Berwins Salon North | 16 November 2023
- Thursday 16 November 2023 | 7.30pm
- The Crown Hotel | Harrogate
- Tickets: £17
Please note that a £1.75 booking fee applies at time of booking
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In a world dominated by other people’s opinions, Salon gives you the knowledge to form your own.
Three expert speakers deliver TED-style talks designed to change your life for the better. Presenting big ideas, and answering key questions in life, Salon was voted as number six in the ‘Top 100 Things to do in the World’ by GQ magazine.
In a time of polarised debate and online shouting it is Berwins Salon North that gives you the time and space to learn from the experts and make up your own mind. This cabaret style evening is designed to change your life for the better and excite your curiosity.
We present the most stimulating ideas in arts, science and psychology. Each expert speaker has the challenge of engaging their audience within a 25-minute set, interspersed with intervals and time for a well-crafted G&T. Our Salon evenings are Harrogate’s own style of live TED talks, where you’re guaranteed to learn something new about yourself and the world around you.
Ways to Connect
In today’s world it can seem harder and harder to connect meaningfully to other people. At November’s Berwins Salon North, we’re looking at some of the ways we can find hidden connections with others, from the food we eat to the work we do, the generation we’re a part of to the history we make together.
Linguist and lexicographer Dr Sarah Ogilvie reveals the hidden stories of the people who came together to create the Oxford English Dictionary, featuring three murderers, Karl Marx’s daughter and a vegetarian vicar. The nation’s favourite taster-in-chief Felicity Cloake takes us on a trip of condimental proportions to investigate and celebrate the legendary Great British Breakfast and the food that brings us together. Finally, Professor Bobby Duffy asks whether when we’re born determines our attitudes to money, sex, religion, politics and much else, and whether the differences between generations is as big as we might think.
What do three murderers, Karl Marx’s daughter and a vegetarian vicar have in common?
They all helped create the Oxford English Dictionary.
The Oxford English Dictionary has long been associated with elite institutions and Victorian men; its longest-serving editor, James Murray, devoted 36 years to the project, as far as the letter T. But the Dictionary didn’t just belong to the experts; it relied on contributions from members of the public. By the time it was finished in 1928 its 414,825 entries had been crowdsourced from a surprising and diverse group of people, from archaeologists and astronomers to murderers, naturists, novelists, pornographers, queer couples, suffragists, vicars and vegetarians.
Lexicographer Sarah Ogilvie dives deep into previously untapped archives to tell a people’s history of the OED. She traces the lives of thousands of contributors who defined the English language, from the eccentric autodidacts to the family groups who made word-collection their passion. With generosity and brio, Ogilvie reveals the full story of the making of one of the most famous books in the world – and celebrates to sparkling effect the extraordinary efforts of the Dictionary People.
If there’s one thing that truly unites Britain, from Aberdeen to Aberystwyth, St Ives to St Pancras, it’s an obsession with breakfast.
We all have an opinion on the merits of brown sauce versus ketchup on our morning bacon sarnie. Join the the nation’s favourite taster-in-chief Felicity Cloake on a cycle trip of condimental proportions to investigate and celebrate the legendary Great British Breakfast. Travelling the length and breadth of the UK to establish once and for all what makes a perfect fry-up, she rates them on criteria from the crispness of the bacon to how long they keep her pedalling. This is a freewheeling gastronomical tour like no other.
Eaten with as much relish in The Wolseley on Piccadilly as in Glasgow’s University Cafe, Britain loves nothing more than a good breakfast. The only question is: what do you have with yours?
Are we in the middle of a generational war? Are Millennials really entitled ‘snowflakes’? Are Baby Boomers stealing their children’s futures? Are Generation X the saddest generation? Will Generation Z fix the climate crisis?
Professor Bobby Duffy explores whether when we’re born determines our attitudes to money, sex, religion, politics and much else. Informed by unique analysis of hundreds of studies, Duffy reveals that many of our preconceptions are just that: tired stereotypes.
Revealing and informative, Duffy provides a bold new framework for understanding the most divisive issues raging today: from culture wars to climate change and mental health to housing. Including data from all over the globe, and with powerful implications for humanity’s future, be ready to for your view on the world to be transformed.
‘After every Salon I leave the venue thinking and knowing the answer to everything – 5 mins later I’m back to normal!’
‘This talk was truly thought provoking, intriguing, scary and exciting all in a 30 min package!’
‘Geek chic’