Jonathan Walker
Guest Speaker

Ambassador Cruises - a record breaking 95% rating.
Fred Olsen Cruises - an outstanding rating of 5 out of 5.

"Superb delivery - great mixture of facts and fun. Very entertaining and professional."
"Amusing, informative, witty, good speaker."
"Absolutely brilliant."
"Uplifting and humorous talk delivered in an easy listening manner."
"I was in tears of laughter at one point, the humour is excellent."
"The little gems of interesting/quirky facts are great." 
"Enlightening and entertaining."  
"Very clever and well researched."

Informative & entertaining:

Epic Failures – how success owes much to failure.  Coca-Cola, Corn Flakes, and car tyres were all failures and even the World Wide Web has a story of failure to tell. You may be surprised to learn that you use failures every day and that many successful products and top companies only succeeded because of failure in some way.

Men & Women - same species, different animals.  Do men and women really think differently? Is there really such a thing as male and female brains? Do we really have different abilities and talents? Are either of the sexes ‘better’ at certain tasks? After this amusing and informative talk, you’ll know exactly how and why we really are different animals.

Money – its past and its future.  A look at why we use coins and notes instead of the many strange alternatives once used, why we needed to invent money and why we needed a banking system to allow it to work. Then we look at the future of money and how the technology powering cryptocurrency will bring beneficial change to many other aspects of our lives.

Sleep Matters – why we need sleep & how to sleep well.  Sleep is something we take for granted without realising just how much it affects our health, happiness and even our weight.  We look at how our sleep changes as we grow older, how napping can help us live longer, and we review the many things that stop us sleeping or disturb our sleep and simple ways to improve the quality of our sleep.   

The history of money and classic cons.  The intriguing story of the thing we call money. A look at why we needed to create money, the strange forms it took over the centuries and why we needed a banking system to make it work; and then we take a look at the sometimes amusing and sometimes ingenious classic historical cons.

The future of money and modern-day scams.  A look at how cryptocurrency was created, why it is bad for the environment and what makes people invest in this new money. Then we look to modern-day scams and find out why the average Brit is the most likely category to be scammed and how the scammers’ traps can easily be avoided.

The story of the Olympic Games.  The surprising story of the origins of the ancient Games, why they came to an end after nearly twelve hundred years, the many attempts at their revival and how they became the games we know today.  Along the way we see some strange sports once considered to be fitting for the Olympics and how it was even possible for a dead athlete to win.

Why do I find that funny?  We look at why humans react with laughter and whether humour is something unique to homo sapiens, why we laugh at jokes that aren’t funny, why we groan at Christmas cracker jokes and why laugher is not only good for our heart and mind but it can even help us lose weight.

Informative & humorous:

Being British - an essential guide to being a Brit.  An amusing look at the habits and peculiarities of the British. We put the Brits under the microscope as we look at British stoicism, the British sense of humour, our eccentric past-times, passion for queueing, love of apologising and the real reason why we have an obsession with the weather.

Epic Personal Failures.  From politicians to broadcasters, insurance claim forms to medical notes, an entertaining look at individuals who have failed to think about the words they were speaking, to those who have failed to see the opportunity right in front of their eyes. We find even the so-called experts and even the rich and famous often fail in spectacular ways.

I told you I was ill.  A talk inspired by the inscription on Spike Milligan’s headstone. But it is not just headstones that provide the opportunity for people to make a lasting statement. We look at the unusual ways some have met their final demise, unusual words prior to it happening, unusual Wills to carry out their wishes, as well as unusual memorial epitaphs.

35 Signs You’re Officially Old.  Does time really go quicker the older you get? Does your memory start to fade? Do you become miserable and a bad driver? A talk full of fun and facts as we take a look at the humorous side of growing older and find that many of the beliefs about growing older are, in reality, completely false.

Historic & informative:

Life in the 1950s.  (Single talk). A trip back in time to look at the decade with still and video images to remind us of home life, school life, play, holidays, the cinema and the stars of the day. We look at how television started to change our lives, how the health of the nation was changing and how nuclear weapons arrived to forever change the world.

Life in the 1950s Part 1.  (Two-part talk).  A trip back in time to look at the fifties with still and moving images to remind us of home life, school life, play, holidays, the cinema, and the stars of the day. A look back at the decade that saw the beginnings of social and technological changes that still effect the way we live today.

Life in the 1950s Part 2.  Our visit to the fifties continues with a look at how the rapid expansion of television sets in the home started to influence our lives, how the health of the nation was changing, how the arrival of nuclear weapons was changing the world and how commercial computing power arrived to change our lives forevermore.

The changing face of Television in the 1960’s.  (Single talk).  A look at the decade that saw television win the entertainment war and how our rapidly growing love of home entertainment brought about the swift decline of the cinema. A trip through history for the young or a nostalgic meander down memory lane for those old enough to remember the decade.

Life in the 1960s Part 1.  (Two-part talk).  The decade that saw the greatest change in lifestyle, music, and entertainment since the turn of the century. The decade when men’s hair grew longer, and women’s skirts grew shorter. Illustrated with clips from the most popular radio and television entertainment of the time, we see the rise of the captivating new phenomena, the TV ‘Soap’.

Life in the 1960s Part 2.  The decade of the Beatles and the Berlin Wall, the cold war, and the space race. A look back at the Mods and Rockers and the Vietnam War as well as the technological developments of the time. A dose of nostalgia or an insight into a world on the verge of nuclear war and mans’ first walk on another planet.

Life in the 1970s.  The story of the ever-changing face of life in Britain over the ten years that began with Flower Power and ended with Punk. A period of great strides forward in medical science and the arrival of the beginnings of the internet, email and mobile phones destined to take the world in a new direction from which there would be no going back.

Christmas Talks:

The history of the traditions of Christmas.  Once a year we follow some strange traditions with little or no idea how these traditions came about or where they came from. A fascinating look at how a collection of traditions compiled and adapted over many centuries has led to what we now consider to be a traditional British Christmas.

Christmas Leftovers.  If you have ever wondered why the meat disappeared from mince pies, why we eat turkey, Brussels sprouts and plumb pudding at Christmas, why we watch a man dressed up as the Dame at the panto or why Boxing Day is so called, then this is the talk for you.  More fun and strange facts about the festive season.

Further talks coming soon:

The Vikings the Myths & Misconceptions.  Were the Vikings ruthless warriors who stole from churches and enslaved the local peoples or peaceful settlers skilled in boat building and metalwork; or both? A talk that sorts out the myths from the facts and looks beyond the televised image to find brave, sophisticated explorers who helped lay the foundations for other nations laws, language and culture.

How the Vikings helped make Britain.  In 865AD a great Viking army swept through Britain destroying the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms. They built new settlements and became a part of the mix that make up the British people today. We take a look at just how much the British people owe to the influence of the Vikings for our modern-day language and culture.

Peope say & do the funniest things – out of the mouths of children & celebrities.  It was Albert Einstein who said, ‘Two things are infinite, the Universe and man’s stupidity, but I am not sure about the Universe.’ In this talk we look at more examples of mankind proving that Einstein was correct, including many contributions that show that there is a lot we can learn from children.

Three Amazing Women.  Three little known women who deserve recognition for differing reasons. Firstly, Bess of Hardwick, a woman from humble beginnings who became second only in wealth to Elizabeth I. Next, the amazing Mary Seacole an often-overshadowed heroine of the Crimean War. Finally, we move to the 1950s to find out how much we all owe to a lady by the name of Henrietta Lacks.