Berwins Salon North Set To Explore The True Modern Britain
“Is modern British politics broken?’ Is just one of the big questions being posed at the next Berwins Salon North of the current 2023 season. Following a successful June event, the TED-Style talk is set to return in July with an engaging and though-provoking look at what makes modern Britain.
Produced by Harrogate International Festivals and a prominent feature of Harrogate’s cultural scene, Berwins Salon North was described in a recent review by local writer Lauren Crisp as ‘a social, friendly evening, refreshingly unstuffy and accessible, curated with thought and craft’.
Being held at 7.30pm on Thursday 6th July at Harrogate’s Crown Hotel under the heading ‘Rethinking Modern Britain’, three expert guest speakers will offer their unique perspectives, taking audiences from behind the scenes at Westminster, through an exploration of the lived experience of being torn between two cultures, to an unpicking of the education system.
Journalist and editor of Politics.co.uk Ian Dunt will use his first-hand experience reporting from the heart of Westminster to lift the lid on British politics, from the heights of Downing Street to the depths of the nation’s newsrooms. British politics, according to Dunt, is broken – but he also offers a vision of how to fix it.
Born in Britain to Indian parents, Gurdeep Loyal has felt torn between clashing expectations of his two cultures, and as an award winning British Indian food writer, columnist and consultant, has embraced his identity and its culinary contradictions through his passion for food.
Loyal will draw on an upbringing that combined ‘authentic’ Punjabi food with ‘inauthentic’ curry-house Tikka Masalas commonly seen in Britain.
He said: “I want audiences to be discussing how important food is as a vehicle for expressing multifaceted diasporic identity in Britain today – and how you can honour your heritage by putting your own stamp on traditions of your heritage.”
Final speaker Jeffrey Boakye is an author, broadcaster, educator and journalist and will recount how it feels to be on the margins of the British education system. At times seen as a role model and at others a source of curiosity as a black male teacher, Boakye will explore a series of his own eye-opening encounters and ask how we can dismantle racism in the classroom and do better by all our students.
Boakye said: “Salon means the chance to engage in live conversation, relaxed but energised, and with a slight element of risk to keep everyone on their toes.”
The trio of speakers will be bound together by the guest host Gaynor Barnes, at the event sponsored by Berwins Solicitors.
Martin Whincup, from Berwins Solicitors, said: “This event will delve into deep discussions surrounding politics, education and culture. Anticipate an extraordinary evening ahead, brimming with remarkable insight and different perspectives from each of the three experts’ and their respective fields.”
Tickets for the event, priced at £17, are available online here or by calling the Box Office on 01423 562303.