SEBA - South East Berkshire Association

A Voluntary Association of National Trust Members and Volunteers

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Information For Speakers

This page is provided mainly for the benefit of speakers that we have already booked, or for anyone thinking of offering to give a talk at a meeting.

Content of Talk

We welcome talks on a variety of subjects, including - but not limited to - heritage, conservation, history, and travel (both UK and overseas). If there is a National Trust connection for your subject, then do mention it, but dont worry if there is not.

Talks usually last about 1 1/4 hours, except for the March meeting when we hold our AGM, in which case the time slot for the speaker is about one hour.

The Meeting

Lecture meetings are held throughout the year, normally on the fourth Thursday of the month, except for December which is usually a week earlier. Typically the meetings attract an audience of about 75 people.

Meeting Timetable

7.00pm	We start to prepare the hall Please do not enter the hall earlier than this, as it is often in use by another group
7.30pm	Meeting begins promptly There are usually a few brief announcements before the speaker begins
8.15pm approx	Coffee break
8.40pm approx	Speaker resumes, followed by questions
9.15pm - 9.30pm	Raffle and final announcements; meeting closes

The March meeting begins with a brief AGM and coffee, then the speaker begins about 8.15pm for a talk of about one hour.

Technical

We have a Kodak Carousel projector with remote control, together with stand and screen. You are of course welcome to bring your own equipment should you prefer.

The hall has a modern sound system, and we are anxious that you should use this (even if you have a strong voice), as it makes a big difference to our members, especially those that tune in to the "loop" system. There is a choice of a radio microphone which clips to tie (or shirt/blouse) or a wired stand microphone. The latter gives better quality if you are happy to remain fairly still.

Getting There

If travelling by car, please refer to the directions on our "when and where" page.

We are happy to arrange transport for our speakers to and from Wokingham rail station (Reading - Waterloo, and Reading - Guildford lines) or Farnborough rail station (London - Basingstoke line).