PROGRAMME We meet at the Arts Centre Stamford, 27 St Mary’s Street, Stamford, PE9 2DL on the second Tuesday of each month (except July and August). Arrival and refreshments are from 10.00 am and the lecture starts at 11.00 am. New Membership year - Don’t forget to change your standing order. Membership fee is £50 There are no lectures in July or August September 10th Tulip Mania in Golden Age Holland Tom Flynn This talk tells the story of one of the most fascinating investment “bubbles” in the history of economics. In the late sixteenth century, the humble tulip bulb made its way from China through to the courts and gardens of the Ottoman Empire where its beauty and rarity were admired by the wealthy sultans. In time, its fame spread, triggering a collecting craze in early seventeenth century Holland, which we now know as the beginning of the so-called Dutch Golden Age. The mania for tulip collecting and speculating meant that some rare varieties eventually reached staggering prices, becoming an example of what economists have called an “extraordinary popular delusion” or “the madness of crowds.” In many ways tulip mania can be seen as a parallel development to what has happened on occasions in the art market, where the relationship between the market price of the object comes to bear no credible relationship to its intrinsic worth. In Holland, the tulip market collapsed in 1637, leading to the impoverishment of many speculators, including a number of artists who had over-invested in the promise of untold riches. A tulip, known as "the Viceroy" (viseroij), displayed in the 1637 Dutch catalogue Verzameling van een Meenigte Tulipaanen. Its bulb was offered for sale for between 3,000 and 4,200 guilders (florins) depending on weight (gewooge). A skilled craftsworker at the time earned about 300 guilders a year. October 8th The Culture of Ukraine Rosamund Bartlett This lecture tells Ukraine's story through the shared culture which binds its proud people together. We will explore the sacred art and architecture of Kyiv and its links to Byzantium, as well as the distinctive characters and ethnicities of Odesa and Lviv. Tracing Ukraine's complicated multi-ethnic history also means looking at its rich folk culture traditions. These range from native song and the secret codes embedded in ancient embroidery, which have exerted a surprising impact on modern painting and contemporary haute couture, to Cossack dancing and borshch. November 12th Sir Stanley Spencer: an Autobiography in Pictures Carolyn Leder Endlessly autobiographical, Spencer (1891-1959) noted, ‘my longings became pictures’. One of Britain’s greatest painters, he was a visionary artist whose name became synonymous with Cookham, the picturesque Thameside village he immortalised, which for him was the scene of heavenly visitations. Cookham shaped his work throughout his career, as the setting for subject pictures as well as beautiful realistic landscapes. He also created remarkable images of two World Wars. His mural decorations at the Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere, commemorating the First World War, are one of the great achievements of twentieth century painting. His turbulent private life can be traced through his figure paintings. Riggers - detail Workers in the rigging loft of a Glasgow shipyard. Stanley Spencer 1944 Public Domain Wikipedia Commons December 10th A Very Ceremonial Christmas Dr Graham Jones Find out, in this very light-hearted lecture, about the various ceremonial events that take place around Christmas time. Carol services, concerts and even Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace and Windsor all play their part. How do the Chelsea Pensioners prepare and celebrate the festive season? All will be revealed so, come along and feel wrapped in a blanket of Christmas loveliness.