7.30 pm Friday January 17th 2025

Crispian is an internationally-acclaimed trumpeter who has played with many of the leading ensembles and is renowned for his wit and enthusiasm as a raconteur. He has a large range of antique trumpets from the late 18th century to the 1920s - and he will be talking about (and playing) some of them at his talk in Wootton

Receiving critical acclaim over four decades for his purity of tone and subtlety, Crispian has played with the London Gabrieli Brass Ensemble, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, English Baroque Soloists, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and the Kings Concert - among many others

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Crispian played a key role in the growth of historically-aware trumpet playing, using a collection of more than a hundred pre-1900 mechanised and "natural" trumpets to bring a brighter, clearer sound to Baroque performances. In 2015,BBC’s CD Choice programme selected his recording of Joseph Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in Eb with the English Chamber Orchestra as the best available recording of the work.

Crispian has also accompanied some of the world's greatest singers, recording Handel's Let the Bright Seraphim with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Eternal Source of Light Divine with James Bowman and Elin Manahan-Thomas. His more recent performances alongside Emma Kirkby, Lynn Dawson, Carolyn Sampson, Bryn Terfel and Lesley Garrett have cemented his international reputation as one of classical music's great ambassadors.

In addition to his work with classical orchestras and period instruments, Crispian has worked in television and film - perhaps most famously he played the theme tune for Antiques Roadshow. As a studio musician he also played for many film scores including Wild Geese, Zulu Dawn, Watership Down and Jaws 2, The Life of Brian, Moonraker, Superman 2 in 1980, History of the World, Part 1, For Your Eyes Only, Arthur, Gandhi and Rambo, Never Say Never, Octopussy, Supergirl, Santa Claus, A View to Kill and Robocop

If you are interested in attending this talk or would like to reserve a ticket please Contact us

(Children over 16 welcome) Entry is £10 in cash and includes free food, featuring delicious sandwiches and sumptuous rocky-roads., with wine and soft drinks available for a modest donation

7.30 pm Friday March 14th 2025

John is one of the country's great comedy producers and writers, with his television work including Not The Nine O'Clock News, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Spitting Image, Blackadder and QI

At the start of his legendary career, John worked as a radio producer at the BBC, creating The News Quiz, The News Huddlines and Quote....Unquote (with Nigel Rees). He co-wrote the fifth and sixth episodes of the first radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with Douglas Adams (who wrote all the previous and subsequent episodes solo, as well as the television adaptation).

John then moved into television as a comedy producer at both the BBC and ITV. As well as being associate producer of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, he created Not the Nine O'Clock News (co-produced with Sean Hardie) and produced Spitting Image - as well as all four series of the peerless Blackadder

The first series of QI, which John created with Stephen Fry in the chair, began in September 2003, with Sandi Toksvig taking over in 2016 - and the shows are still pulling in huge audiences. Back on Radio 4, John has presented several series of The Museum of Curiosity, which he co-created with producers Richard Turner and Dan Schreiber and former co-host Bill Bailey

John's book 1,411 Quite Interesting Facts to Knock You Sideways (one of a series of QI books) is a collaboration with John Mitchinson, who lives in Great Tew, and James Harkin, and contains gems such as - orchids can get jet-lag. Lizards can't walk and breathe at the same time. There are 177,147 ways to tie a tie. Traffic lights existed before cars. Sir Bruce Forsyth was four months older than sliced bread. The soil in your garden is 2 million years old.

If you are interested in attending this talk or would like to reserve a ticket please Contact us

(Children over 16 welcome) Entry is £10 in cash and includes free food, featuring delicious sandwiches and sumptuous rocky-roads., with wine and soft drinks available for a modest donation