Past Events
As Britain’s best-known headmaster, Sir Anthony Seldon famously introduced happiness, or well-being, lessons at his school, Wellington College. In 2011, he co-founded Action for Happiness, a body to raise awareness of the discovery of happiness and reduction of depression, whose influence is growing rapidly in Britain and across the world. He is the author of Beyond Happiness: How to find lasting meaning and joy in all that you have where lays out the difference between pleasure, happiness and joy, and offers an original 8-step approach on how to make our lives far more meaningful and rewarding. The pursuit of happiness can all too easily become a trap which seduces us into thinking there is no more to life than being happy. But in this special Goldster conversation, Sir Anthony will also talk about his widely-praised political writings, notably The Impossible Office: The History of the British Prime Minister. Who do you think has been our best and worst prime ministers?
Meet Sir Anthony and tell him your choice – the Goldster Magazine Show 1pm Tuesday July 9th 2024.
We are thrilled this month to have a Book Club book written by one of our Goldster members! A huge well done to ‘Annem’ (she even has a Goldster-inspired pseudonym). We will be chatting about Croitearan Crofters from 1pm on Tuesday 25 June, as part of the Goldster Magazine show. As a bonus, the author will be there and is happy to answer questions about her writing and her self-publishing journey.
Croitearan Crofters is a novel about the impact the twentieth century has on a crofting family, the McLeans, who live on a Hebridean island. Kate is born at the beginning of the century into a family of four brothers. The Great War awaits which devastates the family. Afterwards only Kate and her father, Hugh, remain on the croft.
These stories are not sentimental nor nostalgic. They are about birth and death and love. There is hope and despair, deprivation and humour, some sex, rather a lot of religion, a little politics. There are no villains, just people trying to live in a beautiful but harsh environment who sometimes make mistakes and all the time the world is changing, a way of life is disappearing and a language, with its unique way of looking at the world and describing it, is heading for extinction.
Our Book Club events are open to all, whether you’ve had the chance to read the book or not. These events are not recorded, everyone is unmuted and everyone gets the chance to meet other Goldster members. Come along and be a part of the Goldster community.
Jane Corry is a writer and journalist who has spent time working as the writer in residence of a high security prison for men – an experience that helped inspire her Sunday Times bestselling novels. Before taking up the post, Jane had never been inside a prison and says that the experience “really opened up my eyes. Initially I was terrified about doing the job but as soon as I started, I was hooked. Here was another world. I’d always thought that prisoners were simply “born bad,” but I soon found that some had committed crimes because of messed-up childhoods, wrong decisions combined with alcohol and drugs. My job was to encourage inmates to write about their lives to help release feelings and turn over a new leaf. Many of my men had mental health issues; some heard voices in their heads. This was scary for me to witness, but the writer side of me was fascinated.”
Jane is now a judge for the life story section of the Koestler Awards, which are given to men and women in prison and mental institutions. She will be talking to Lucinda about the importance of writing for mental health and about the vital importance of exercise to mental clarity. Many of her own writing ideas strike during morning dog-jogs along the beach followed by a dip in the sea.
Join Jane Corry with Lucinda Hawksley on The Goldster Magazine Show at 1pm on Tuesday 4 June 2024.
On an Autumn day in 1929, a three-year-old girl went missing from a beach in Lincolnshire. For a few moments, her mother had perhaps looked away, and in that time the child was kidnapped. A few days later the little girl was found, but the mystery of who took her and why she was abducted was never resolved. That stolen child was the mother of author Laura Cumming.
When Cumming learnt the story she was bemused by what seemed to be an extraordinary silence about her mother’s childhood abduction, so she set about trying to find out what had happened. In doing so, she uncovered several other secrets.
This beautifully written family memoir, follows Laura Cumming’s journey as the art historian turned detective – via police reports and newspaper reporting. Read it and venture back to an England between the wars, following the author’s efforts to determine what happened really during the days of the disappearance.
Join Lucinda Hawksley at 1pm on Tuesday 28 May for the Goldster Magazine Book Club, to chat about On Chapel Sands and all things book related.
Excite your tastebuds as well as your mind with this book about the sensuality of food and its preparation. A modern retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, the story revolves around Laura, an American exchange student in Rome; a handsome waiter named Tomasso, who allows Laura to believe he’s the restaurant’s chef; and the actual chef, Tomasso’s shy friend Bruno.
The Food of Love was Anthony Capella’s first novel. He is a fabulous writer and has gone on to write several more books, usually with a culinary element, including The Wedding Officer, The Empress of Ice-Cream, The Various Flavours of Coffee and Love and Other Chemicals. He has also written a novella, entitled Undressing.
Take time to savour The Food of Love, with its delectable descriptions of life in Italy, as well as its seductive recipes, and then come along on 30 April to discuss the book and its characters with Lucinda.
Our Book Club events are open to all, whether you’ve had the chance to read the book or not. These events are not recorded, everyone is unmuted and everyone gets the chance to meet other Goldster members.
Sara Barnes, who is 62, believes daily cold water immersion has unlocked her creative and romantic spirit. Her first two published books, The Cold Fix (Nov 2022) and The Winter of Our Lives (Nov 2023) are testament to that power. The Cold Fix is Sara’s deeply intimate story of overcoming physical and emotional pain following major leg surgery. Not about how to or where to go cold water swimming, but a touchy feely dive into the inner world of those who have made it a non-negotiable part of their lives.
The Winter of Our Lives is a mediative and uplifting novel set in the Lake District. The premise is: ‘Take three menopausal wild swimmers who need to find a man. Not any old man, but one who is prepared to dip his bits in very cold water’. Set against the stunning landscape of the Lake District, The Winter of Our Lives is a gritty, relatable love story for people who don’t want to give up on romance, passion or life as they grow older.
On her Instagram account @bumblebarnes she inspires people to be their own change, to age well and to find a passion that comforts you when things get too much. For her that is daily cold water immersion and writing. Join Sara as she chats to Lucinda Hawksley on 26 March.