Lunches
The lunches are held on the third Thursday of each month at 11.30 for 12.30 in the Homestead Court Hotel in Welwyn Garden City. Dress is normally smart casual with a jacket and tie for the men. Expect to get away by 3pm. The three course lunch with coffee costs £30 and includes a starter, meat main course, a dessert or cheese and biscuits, and coffee. An alternative main course “chef’s selection of fish”, may be pre-booked when registering for the lunch.
On arrival for lunch members check in by the hotel reception. Those who have ordered a variant from the menu will receive an envelope containing cards which indicate a diner's choice of alternative for the 'Starter, Main Course and Desert or Cheese and Biscuits’. They should be displayed on their lunch table to help the waiting staff. A cash bar is open for drinks before, and with the meal.
Lunches must be booked no later than the Friday of the week before the lunch. The club has recently introduced an online lunch booking scheme which has made life easier for both lunch attendees, the Lunch Secretary and other committee members. Links to the online booking forms are emailed to members about one month ahead of each upcoming lunch. Details of the lunches, along with the necessary booking forms are also included in the Newsletter. The club also strongly encourages lunch payment by online bank transfer.
Any Member who is unable to attend after booking is responsible for the cost unless a cancellation is notified by the Friday previous to the booked lunch.
Some individual members reserve seats for themselves and their guests by placing cards on the tables. Whilst this has disadvantages and is less than ideal, nobody has yet come up with a more acceptable idea!
Details of the talks to be given at the next two lunches are given below. The dates and times of Lunches, outings and other upcoming events, can be found on the Google Calendar of HELC Events. This is currently set as Agenda view, but you can change to Week or Month view; you can also print a list of events over any range of dates you choose. Public Holidays are shown in green text, all HELC items are a different colour. Click on an event to see full details, including a link to a map of the meeting point or venue.
17 April 2025
What is Life and How do Fungi Fit In?
Dr Chris Woolston (HELC Member)
We all think we know what life is and none of us would question whether a mouse, a blue whale or an oak tree is living. But what about a bacterium or a virus? Or a freshly cut Christmas tree with its roots cut off? Or the contents of a packet of flower or vegetable seeds?
Many of us will, no-doubt, remember being told in our early biology lessons at school that living things display seven characteristics which they all share. (Perhaps you may remember the mnemonic MERRING to help you recall these). But, as we will discuss, many of these characteristics are also shared by many non-living things.
And so, in this talk we will take a fresh look at what life really involves. We will look at how the vast array of living things are classified and how fungi fit in with this system of classification. And we will finish by looking at some fascinating fungal facts in order to establish whether fungi are friends, foes, food or freaks.
Chris is one of our own HELC Members and is passionate about all aspects of science and its history. He has taught both adults and children, done research in heterocyclic chemistry both for his doctorate and in the pharmaceutical industry, proof-read science textbooks and refereed scientific papers, and served on the council of the Geologists’ Association. He loves classical music and opera (but knows nothing about music) and enjoys walking in mountains (but has a fear of heights)!
15 May 2025
George Bernard Shaw, his wife, and Friends in Hertfordshire
Philippa Parker
Philippa’s talk will give an overview of the Shaws’ 46 years in our county, their activities and friendships within it, a look at the rectory which became their country home and touch on Shaw's interest in technology.
Philippa Parker has been a volunteer guide at Shaw’s Corner, the Shaws’ home at Ayot St Lawrence managed by the National Trust, for 16 years and writes about the couple and their circle for local history and academic publications. She leads Letchworth Local History Research Group, and co-authored Industrial Letchworth: The First Garden City, 1903–20 (University of Hertfordshire Press, 2021).
