Past Guest Speakers
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Massage therapist Bridget Tyrell of OSNA Therapy Centre
Bridget from the Osna Therapy Centre was our club's first ever guest speaker and she kindly agreed to return to give us more tips and advice on alternative ways to handle stress and pain (ie. avoiding the need for painkillers).
Credit crunch, crap weather, pressure at work..... Bridget taught us a few natural ways to look after ourselves using massage, demonstrating on Matt - our willing volunteer! Everyone came away with a few ideas to help relieve stress at work.
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Bob Reeves - Bristol University
Bob spoke to the club about the part that Bristol can play in the 2012 London Olympics.
Thursday, 11 September 2008
Catherine Corriea - Life Education Bristol
Life Education is one of the most active charities in Bristol, and Catherine came to talk to us about the wonderful work that it does.
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Tony Gordon - Motivational Speaker
Tony returned to Bristol Bridge to give the second part of his talk about succeeding in business. During his remarkable 35-year career, Tony Gordon built one of the most successful and profitable financial services businesses in Europe, and he has now established himself as one of the most charismatic speakers in his profession, speaking in over 40 countries at every major insurance event in the world.
As ever, Tony was very popular, and the meeting overran by some margin! Watch this space for a possible return visit!
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Matthew Pickard
Matthew talked to us about Environmental Impact Assessments.
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Peter Davy - Severnside Rotary Club
The Clifton Rocks Railway was a major engineering feat of the Victorian era - a water powered 'funicular' railway, located in Hotwells, which opened in 1893, and operated for 40 years.
Peter Davy, an active member of the Severnside Rotary club, came to talk to us about the project to restore and operate the Clifton Rocks Railway as a sustainable visitor attraction and transport system. Peter was an excellent and very entertaining speaker, who very kindly offered to show us around what's left of the Clifton Rocks railway. Check out our Social pages for further information about this event.
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Suzie Webster - FareShare South-West
FareShare South West is the local arm of a national charity, which has come up with a brilliant idea to help disadvantage people and save the environment at the same time.
Food and drink sold by supermarkets must be sold by their "sell by" dates, even if the "use by" date is a few days later. If goods can't be sold before their sell-by dates, they are simply thrown away, even though they may be perfectly safe and healthy to eat. In addition, food which might be labelled wrongly, is simply discarded, as that is cheaper than relabelling. Tonnes of edible food simply go to landfill. At the same time, it is estimated that about 4 million people in the UK cannot afford a healthy diet, with elderly people being particularly at risk of malnourishment.
FareShare collects surplus food and drink from supermarkets and redistributes it to anyone who needs it, including homeless shelters and youth centres. There are about 50 organisations in Bristol which will directly benefit from FareShare's activities this year.
FareShare is one of the charities that we will be supporting in the coming year, and Suzie was very excited to tell us more about what they do and how our club can help. In particular, they are always after any professional help that we may be able to provide, such as help with getting their IT systems set up. In addition, Suzie organises corporate volunteering days, which all our members should be able to encourage their employers to take part in. If you are interested in supporting FareShare, please contact Suzie via the FareShare website, or get in touch with our charities secretary.
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Jo Gipps - Bristol Zoo
Dr Jo Gipps joined Bristol Zoo Gardens as Director in September 2001. He previously worked at London Zoo for twelve years, eight as Director. Jo chairs the Conservation Committee of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and is on the Steering Committee of the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group and a former trustee of the International Species Information System. In January 2000, he was awarded the OBE for services to the "Web of Life" biodiversity project at London Zoo.
One of Bristol Zoo's major projects is the development of a National Wildlife Conservation Park just 15 minutes from Cribbs Causeway, off the M5. This £62 million project will incorporate about 136 acres of land to provide a new type of zoo of international importance. It has been designed to exhibit particular ecosystems and geographical regions linked to areas of high conservation importance, showcasing a wide variety of animals and plants in a naturalistic setting.
Jo gave a whirlwind tour of the history of zoological gardens, and the role modern zoos play in conservation worldwide. His wonderful presentation included pictures of many photogenic animals, as well as some interesting shots of a cataract operation on a gorilla. It was definitely a very memorable talk!
Thursday, 27 March 2008
John Hirst - Broadmead regeneration
The Broadmead Board is a public/private partnership which was set up in 1995 to manage the Broadmead shopping area, with the overall aims of increasing the footfall into Broadmead. Currently, its most exciting project is the Cabot Circus £500 million development, which is scheduled to be completed and fully open by September 2008. John Hirst, the Broadmead manager, and a member of the Rotary Club of Bristol, talked to the club about the aims and progress of this redevelopment.