Address

The Athenaeum, Leasgill
Milnthorpe
LA77ET

Telephone

+441539564030

Website

http://questcumbria.co.uk/

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